Florida Department of State Celebrates American Archives Month

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. –

Florida Secretary of State Ken Detzner and the State Archives of Florida are pleased to announce their 2018 American Archives Month campaign, Focus on Florida: Photography in the Sunshine State. The campaign highlights one of the earliest known photographs of Florida, an 1849 Key West daguerreotype, as well as the State Archives’ extensive collection of photographs and the history of the photographic process.

“American Archives Month is a great time to visit Florida’s state and local archives facilities, find ourselves and our communities in historical records, and see how archives preserve and tell our stories as Floridians,” said Secretary Detzner. “The State Archives of Florida is hosting open house events throughout the month to give more people an opportunity to explore the Archives’ extensive publicly accessible resources for researching and preserving local and family history.”

Celebrated every October, American Archives Month is a national collaborative effort led by professional organizations and repositories throughout the country in an effort to highlight the enduring value of historical records, recognize the important contributions of professional archivists and promote public awareness of available resources and information through archives.

One of the earliest known photographs of Florida – an 1849 Key West daguerreotype

The State Archives is hosting two upcoming open house events on Saturday, October 13 and Tuesday, October 23. The events will include after-hours tours of the Archives’ document storage facility as well as staff-led presentations. All events are free and open to the public.

Open House Details

Dates and Times

Saturday, October 13, 9 a.m. to 3 p.m.

Tuesday, October 23, 9 a.m. to 8 p.m.

Location

The open house events will be held in the State Archives’ reference room on the second floor of the R.A. Gray Building at 500 S. Bronough Street in Tallahassee. The tours and presentations will also begin in this location. Free parking is available in parking lot “E” adjacent to the building.

About the Presentations and Tours

Saturday, October 13, 2018

Behind-the-Scenes Tours

Beginning every hour from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.

Tuesday, October 23, 2018

“Thinking Outside the Census”

Beginning at 6 p.m. 

Archivist Bella Folmar invites the public to "think outside the census" in using unique archival resources to explore their own family histories. Bella will show researchers how to delve into military records, tax rolls, land records and many more resources available at the State Archives.

“Daguerreotype to Digital: A History of Photographic Processes”

Beginning at 7 p.m.

Photographic Archivist Adam Watson and Social Media and Outreach Coordinator Elizabeth Loeffelman will discuss the history of the photographic process, highlighting examples from the Florida Photographic Collection and providing a view of Florida history.

For more information, please contact the State Archives of Florida reference desk at [email protected], 850.245.6719 or visit archivesflorida.com.

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About the State Archives of Florida

The State Archives of Florida is the central repository for the government records of the Sunshine State. It also holds a variety of private manuscripts, local government records, photographs, and other historically significant materials relating to Florida. The Archives is statutorily tasked with preserving these historic resources and making them available to the public. To learn more, visit info.florida.gov or contact the Archives’ reference staff at 850.245.6719. The State Archives of Florida is a component of the Florida Department of State, Division of Library and Information Services.