Florida Pioneer Museum

The Florida East Coast Railway erected two bungalow buildings that were constructed in 1904 as the first buildings in the City of Homestead.^[3] Both building were residential, and were built for the section foremen and station agent. The homes were built two years before construction began by the Florida East Coast Railway in the area. Henry M. Flagler, an early settler of South Florida, designed the homes in the Philippine style to be well-suited for the South Florida climate.^[4]

On February 6, 1964, the house was moved to Florida City to land that was donated by Henry and Jackie Brooker Jr. Henry's father was one of the three men who first took residence in Florida City in 1911-1912.^[4][5] This move ensured the continued existence of the structure as it became the home of the Florida Pioneer Museum.

The community identified a need for a center to house a growing collection of local artifacts, and through the assistance of the Homestead Women's Club, the Pioneer Museum was created in this structure. Louise Hamilton was the founding president of the Pioneer Museum with Bea Peskoe as Vice President until they stepped down in 1970.^[3] The collection housed in the museum started with a donation from Herbert S. Zim, author of the Golden Nature Guides, of Native American artifacts. Other donors provided archaeological relics, shells, pioneer tools and implements, railroad memorabilia, household items, and other items owned and used by various local pioneer families.^[4] On August 14, 1973, the structure was added to the National Register of Historic Places.

In 1976, after years of allowing the dilapidation of the train depot on the original Homestead property, the Florida East Coast Railway planned a demolition of the depot. A group of local leaders raised $25,000 to stop the demolition and move the depot to the property behind the Florida Pioneer Museum. Another $200,000 was put into the restoration of the depot in 1988. Unfortunately, Hurricane Andrew leveled the depot in 1992. The current train depot on the property is a replica of the original.^[5]

The Museum is now owned by the City of Florida City and operated by the Florida Pioneer Museum Association.

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Florida Pioneer Museum.

• Official site
• Information about the museum