About

Heritage Village is a 21-acre public park owned and operated by Pinellas County Government’s Parks & Conservation Resources Department. Serving Pinellas residents, the Tampa Bay region, and the state since 1976, the museum is located within the 182-acre Pinewood Cultural Park complex. This unique campus also includes the Florida Botanical Gardens and Creative Pinellas. Heritage Village serves as an important anchor within this complex. Together, these organizations provide visitors with a dynamic experience that includes history, art, and nature. The mission of Heritage Village is to inspire exploration of Pinellas County’s story by designing unique programs and exhibits, facilitating research, and collecting and preserving local history.

Heritage Village includes over twenty-eight historic structures and features from across Pinellas County, as well as two gallery spaces. As the county’s local history museum, staff are entrusted with the preservation, maintenance, and care of these historic structures and the museum’s collections. As visitors stroll along the pathways that meander through the park, they encounter historic homes and structures that representatively span both the temporal and geographical history of the county. These structures range from the 1924 Gandy Tower that signaled the entrance to the Gandy Bridge, the first bridge across the Bay to connect the cities of St. Petersburg and Tampa; to an 1850s log cabin from Clearwater’s founding families and the oldest extant structure in the county; to a 1930s sponge warehouse from Tarpon Springs.

Since its inception, the museum’s commitment to preserving local history is evidenced through the active development of its three-dimensional artifact collection, which totals over 14,000 objects today. The museum’s extensive Archives and Library includes over 9,000 photographs, 2,000 slides, 3,500 books, 300 rare books, 2,500 postcards, over 400 county-wide directories, and over 240 cubic feet of special collections. These collections form the basis for furnishing period rooms throughout the houses, for assembling temporary thematic exhibits, educator outreach kits, and is a resource for local and national researchers.

The museum is funded by the Board of County Commissioners and benefits from advisory bodies such as the Pinellas County Historical Commission and the support of non-profit cultural organizations, primarily the Pinellas County Historical Society (PCHS). The historical society is the museum’s primary fundraising and advocacy organization and holds title to the majority of Heritage Village’s artifact and archival collections. As the museum’s primary friends group, PCHS aids in funding conservation and preservation supplies for the artifact collections and exhibitions, and promotes scholarship and historical education programs and activities. The museum also works closely with Pin-MAR, Pinellas Model A Restorers Antique Car Club, the Pinellas County Weaver’s Guild, and The Tampa Bay Basketmakers Guild, who help docent and interpret structures, provide demonstrations of traditional crafts, and actively fundraise for the Village.

Established in 1976, The Pinellas County Historical Society is a non-profit organization dedicated to the continued funding and support of Heritage Village. Learn more about the Pinellas County Historical Society or make a donation!

Heritage Village volunteers are the life-blood of Heritage Village. We rely on our volunteers to help with grounds maintenance, building repairs, collections management, educational programming, events, and more! Learn more about our volunteer opportunities.

There are no open positions at Heritage Village at this time.