The Florida Historical Society is an organization that promotes the study of the history of Florida. Incorporated in 1856, the Society collects, preserves and publishes materials relating to the history of Florida and its denizens. It publishes the journal Florida Historical Quarterly, originally the Florida Historical Society Quarterly and manages the Library of Florida History. Established in 1856, the Florida Historical Society is dedicated to preserving Florida's past through the collection and archival maintenance of historical documents and photographs, the publication of scholarly research on Florida history, and educating the public about Florida history through a variety of public history projects and programs. The society maintains an extensive archive at the Library of Florida History, publishes the Florida Historical Quarterly and books through the Florida Historical Society Press, manages the Historic Rossetter House Museum and Gardens, and operates the Florida Historical Society Archaeological Institute at the Brevard Museum of History and Natural Science.
Library of Florida History
Since 1905, the society has maintained the . The general collection houses over 8,000 bound volumes, many rare manuscripts and postcards, over 1,000 early Florida maps and early colonial period maps, soil surveys, and over 10,000 photographs of old Florida. There is an that may be used to search the collection. However, in person research at the library is by appointment only. This gives the archivist the opportunity to pull the requested material for you. The library also houses the original copies of the Florida State Genealogical Society's Pioneer Descendant certificate program applications which can be accessed by appointment. Normal operating hours are Tuesday - Saturday from 10:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. The first collection was housed in the Cordova Hotel in St. Augustine, Florida before moving to Jacksonville, Gainesville, Tampa, and currently Cocoa, Florida since 1997. The library is housed in a 1939 historic United States post office, constructed by the Work Projects Administration, in Historic Cocoa Village, in Brevard County, Florida. Henry Flagler, the American industrialist and railway magnate, donated one of the first books to the Library of Florida History's collection: a 1605 first edition of the book La Florida del Inca and the Struggle for Equality in Colonial Spanish America written by a Peruvian named Garcilaso de la Vega. La Florida del Inca chronicles the Florida expedition of Hernando de Soto, a Spanish conquistador and explorer.
