- April 19, 2024
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The Florida Agricultural Museum, off U.S. 1 in Flagler County, has historical exhibits, cracker cattle and hay rides. But its leadership has bigger plans and is proposing to add a new visitor center/museum building and reorganize the museum's existing exhibits into an "Early Pioneer Village."
"The Florida Agricultural Museum has the potential to become an internationally recognized destination for the millions of tourists flocking to the Sunshine State," Hoblick said in a promotional video. "... By carefully executing a project design and creating a funding strategy for each phase, the Ag Museum will finally become a facility the founders envisioned."
The museum is seeking the County Commission's backing as it prepares to fundraise for the expansion.
"I don’t know if people really recognize what a unique gem that is in this county," Flagler County Administrator Jerry Cameron told the County Commission at its June 7 meeting. "It is absolutely an under-recognized asset for us."
He added that county staff have worked with the museum's executive director, Kara Hoblick, "to produce a vision, and quite frankly a real future, for our Agricultural Museum."
The proposed new visitor center would be designed to be visible from U.S. 1, potentially attracting tourists who'd otherwise drive by without realizing that the museum is there. Along with museum facilities, the proposed visitor center would include a gift shop and locally-sourced cafe, an event venue, a greenspace/atrium, classrooms and hydroponic gardens.
The nearby Early Pioneer Village would be structured to leave space for other villages representing an early Spanish settlement and a pre-European-settlement Indian village to be added in later phases.
Hoblick said she was asking the commission for two things: A resolution in favor of a longterm vision for the museum, and support for a financial local effort.
"This will demonstrate ... that the county is behind us, and it will be much easier to go to several entities to ask for their support," Hoblick said.
The Ag Museum, sitting on 460 acres next to Princess Place Preserve between U.S. 1 and Interstate 95 in northern Flagler County, moved to Flagler from Tallahassee in 1997 and operates as a nonprofit. It has struggled financially in the past, requiring the county government's assistance.
Commissioner David Sullivan alluded to that history at the meeting, saying that although backing the museum is "the right thing to do ... from my historical perspective, we’ve tried in the past."
But, he added, "This is a great attempt to come up with a master plan."
Cameron said he'd bring the county a resolution to consider at a future commission meeting.
The museum, he said, "could be one of the biggest attractions that Flagler County could ever have. ... There’s tremendous opportunities there."
