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.”

RICHES has just added “Cocoa Beach Glass Bank in 3D,” a video simulation of the Glass Bank as it appear in 1963. The video was produced by the Institute for Simulation & Training and the College of Arts & Humanities at the University of Central Florida. Also known as the First Federal Savings and Loan Building,…

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.

RICHES Mosaic Interface released its new version last week and it includes more ways than ever to analyze your book bag. Create folders for your bookbag Change the order of items in your bag See your selected folders on a timeline or map Choose suggested items from Connections to add to your bookbag View a…

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.…

We have added a new Exhibit window to introduce our History Harvest Collections.  The Menu on our archive will lead you straight to a list of our History Harvests where you can locate your items.

We have also moved the connections settings button to the connections window.  This allows the connections to be changed immediately when you choose a different setting.  Connection Settings are basically the weights that the connections algorithm uses to for the different criteria used to calculate the realtedness of items in the repository.  Try it! 1.…

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…

RMI has a new way to display search results! At THAT Camp 2014, users asked us to allow them to order their results.  We have added a dropdown on the results tab to allow searching by relevance (for natural language searching), chronological and alphabetical order. Listed under the name of each item is the list…

From the detail window, you can now share your findings with your friends social media.

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…

Many users have requested that they be able to limit their search to a certain document type.  We have added the list of resource types on the first search tab.  Now you can choose a document type before you search and see only that type of document in the results.  

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…

Collection of digital images, documents, and other records depicting the history of Sanford Avenue, the main street in Georgetown, an African-American community in Sanford, Florida. Series descriptions are based on special topics, the majority of which students focused their metadata entries around. Georgetown was established by the city’s founder, Henry Shelton Sanford, in the 1870s.…

Collection of digital images, documents, and other records depicting the educational history of Seminole County, Florida. Items from this collection are donated by the Student Museum and UCF Public History Center. The Student Museum has collaborated with the University of Central Florida and established the UCF Public History Center (PHC). All of the Student Museum’s…

Originally named after the Sanford Mayor and president of Seminole County Bank, the Forrest Lake Hotel has also been known as the Mayfair Inn and was briefly occupied by the Sanford Naval Academy. In 1916, construction of the building began. Local architect Elton J. Moughton designed the hotel. In 1925, Hotel Forrest Lake opened and…

Collection of digital images, documents, and other records depicting the history of Georgetown, an African-American community in Sanford, Florida. Series descriptions are based on special topics, the majority of which students focused their metadata entries around. Georgetown was established by the city’s founder, Henry Shelton Sanford, in the 1870s. The neighborhood spans along Sanford Avenue,…

The Student Museum and UCF Public History Center Collection encompasses a broad range of materials and items ranging from the late 19th Century into the present. The collection includes artifacts, photographs, documents, videocassettes, and other historical records pertaining to the history of the Sanford Grammar School, the Sanford community through the years, and the history…