If you are like me, I like to learn a little about the area that I am visiting, and if I am visiting Stuart, Florida, there is no better way to do this than to pay a visit to the Stuart Heritage Museum. History has it that in 1901 George W. Parks opened a General Merchandise Store. In 1946 the site became Stuart’s Feed and Garden store. In 1988, the City of Stuart purchased the building and Stuart Heritage was created.

Soda Fountain from Stuart Drug Store

A volunteer met me at the door and offered to show me around, so I took her up on it and she told some fascinating stories about the history of Stuart. She told tales of the Stuart Drug Store and its well-preserved Soda Fountain.

Stuart High School

I found the Stuart High School presentation interesting because I just retired from teaching at Martin County High School. This display shows old yearbooks and trophies from Stuart High School before it became Martin County High School.

Lyric Theatre

The Lyric Theatre built in 1925 as a silent movie house had a small stage for Vaudeville acts. It was so popular in the community that they actually had to turn folks away. My guide told me that over the years it has been a movie theatre, a church, and is now a theatre drawing many national artists. The Lyric Theatre is on the National Register of Historic Places. The refurbishing ignited the upgrade of the entire historic downtown Stuart area to what it is today. 

The museum has thousands of items from maps, pictures, and displays that describe how life was in Stuart years ago. I enjoyed spending time in the museum as I looked over the thousands of items that have been collected for display. The items date from the 1880s to the 1950s. The maps, pictures, and furniture tell a picture of life in Stuart years ago.

The purpose of Stuart Heritage is to help preserve the heritage, artifacts, and history of Stuart and its surrounding communities. The relics housed by the museum define the history of the people, businesses, agriculture, and community spirit of the City of Stuart and Martin County. The museum claims that it has the most comprehensive history of all Stuart and Martin County and after visiting, I do believe they do.

Admission is free and you will be fascinated by the local history. The Stuart Heritage Museum is located at 161 Southwest Flagler Avenue in Stuart, Florida