Photographs from a screening of the 60-minute documentary, “The Yard”, at the First Unitarian Church of Orlando. The event took place on March 7, 2019, from 6:30pm to 9:00 pm. The screening of the film was followed by a panel discussion that included the filmmaker. Partners in the event included Equal Justice Initiative (EJI), First…

An oral history interview of Debbie Simmons, the co-owner of Shelbie Press and a founding member of the Metropolitan Business Association (MBA), an organization supporting LGBTQ businesses in Orlando, Florida. As MBA president, she also helped found Come Out with Pride and the LGBTQ History Museum of Central Florida. This interview was conducted by Sara…

The Truth and Justice Project of Orange County, Florida, (TJP) is a volunteer-based organization that engages with the community to promote education concerning the truth of local history and to advocate justice for those who have been harmed by inequities born of prejudice. TJP builds on the work of Montgomery-based Equal Justice Initiative as well…

We’ve added new items to our LGBTQ+ Collection! One is a flyer for a history harvest conducted by the GLBT History Museum of Central Florida and the University of Central Florida’s RICHES program on January 14, 2017. The harvest was held at The LGBT Center of Central Florida, located at 946 North Mills Avenue in…

RICHES is hiring an Applications Systems Analyst/Programmer! If you are interested in joining our team, please follow the link below for details! https://www.jobswithucf.com/postings/56293

Located in the Parramore/Lorna Doone neighborhood of downtown Orlando, Jones High School – OCPS was the first area public school for African-Americans. The original building was located on the corner of Garland Avenue and Church Street, but the school was renamed the Johnson Academy and moved to a new building on the corner of Chatham…

The Geneva Historical & Genealogical Society, Inc. held a 100 year memorial on October 10, 2018, for Roderick Perry Taylor of Geneva, Florida, and the other 564 people who died on the R.M.S. Leinster when it was hit by three German torpedoes in the Irish Sea on Oct. 10, 1918. Most of those killed were…

Along with a group of investors, Newton Perry opened Weeki Wachee Springs to the public in October of 1947. At the time, roadside attractions were becoming popular stops along Florida roadways. The attraction consisted of an amalgamation of vendors, an orchid garden, a river boat tour, as well as the star attraction: a mermaid show…

A Side Walk with the Art Festival by Elizabeth Bradley Bentley. The book celebrates two decades of the Winter Park Sidewalk Art Festival in Winter Park, Florida. Bentley documents the festival’s history using newspaper articles, oral history interviews, personal experiences, scrapbooks, programs and minutes. Each chapter in Section One represents one year of the festival.…

The Geneva Historical & Genealogical Society, Inc. held a 100 year memorial on October 10, 2018, for Roderick Perry Taylor of Geneva, Florida, and the other 564 people who died on the R.M.S. Leinster when it was hit by three German torpedoes in the Irish Sea on Oct. 10, 1918. Most of those killed were…

The OGC allowed RICHES to digitize their concert programs going all the way back to their very first performance! Follow the link below to browse through some of the earlier programs and check back soon for more additions! https://richesmi.cah.ucf.edu/omeka/collections/show/206

Hillcrest Elementary School is one of Orlando’s oldest schools, opening in 1923. Since the 1980s, it has had a vibrant foreign language component and today it continues that tradition through the Orange County Public Schools Foreign Language Academy. Visit our Hillcrest Elementary Collection: https://richesmi.cah.ucf.edu/omeka/collections/show/212

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,…

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,…

Digital exhibit created by Dr. Connie L. Lester’s American Economic History class during the Spring Semester of 2014 at the University of Central Florida. The class project entailed a digital exhibit demonstrating the role of railroads, and specifically railroad depots, in the economic life of Central Florida communities. Each student was responsible for one railroad…

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,…

In 2017, the University of Central Florida was one of three universities selected to launch the National Cemetery Administration’s Veterans Legacy Program Project. The program engaged a team of scholars to make the life stories of veterans buried in the Florida National Cemetery available to the public. The project engages UCF students in research and…

On August 22, 1908, the Sanford Herald published its first issue. Featuring articles about the cost of purchasing and developing farm land and details of orange culture, the first issue was named the “industrial edition” as Sanford was then known as the Gate City to Florida. News of the past is no longer limited to…

Happy Holidays from all of us at RICHES! Check out this Army Air Forces menu created for Christmas of 1943, from the private collection of Thomas Cook. The cover shows Santa Claus piloting an airplane over an airbase. There are illustrations of a decorated Christmas tree, a palm tree and what appears to be orange…

The national headquarters of Siemens Energy, Inc., located in east Orlando on Alafaya Trail near University Boulevard—across from the University of Central Florida—is a major part of the Central Florida business community. Almost forgotten, however, is that the original developer and occupant of the site was the Power Generation Business Unit (PGBU) of the Westinghouse…

RICHES was founded 8 years ago in the Fall of 2009. Help us celebrate by checking out some of our collections: https://richesmi.cah.ucf.edu/omeka/collection-tree

Orlando Remembered, a committee of Historical Society of Central Florida, Inc. is dedicated to preservation of the memories of Orlando, “The City Beautiful,” primarily as it was during the period of 1930 to 1950. Founded in 1981 by Don Acito and Andy Serros, Orlando Remembered has partnered with leading businesses, local governments, institutes of higher…

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…

Citizen Curator Project on RICHES RICHES includes a permanent archive of Resilience: Remembering Pulse and Pulse: A Consultation, plus five additional projects: Florida Pride and Shame by Amanda Polk; Black in White by Kimari Jackson; Literature for the Resistance by Jaclyn Crawford; Central Florida Pulse: The Tragedy of Place and the Power of Activism by Mia Tangor, Carys O’Neill and Savannah Bitto; and A Cultural Poultice by Abigail Padfield,…

An oral history interview of Commissioner Patty Sheehan, Orlando’s first openly gay city commissioner. The interview was conducted by Kalynn Smith at Sheehan’s offices at Orlando City Hall in Orlando, Florida, on April 11th, 2017. Some of the topics covered include an introduction, how the challenges of growing up gay shaped her activism, how coming…

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.…

The Seminole Soil Conservation District organization began in 1948 with a goal of assisting agricultural interests. Over the years, the Seminole County Soil and Water Conservation District also began to concentrate on the development and management of recreational enterprises. Their interests included inventory and evaluations for land uses and solving issues concerning soil and water…

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…

“Comics Fighting: An Underground War for LGBTQ Visibility” was designed by Robert T. Smith, a student in UCF’s Department History, during his internship with the GLBT Museum of Central Florida. The exhibit centers on the use of story-telling through comics to expand visibility for the LGBTQ+ (Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Trans, Queer/Questioning, and others) Movement by…

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,…

From its construction onward, the Downtown Orlando Post Office has been a physical symbol of the growing and evolving city that surrounds it. Opened in 1941, the post office experienced many changes that reflected national and local social and economic transformations. Demographic shifts, wars, economic booms and downturns, and social conflicts were reflected in the…

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.