News & Lectures
News:
News will be updated as it occurs.
Lectures will be at Green Clover Hall, 319 SE 26th Ave., Ocala, in the McPherson government complex. The program will begin at 2 p.m. Following the program, there will be a reception at the Marion County Museum of History and Archaeology, 307 SE 26th Terr., Ocala, also in the McPherson government complex. For more information, call 352-236-5245. The cost of the program is $5.00 with free admittance to museum members. All programs will be on the 3rd Sunday of odd months.
Future Lectures:
The museum future programs will be:
January 21, 2024 – Sunday - State Attorney, Bill Gladson will present his work on the Groveland Four criminal case.
March 17, 2024 – Sunday – Long time resident of Marion County, Celeste Godwin Viale will present the history of “The rise and fall of Grahamville”.
May 21, 2024 – Sunday - TBA
July 21, 2024 – Sunday – Dr. Joe Knetsch, historian and author of many books will present his annual lecture. Topic to be announced.
September 15, 2024 – Sunday – Perry’s Swim School owner, Delee Perry will share the history of her father, Newt Perry, an educator, renowned swim/dive instructor, and underwater movie actor and stuntman.
November 17, 2024 – Sunday – TBA
Be sure and check back a week before each lecture to confirm it is still occuring.
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The museum’s Facebook page is at:
https://www.facebook.com/search/top/?q=marion%20county%20museum%20of%20history%20and%20archaeology
Saturday, 8/10/19 at the Fort King National Historical Landmark, the Fort King Heritage Association presented to the Marion County Museum of History and Archaeology a leather bound multipage reproduction copy of the hand written minutes of the first Marion County Commission meeting that took place in the fort on Friday, February 20, 1846. You can actually read the cursive script that was hand written on that day.
FKHA president Bill McCall, and Board members, Diane Trice and Robin Corsiglia presented to the Marion County Museum of History and Archaeology trustees Zack Pagels, Vanessa Thomas, and Judy Delk.
Past Lectures:
Date: Speaker/Subject
10/12/11: Dr. William Marquardt, Florida Museum of Natural History (Randell Research Center at Pineland).
11/16/11: Ernest Jernigan, Ocala Historian
12/14/11: Dr. Barbara Purdy, Archaeologist University of Florida
1/11/12: Mr. J.T. Glisson, author of “The Creek”
2/11/12: Rich Estabrook, Florida Public Archaeology Network
3/14/12: Dr. Michael Gannon, Historian, University of Florida
4/19/12: Claude Van Order, Flint Knapping
7/22/12: Dr. Joe Knetsch- Spanish Land Grants and the incoming Seminoles during the late 18th and early 19th century.
8/19/12: Dr. Willet Boyer - The Gordon Collection and things we learned from it.
9/16/12: Dana Ste Claire - The Cracker Culture in Florida History
10/28/12: Dr. Keith Ashley - Archaeologist Dr. Ashley, of the University of North Florida will be speaking on the Spanish mission era, with a focus on his work and recent discoveries at the Guadalquini mission site.
11/18/12: Carol Lopez-Bradshaw - In 1768 over 1,400 people left the Mediterranaen Island for the British East Florida. Menoran of the Menorcan Cultural Society in St. Augustine!
1/20/13: Michael C. Mason -Ocklawaha River Steamboats, Turpentine Stills and More
3/24/13: The Patriot War in Florida by James Cusick
5/19/13: The Fort King Site by Gary Ellis; Fort King Heritage Association
7/14/13: The Great Depression in Florida by Dr. Joe Knetsch
9/22/13: Colinial Trappers - Trader Lore - by Robert Wilson
11/17/13: Silver Springs, Florida by Bruce Mozert
1/19/14: All I ever wanted tobe was a cowboy, by Bill Roberts
3/16/14: Ma Barker & the Shootout at Ocklawaha, by George Albright & Carson Good.
5/18/14: Using Social History Approaches in Family History Research by Jim Vearil
7/27/14: Dr. Joe Knetsch is scheduled for July and his topic will be Fort Drane and the Seminole Wars.
10/5/14: Ronald Haase - Cracker Architecture
1/18/15 Peter Mullins - A a program on family feuds that happened right after the War Between the States.
Two of the family feuds in Florida are the Barber and Mizell families from Marion County, Florida.
3/22/15 Turpentine Industry by Barbara Clark,
5/17/15 Florida Cattle Ranching By Robert L. Stone
7/19/15 Dr. Joe Knetsch - Marion County Medical Issues of long ago.
11/15/15 Delee Perry, owner and operator of the Perry Swim School, will present a program entitled ‘SilverSprings and Other Florida Springs’
1/17/16 “Sybil Bray And Her Salty Crackers Series of Books” by Nancy Bray Bowden
4/3/16 A Conversation with Roy Abshier, a long time resident of
5/15/16 Sesquicentennial Reenactment of the Escape by Boat of Confederate Officers- Kim Cullars
7/17/16 Bill Partinton speaks about Stopping the Cross-Florida Barge Canal
11/20/16 Cynthia Wilson-Graham(Coauthor of a book "Remembering Paradise Park" at Silver Springs) Buy her book at the Museum.
1/15/17 Slavery in the USA, Florida, and Marion County by Mr. Emmett Coyne
3/19/17 The Highlands Hotel & Early Golfing in Ocala by Daniel J. Jones
5/21/17 Trails , Tales, and Where by Annabelle Leitner - Historian
7/16/17 Utopian Communities by Dr Joe Knetsch - Historian
9/17/17 Trappers & Traders by Robert Wilson (tenative)
9/17/17 Trappers & Traders Presented by Mr. Robert Wilson, living historian.
A traveling interpretative historian, Mr. Robert Wilson is the owner of Wizard's Gun shop, a gunsmith, expert on trapping, and instructor on the ways of trappers & traders in early Florida. Having participated in the Silver River Museum's Ocali Days and Knap In, and doing approximately 10-30 events a year for State Parks, Boy Scouts, churches, private groups starting in 1993, he became a regular at the State Park system in 2000, and has participated on a regular basis since. He has done these programs at approximately 12-15 state parks through the years. He also does workshops/programs on Women in the Outdoors, and for the Wild Turkey Federation. A passion of his, he claims he was born 200 years too late. During these events, he does primitive camping from two to ten days at a time. The art and lifestyle of trappers and traders is represented in exhibits and in action.
11/19/17 Leah Oxendine is a historical reenactor, musician and 21-year-old author from North Marion County. Her book The Rebels of Florida was published and released to the public through Amazon, Barnes and Noble online, and multiple other worldwide venues. Following the program, the author will have a book signing at the reception. See her picture below.
The Rebels of Florida is one of the very few books written about Florida's involvement during the War Between the States, and the only historical novel that focuses entirely on the subject. Over ten years of research and work have been put into the book. You can read about the book at the Amazon listing below.
https://www.amazon.com/Rebels-Florida-Leah-K-Oxendine/dp/1619846489/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1511123994&sr=8-1&keywords=Rebels+of+Florida&dpID=51E-Lk8MgjL&preST=_SY291_BO1,204,203,200_QL40_&dpSrc=srch
1/21/18 "Fort King" by Morrey Deen A very interesting detailed history of why Fort King was built. Morrey has studied for many years the fragmented bits of hsitory written about the Marion County Fort King time period and gave insite into what happened from about 1827 to about 1845.
3/18/18 "Florida/Marion County in the Civil War " by Keith Kohl, Historian, Author, Historian
5/20/18 "The Dixie Highway Through Marion County " by Annabelle Leitner, Writer, Historian, Textile Artist.
7/15/18 "Florida and the Cuban Missile Crisis" by Joe Knetsch
9/16/18 "What do you know about the McPherson School?" by Annabelle Leitner, Writer, Historian, Textile Artist.
1/20/19 "Ma Barker/Bradford House" in Ocklawaha, with an emphasis on the four hour shootout between the Department of Justice (FBI) and Ma & Fred Barker, resulting in their deaths. By: Joe Voge.
7/29/19: Dr. Joe Knetsch "Army Air Corps, Aerial Photography in WWI" including impact on Florida’s development.
5/19/19: "Early agriculture in North & NW Marion Co" by Annabelle Leitner
11/17/19: Peter P. Mullen, Honorable Order of Kentucky Colonels, Callahan, Florida presents the Bicentennial of the Adams~Onis Treaty – FEB 22, 1819
1/19/20: Peter P. Mullen, Honorable Order of Kentucky Colonels, Callahan, Florida presents "The History & Origin of the 1918-1920 Spanish Flu Pandemic"
July 18, 2021 Celeste (Goodwin) Viale: Early Settlement and Life in Marion County
March 20, 2022 Paul Bloom - History of the Marion County Sherriff's Department.
Pictures of prior Lectures:
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March 18, 2018 Keith Kohl, Historian, Author, Reenactor. Florida/Marion County in the Civil War
Brian Stoothoff, President of the Historic Ocala Preservation Society (HOPS). The year 2019 marks Ocala’s 173rd anniversary of its founding.Email for Museum Questions: mcmuseumha2@gmail.com Call: 352-236-5245
May 16, 2021 Sunday: A Tour of Old Marion County through Photographs by Annabelle Leitner
July 18, 2021 Sunday: Early Settlement and Life in Marion County - Celeste (Goodwin) Viale
Paul Bloom - History of the Marion County Sheriff's Department
May 15, 2022 MarthaLynne Allen – Ross Allen (her grandfather) and Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings connections.
Elaine Wellhoner McCreary, local historian/author, The Centennial of the East Marion School.
Cynthia Graham-Wilson – Marion County author/historian on topic of early Marion County Black Residents and Businesses.
Webmaster: Robin Corsiglia 352-236-2635 steameng1@cox.net