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Florida Memory provides free online access to historical documents, photos, films and audio recordings from the State Library and Archives of Florida.

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It’s #AskAnArchivist Day! To celebrate American Archives Month, we will be answering YOUR pressing questions about the State Archives of Florida and the Florida Memory program today, Oct. 14, 2026.

If you have questions about Florida history, working in an archives or conducting research using the archives collections, leave a comment below or message us, and we will post our answers in the comments!✴️

📷Tallahassee, 1991: An employee poses at a photo collection video-viewing user station in the State Archives of Florida. (Tallahassee Trust collection. State Archives of Florida, Image TT1251)

#AmericanArchivesMonth #Archives #StateArchives #FloridaHistory taken in Tallahassee, Florida by @floridamemory

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6 days ago

Weeki Wachee Springs held its first mermaid show in the park’s original underwater theater on October 13, 1947.

Celebrate the anniversary of the classic roadside attraction and Florida State Park with this selection of recently-digitized color photos from the Bruce Mozert Photographic Collection at the State Archives of Florida.✴️

1. Mermaids Peg and Susan wearing Catalina swimsuits in an underwater performance of “Raindrops” at Weeki Wachee, 1973. (MOZ02019)

2. Mermaid Pat using sound equipment in Weeki Wachee’s underwater theatre control room, 1974. The light/sound booth is a small, underwater room where the music, narration and special effects for underwater shows are controlled. (MOZ04221)

3. Outdoor portrait of mermaid Pat Cleveland in her tail costume sitting by the Weeki Wachee River, ca. 1973. (MOZ01361)

4. Mermaids posing in Alix of Miami swimsuits next to the spring across from the Underwater Theatre at Weeki Wachee, ca. 1964. (MOZ01931)

5. Close-up view of a gator on the river at Weeki Wachee, 1974. Photo by Sparky Schumacher. (MOZ02848)

6. Trainer Connie Gist feeding a macaw from her mouth at Weeki Wachee, 1975. (MOZ04136)

7. Mermaid Aquanographer Genie Westmoreland Young looking through costumes at Weeki Wachee, 1975. (MOZ04141)

8. Mermaid Aquanographer Genie, left, leading others in exercise hour at Weeki Wachee, 1975. The mermaids exercising for underwater ballet performances are (L-R): Genie, Angie, Angel, and Cathy. Exercises like this kept the mermaids in athletic condition so they were capable of the demanding physical challenges in shows. Photo by Fred Graham. (MOZ04144)

9. Weeki Wachee Springs mermaids, in new Catalina patio dresses, posed around the Holiday Inn pool, 1974. (MOZ04178)

10. Mermaid Cheri Ragland in tail costume under water feeding fish at Weeki Wachee, 1971. (MOZ02883)

#FloridaHistory #WeekiWachee #FloridaSprings #1970s #Mermaids taken in Weeki Wachee Springs State Park by @floridamemory

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Happy American Archives Month from the State Archives of Florida!

This week, we’re taking a look at the day-to-day work of the staff at our State Records Center.

The State Records Center (SRC) is a full-service storage facility offering state and local government agencies a secure solution for records retention, management, and disposal. The SRC consists of a main warehouse for paper records which has a storage capacity of over 250,000 cubic feet (equivalent to 16 football fields) in addition to two temperature- and humidity-controlled safes for security film and electronic media.

Once an agency’s records have been transferred to the SRC, the agency can use Total Recall, a secure web-based inventory management tool to monitor inventory, request individual files or boxes of records, permanently withdraw records, and order storage supplies.

The State Records team includes four warehouse staff members who deliver records to customers and pull and shelve boxes for reference requests, new accessions, destructions and other special projects. Four administrative staff oversee the processing of work orders, destruction requests, supply orders and invoicing.

Throughout October, we will continue to highlight the work of the different teams who collect, preserve and make available for research the many significant records in the State Archives of Florida collections. Check back soon to learn more about what it’s like to work at the State Archives of Florida!

#AmericanArchivesMonth #ArchivesMonth #StateArchives #Archivists taken in Tallahassee, Florida by @floridamemory

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Happy American Archives Month from the State Archives of Florida!

To kick off the 2026 celebration, we’re taking a look at the day-to-day work of the State Archives’ Florida Photographic Collection team.

The Florida Photographic Collection is a supercollection of photographic holdings from across the State Archives of Florida that spans well over 1 million Florida images. Since the mid-1990s, more than 237,000 images have been scanned, cataloged and made available online.

The Florida Photographic Collection team is responsible for collection development research and arrangement and description, along with patron requests for information and reproductions. Team members are tasked with digital preservation, selection, item cataloging and web access. Each year, they add at least 5,000 photographs and dozens of new films to the collection, in addition to processing hundreds of requests for thousands of photographs.

The team includes a Photograph & Film Archivist, Archivist Assistants, a Photographic Cataloger, Photographic Scanners and a Film Scanner.

Throughout October, we will highlight the work of the different teams who collect, preserve and make available for research the many historically significant records in the State Archives of Florida collections. Check back soon to learn more about what it’s like to work at the State Archives of Florida!

#AmericanArchivesMonth #ArchivesMonth #StateArchives #Archivists taken in Tallahassee, Florida by @floridamemory

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14 days ago

Tallahassee, ca. 1987: The Bragg Memorial Stadium field is painted for the FAMU Centennial. The historically Black college university was established by the passage of House Bill 133 in 1884 and officially opened its doors on October 3, 1887.

Explore more photos of the Florida Agricultural & Mechanical College Centennial celebration at the State Archives of Florida.✴️

📷Tallahassee Democrat collection. State Archives of Florida, Image TD03070.

#FloridaHistory #FAMU #Rattlers #HBCU #FoundersDay

@famu_1887 @famualumni1887 @famufb
@themarching100 @famublackarchives taken in Tallahassee, Florida by @floridamemory

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18 days ago

Highlands Hammock State Park, 1947: Air plants (Tillandsia) grow on a tree trunk and are held up by a visitor at the park near Sebring.

Located in south central Florida, the 9,000-acre state park and its notable cypress swamp walk were developed with work by the Civilian Conservation Corps starting in the 1930s. Highlands Hammock State Park is one of Florida’s oldest state parks.

Explore more photos of Florida’s popular parks at the State Archives of Florida, available online through Florida Memory.✴️

📷Department of Commerce collection. State Archives of Florida, Images C011562 & C011581a.

#FloridaHistory #SebringFL #AirPlant #Epiphyte #HighlandsHammockStatePark taken in Sebring, Florida by @floridamemory

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15 days ago

🔊White Springs, 1991: Jacksonville blues musician Tony McQueen, also known as Red Tam Jr., performs a guitar solo at the annual Florida Folk Festival.

McQueen was born in 1970 in Miami. His father, Red Tam Sr., was also a bluesman and recorded several notable songs in the 1960s.

At the time of Red Tam Sr.’s death in 1987, McQueen had been playing drums in his father’s band. Afterward, he switched to guitar and started the Red Tam Blues Band, which performed the traditional deep blues style of Clarence Carter, Freddie King, Albert King and B.B. King that he saw underrepresented in the southern rock-dominated Jacksonville music scene of the time.

McQueen frequently performed in the San Marco neighborhood at Applejack’s blues club (1402 San Marco Boulevard), which hosted artists such as Buddy Guy, Koko Taylor, John Lee Hooker and Taj Mahal.

Discover more photos, recordings and interviews featuring McQueen in the Florida Folklife Collection on Florida Memory.✴️

📷Florida Folklife collection. State Archives of Florida, Image FS92749.

💿Sunday performances at the 1991 Florida Folk Festival (Folklife Area/Stage III). S1576, Container 42, Tape 7.

#DuvalCounty #RedTam #FloridaFolkFest #SanMarcoJax #JacksonvilleFL taken in White Springs, Florida by @floridamemory

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19 days ago

Silver Springs, 1963: Model Maxine Gillette from Leesburg poses in a Jantzen swimsuit on the park’s azalea-covered rock garden waterfall.

The photo was prominently featured on 1960s postcards promoting the (then) 100-acre park near Ocala.

Today, the nearly 5,000-acre @SilverSpringsStatePark still features a rock garden in addition to other new and historic gardens, including the camellia garden, the Osceola garden, the reflection garden and the wildflower garden.

This photo was published by Silver Springs (and Weeki Wachee Springs) photographer Bruce Mozert’s “Mozert Studio and Camera Shop.” While the State Archives of Florida does preserve Mozert’s photographic collection, the photo is part of the Department of Commerce collection, which can be explained by Mozert’s frequent work with the agency.

Explore more photos of Florida’s popular roadside attractions and state parks in the Bruce Mozert and Department of Commerce collections at the State Archives of Florida.✴️

📷Department of Commerce collection. State Archives of Florida, Image DC030116.

#FloridaHistory #SilverSprings #Jantzen #FloridaSprings #BruceMozert taken in Silver Springs State Park by @floridamemory

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20 days ago

Rainbow Springs, 1941: A peacoat-clad visitor framed by yucca plants and Spanish moss looks out at the scenic Rainbow River north of Dunnellon.

Rainbow Springs is a first-magnitude spring formation, producing over 400 million gallons of water daily. It is the source of the Rainbow River, which empties into the Withlacoochee River.

Rainbow Springs opened as a private tourist attraction in 1937. In the early 1940s, glass-bottom boat captain-in-training Dave Edwards hatched the idea to add a submerged lower floor to the park’s tour boats, which allowed visitors to see the vibrant freshwater habitat at eye level. These submarine boats became a major selling point for the roadside attraction, accompanied by poetic narrations from guides like “Skipper” Manning Lockett. Recordings of Lockett and his fellow guides were sold in the Rainbow Springs gift shop and are now available for streaming on Florida Memory.

Rainbow Springs closed in 1974. Following acquisition by the State of Florida and a volunteer-led cleanup, it re-opened as Rainbow Springs State Park in 1995, with a focus on historic interpretation, conservation and quiet recreation.

Today, September 22, 2026, is the first day of fall. Visit Florida Memory to explore more photos of visitors enjoying the state’s roadside attractions during the cooler months.✴️

📷8 x 8 inch black and white photoprint. Reference collection. State Archives of Florida, Image RC08479.

#FloridaHistory #RainbowSprings #Fall2026 #FloridaSprings #DunnellonFL taken in Rainbow Springs by @floridamemory

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Brighton Reservation, 1989: Seminole matriarch Lottie Shore (1912-2000) shows the bracelets she wears and grinds corn in these photos by photographer Jill Guttman, preserved in the Florida Folklife collection at the State Archives of Florida.

Shore, a master artisan and member of the Seminole Tribe of Florida’s Bird Clan, dressed in the traditional Seminole manner and spoke the Muscogee language. She was married to Frank Shore (1900-1986), a medicine man and member of the Panther Clan.

Visit Florida Memory to explore more photos of Lottie Shore and to learn more about the Seminole Tribe of Florida’s history.✴️

📷Folklife collection, Series S1577, Seminole Project. State Archives of Florida, Images FS89489, FS8911, FS8911 & FS8902A.

#SeminoleHistory #SeminoleTribeOfFlorida #BrightonReservation #LottieShore #Muscogee taken in Brighton Reservation by @floridamemory

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Tallahassee, 1980: Two Tallahassee Junior Museum (now @TallahasseeMuseum) visitors hike down a shaded trail on the museum grounds.

The Tallahassee Junior Museum was established in 1957 by a group of teachers, civic groups and other community members who sought to educate children about the history of the Florida Panhandle’s Big Bend region. In 1962, the museum moved to its current location between Lake Bradford and Lake Hiawatha.

The 1980s saw significant developments for the museum including the completion of restored original historical buildings, expanded exhibition spaces, a visitor center, a cafe, enhanced amenities and accreditation by the American Alliance of Museums (AAM).

The Junior Museum was officially renamed the “Tallahassee Museum” in 2005. Today, it is one of the capital city’s most popular points of interest for all ages, offering a zipline, art gallery, re-creations of rural life in North Florida circa 1880, a habitat for injured native wildlife, and other exhibits exploring the natural history and culture of the region.

Discover more photos documenting the Tallahassee Museum through the years on Florida Memory.✴️

📷Department of Commerce collection. State Archives of Florida, Image DC798291.

#FloridaHistory #TallahasseeMuseum #Tallahassee #WildlifeTrail #NatureTrail taken in Tallahassee, Florida by @floridamemory

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Tallahassee, 1965: Reigning Miss Florida, Dr. Carol Blum Mackauf, helps map markers during a tour of state offices.

As was customary for Miss Florida winners, Mackauf spent the year traveling the world to promote Florida’s charms at pageants, fairs and industrial expositions. The pictured visit took place before she left – it was intended to familiarize her with the state’s various programs. A story in the August 29, 1965 St. Petersburg Times reported that Mackauf shadowed a dozen state officials and the local Pepsi-Cola bottler during one of these Florida Development Commission-sponsored educational trips.

Mackauf is a polyglot and a gifted soprano. After her year as Miss Florida, she would go on to sing with the Miami Opera and Miami Philharmonic. She later earned a doctorate in clinical psychology and established a practice in New York.

Explore more promotional photos featuring Mackauf and other past Miss Florida winners on Florida Memory.✴️

📷Department of Commerce collection. State Archives of Florida, Image C006412J

#FloridaHistory #CarolBlum #Tallahassee #MissFlorida #Maps taken in Tallahassee, Florida by @floridamemory

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