ANNA MARIA – The Anna Maria Island Historical Society is seeking tourism funds for improvements to its building and has asked the Manatee County Tourist Development Council (TDC) for its support.
Museum Vice President Barbara Murphy and former TDC member Doug Copeland addressed the council at The Center of Anna Maria Island on June 23. Murphy and Copeland – whose wife, Pat, was one of the original founders of the museum – gave an update on the museum and discussed its past, present and future.
“The Anna Maria Historical Museum offers a glimpse into the past of our little piece of paradise,” Murphy said. “You can literally take a step back in time as you walk through the museum filled with artifacts and photos from the past.”
The Historical Society was founded in 1991 by Pat Copeland after she bought the photos and archives from a newspaper that had been in operation since the 1950s and was closing. It was her mission to use that information to start a historical society and museum that would showcase the history of Anna Maria Island, its residents and its culture.
The permanent home of the Historical Society came after Anna Maria Island Turtle Watch had to give up its Turtle House on Pine Avenue after changes in state laws prevented them from hatching turtles there. The building had also served as an icehouse and a police station in years past.
“The Anna Maria City Commission gave the Historical Society use of the building in 1992,” Doug Copeland said. “With the help of the Anna Maria Island Privateers and other volunteers, the building was gutted and remains their current home.”
The property contains the old city jail, a popular tourist attraction in Anna Maria. The land also had an area that was cleaned up by volunteers and became the Anna Maria Historical Park, a native landscape that visitors can enjoy. Another museum project is the Pat Copeland scholarship, which gives $4,000 to an outstanding area high school senior every year.
The museum, 402 Pine Ave., is open Monday through Friday from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. Visitors can learn about the history of the Island through artifacts dating back to its first inhabitants. The museum is run entirely by volunteers, as well as an 11-member board of directors, and sees between 600 and 800 visitors a month.
With projects such as the re-imagining of Pine Avenue and a possible water taxi at the City Pier, Historical Society members think the number of visitors will increase significantly in the near future.
The TDC will consider the request at a future meeting.
