Beaches Museum — Attraction in Jacksonville Beach

This is an exciting little museum that is divided into various buildings and is a truly underrated tourist attraction. The main building is painted Flagler yellow, which is the color named after the Florida railroad tycoon, Henry Flagler. At the entrance of the main building, you will se the Visit Jacksonville® Museum Passport, in which you win a certain prize from 6 Jax-based museums that give you a stamp on each page of the passport. After that, you walk into a big room, which has a small theater, containing a 15-minute movie about the history of the Jax Beaches and why they are the way they are in the modern era. Here, I’ve learned that the first inhabitants of NE Florida was an American Indian Tribe known as the Timucuans, who settled on that land 25,000 years ago. Before the Interstate Highway System, traveling from central Florida or Georgia was really difficult and it took about 5 hours to get there. When the movie ended, I went on this really cool self-guided tour, in which I need 2 hours to read and memorize, because I’m such a history buff! Nonetheless, the artifacts on display and the boards with facts about the beaches and the history of Mayport are very fascinating and interesting to read more about! After the exhibit ends, you go outside to the other buildings and the tour is guided by a lady who tells all the facts about the smaller buildings on the site of the Beaches Museum. In each buildings, she would ask questions to the little children to see if they know about how trains work and why they were vital sources of transportation 200 years ago. The tour guide was quite friendly and would ask us if we had any questions about the places that she guided us through. In the garden of each house, there are a bunch of beautiful tall plants that make the place look like heaven on earth! I loved how in one of the buildings, there is a model railroad with a black train several coaches long which goes on forever! (Until you turn it off, of course) To explore this museum, I recommend a maximum duration of 4 hours if you want to thoroughly read everything and memorize it if you want to become a local historian! Admission at this place is absolutely free! You can’t got to Jacksonville Beach and not visit this great museum! You NEED to see it...

This compact spot along Beach Blvd. is packed with things to do:

1. learn the history of The Beaches in the informative museum
2. explore historic structures rescued from the surrounding community (guided tour)
3. pick-up Jax-area tourist info
4. enjoy one of the changing art exhibits and,
5. for the kids...see the train and model train set-up of the Beaches area

Best part...everything is FREE!

I was greeted by their friendly staff and directed to a brief movie about the area. The museum's exhibits highlight the area's history including the native people, early settlers and their battles for control, the railroad era with its grand hotels, and the 20th-century developments that followed.

Mike, a volunteer docent, gave me a great tour of the collection of historic structures across the street from the musuem. I enjoyed seeing such a variety of early-Florida structures in one place. We toured a post office, train station, railroad foreman's house (part of the Flagler East Coast Railway empire), an old farm house, and a chapel. Mike was a knowledgeable and energetic guide.

Back at the museum, I was furnished with a host of brochures, maps and pamphlets by Susan, a veritable font of Jacksonville information. She selected info on historic attractions at my request.

If you're visiting The Beaches area, I recommend a stop here whether it's for a quick orientation or to sink your teeth...

This was the first time i had Bern in this museum. I was there for the Fletcher High School All Class Block Party honoring the class of 1973. The weather started to get bad the afternoon of April 29th so they announced plans for inclement weather so they were prepared for it. The reunion started indoors and had several other places that attendees could get under when the rain came. The rain stopped about 7:45 and we were able to party outdoors. Since I was reconnecting with old classmates, I didn't get a chance to look at the museum exhibits but I plan on going back at a later date to go through the museum.

There were only 2 things that I heard several people mention and one was the lack of food trucks. There was only 1 food truck so I don't know if the others cancelled due to bad weather or what. The lack of parking was a concern of mine. Saturday evening is a bad time for a party at the museum due to St. Paul's Catholic Church holding Mass. My sister and I got there early and had to park pretty close to 3rd Street.

I'd like to thank the staff of the Beaches Museum for all the work they did for our reunion. Y'all did...