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State Archives of Florida

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State Archives of Florida

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Florida's archival records are invaluable historical and cultural resources.

The State Archives of Florida is a program of the Division of Library and Information Services under the Florida Department of State. The State Archives has statewide responsibility to promote the economical and efficient management of public records as defined in Chapter 119, Florida Statutes, and to preserve those records having long-term or permanent historical value. The State Archives of Florida provides service and technical assistance to the general public and state, county, and local governments on management and preservation of records.

10/30/2026

Happy American Archives Month from the State Archives of Florida’s Records Management Team!

The Division of Library and Information Services’ Records Management Program promotes the efficient and economical management of records. Our Records Management Training section provides training and assistance to thousands of people across the state via live webinars. Please reach out if you want to set up a training for your agency and explore our Records Management FAQ to learn more.

Every year, the Records Management program sends out over 3,500 compliance statements to state and local agencies throughout Florida. The statements, which are required by statute, track physical and digital destruction of records and are used to compute how much agencies are saving by destroying records that have met retention rather than letting them take up physical or digital space.

Thank you for joining us this October as we have highlighted the work of the different teams who collect, preserve and make available for research the records in the State Archives of Florida collections. Happy American Archives Month!

10/30/2026

Happy American Archives Month from the State Archives of Florida Reference Services team!

Reference Services is dedicated to making Florida’s history and records accessible to the public. State Archives of Florida Reference Staff assist researchers from all levels of research background via email, phone, mail and in person. The team researches and responds to requests for information, makes scans or duplications of materials and assists in-person visitors in selecting and handling historical records.

The team includes three Reference Archivists and two Archives Assistants. The requests reference archivists receive are diverse; each day offers opportunities to learn something new. The reference team serves state offices, academic researchers, independent researchers, genealogists and anyone interested in learning about Florida history. They can perform limited remote research for most requests and are happy to answer questions about our collections!

Thank you for joining us this October as we have highlighted the work of the different teams that make up the State Archives of Florida. Check back soon to learn more.

10/29/2026

Marco Island, ca. 1964: Visitors examine coco plum fruit, French mulberry and wild coffee plants on the largest of Florida’s Ten Thousand Islands in this clip from “Florida’s Emerald Isle.” The recently re-digitized clip also shows the scant remains of the demolished Heights hotel in the island’s Caxambas area.

The full 13-minute promotional film opens with people enjoying the surf, a visit to a Calusa shell mound and a view of the only modern home in the barrier island’s interior. Viewers then see locations such as Snook Haven Marina, Snook Hole and scenes of snook fishing. Later, architectural models and renderings show how the island will look after development by the Mackle Brothers.

“Florida’s Emerald Isle” was produced by Hack Swain Productions, which also made “Ghost Hotel of Longboat Key,” “Bottled Sunshine…A Juicy Story” and “Magic of Manatee,” as well as the storm cloud time-lapse used in the Windows 95 installation sequence. View and download the complete films on Florida Memory.✴️

🔗https://floridamemory.com/items/show/232443

🎞️State Archives of Florida, Video CA023.

10/28/2026

Weeki Wachee Springs, ca. 1962: Mermaid Georgia Beadle poses sans tail with a variety of snapdragon flowers in this Kodachrome slide from the Bruce Mozert Photographic Collection.

Explore more vibrant floral photography featuring the Weeki Wachee Mermaids at the State Archives of Florida.✴️

📷5x4 inch color transparency. Bruce Mozert collection. State Archives of Florida, Image DC040023.

Weeki Wachee Springs State Park Friends of Weeki Wachee Springs State Park

10/26/2026

Happy American Archives Month from Florida Memory!

Florida Memory is a digital outreach program with a mission to provide free online access to select resources from the collections of the State Library and Archives of Florida. The staff of the Florida Memory team chooses materials for digitization that illuminate significant events and individuals in the state’s history and help educate Floridians and millions of other people around the world about Florida history and culture.

Built around the Florida Photographic Collection, Florida Memory began as a project to digitize, describe, host and share photographs from the collection. In 1994 the State Archives received its first Library Services and Technology Act funding to pursue that mission, and the Florida Memory project was born. More than 30 years later, Florida Memory is a full program with many projects of its own and a team of diverse talent.

Our film and photography archivist, Adam Watson manages the Florida Photographic Collection with three assistants, two scanners and a photographic cataloger.

Our sound archivist selects from many collections to bring recordings of folk festival recordings, oral histories and other interesting sounds.

Our archives historian selects records for digitization, writes and reviews historical content, conducts public archives tours and answers historical patron requests.

Our content and curriculum coordinator prepares digitized records into standards-based 4-12 grade resources including primary source sets, lesson plans and learning games.

Our social media coordinator shares digitized items with our followers on Facebook and Instagram.

Our administrative assistant helps direct patron requests, assists in transcription and indexing projects.

Our web developer helps to bring the work of the other staff to the website and also develops tools and fixes to improve user experience and staff workflows.

Our program director manages the administrative duties, the staff and their projects.

Throughout October, we will continue to highlight the work of the different teams who staff the State Archives of Florida. Check back soon to learn more!

10/22/2026

Tallahassee, ca. 1972: The Florida A&M University Marching “100,” led by Dr. William Foster, practices on “The Patch,” the historic drill field outside the Foster-Tanner Band Building on campus.

Officially founded in 1946, with origins dating to 1892, the highly acclaimed Marching 100 now boasts more than 250 members. It is widely credited with innovative band techniques, including a rapid-tempo dancing style and showmanship that were later adopted by many high school and collegiate marching band programs.

The footage comes from the film Florida Agricultural and Mechanical University: Buildings and People, which spans roughly a decade between 1972 and 1982. Produced by WFSU-TV, the full film shows a parade, campus grounds, Bragg Memorial Stadium, Muhammad Ali at Doak Campbell Stadium for the 1979 FAMU homecoming game, Meek-Eaton Black Archives and the FAMU dance company. It ends with an interview with Coach Rudy Hubbard.

Watch the full film on Florida Memory (28:07).✴️

🔗https://floridamemory.com/items/show/253030

🎞️ State Archives of Florida, Video DA067.

Florida A&M University FAMUAlumni1887 FAMU's Marching "100" FAMU Athletics

10/21/2026

Happy American Archives Month from the State Archives of Florida’s Collections Management team!

The State Archives takes in a variety of records from state and local agencies as well as private donors. Many of these records contain confidential information that cannot be viewed by the public. As such, the Collections Management team has two redactors who work diligently to check physical and digital records for any information that is not open to the public. Once a record has been checked and redacted, the redacted version is open for public inspection while the unredacted original stays housed within the Archives collection.

A large part of what the Collections Management section does is, well, manage the collections. While many people may think this mainly means dealing with records as they come in, the State Archives also has records that will remain available to the public in perpetuity and that means maintaining the collections is a large part of what the Collections Management team does on a day-to-day basis. Here, a CM staff member is reprocessing the Supreme Court case files (S49), many of which need to be rehoused in new folders and boxes and have information, such as names associated with the cases, added to the online catalog. Constantly checking old collections for reprocessing is a major component of keeping collections in good shape and making sure they are housed correctly.

The State Archives often receives donations from individuals throughout the state and the country. Sometimes these donations contain materials that may have been stored in garages, attics or other areas that may have contained pests, water or mold. Upon receiving donations in those instances, Collections Management staff will place the donated records in a freezer. Using a freezer can stop water or mold damage and can eradicate pests.

To learn more about how to preserve your collections, check out: https://dos.fl.gov/library-archives/archives/preserve/

10/20/2026

Cypress Gardens, 1959: Outboard water polo players go head-to-head in this summertime clip, which was shot for the “Greatest Show On Water,” a 30 minute promotional film that aired before the World Series on NBC in October of 1959.

In the footage, four couples play this seemingly perilous watersport from small fiberglass Flivver stunt boats, using a 5-foot diameter beach ball.

The complete reel, not all of which made it to broadcast, shows a group of 5- to 7-year-old children learning to water ski in a pool shaped like the state of Florida (the “Esther Williams Pool,” named for the actress who starred in 1953’s “Easy to Love,” partially filmed at the park). Viewers also see scenes of tourists, the botanical gardens and skiing on Lake Eloise.

This clip was recently re-digitized by the State Archives of Florida in Tallahassee. View and download the complete reel on Florida Memory.✴️

🎞️State Archives of Florida, Video AA019.

🔗https://floridamemory.com/items/show/252969

10/16/2026

On October 15, 1964, “Bullet Bob” Hayes, a Jacksonville native, won a Gold Medal at the Tokyo Olympics in the 100-yard dash, setting a world record in the process.

Following his Olympic victory, Hayes was drafted by the Dallas Cowboys as a wide receiver, where his immense speed was responsible for creating zone-defense and ‘bump and run’ tactics to contain him. Hayes was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2009.

Image Credit- Florida Memory, State Archives of Florida, (26679), https://floridamemory.com/items/show/26679 #!

10/14/2026

It’s Day! To celebrate American Archives Month, we will be answering YOUR pressing questions about the State Archives of Florida and the Florida Memory program today, Oct. 14, 2026.

If you have questions about Florida history, working in an archives or conducting research using the archives collections, leave a comment below or message us, and we will post our answers in the comments!✴️

📷Tallahassee, 1991: An employee poses at a photo collection video-viewing user station in the State Archives of Florida. (Tallahassee Trust collection. State Archives of Florida, Image TT1251)

Address

500 S Bronough Street
Tallahassee, FL
32399

Opening Hours

Monday	9am - 4:30pm
Tuesday	9am - 4:30pm
Wednesday	9am - 4:30pm
Thursday	9am - 4:30pm
Friday	9am - 4:30pm

Telephone

+18502456719

Website

http://Archivesflorida.com/

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