In the early hours of June 12, 2016, an American born security guard named Omar Mir Seddique Mateen shot and killed 49 people and wounded an additional 53 at Pulse, a gay nightclub in Orlando, Florida. Mateen, who swore allegiance to the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL), was shot and killed by…

Since 1994, The Watermark has been the cornerstone source of LGBTQ+ (Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Trans, Queer/Questioning, and others) centered news for the Central Florida region. Founded by Tom Dyer in Orlando, the publication began generating bi-weekly issues beginning August 31, 1994. Since then, The Watermark has consistently published newspaper style issues every other Thursday. Gaining traction,…

One of the largest mixed gay choirs in the country, the Orlando Gay Chorus is comprised of individuals from all walks of life, ages, and orientations, including gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender, as well as straight allies. Their mission is to change hearts and minds in Central Florida and around the world. In the wake of…

The Friends of Lake Apopka (FOLA) is a citizen advocacy group with the mission of restoring Lake Apopka in Orange County and Lake County, Florida. Due to poor farming practices along its shores, Lake Apopka has become one of the largest polluted lakes in Florida. This collection features various archival items related to the restoration…

Sky Lake is a residential community and unincorporated area in Orange County, Florida. It is located approximately seven miles south of Downtown Orlando between Lancaster Road and Sand Lake Road. The community was developed in late 1950s and 1960s by Hymen Lake. Houses originally sold in the range of $10,000 to $15,000. In the 1970s,…

Since 1994, The Watermark has been the cornerstone source of LGBTQ+ (Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Trans, Queer/Questioning, and others) centered news for the Central Florida region. Founded by Tom Dyer in Orlando, the publication began generating bi-weekly issues beginning August 31, 1994. Since then, The Watermark has consistently published newspaper style issues every other Thursday. Gaining traction,…

Sky Lake is a residential community and unincorporated area in Orange County, Florida. It is located approximately seven miles south of Downtown Orlando between Lancaster Road and Sand Lake Road. The community was developed in late 1950s and 1960s by Hymen Lake. Houses originally sold in the range of $10,000 to $15,000. In the 1970s,…

The Florida Historical Quarterly is the academic journal published four times per year by the Florida Historical Society in cooperation with the Department of History at the University of Central Florida. Each issue features peer-reviewed articles focusing on a wide variety of topics related to Florida history. To explore this collection, please visit https://richesmi.cah.ucf.edu/?s=1&zoom=5&coll=184.

Bordered on the east by Division Street and on the west by Orange Blossom Trail (OBT), the Parramore began as an agricultural community. Parramore was historically a segregated African-American community and now comprises three separate downtown neighborhoods: Lake Dot, Callahan, and Holden-Parramore. Once an economically thriving area and the home of many prominent black businesses…

Viking Cemetery is one of the last remaining pieces of the small town of Viking, Florida. The area was first settled in 1892 by Major B. Daniels (1860-1947), who used the land largely to grow pineapple, a significant crop in Florida at the time. By 1895, Norwegian immigrant Jens Helseth (1858-1944) moved to the area…

Historic artifacts from an exhibit created by Orlando Remembered at the Orlando City Hall, located at 400 South Orange Avenue in Downtown Orlando, Florida. This exhibit houses objects relating to Orlando’s municipal government. The current building opened in July of 1991. The former city hall was located directly in front of current building and was…

The Florida Epinal Cemetery Project seeks to tell the stories of the U.S. servicemen from Florida buried in the Epinal American Cemetery and Memorial in eastern France. The U.S. Army soldiers and airmen buried in Epinal gave their lives to secure the liberation of France and in the fight against Nazi Germany in 1944 and 1945.…

Originally called the Westinghouse Electric Company, George Westinghouse (1846-1914) founded his manufacturing company in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, on January 8, 1886. In 1889, he renamed his business the The Westinghouse Electric and Manufacturing Company. Westinghouse’s primary products include turbines, generators, motors and switchgear related to the generation, transmission, and use of electricity. The company changed its…

Dr. Calvin Fowler Collection includes images, documents, and other archival items donated by Dr. Calvin “Cal” D. Fowler, who was the manager of Cape Canaveral Air Force Station Launch Complex 14 during the final three launches of Project Mercury. To view the collection on the interactive map, click here.

RICHES has added a large number of new items to the Oviedo Historical Society Collection. The Oviedo Historical Society Collection encompasses historical artifacts donated for digitization at the Oviedo Historical Society’s History Harvest in the Spring semester of 2015.

The Captain Charles Henry Coe Collection was donated by Andrew M. Foster, a descendant of Captain Charles Henry Coe (1856-1954). Capt. Coe was born in Torrington, Connecticut, on February 3, 1856, to William Henry Coe (1824-1879), who founded the town of Glencoe, and Deborah Little Archer Coe (1824-1912). In 1874, his family migrated to Jacksonville, Florida, due to…

The Florida Space Coast History Collection consists of various photographs and documents about the Space Program in Florida. This collection was donated to RICHES by the Florida Space Coast History Project, whose mission is to “preserve Florida’s unique space and missile heritage.”

Browse the Featured Items or Collections.  Also select the Collection Overview to see an explanation of many of our collections.  See all of the Featured Items by clicking the title of that section.   Learn more by watching a Tour of RICHES MI, or reading about our project.  Follow us on social media with the social…

The Maitland News was a local newspaper originally published by the Maitland Realty Company (and later by The Maitland News Company) which began circulation in April 1926. The Maitland News Collection includes a number of early issues published from 1926 to 1927. Newspapers were contributed by the Maitland Historical Museum, as part of the Art & History…

The Rock Collection explores the history of rock music in Central Florida. Items in this collection were curated by UCF graduate Geoffrey Cravero and include photographs, newspaper articles, ticket stubs, and videos. These new items were donated to RICHES from the private collection of professional photographer Alicia Lyman and features the following local bands and artists: Beeb$ and Her…

The Oviedo Historical Society Collection encompasses historical artifacts donated for digitization at the Oviedo Historical Society’s History Harvest in the Spring semester of 2015. Items in this collection were curated by UCF graduate student Porsha Dossie and include photographs, newspaper articles, maps, programs, pamphlets, booklets, and deeds. These new items were donated to RICHES from the…

The Oviedo Historical Society Collection encompasses historical artifacts donated for digitization at the Oviedo Historical Society’s History Harvest in the Spring semester of 2015. Items in this collection were curated by UCF graduate student Porsha Dossie and include photographs, newspaper articles, maps, and artwork. Items were donated to RICHES from the private collections of Sue…

RICHES MI has added a number of photographs to the Mary McLeod Bethune Foundation Collection. The Mary McLeod Bethune Foundation is located on the Bethune-Cookman University campus at 640 Doctor Mary McLeod Bethune Boulevard in Daytona Beach, Florida. The foundation was established on March 17, 1953, as “a place to awaken people and to have them realize…

We’ve added a new collection to RICHES MI: the Albin Polasek Museum & Sculpture Gardens Collection. This collection features photographs, oral histories, and other items donated by the Albin Polasek Museum and Sculpture Gardens, located at 633 Osceola Avenue in Winter Park, Florida. Albin Polasek, known internationally for his sculptures, retired to Lake Osceola in Winter Park…

To view the collection on the interactive map, click here. Collection of digital images, documents, and other records depicting the history of music in Central Florida. Series descriptions are based on special topics, the majority of which students focused their metadata entries around. Central Florida’s musical heritage is as rich as it is diverse, dating…

Collection of images, documents, and other archival items donated by Dr. Calvin “Cal” D. Fowler, who was the manager of Cape Canaveral Air Force Station Launch Complex 14 during the final three launches of Project Mercury. To view the collection on the interactive map, click here.

The Milane Theatre was built at 203 South Magnolia Avenue, the former location of the Star Theatre, an abandoned movie house. Scroggs and Ewing, architects from Georgia, prepared the plans for the Milane. The name of the new theater was derived from the combination of the Milane Amusement Company president and vice president: Frank L.…

Collection of digital images, documents, and other records depicting the history of New Smyrna Beach, Florida. Series descriptions are based on special topics, the majority of which students focused their metadata entries around. In 1758, the first European settlers arrived in present-day New Smyrna Beach and Dr. Andrew Turnbull established the colony of New Smyrna.…

Collection of digital images, documents, and other records depicting the history of Winter Springs, Florida. Series descriptions are based on special topics, the majority of which students focused their metadata entries around. The first Euro-American individual own land in present-day Winter Springs was Moses Levy of New York, who acquired a land grant from the…

The Geneva Historical & Genealogical Society is located in Geneva, an unincorporated area of Seminole County. The first regular meeting was held at the Geneva Community Center on November 30, 1952. Alice Coffee Guyton served as the society’s first president. The Geneva Historical & Genealogical Society established the Museum of Geneva History, located at 165…

Collection of digital images, documents, and other records depicting the history of Oviedo, Florida. Series descriptions are based on special topics, the majority of which students focused their metadata entries around. The Timucuan Native Americans originally inhabited the area of present-day Oviedo, although the remains of their settlements have disappeared. Homesteaders arrived along the shores…

The Sanford State Farmers’ Market Collection contains images of the market’s history and its significance to local and state agriculture. The Sanford State Farmers’ Market was founded in 1934 in order to provide a central location in which farmers would sell their produce directly to consumers. The idea for the Sanford State Farmers’ Market was…

Collection of digital images, documents, and other records from the Mary McLeod Bethune Foundation located on the Bethune-Cookman University campus at 640 Doctor Mary McLeod Bethune Boulevard in Daytona Beach, Florida. The foundation was established on March 17, 1953, as “a place to awaken people and to have them realize that there is something in…

Collection of digital images and oral histories related to the former Recruit Training Center Orlando (RTC Orlando) for the United States Navy. The training center transformed raw recruits into highly effective sailors. This process took place over an intensive eight-week training period, commonly referred to as “boot camp.” RTC Orlando occupied roughly one half of…

The Sanford Riverfront Collection consists of images depicting the history and significance of Lake Monroe and the St. Johns River to the City of Sanford, Florida. The waterways that surround Sanford have provided transportation, commerce, defense, and leisure activities for the city’s citizens and visitors since its creation in 1877. To view the collection on…

This collection features the various ice houses and ice plants that have existed in Sanford, Florida. Ice manufacturing became a prominent industry in the United States by the beginning of the twentieth century. Most ice houses consisted of two stories with the first floor used as food storage and the second floor used to store…