Historical Society Palm Beach County

What a little gem of history this is. The 100+ yr old building itself has quite a tale to tell. The volunteer staff is a wealth of information. The museum exhibits have been created keeping preservation in mind, telling the stories of this county and the surrounding area. Very informative information that is easy to read and can be quite surprising. The building seeps of history and you can feel it in every room. Upstairs they have left a courtroom intact and it gave me goosebumps to be in there. From the beautiful wooden jurors chairs, to looking up at the balcony where people of color were forced to sit. I felt like I was Scout and Atticus Finch was going to walk in at any moment. Give yourself at least 90 minutes to really absorb all this place has to offer.

Love this place! I have visited here several times. For some reason, I get called for jury duty about every 18 months. When there is a lunch break, I head over to this museum to kill a little time. The history of Palm Beach County is laid out in pictures and timelines as well as artifacts like books, tools, clothing, and so forth. My son and I toured both floors the last time we were here. We stepped into an old Southern court room! I grew up near Philadelphia where history is everywhere and miss seeing these type of exhibits. Plan to return. The only downer is that the parking stinks. Admission is free.

This is a hidden gem of a museum. What is not obvious is that this is the old courthouse before the mega church across the street was built.
If you go in and up to the second floor, they have maintained the old courtroom that is very Atticus Finch like. America’s Southern heritage is hard to find — and here it is — for us to appreciate if only we know it exists!
«I’d rather you shot at tin cans in the backyard, but I know you’ll go after birds. Shoot all the blue jays you want, if you can hit ‘em, but remember it’s a sin to kill a mockingbird.» That was the only time I ever heard Atticus say it was a sin to do something, and I asked Miss Maudie about it. «Your father’s right,» she said. «Mockingbirds don’t do one thing except make music for us to enjoy. They don’t eat up people’s gardens, don’t nest in corn cribs, they don’t do one thing but sing their hearts out for us. That’s why it’s a sin to kill to Kill a Mockingbird»