 | |
  Gainesville, Florida | |
| Established | 1994 |
|---|---|
| Location | 513 East University Avenue, Gainesville, Florida |
| Coordinates | 29°39′06″N82°19′13″W / 29.651800°N 82.320172°W |
| Type | History |
| Website | mathesonmuseum.org |
The Matheson History Museum Complex is located in Gainesville, Florida. It includes the Matheson History Museum, the Matheson Library & Archives, the 1867 Matheson House, and the Tison Tool Barn.
The Matheson History Museum building, formerly an American Legion Hall and officially opened as a museum in 1994, houses the bulk of the museum complex's exhibitions and programs. The front of the building has a gift shop and a recreation of the Matheson Dry Goods Store that used to exist on Alachua Avenue (now University Avenue). The main gallery consists of a permanent display of local and Florida history along the east wall, with the remainder of the space devoted to rotating temporary exhibitions. The back of the building contains the Mary Ann Cofrin Exhibit Hall, where additional temporary exhibitions are on display.
Originally owned and built by the Matheson family, from which the museum takes its name, this house was built in 1867 and is the third oldest house in Gainesville (the Bailey House was completed in 1854 and the Haile Homestead was completed in 1856). It was home to James Douglas Matheson and his wife, Augusta Florida Steele Matheson, daughter of Florida pioneer Augustus Steele (founder of Hillsborough County and Cedar Key). Their son, Christopher Matheson, was Gainesville's longest-serving mayor. Chris's widow, Sarah Hamilton Matheson, deeded to the museum first to the Alachua County Historical Society (of which she was a founding member) and later to the Matheson Historical Center (now the Matheson History Museum). Sarah Matheson, who died in 1996, was one of the original board members and founders of the museum and was also an early president of the Alachua County Historical Society, which originated in 1967 and later merged with the museum under the new name of Alachua County Historic Trust: Matheson Museum, Inc. In 2014, the museum changed its name to the Matheson History Museum. The Matheson House contains original furniture, artwork and artifacts from antebellum and Victorian era Florida.
Donated to the museum in 1993, the Tison Tool barn houses the extensive tool collection of John Mason Tison Jr. Originally located on Tison's property, it was entirely deconstructed and rebuilt on the museum grounds. It displays historic tools from various industries ranging from lumber to electrical engineering.
Located directly behind the museum and maintained jointly by the Matheson History Museum and the City of Gainesville, Sweetwater Park is free and open to the public.
Purchased by the museum in the summer of 2014, this building was originally a tabernacle church built in 1933. From 1976 to 1980 retired cardiologist and Matheson co-founder Dr. Mark Barrow and his wife, Mary, operated an antique store in the building. In 1982 they sold the building to Orlando investors, and from 1982 to 2009 it was a Melting Pot fondue restaurant. Originally operated by Hope Meucci, it was one of the first Melting Pot fondue restaurants in the nation. The Matheson History Museum received a $300,000 historic preservation grant from the Florida Department of State, Division of Historical Resources, along with contributions from private donors, to transform the building into a library and archives for the museum's local history collections. The Matheson Library & Archives was completed in 2017. It houses the Matheson History Museum's collections, including local and Florida artifacts, books and vertical files with images and information on a variety of topics in local and Florida history. [1]
Alachua County is a county in the U.S. state of Florida. As of the 2010 census, the population was 247,336. The county seat is Gainesville, the home of the University of Florida since 1906, when the campus opened with 106 students.
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The University of Florida Campus Historic District is a historic district on the campus of the University of Florida in Gainesville, Florida. The district, bounded by West University Avenue, Southwest 13th Street, Stadium Road and Gale Lemerand Drive, encompasses approximately 650 acres (2.6 km2) and contains 11 listed buildings plus contributing properties. On April 20, 1989, it was added to the National Register of Historic Places. On June 24, 2008, additional information was approved which resulted in the addition of 6 contributing properties
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The Hotel Thomas, also known as Sunkist Villa but currently known as the Thomas Center, is an historic building in Gainesville, Florida, United States. It is located on the block bounded by Northeast 2nd and 5th Streets and Northeast 6th and 7th Avenues. It was built starting in 1910 in the Classical Revival style by noted Atlanta-based architect, William Augustus Edwards, designer of academic buildings at 12 institutions in Georgia, South Carolina and Florida, including the original University of Florida campus, as well as a dozen or more county courthouses in those states plus other building and houses,
The Historic Haile Homestead, also known as Haile Plantation House or Kanapaha, is a historic site and museum in Gainesville, Florida, United States. It is located at 8500 SW Archer Rd. SR 24. On May 2, 1986, the plantation house was added to the U.S. National Register of Historic Places.The Homestead is unique in the Nation for its "Talking Walls." For a reason lost to time the Haile family and friends wrote over 12,500 words on the walls, dating back to the 1850s.
The 1867 Matheson House is a historic building in Gainesville, Florida, United States. It is located at 528 Southeast 1st Avenue. It was the home of James Douglas Matheson and Augusta Florida Steele Matheson, the daughter of Florida pioneer Augustus Steele, who founded Hillsborough County and Cedar Key. James Douglas Matheson owned a dry goods store in downtown Gainesville and was active in local and state politics, as was his son, eight-term Gainesville mayor Chris Matheson, who was also a state legislator.
The Maj. James B. Bailey House is a historic home in Gainesville, Florida, United States. It is located at 1121 Northwest 6th Street. In 1972, it was added to the U.S. National Register of Historic Places.
The John F. Seagle Building is a historic building located at 408 West University Avenue in Gainesville, Florida, in the United States. Built in 1926, it was designed by noted University of Florida architect and professor Rudolph Weaver and built by G. Lloyd Preacher & Company.
Griffin–Floyd Hall is a historic academic building located on the northeastern portion of the University of Florida campus in Gainesville, Florida. On June 27, 1979, it was added to the U.S. National Register of Historic Places. It currently houses the Department of Philosophy and Department of Statistics.
Norman Hall is an historic academic building on the eastern campus of the University of Florida in Gainesville, Florida. It was designed by architect Rudolph Weaver in the Collegiate Gothic style, and built in 1932. It originally housed the university's research and development primary and secondary schools, but now is the principal building of the university's College of Education. It is located on U.S. 441, near the southwest corner of S.W. 3rd Avenue and S.W. 12th Street in Gainesville. On January 26, 1990, it was added to the U.S. National Register of Historic Places.
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The city of Gainesville, Florida, USA, was incorporated in 1869.
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