Mandarin Museum News

January/February 2026

Embrace the Mandarin Experience

Dear Friends,

With 2026 in full swing, there are so many exciting things happening at Mandarin Museum! We began January by welcoming two new members to our Board of Directors, longtime Mandarin residents John Cooksey and Karen Sistare.

John Cooksey is a Wolfson graduate and earned his BS in Chemical Science from FSU and his master's in entomology from UF. Beginning as a Pest Control Technician for family-owned McCall Services in 1994, John rose through the ranks to become Chief Operations Officer & Entomologist, eventually overseeing the brand's merger with Rollins, Inc. in 2021. A devoted servant-leader in the community, John is Senior Warden of the Vestry for the historic Episcopal Church of Our Saviour in Mandarin. We are thrilled to welcome him back to our Mandarin Museum Board!

Karen Sistare brings to our board a wealth of corporate learning, human resources, and talent management experience. Before launching her career primarily in the financial and banking sector, Karen earned her degree in economics from Wake Forest University. Now enjoying retirement following a lengthy tenure with TIAA, we are so pleased she is joining our board! Karen is already well acquainted with Mandarin Museum, having served on the committee charged with devising one of our newest permanent exhibits, The Untold Story of Black Mandarin. You may also see her hanging out at the historic Mandarin Store & Post Office on the first Saturday of each month.

Speaking of The Untold Story of Black Mandarin, we were happy to host Amanda DeVoe with WJXT/News4Jax for a special segment devoted to this incredible exhibit as well as the annual event it gave rise to - Exhibit Come to Life: The Untold Story of Black Mandarin. In honor of Black History Month, our 3rd Annual Exhibit Come to Life event - presented in partnership with our event founding sponsors Florida Blue and ASPIRE on February 28th - will be a celebration of our exhibit's focus on 250 years of Black history and community building in the Mandarin area. Be sure to tune your televisions to News4Jax on February 18th at 7:00 and 8:00 am to see Author, Gullah Geechee Historian, and Mandarin Museum volunteer Greg Estevez build awareness for this rich history and Mandarin Museum!

All event information for Exhibit Come to Life: The Untold Story of Black Mandarin and our other popular events during the month of February can be found later in this newsletter.

And as always, I'll see you at the Museum!

Warmest regards,

Brittany Cohill

Executive Director

Current Art Exhibition

When the Kiln is Opened: The Art of Charlie Moses Brown 
On display all month at Mandarin Museum

Special thanks to exhibit curators:

Dr. Elizabeth Heuer, Associate Professor of Art History, University of North Florida

Nofa Dixon, Assistant Professor Emerita of Art & Design, University of North Florida

Vina Schemer, Regional Director, American Crafts Council Southeast Region, 1979-2009

First Saturday @ the Museum

Saturday, February 7

10:00 am to 2:00 pm

Join Mandarin Museum the first Saturday of every month from 10:00 am to 2:00 pm when all historic buildings throughout Walter Jones Historical Park will be open to the public.

The young and young at heart can pick up a free scavenger hunt at Museum Guest Services to complete as you visit the museum's exhibits and stroll along the park's paved pathways.

Learn more about the area's 19th-century past as museum volunteers greet you at the 1898 St. Joseph's Mission Schoolhouse for African American Children, the 1892 Losco Winery, the 1876 Barn, and the 1875 Webb-Jones Farmhouse.

The historic Mandarin Store & Post Office, located just down the road at 12471 Mandarin Rd., will also be open to visitors.

Admission is free.

Mandarin Frog Painting

Saturday, February 7

10:00 am

Museum Front Lawn

Purchase, paint, and take home your very own Mandarin Frog (or sea turtle). The cost is $22 + tax per person and all supplies are provided. To register, please email info@mandarinmuseum.org. Payment is collected upon arrival, cash or card. Limited walk-up spots will be available.

Meet the Maple Leaf Divers

Saturday, February 7

10:00 am to 12:00 pm

Maple Leaf Shipwreck Gallery

Meet the men who dove the Maple Leaf Shipwreck! On April 1, 1864, the Union steamboat Maple Leaf was sunk by Confederates in the St. Johns River just off Mandarin Point. In the 1980s, Dr. Keith Holland and his team of divers located and excavated the site. Now designated a National Historic Landmark, the nearly 3,000 artifacts they recovered have been entrusted to the State of Florida for preservation. Mandarin Museum displays many of these artifacts through a longterm partnership with the State Archives of Florida.

Dr. Holland and the Maple Leaf Divers will be in the gallery from 10:00 am to noon on Saturday, February 7th to meet with visitors. This is an informal, conversational-style event. Drop in to hear their story of discovery, recovery, and preservation.

Music Under the Oaks

Sunday, February 8 (rescheduled from Feb 1st)

2:00 to 4:00 pm

Museum Front Lawn

Music Under the Oaks, in partnership with North Florida Folk Network, will try to make its long-awaited return following the summer hiatus!

Enjoy a lazy afternoon under the shade of Mandarin’s historic oak canopy. If you play an acoustic instrument and enjoy singing or playing with others, you are invited to join the song circle. This is an open jam for participants at any experience level. Song circle set-up begins around 1:30 pm. Chairs for musicians are available inside the Museum.

Listeners are welcomed and encouraged! Bring your chairs or blanket and set up just outside the song circle. You’re in for a real treat!

Mandarin Museum and the 1898 St. Joseph’s Schoolhouse for African American Children will be open to visitors during the event.

Photo courtesy of Olis Garber Photography

Third Thursday Lecture

Thursday, February 19

6:00 to 8:00 pm

Mandarin Museum

Dr. Vincent Adejumo will provide an overview of the origins of the Black Seminoles of Florida, their impact in the Seminole Wars, and their legacy after being exiled from Florida.

About the Speaker: Dr. Vincent Edward Oluwole Adejumo is currently a Senior Lecturer of African American Studies and affiliate Senior Lecturer of Political Science at the University of Florida. Dr. Adejumo was selected as the Professor of the Year by the UF Black Student Union for the 2015-16 school year and as the Professor and Advisor of the Year by the UF College of Liberal Arts and Sciences for the 2017-18 school year.

Refreshments will begin at 6:00 pm inside Mandarin Museum. The program will begin at 7:00 pm. Admission is free. For more information, click HERE.

Thank you to our friends at Endless Summer Roofing, Co. for sponsoring our Spring 2026 Lecture Series!

Weed Wrangle at Walter Jones Historical Park

February 21 & 28

9:00 am to 12:00 pm

Walter Jones Historical Park

Weed Wrangle Florida is a statewide volunteer effort to help rescue public parks and green spaces from invasive species through hands-on removal of especially harmful trees, vines, and flowering plants. Join us for the effort in Walter Jones Historical Park on February 21st and 28th. Volunteers will help clear out camphor, coral ardisia, and smilax vines. Please come dressed appropriately with long pants, long sleeves, hat, gloves, and sunscreen. Bring hand clippers! Water and snacks will be provided. Please meet in the parking lot at Walter Jones Historical Park at 9:00 am. Contact site captains Gabriele Dempsey or Adam Saffles with questions, gkdjax@gmail.com or asaffles@gmail.com.

Exhibit Come to Life: The Untold Story of Black Mandarin

Saturday, February 28

10:00 am to 2:00 pm

Throughout Mandarin Museum & Walter Jones Historical Park

Celebrating Black History Month 2026, Mandarin Museum is pleased to partner with Florida Blue and the ASPIRE Employee Resource Group to present the 3rd annual Exhibit Come to Life: The Untold Story of Black Mandarin. The public is invited to:

• View Mandarin Museum’s newest exhibits, including The Untold Story of Black Mandarin.

• Visit our historic buildings, including the 1898 St. Joseph’s Mission Schoolhouse for African American Children.

• Museum docents will be available throughout the exhibits and park, welcoming visitors and providing historical interpretation.

• Paint a Black History Month inspired garden rock and help us decorate our gardens!

• Engage with our community partners on the Museum’s front lawn including the Jacksonville Public Library Special Collections and Memory Lab, Gullah Historian Elaine Ford Jackson, Greg Estevez, author of Edisto: Migration to Florida, Black Hikers Unite!, and the Duval County Master Gardeners who will share information with the public.

• Visit the Florida Blue/ASPIRE tent for fun and educational giveaways.

Scheduled Activities during the event:

10:00 am

The Ritz Chamber Players will deliver a stirring performance in the 1898 Schoolhouse. Capacity for this performance is limited. Advanced RSVP is required. Please email director@mandarinmuseum.org.

11:00 am and 1:00 pm

The Duval County Master Gardeners will lead a Black horticulture-centric tour of Walter Jones Historical Park, meet at the Pollinator Garden alongside Mandarin Museum.

11:30 am

Join us for a Leadership Roundtable – The Power of Community: Black Leadership in Faith and Society – featuring local leaders in the business, education, religious, and nonprofit sectors.

1:30 pm

Ngoma Thunder will close out the performance schedule with traditional African drumming and dancing.

Special thanks to all of our event sponsors
for making this day possible!

New in the Museum Shop! There are SO many great things to check out in the Mandarin Museum Shop. We've restocked our popular Museum Nerd pins, magnets, and vinyl stickers. And we've added some great new merchandise, including:

• the Furry Friends Pups Memory Game - an ode to the Dogs of Walter Jones Park!

• 1,000-piece puzzles - the adorable chickens are in honor of longtime Mandarin Museum volunteer and board member, Virginia Barker, who brings her chickens to our annual Winter Celebration every year!

• Bygone era toys - including paddle ball, pick-up sticks, and harmonicas. You may have seen beloved Museum volunteer, Roger Sallas, at the Losco Winery or Music Under the Oaks playing an old folk tune on his harmonica!

• Wind-up Divers - a nod to our favorite ones, the Maple Leaf Shipwreck Divers!

• Losco Log Cabin playset - think Lincoln Logs, Mandarin edition! Each playset comes with a Losco Log Cabin branded canvas bag. You better get yours before Dolly - Losco family member and ever-present docent at the Losco Log Cabin - buys them all for herself!



Mandarin Museum is a private nonprofit, with programming and operations proudly supported primarily through the generosity of our members and donors.

A special thank you to the following individuals whose transformative gifts this past year have ensured Mandarin Museum continues its growth as part of Jacksonville's arts & culture landscape:

Sheryl and Mel McNichols

Jennifer Johnson-Duke and Joseph Duke

Anonymous

Dr. MacKenzie Farnham

Karl Frisch

Eric and Naomi Gillis

Thomas Davant Johns, Ph.D. and Gretchen Schaef Johns, M.D.

Henry E. Davis

Brenda Ezell

Deborah Harmon

Ann Kenyon

Ed and Sunnie Malesky

Barbara Pucci

Mark Shorstein

Be a supporter of arts & culture in our community through the purchase of an annual membership! Every contribution made through the purchase of an annual membership enables us to fulfill our mission!

Mandarin Museum members at the Family Level and above automatically enjoy the benefits of NARM (North American Reciprocal Museum Association)! By supporting your favorite museum, you receive reciprocal member benefits at almost 1,500 museums, botanical gardens, aquariums, and more across the United States, Canada, Mexico, Bermuda, and The Cayman Islands. Simply show your Mandarin Museum membership card at participating locations!

Read 2026 issues of the Mandarin Newsline online now!

This free newspaper allows Mandarin Museum to share history, events, and programs with the public. The newspaper remains free to readers due to the robust local advertising. Please visit, shop, and eat at those businesses who support the community in this way.

Until next time, learn something new through connecting with others in your community!




Recently, the Cummer Docents treated Mandarin Museum volunteers to a wonderful private tour of the Cummer Museum's current exhibit, Andrew Wyeth at Kuerner Farm: The Eye of the Earth. Following the tour, the group enjoyed a luncheon and a hands-on watercolor painting activity. It was a lovely day of fellowship!

The Cummer's Andrew Wyeth exhibit runs through Friday, February 15th. You don't want to miss it!

Mandarin Museum was delighted to host a group from The ARC Jacksonville for a guided tour of the Museum and Walter Jones Historical Park. Museum docent, Gene Schecter, was on duty and had just as much fun as they did!



Thank you to all our community partners!

A thriving creative economy enhances the quality of life for us all. Supported in part by the Merit-Based Cultural Service Grant Program, administered by the Cultural Council of Greater Jacksonville with funding from the City of Jacksonville and our elected officials, we extend our gratitude to all partners who make this possible.

OUR MISSION: Mandarin Museum & Historical Society shares the stories of Mandarin's history, culture, and natural resources by providing engaging programs that educate, entertain, and inspire.

VISIT. JOIN. VOLUNTEER.

Mandarin Museum & Historical Society

904-268-0784

info@mandarinmuseum.org