Do You Need Help Discovering Your Ancestors?

Wakulla County Museum and Archives has highly trained Genealogy specialist to assist you with finding your family.

Call 850-926-1110 to make an appointment.

What Does WCHS Offer?

AND MUCH MORE…. Call us at 850-926-1110.

Wakulla Museum and Archives Opens a New Exhibit

An exhibit on Wakulla Station has been opened at the Wakulla Museum and Archives, downtown Crawfordville, Florida. The exhibit includes artifacts from people whose families lived in that community. We have a very strict policy and items on loan to the Museum are always returned to the person who brought them to the exhibit. Our exhibit cases are closed in glass. If you’d like to share something please contact the Museum: 926-1110 or 24research at gmail.com.

Photos of Wakulla Station Exhibit

The exhibit is now open for viewing.

Wakulla County Courthouse Burned in 1892

Did you ever wonder why you couldn’t find all of Wakulla County’s old records? Arlene Vause shared that our courthouse burned in 1892. The land records were saved, but this area has a unique situation with land records. Most of Wakulla County was in what they called the Forbes Purchase which was through the Apalachicola Land Company, a private company out of New York City. So the land bought in the Forbes Purchase was not filed with the county and state. Therefore, land records from back then are limited, but there are some.

Come See What Is Happening At The Museum

The WCHS Museum staff has been busy! There are a lot of new, reasonably priced items for sale. Great selection from historic book to bird feeders with items to please every age. Remember, if you are a member, you will receive 10% off of your purchase.

Stop by and check us out from 10:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. on Saturday.

Mary Ann Laird, Gift Shop Manager

Visit our Updated Genealogy Site

Thank you to Craig Kittendorf for updating our Genealogy Site. You can see who is buried in local cemeteries, check out marriages, and obituraries. More projects will be coming soon.

Click Here…

This Day in History

 Dakota Uprising Begins in Minnesota

Minnesota erupts in violence as desperate Dakota Indians attack white settlements along the Minnesota River. The Dakota were eventually overwhelmed by the U.S. military six weeks later.

The Dakota Indians were more commonly referred to as the Sioux, a derogatory name derived from part of a French word meaning “little snake.” They were composed of four bands, and lived on temporary reservations in southwestern Minnesota. For two decades, the Dakota were poorly treated by the Federal government, local traders, and settlers. They saw their hunting lands whittled down, and provisions promised by the government rarely arrived. Worse yet, a wave of white settlers surrounded them.

The summer of 1862 was particularly hard on the Dakota. Cutworms destroyed much of their corn crops, and many families faced starvation. Dakota leaders were frustrated by attempts to convince traders to extend credit to tribal members and alleviate the suffering. On August 17, four young Dakota warriors were returning from an unsuccessful hunt when they stopped to steal some eggs from a white settlement. The youths soon picked a quarrel with the hen’s owner, and the encounter turned tragic when the Dakotas killed five members of the family. Sensing that they would be attacked, Dakota leaders determined that war was at hand and seized the initiative. Led by Taoyateduta (also known as Little Crow), the Dakota attacked local agencies and the settlement of New Ulm. Over 500 white settlers lost their lives along with about 150 Dakota warriors.

President Abraham Lincoln dispatched General John Pope, fresh from his defeat at the Second Battle of Bull Run,Virginia, to organize the Military Department of the Northwest. Some Dakota fled to North Dakota, but more than 2,000 were rounded up and over 300 warriors were sentenced to death. President Lincoln commuted most of their sentences, but on December 26, 1862, 38 Dakota men were executed at Mankato, Minnesota. It was the largest mass execution in American history.

Enjoy The Smithsonian Journey Stories

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

Photos By Carolyn Harvey (the Wakulla County Mural “Greetings From Wakulla County” is copyrited and not for reproduction)

Wakulla County Historical Society now has our exhibit at the Panhandle Pioneer Village. It is awesome. Read on for more information.

Journey Stories will be at The Panhandle Pioneer Settlement in Blountstown, FL through August 25th. Join WCHS as we share Wakulla County Journey Stories and exhibit our counties history. Please see full details below.

The Panhandle Pioneer Settlement will be the host of *Journey Stories*, an exhibition of the Smithsonian Institution’s Museum on Main Street series.

The exhibition, sponsored by the Florida Humanities Council, will be on display from July 14 to August 25 at the Settlement’s Club House.

The Panhandle Pioneer Settlement is located at Sam Atkins Park, 17869 NW Pioneer Settlement Road, Blountstown, FL 32424. (850)674-2777***

*Journey Stories* recounts the struggles of our ancestors as they traveled to North America and, once here, made their way across the continent. These are the stories of how our ancestors made the nation great – one step, one journey at the time.  The Settlement will be presenting local journey stories and local histories to complement the Smithsonian’s *Journey Stories* exhibition…
The Panhandle Pioneer Settlement is the only North Florida location to be selected to host *Journey Stories*.  All other Florida locations are in the south central and southern portions of the state…
*For more information about this event or about the Panhandle Pioneer Settlement Museum, please visit their website at www.panhandlepioneer.org. *

Journey Stories For The Blountown Pioneer Village Exhibit

The Journey Stories are being put together now. We are excited about our Wakulla County History and especially of interest is where we came from to settle in this area.

If you have been thinking about submitting a story, now is the time. You can submit this week, by Friday, to 24research@gmail.com.

We hope to hear from you.
Cathy Frank,
President

Opportunity Quilt Winner Alicia Le

Alaina Wins Opportunity Quilt

Wakulla County Quilters Guild held their drawing for the “Opportunity Quilt” with Alicia Le having the winning ticket.

The Wakulla County Historical Society would like to say thank you to all the visitors that visited the Museum and Archives. Without your support, we would not be able to have these events.

Photo by Cal Jamison