Listen: The Folk ProgramThe Florida Seminoles
This unit introduces major themes, events, and individuals in Seminole history using primary sources from the collections of the State Library and Archives of Florida.
Florida Memory is administered by the Florida Department of State, Division of Library and Information Services, Bureau of Archives and Records Management. The digitized records on Florida Memory come from the collections of the State Archives of Florida and the special collections of the State Library of Florida.
State Archives of Florida
- ArchivesFlorida.com
- State Archives Online Catalog
- ArchivesFlorida.com
- ArchivesFlorida.com
State Library of Florida
Related Sites
Classroom
The Florida Memory Classroom is designed to help teachers and students use photographs, documents, sound recordings and film footage from the State Library and Archives of Florida to explore history.
Learning Units
Photographs and documents from the State Library and Archives of Florida are placed together with background information.
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Florida in the Civil War
Read letters, diaries ("I forgot to mention that President Lincoln and some of his cabinet were assassinated on Saturday night.") and official records.
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Florida and the Spanish-American War of 1898
Florida, the closest state to the Caribbean and home to a large Cuban immigrant population, became the setting for much of the action in Cuba's fight for independence from Spain.
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Mary McLeod Bethune
Mary McLeod Bethune founded the Daytona Normal and Industrial School for Negro Girls which is now Bethune-Cookman College in Daytona, Florida. Read the transcript of an interview for an unfinished biography.
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The Cigar Industry Changes Florida
In the decades after the Civil War, cigar making became one of the most important industries in the southeastern United States.
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Railroads Change Florida
Trains helped to establish new towns and cities in Florida, and served the lumber, phosphate, tourist, manufacturing and agricultural industries.
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Neale Hurston, the WPA in Florida, and the Cross City Turpentine Camp
Zora Neale Hurston was already a published writer when she began working for the Florida division of the Work Projects Administration (WPA). In August of 1939, Hurston went on a recording expedition to the turpentine camps in Cross City, Florida.
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Florida During World War II
Letters, telegrams, advertisements and brochures depicting life during World War II.
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Civil Rights Movement in Florida
This unit introduces major themes, events, and individuals in the history of the Civil Rights Movement in Florida using primary sources from the collections of the State Library and Archives of Florida.
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The Cuban Experience in Florida: Revolution and Exodus
This unit provides insight into the experience of Cuban refugees in Florida using photographs, government documents, letters, videos and interviews.
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NASA and the Space Program Change Florida
This unit provides an introduction to Florida's involvement in the Space Age through photographs, lesson plans, and exercises.
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Lucreaty Clark, White Oak Basket Maker
Clark learned to make white oak baskets from her parents. Originally these sturdy baskets were used to hold cotton and carry vegetables.
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Netmaking and Net Fishing in Florida
Longtime net maker and Fernandina resident Billy Burbank III discusses the history and practices of the net making trade.
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Seminole Doll Making
Seminole doll maker Mary B. Billie and her daughter, Claudia C. John, discuss the history and practices of Seminole doll making.
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Shape Note Singing
Floridians have been singing from shape note books like The Sacred Harp since the mid-19th century.
Primary Source Sets
Using primary source documents gives students the power to analyze history as historians do.
Primary sources are created in the moment of the historical event being studied. These primary source sets contain documents and photos arranged by topic that teachers can use in their lesson plans. Each set is accompanied by a teacher's guide containing historical context, teaching suggestions, and relevant NGSSS and Florida Standards.
Tallahassee Bus Boycott
Reverend C. K. Steele and Reverend H. McNeal Harris (pastor of Bethel AME church) protested segregated seating on Tallahassee city buses by sitting in the middle instead of at the back of the bus.
Read MoreThe Tallahassee Ten
In June 1961 Interfaith Freedom Riders challenged segregated interstate buses by traveling from Washington, D.C. to Tallahassee, Florida.
Read MorePatricia and Priscilla Stephens and the Congress of Racial Equality (CORE)
In the summer of 1959, the Congress of Racial Equality (CORE) organized the Miami Interracial Action Institute and taught attendees principles of non-violent direct action to combat inequality in the South.
Read MoreEqual Rights Amendment (ERA) in Florida
From 1972 to 1982, Florida lawmakers addressed the question of whether to ratify the Equal Rights Amendment (ERA). The amendment proposed that "Equality of rights under the law shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or any State on account of sex." Floridians' response to the ERA mirrored the national divide over the amendment's message on gender equality.
Read MoreSections
- Florida History Day Resources
Florida History Day is an annual statewide activity sponsored by the Museum of Florida History. These archival resources relate to this year's theme.
Features
Historical Records
Territorial Legislative Council Records, 1822-1845
Documenting Florida's legislature prior to statehood
Historical Records
State and County Officer Directories, 1868-1969
Lists of Florida's state and county officials either elected or appointed between 1868 and 1969.
Research Tool
Guide to Military Records and the Wartime Experience
A guide to government records and manuscript collections relating to service members and the wartime experience.
Playlist
Dust Tracks
21 tracks from Hurston's time documenting African American culture for the WPA in 1930s Florida.
Classroom
History Day 2025
Resources for Florida History Day from the State Library and Archives of Florida.