1912 Cortez Schoolhouse and Maritime Heritage Museum

The Cortez Schoolhouse and Nature Preserve features a 1912 brick schoolhouse that houses the Florida Maritime Museum at Cortez. Within the museum, visitors will find exhibits on fishing, boat building and the history of one of the oldest fishing villages in Florida. Each year a changing exhibition will focus on other aspects of Gulf Coast maritime heritage. The grounds of the preserve include walking trails that connect to the FISH Nature Preserve, owned by the Florida Institute for Saltwater Heritage. Also located at the site are the 1890 Waterfront Store, and Cortez Waterworks Cistern which are being restored as a folk life museum. The Pillsbury Boat Works has also recently been moved to the site where restored boats typical of those used on Florida's Gulf Coast and machinery common to a turn of the century boat shop are to be displayed.

Amenities