General Museum Information

Beaches Museum CLOSED October 21-22

The Beaches Museum will be closed on Saturday, October 21st and Sunday, October 22nd. Pablo Avenue will be used for Air Show transportation and will not be available to our guests and volunteers. We look forward to seeing you when we re-open for our regular hours on Tuesday, October 24! For more information on the Air Show, visit they City’s Website.

Early Closure

The Beaches Museum will be closing at 3pm on Sunday, July 16 for a private event. We look forward to seeing you from 10am-3pm that day or during our regular hours throughout the week!

CARES Grant Funding Awarded

The Beaches Museum is proud to have been awarded CARES Act funding to help mitigate losses due to COVID-19.

Funding has been provided to the Beaches Museum from the National Endowment for the Humanities through a grant from Florida Humanities as part of the 2020 Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security (CARES) Act of 2020.

Any views, findings, conclusions, or recommendations expressed by (grantee), do not necessarily represent those of Florida Humanities or the National Endowment for the Humanities.”

Update from the Beaches Museum

Dear Friends:

The board and staff of the Museum have been monitoring the evolving situation with regards to coronavirus. In an effort to ensure the health and safety of our volunteers, staff and guests, we will be closing the Museum to the public beginning on Tuesday, March 17. We plan to re-open the Museum on March 31.

Additionally, we are postponing the following events:
March 16: Mama Blue concert
March 18: Ritz Chamber Players concert
March 27: “Our Land–Indigenous Northeast Florida” exhibit opening.

We will work to reschedule them as soon as we possibly can. We will send updates on any future cancellations, closures, etc. as we have them.

Thank you for your support and understanding.

Sincerely:

Chris Hoffman
Executive Director

Brittany Cohill Named Associate Director of the Beaches Museum

The Beaches Museum announced that Brittany Cohill has been promoted to Associate Director, effective immediately. In her new role, Cohill will oversee general educational programming, exhibits, archive and collections management, and the college/university internship program. Cohill will continue to report to Beaches Museum Executive Director Christine Hoffman.
 
Cohill joined the Beaches Museum as Operations Manager in December 2016. In this role, she supervised the Museum’s daily operations, a volunteer staff of approximately 75 volunteers, headed the Education and Accessibility Committees, and was a member of the Museum’s 2016-2017 Strategic Planning Committee. Cohill will maintain her management role in Museum operations and the volunteer program.
 
Cohill earned a Bachelor of Arts in History and Psychology and a Master of Arts in History from the University of North Florida. In addition to her work at the Beaches Museum, she is an Adjunct Instructor of History at Jacksonville University. 
 Photo Credit: Cheryl Joy Miner Photography
 

Beaches Museum Nears Capital Campaign Goal

 Press Release

JACKSONVILLE BEACH, FL-The Save the Oldest Cracker House capital campaign, to relocate and preserve the oldest remaining house in the Beaches area to the Beaches Museum & History Park, is close to a major milestone-raising $50,000 to receive the $50,000 matching gift from the Davis family, developers of Nocatee.

Cracker HouseOnce the match is met, combined with other designated gifts, the Museum will be able to move the Oesterreicher-McCormick Homestead from its original location on the Duval Country line near Twenty Mile Road on the McCormick Ranch in Palm Valley to the Pablo Historical Park.

“We are so thankful for the generous support we’ve received so far” says campaign chair Jack Schmidt, “and we are counting on the community to step up and help us with this final stretch”. With less than $5,000 left to raise toward the matching amount, the Museum has created the “1873 Club”. In honor of the year that the house was built, donors are encouraged to make gifts of $18.73 to show their support of the effort. “We’d like to see individuals show their support with a gift of any size, large or small. They will all help us save this piece of history” says Schmidt.

Cracker HouseAs a rare example of Duval County’s “cracker” architecture, the 1873 homestead, donated by the J.T. and Jean McCormick family, will join other historic structures in the park, including the chapel, the old Pablo Station Post Office, the Florida East Coast Railway Mayport Depot, the Florida East Coast Railway’s Foreman’s house and the iconic Cummer Lumber Company steam locomotive.

The Beaches Area Historical Society is a non-profit organization founded in 1978 to archive and chronicle the history and heritage of the Beaches communities of Mayport, Neptune Beach, Atlantic Beach, Jacksonville Beach, Ponte Vedra and Palm Valley. The museum building, which opened in 2006, and History Park occupy Pablo Historical Park, a three-block campus at 381 Beach Boulevard, Jacksonville Beach.

For more information, please call 904-241-5657, or e-mail info@BeachesMuseum.org.

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About The Beaches Museum & History Park

Beaches Museum & History Park is operated by the Beaches Area Historical Society at Pablo Historical Park, Jacksonville Beach, Florida.

The mission of the Beaches Area Historical Society is to nurture civic pride for the distinct history of the Beaches, while providing education, information and entertainment for those who live, work and vacation in our communities.

The Beaches Museum & History Park is located at 381 Beach Boulevard in Jacksonville Beach. To Learn more about the Beaches Museum & History Park, please visit our website at www.BeachesMuseum.org

Contact:

Beaches Museum And History Park Cultural Council of Greater Jacksonville

Beaches Museum & History Park
381 Beach Blvd.
Jacksonville Beach, FL. 32250

904.241.5657 BeachesMuseum@gmail.com

This mailing is partially funded by the Cultural Council of Greater Jacksonville.

Beaches Museum & History Park is operated by the Beaches Area Historical Society, Inc., a 501(c)(3) Corporation Registration # CH1597. Your donation is tax deductible to the full extent allowed by law. A copy of the official registration and financial information may be obtained from the Division of Consumer Services by calling toll-free (800-435-7352) within the State of Florida. Registration does not imply endorsement, approval, or recommendation by the State.

The Beaches Museum & History Park | 381 Beach Boulevard | Jacksonville Beach | FL | 32250

Press Release Archive

Beaches Museum
381 Beach Boulevard
Jacksonville Beach, Florida 32250