The New Smyrna Beach Area is filled with interesting sites, unique museums, and fascinating places to explore that are sure to make any history buff take notice. Check out these places to learn about the area’s history, from the Native Americans who lived here, through colonial times and into more recent days.
Another exhibit, The Pioneer Years, features photographs and other objects from the 1800s through the early 1900s. The Railroad Era display includes a model train station, which presents a glimpse back to the late 1800s when the New Smyrna Beach Area enjoyed its golden years of railroading. Bringing visitors into more recent times, the East Coast Surf Exhibit showcases boards, posters, and historic photos of surfers and local surfing culture. The moving Veterans History exhibit displays panels commemorating the names of the region’s veterans who served in World Wars I and II, the Korean War, and in Vietnam.
The museum is open Tuesday through Saturday, 10 am until 4 pm. The entrance fee for adults is $8, for older children (11–17) is $5, and for kids 10 and younger, free. Make sure to stop in the museum store for the perfect souvenir to remember your visit.
The site, located in Ponce Inlet, is also home to two museums: The Ponce De Leon Inlet Lighthouse Museum, which explores Florida’s maritime history, including an exhibit of restored Fresnel lenses, and the Constance D. Hunter Historic Pacetti Hotel Museum, with the wonderfully restored rooms and period furnishings and decor of this 1880s hotel. The grounds are part of the museum, so take some time to explore the carriage house and riverfront view while learning about the area’s history.
No reservations are needed to visit the lighthouse and its museums—just stop in the gift shop or in the Historic Pacetti Hotel Museum to purchase them. The tickets are reasonably priced, and you can opt to visit just the lighthouse and its museum, just the hotel museum, or get a combo ticket to see both. Both the lighthouse and the museums open daily at 10 a.m., with closing time varying throughout the year.
After the fire, the remaining machinery was disassembled and moved to what today the Dunlawton Sugar Mill Gardens in Port Orange. The sugar mill here, like the one in New Smyrna Beach, was also destroyed during the Seminole War, but the ruins remain for visitors to explore. This land has been farmed since 1804, when the original owner, Patrick Dean, grew sugar cane, cotton, and rice. Over the years, different owners tried to revive its agricultural life, and it eventually became an amusement park. In the mid-1980s, the Botanical Gardens of Volusia took over the site with a mission to educate local gardeners about what type of plants flourish in this region as well as create a beautiful destination for visitors to explore, with a variety of gardens, including a children’s garden, as well as life-sized dinosaur sculptures, a sun dial, and a Florida-shaped herb garden.
No matter its origins, Old Fort Park is an interesting place to explore, made even easier with its paved footpath. Take some time to wander through the site, enclosed by coquina walls, and see if you can come up with your own theory about what the original site was.
The statehouse was built in 1912, on the shore of the Mosquito Lagoon and was used up until the 1950s. After years of standing empty, it reopened to the public in 1999, as a showcase of the people who lived here. Visitors can stroll through the live oaks and imagine what this town was like during its heyday, with steamboats arriving and villagers bustling in the streets. The house itself is open for special occasions, though the site is open for exploration daily.
Whether you’re interested in Native American history, maritime history, or the stories of the various peoples who have settled in this area, you’re sure to find plenty of opportunities to learn while having fun in the New Smyrna Beach Area.