Micanopy Historical Society Museum and Archives

LOCATION

607 NE Cholokka Blvd
Micanopy, Florida 32667

VIEW MAP

PHONE

352-466-3200

CALL NOW

WEBSITE

micanopyhistoricalsociety.com

BROWSE

HOURS

Wednesday - Sunday
1:00 to 4:00 p.m.

ADMISSION

Suggested Donation $2


 

The historic Thrasher Warehouse, one of thirty-nine sites in Micanopy listed on the National Register of Historic Places, is home to the Micanopy Historical Society and its museum and archives.

 

VISIT THE MUSEUM

An abundance of exhibits reside in the Micanopy Historical Society Museum, which is housed in a warehouse dating from the 1890s. Located in the town named after Seminole Chief Micanopy, the museum has a display of Native American artifacts ranging in age from 5,000 to 500 years ago. Early explorer William Bartram's drawings and sketches show local native flora and fauna. Visitors may view portraits of Seminole War chiefs from the McKenney-Hall Portrait Gallery of American Indians. Also on exhibit are artifacts and documents relating to the troubled times of the Second Seminole War when Fort Micanopy was a site for US soldiers defending area settlers.

 

WHO WAS MICANOPY
Chief Micanopy was the chief of the Seminole Nation during the 2nd Seminole War, 1835-1842. His capital village was Cuscowilla, built at the cross of two ancient Indian trails that later became the American settlement of Micanopy, founded in 1821. Chief Micanopy at first was friendly and helpful to the Americans. As time went on and more of the Seminole lands were settled as farms and settlements, treaties were broken. The Indians were forced against their will to live on a reservation and hostilities began. After seven bloody years of the 2nd Seminole War, Chief Micanopy and the remnants of his Alachua band were captured and sent to the Oklahoma Territory where he died in January of 1849.

ABOUT THE PORTRAIT
Original oil paintings of important Indians were commissioned by the U.S. Government's Bureau of Indian Affairs, and most were done between 1821-1842 by the famous artist Charles Bird King. These irreplaceable portraits were destroyed in the Smithsonian fire of 1865. Lithographs made from the paintings were included in the McKenney and Hall publication "The History of the Indian Tribes of North America."

 

 


page information credit: Micanopy Historical Society, Micanopy Museum and Archives
photos from the sources listed above, as well as publicly posted online sites with thanks to the contributors