History Walking Tours 2022 |
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Stroll through historic New Smyrna Beach
Each Wednesday and Thursday, January 19th - April 28th, 2022
Departing from the New Smyrna Museum of History, 120 Sams Ave., New Smyrna Beach FL 32168
Each guided tour begins at 10:30 AM and is about 1.5 hrs in duration.
General Admission: $12, Seniors 65+, Students and Museum Members $10.
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Wednesday - Central Historic District Tour: Visit multiple local historic landmark buildings as well as sites where New Smyrna Beach's first residents made their homes and carved out an existence.
Thursday - South Riverside Drive: Explore the Old Stone Wharf site circa 1768 and other historic sites and homes.
To sign up for a tour please call the
New Smyrna Museum of History at 386-478-0052
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You can also use your smartphone to scan the QR Code here to sign up for a tour, or visit our walking tour section of our website by Clicking Here.
Tours are subject to cancellation due to inclement weather and tour guide availability.
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History Events Fill The Calendar!
February marks the beginning of our event season here along the coast and this year everyone seems ready to get back up to speed and make up for lost time.
February is Black History Month, we look forward to helping celebrate by participating in the 30th Annual Black Heritage Festival. The weekends festivities kick off with "Thurgood" being presented on Friday, Feb. 4th at the Brannon Center.
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Tickets are still available for this event which will mark the official kick off to the Black Heritage Festival weekend, you can Purchase Tickets Here for Friday's performance which is being presented in collaboration with The Reel Film Foundation.
The very next day, Saturday, Feb. 5th from 10AM - 6PM make sure you pop by our tent and say hello when you attend the Black Heritage Festival in Pettis Park right next door to the Mary S. Harrell Black Heritage Museum, 314 N. Duss St. New Smyrna Beach FL 32168
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Mary Fears, local storyteller and historian will close out the festivities for Black History Month as she presents information about "Slave Quilting" at the Mary S. Harrell Black Heritage Museum on Sunday, February 27th at 3PM. In addition to her presentation and replicas of slave quilts, Mary will also be conducting a book signing for her books, "Julie's Journey" and "When Live Becomes Like Broken Dishes". |
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Our friends at the Ponce Inlet Lighthouse are hosting "Volusia County Indigenous Peoples Heritage Day" on Sunday, Feb. 13th from 10 AM to 3 PM. The event will feature interactive workshops, demonstrations and oral presentations. Click Here to view additional info about this first time event.
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March brings about our reschedule date for the 2022 New Smyrna Museum of History Preservation Awards. Thursday, March 24th from 5:30 - 9 PM is the official date for this much anticipated event.
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Each $75 ticket includes dinner, two premium drink tickets and live entertainment featuring acclaimed musical artist Dana Kamide and guitarist / violinist, Sharon Aguilar, preview here. Don't miss your chance to experience this inaugural event. General admission tickets are limited but will be available beginning the week of February 14th. Email NSMofHistory@gmail.com for ticketing info.
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Saturday, April 2nd 2022
We are very excited to be working on a Heritage Day and Museum Open House event now scheduled for the first Saturday in April, 2022. The event will take place from 9 AM - 4 PM at the museum and extend outside onto Sams Ave and into Emory Bennett Park. Featuring historic displays and information, kids' activities, food, bus tours to local area historic sites and much more. Keep an eye out for email updates and information on our Facebook Page sharing details about this quickly developing event.
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President's Pen
By Gary Swanson
President
Southeast Volusia Historical Society
As we enter the second month of 2022, we have a lot on our plate here at the museum. Volunteers are presently working on display boards that will showcase significant aspects of New Smyrna history when we represent the museum at various events we are invited to. Those events and details are listed elsewhere in this newsletter.
Events that we ourselves are putting on include the Historic Preservation Awards Gala and Heritage Day. The Historic Preservation Awards Gala was originally supposed to happen on Valentines Day, but due to COVID concerns, has been rescheduled to Thursday, March 24. This will be a fun event, held at The Grand Ol’ Barn. Tickets are $75 per person, and will include a delicious meal, live music and dancing, two complimentary premium drinks per ticket, and more. These will be available soon, email the museum for info at NSMofHistory@gmail.com
Heritage Day, Saturday, April 2nd, promises to be fun, and will replace Pancakes in the Park. We plan to close Sams Ave in front of the museum and extend over into Emory Bennett Park. There will be lots of displays, bus tours, food provided by the Rotary Club, raffles, and much more! The museum will be open free of charge all day, so don’t miss this event, it will be a great opportunity to show your support. If you would like to volunteer to help on this day, please contact our Museum Director, Greg Holbrook, or our volunteer coordinator, Jane Seibel.
Enjoy this month of February, I hope the recent cold snap has run it’s course, and we will get back to our customary warm weather.
Stay Safe, Gary
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The Museum Store
Local artists featured in the museum store.
We are fortunate to have the opportunity to work with some wonderful local artists through the museum store. Each has their own style and their own unique connection to our local history. Stop by the Museum Store to view larger pieces in person. Smaller items are available through our online store, watch for links in the descriptions below.
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Jimmy Lane is a local here in New Smyrna Beach who grew up surfing and went on to be ranked as one of the top 50 surfers in the world, even holding the #1 spot at one point for a short time. Jimmy helped support his surfing endeavors in those early days by selling and trading his surf themed artwork. We are excited each time he bring in a new piece to share with us here at the museum.Pop by the museum on Saturday mornings during these cooler months and you are likely to find Jimmy Lane and his surfing buddy Ron Dreggors on our front porch creating art and talking about the good old days of surfing here in New Smyrna Beach.
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Reflections of a rich history featuring sailing, surfing and sand. Giclee print #1, canvas fixed to birch wood, numbered certificate available - $850.00 |
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Wave W/ bamboo frame oil on canvas $375.00 |
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Inlet Surfing, giclee print on stretched canvas $375.00 |
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Cathy Berse is a plein air artists who has been active in New Smyrna's art scene for over 30 years. She has shared a wonderful collection of artwork with historic sights and scenes from our local area in eye catching colors that each come with story of the subject on the reverse of the prints. You can learn more about Cathy and her artwork by clicking here.
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Artwork show above are each $23.95 - 8 x 10 matted and ready to frame. "Steps to the Past", This original art print features an iconic image from Old Fort Park in New Smyrna Beach, the Old Fort Ruins.
"The Friendship Tree" This original art print features a growth anomaly between an oak and palm tree that is said to have been created by two young boys who were playing in the area years ago. The trees survived being entwined with each other and are located along the East edge of Emory Bennett Park just across from our museum. "Phantom on the Track"
Featuring an iconic scene of past years when the railway was the foundation of both transportation and employment along Florida's East Coast. Inspired by the story of young John Putnam a local area boy fascinated by the railway lifestyle until he finally grew old enough to get hired on and spend his time working amongst the trains. "The Old Bait Shop" was formerly located at the East end of Canal Street and was owned by local resident Bill Lourcey who was known for the colorful stories he told of growing up in the area. "The Canova Street Grave" is the final resting place of young Charles Dummett (1844-1860). The grave and story of Dummett have been a subject of local lore for years with his above ground grave site sitting in the middle of New Smyrna Beach's Canova Drive.
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Ron Dreggors appears in the photo shown above of the original Smyrna Surf Club members here in NSB back in 1965. His beach themed artwork appears in strikingly bright, bold colors.
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"Dragonfly Gator" oil on canvas original unframed artwork by local surf artist Ronnie Dreggors. Piece measures 20" x 10" $175.00 |
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This original oil on canvas measures 20" X 20" $160.00 |
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Elizabeth "Sissie" Barr
New Smyrna Beach lost a great friend and supporter when Mrs. Barr passed away in late December of 2020. Born in Orlando, Sissie was first introduced to New Smyrna as a young girl traveling to the beach with her family. In later years Sissie made New Smyrna Beach her home and became recognized in the art world for her modern impressionist art style.
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A few years prior to her passing Mrs. Barr worked closely with us here at the museum to transfer artwork to our ownership that we had on loan to our collection. Each piece featured below is available on individually wrapped gift cards that each come with an envelope and explanation of the historic site on the rear of the card. They can be purchased through our online store in the stationary section.
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New Smyrna Sugar Mill Kettles |
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New Smyrna Sugar Mill Arch |
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Your Membership and Support Matters!
New Members:
Delba Ide
Rudolph Gallucci
Daivd McAlear
Karen Marie Papouleas
Dr. Joye Shaffer
Richard L. Ellwanger
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Southeast Volusia Historical Society and
New Smyrna Museum of History
Receives Florida Humanities
"American Rescue Plan" Covid Relief Funding
New Smyrna Beach, Florida — Florida Humanities, the statewide, nonprofit affiliate of the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH), has awarded The Southeast Volusia Historical Society an $11,500 grant for general operating costs to help recover from the economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.
These funds will help provide funding support for staff member salaries and general operating support in the coming months.
The NEH received $135 million from the American Rescue Plan (ARP) Act of 2021, which was approved by Congress this past spring. The state humanities councils, including Florida Humanities, each received a portion of the NEH award to support museums, archives, historic sites and other humanities-focused nonprofits. The Southeast Volusia Historical Society was one of 129 organizations in Florida that was awarded ARP funding totaling $1.88 million from Florida Humanities. The grants are intended to meet immediate operational needs in order for organizations to remain viable and maintain delivery of public humanities programming and resources in their communities. Florida Humanities received 188 applications for ARP funding, with nonprofits requesting the most funds for staffing and utilities.
Any views, findings, conclusions, or recommendations expressed by The Southeast Volusia Historical Society, do not necessarily represent those of Florida Humanities or the National Endowment for the Humanities.
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The Southeast Volusia Historical Society was recently awarded the Guidestar Silver Seal of transparency to acknowledge the level of dedication that we provide to donors, organizations and government entities who consider donating to our organization.
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Make your donation today via mail to:
Southeast Volusia Historical Society Inc.
P.O. Box 968
New Smyrna Beach FL 32170
Donations can also be processed online by clicking the button below:
Talk to your investment planner about how you can donate your mandatory minimum IRA distribution directly to the Southeast Volusia Historical Society and not pay personal income tax on the distribution.
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Museum Hours
Tuesday - Saturday
10 AM - 4 PM
Adults 18+ $8
Young Adults 11-17 $5
10 & Under Free
Members Free
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The New Smyrna Museum of History
120 Sams Ave., New Smyrna Beach Fl. 32168
Phone: 386.478.0052
nsmofhistory@gmail.com
PO Box 968, NSB, Fl. 32168
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