BY DAN HILDEBRAN
Telegraph Staff Writer
KEYSTONE HEIGHTS— During its May meeting, the city’s Heritage Commission discussed establishing a museum featuring local history.
Commission member Deirdre Murphy proposed the idea.
“We need a Heritage Museum where we can put all of our memorabilia, all of the pictures, all of the things that are now housed in
various places including (at City Hall) that no one ever sees,” she said.
Murphy recommended purchasing a 12-by-24-foot shed from Keystone’s Superior Sheds for the museum, which she said would provide a cost-effective solution for creating exhibit space.
“You could not build a building for the price of these sheds,” Murphy told her colleagues. “For a 12 by 24, which is really larger than you think, when it’s drywalled inside, and it has air conditioning and lighting, it really can be set up.”
Murphy added that the shed dealer, west of Keystone Heights on State Road 100, uses a shed as its office. She added that the office is a model for how the city could fashion a similar structure for its museum.
Murphy said the cost of the structure would be $8,200 and would require a foundation, skirting and landscaping.
She added that since the Heritage Commission’s annual budget from the city is only $5,000, she recommended the commission request a one-time additional appropriation for the museum.
The commission discussed possible locations for the museum, including the parking lot at the beach or the site of the original City Hall.
“It doesn’t have to be manned all the time,” Murphy said, “maybe on a Saturday from 10 to 1, or we can have volunteers maybe a couple of days during the week.”
She added that people will visit once the hours are consistent and publicized.
“And then down the road, five years from now or whenever the kids can walk through the museum and see everything and know that we have something.”
Murphy’s proposal emphasized community involvement and the willingness of residents to donate their time and resources.
Commission member Christine Arnold said the museum could also house a local history book area, adding that the library in Keystone Heights no longer has a local history section.
In other news from the May 9 meeting of the Keystone Heights Heritage Commission:
Field trip feedback
The commission discussed its field trip for fourth graders from Keystone Heights Elementary School on April 6.
Members said the event was a great success, with enthusiastic participation from students, teachers, and volunteers.
The feedback received included suggestions to schedule the trip earlier in the year, possibly in February or March, to avoid hot weather.
One teacher proposed incorporating a visit to City Hall, where the children could meet the mayor and receive a tour, as this would make them feel unique and more comfortable in the building.
Commission member Kerry Collins said the public library would like to be included in future field trips.
“It sounds like they’re looking to promote their summer reading programs right about then,” Collins said, “and so they were looking for a way to, you know, could we add on the library as well.”
Several commission members said the event’s highlight was the engaging presentation by John Zieser, who dressed in historical attire and described Fort 11: a little-known outpost just west of present-day City Hall that guarded the road between Fort Shannon in Palatka and Fort King near Ocala. Zieser also talked about the Lake Region’s participation in the Second Seminole War.
Murphy said the students were captivated by the reenactor’s performance.
“John dressed in full regalia, and he put on a show,” she said.
Murphy, who also serves as co-chair of the Clay County Historic Preservation Board, said she learned a lot about Fort 11 from Zieser’s presentation and forwarded that information to the county board.
“They thought that it was worthy of getting a plaque,” Murphy said of her colleagues on the county panel. She recommended Zieser appear before the Historic Preservation Board in the future with the goal of obtaining a state historical plaque at the fort’s former site.
“There’s a lot of history, and it literally happened across the street, right in the park,” she said.
Community Church commemoration
Lindy Jones of Community Church told the commission about the congregation’s plans to commemorate its 100th anniversary.
Jones, the lead volunteer for the project, said her team has been working on a booklet and digital media to commemorate the occasion.
The Heritage Commission has not recognized the church building itself. Jones accompanied her presentation with an application from the church to the commission for a historic plaque.
The lead volunteer said the church is organizing several events around the anniversary, including a parade, a reception dinner, and a plaque dedication ceremony.
The exact event program is still being decided, but they plan to involve the plaque in the dedication ceremony. The church has received a mayoral declaration and a letter of acknowledgment from U.S. Congressman Aaron Bean, and they have invited him to a reception.
Jones said the church’s charter members were the original homeowners in Keystone Heights, and the church will showcase old photos in a slideshow presentation during a reception. The congregation is also reproducing the images digitally on their website and in printed books that will be available for purchase.
The church plans to keep the price of the booklet to between $20 to $25 and possibly have a hardcover and color printing.
She said the project is progressing well, with June’s research and documentation deadlines approaching.
Jones added that the church’s celebration focuses on its rich history, and while the events are not exclusive to the church, they emphasize the church’s past and future.
The congregation’s historical plaque application was accepted unanimously during the meeting.
Tour of Homes app
The commission also discussed using a smartphone app to develop a walking tour of the city’s historic structures.
Murphy said that her daughter participated in a smartphone app walking tour of a Tampa subdivision one month ago.
“It’s a little subdivision, and they have a phone app,” Murphy said. “It talked to them about every house they went to, exactly what we’re thinking about.”
Murphy recommended contacting the subdivision “so we don’t have to reinvent the wheel.”
She added that Gainesville’s Depot Park uses a similar app, in addition to a small town on the Suwannee River.
Murphy said the app requires local sources to assemble the necessary information, and the company behind the app can assist with that process for a small fee.
Arnold agreed to approach the Clay County Tourism Council about funding the app, working with local council member Debbie Beals.
Directory of homes
The commission also discussed developing a directory of historic structures in the city.
In digital and paper formats, the directory would include ownership details, emails, phone numbers, and plaques of Keystone’s historic structures.
Members also discussed how the directory would be distributed. They debated whether the guide would be available at City Hall, mailed to residents, or accessible on a website.
Murphy said the directory would likely contain the same information the commission compiled for its Mother’s Day tour of homes brochure, including photos and details of 20 historic structures with Heritage Commission plaques.
