Florida Maritime Museum — Attraction in Florida

Just discovered this museum last Friday and already planning a return visit! Learned so much about a working fishing village and more. They have everything from fish and shells to a full size boat inside. And all of it is housed inside another historical find- the first schoolhouse in the area. Beautiful grounds outside to enjoy. There's even a creek out back where water spews out of rocks on the bank! There's also another historical building on the grounds- a general store that was the first commercial building in the village- which surprisingly has not always been known as Cortez! Take a trip here to find out what it's original name was...... Can't wait to return...

We visited this museum this past summer - what a nice break from the heat of the day. There is an interesting collection of maritime and local history. The building itself is very charming old Florida. We spent some time wandering around the exhibits by ourselves, but the staff was on hand to answer our questions and chat about the history of the area. There's a great lunch place just down the street on the water and plenty of parking...

While the museum itself is not open yet, still undergoing construction from last year's hurricane season, the staff are still there holding workshops on the covered deck. I was really impressed with the friendliness of the staff as well as the knowledge. The workshop I attended was called 'Saving Your Stuff.' It was a lot of great information, and they even encouraged us to put on gloves and try to save some materials they had intentionally...