Announcements

HEADSTONE REPAIR WORKSHOP UPDATE [posted September 20, 2023]

Please contact Debbie Jay at debbiejay@wakullahistory.org if you would like to attend this training.   

HEADSTONE REPAIR WORKSHOP - UPDATE! 

On Saturday, October 7th, the Wakulla County Historical Society in partnership with the Florida Public Archaeology Network (FPAN) will be holding the first ever Cemetery Resource Protection Training - Plus (CRPT+). 

This full-day workshop, led by FPAN archaeologist Nigel Rudolph, will start in the Richardson Cemetery at 9:00 am with some demonstrations of headstone repair techniques. We will then break for lunch and reconvene at the Old Jail Museum & Archives to discuss headstone repair in more detail.

Suggested donation of $25 to help cover costs (not mandatory)

Schedule:

Saturday, October 7th, 2023

9 am - 12 pm at the Richardson Cemetery located at the northeast corner of Hwy. 98 

 and Spring Creek Hwy, Wakulla County, FL 32327

12 pm - 1 pm break for lunch

1 pm to 4 pm at the Old Jail Museum & Archives

24 High Drive, Crawfordville, FL 32327

NOTE: 

WEAR OUTDOOR CLOTHES AND CLOSE-TOED SHOES

BE SURE TO BRING WATER!

For questions, please contact: Debbie Jay @ debbiejay@wakullahistory.org

****IMPORTANT NOTICE****

September 8, 2023

Dear WCHS Members and Friends,

The Headstone Repair Class that was scheduled for tomorrow is being postponed to to illness of the teacher.  We hope to reschedule soon and will notify you when we have the date set.

We apologize for the inconvenience.

Please come by and see us at the Depot Days Festival in Sopchoppy tomorrow.  

Arlene Vause, Secretary

Wakulla County Historical Society

Panacea Waterfronts Presentation on September 14

September 14 at 6pm at the Panacea Community Center located on Otter Lake Road.  Panacea Waterfronts will be hosting a presentation by the Durwood Vause Family chronicling Vause’s Grocery, a mainstay in Panacea for decades.  We hope you will be able to join us for what we hope will be the first of many such presentations of “People Places and Faces of Panacea.”  Please come and share your knowledge of Panacea and learn more about its rich history.

Linda D. Thompson 

Headstone Repair Workshop

On September 9th the Wakulla County Historical Society in partnership with the Florida Public Archaeology Network (FPAN) will be holding the first ever Cemetery Resource Protection Training - Plus (CRPT+). 

This full-day workshop, led by FPAN archaeologist Nigel Rudolph, will start in the Richardson Cemetery at 9:00 am with some demonstrations of headstone repair techniques. We will then break for lunch and reconvene at the Wakulla County Community Center to discuss headstone repair in more detail. 

Schedule:

Saturday, September 9th

9 am - 12 pm at the Richardson Cemetery located at the northeast corner of Hwy. 98 

 and Spring Creek Hwy, Wakulla County, FL 32327

12 pm - 1 pm break for lunch

1 pm to 4 pm at the Wakulla County Community Center

318 Shadeville Rd, Crawfordville, FL 32327 

Wear outdoor clothes and close-toed shoes.

Be sure to bring water! 

Suggested donation of $25 to help cover costs (not mandatory) 

For questions, please contact: Debbie Jay @ debbiejay@wakullahistory.org

(Posted August 23, 2023)

New Items in Gift Shop!

The Historical Society has some new items in our Gift Shop at the Museum.  Please come by and check them out.  We are open Thursday and Friday from 10:00 until 4:00 and on Saturday from 10:00 until 2:00.  We have new T-shirts, a new collectible historical ornament, new coffee mugs and more. See Gift Shop page for information about our new T-shirts and our 2023 ornament.

From the National Archives

An exciting new project you can be a part of! Contact National Archives to get more information. This project involves the Revolutionary War military pension files.

National Archives Transcription Project 

May 2023 Program - ANNUAL SHOW AND TELL

Wakulla County Historical Society

6th Annual Show & Tell

Tuesday, May 9, 2023

4:30pm

Wakulla County Public Library  

Back by popular demand! Our annual Show & Tell program! This is a great opportunity for those of you lucky enough to have a long family history in this part of Florida to bring in and show off those items handed down from earlier generations—and for the rest of us to see and learn about and admire them! Members and guests are invited to display and talk about their items related to North Florida or Wakulla County history.   Display tables will be set up for attendees to view your artifacts.

Bring those antique books, buttons, tokens, bottles or any object of historical value you’ve been storing in the closet, share your stories about them and enjoy viewing the artifacts of other collectors!

Call the Museum to reserve table space.

850-926-1110

April 2023 Program - Old General Stores Part 3

On Tuesday, April 11, the Wakulla County Historical Society will present the third program in a series on Old General Stores.  This program will be held at 4:30 p.m. at the Wakulla County Public Library, 4330 Crawfordville Hwy, Crawfordville.  The public is invited to attend.

Stores we will feature this month will include:  Vause’s Store in Panacea presented by Jeanie Vause Crum and Eugene Vause, Mac’s Store in Medart presented by Murray McLaughlin and Alexander’s Store located halfway between Shadeville and Crawfordville presented by Calvin Pearce.  This promises to be another really good program that everyone will enjoy.

After we hear about these three stores, we will have a time for people in the audience to share a memory or two about any old general store in Wakulla County, especially those stores we have not already heard about in previous programs. 

This series on Old General Stores has been very interesting and everyone has really enjoyed remembering these times when locally-owned general stores were in every community.

Mark your calendar and make plans to attend and learn more about Wakulla County’s history.  For more information call 850-926-1110.

FPAN Cemetery Monument Restoration Program

The Wakulla County Historical Society is currently in the process of restoring Richardson Cemetery in Wakulla County.  I have been unable to find any monument companies or persons who can help restore broken headstones and/or reset fallen headstones.  Many of the headstones in Richardson Cemetery just need to be leveled before they fall and break.  This is a problem not just for Wakulla County but many other Florida counties.  

The Florida Public Archeology Network (FPAN) has contacted me regarding the possibility of developing a program to help restore cemetery monuments.  The program they are interested in developing would teach people in the community how to repair, reset and preserve cemetery monuments.  This would include instruction on what materials and tools are needed to do the restorations.

I am trying to establish how many people would be interested in participating in this type of program.  If you are interested, please respond to this email with your name and phone number so I can establish a contact list.  FPAN will notify me if a program becomes available and I will pass the information on to you. 

Debbie Jay

Wakulla County Historical Society

March 2023 Program - Old General Stores Part 2

The Wakulla County Historical Society will continue the series on Old General Stores on Tuesday, March 14, 4:30 PM, at the Wakulla County Public Library, 4330 Crawfordville Hwy.  The public is invited to attend.

Stores we will feature this month include:  Rehwinkel’s Store in Crawfordville presented by Brian Rehwinkel and Mark Hudson; N. W. Ward & Son Store in Medart presented by Janie Ward Thurmond; Pigott’s Store in Medart presented by Linda Pigott Stalvey; and Raker’s Store at Shadeville presented by Mike Begley.  

Mark your calendar and make plans to come and learn more about Wakulla County’s history and take a stroll down memory lane for all of you who remember these stores.  We all love to remember the “Good Ole’ Days.”

For more information, please call 850-926-1110.

Historical Society Presents Series of Programs on Old General Stores in Wakulla County

The Wakulla County Historical Society begins a series of programs on Old General Stores on Tuesday, February 14, 4:30 PM, at the Wakulla County Public Library, 4330 Crawfordville Hwy., Crawfordville, FL. 

Not long ago, before there were dollar stores and convenience stores and supermarkets, communities had general stores.  The general store usually had hardware, groceries, automotive and gasoline products, and pretty much anything anyone needed.  They were places where children were sent by their parents to pick things up and charge that on their account and where the men of the community would hang out and play checkers.  They were the hub of a community.  A lot of information would be shared, some of which was news, and the old-fashioned gossip.  

Stores we will feature in this first program include:  The Willis Store in Sopchoppy; the Roddenberry Store and R&L Trading Post in Sopchoppy; the Page Store at Wakulla Station; and the Raker and Linzy Stores at Ivan.  

We will feature eight more stores during our March and April programs.  If anyone in the audience has a memory or two to share about one of the stores that is not on our list of those being featured, we will have a time for sharing at the end of each meeting.  If your family had a store in Wakulla County and you would like to share its history with us in a future program, please call the Historical Society at 850-926-1110.   

Make plans now to come to our monthly meeting to hear from family members who share memories of working in the family stores of times gone by. 

Arlene Vause, Secretary 

Wakulla County Historical Society