Third graders from Avon Elementary were visitors to the Depot Museum.  The group toured the historical exhibits and them boarded the Silver Palm Dining car for games and then lunch. The students moved out to the access ramp and observed the Amtrak Silver Meteor as it passed on it's way to New York City.

A class of 4th graders from Avon Elementary school recently visited the Depot Museum as part of their end of the school field trips. Various historical exhibits were explained to the students. They boarded the Silver Palm Dining Car for games and lunch and then moved onto the access ramp to view the Amtrak Silver Meteor as it passed on the way to New York City.

When the telephone company converted to computer direct dialing in 1985 this last piece of vintage switchboard equipment was shut down. This was the only one in use in the state of Florida here in Avon Park at the time and was used to connect calls between Zolfo, Wauchula and Bowling Green. The Depot Museum is fortunate to have this piece of local history. Come visit us and see our collection of early telephone equipment.

The opening of highways to the southern states during the second decade of the twentieth century allowed newly mobile northerners and adventurous men and women from around the nation to see the unique sites and communities of Florida's interior, away from the more developed cities and destinations on the east and west coasts.

In 1915 the Dixie Highway Association and interested state officials began planning a network of paved roads that would eventually stretch from Miami to the northern border of the United States. A number of other auto trails including the Atlantic Highway, Lone Star Trail, and Mississippi River Scenic Highway also terminated in Florida. The number of automobile tourists visiting the state increased dramatically every year and Florida's rural areas and small towns began to change as well.

The Historical Society of Avon Park and the Depot Museum will be hosting a 100th year celebration on November 13, 2019 with an exhibition of many early tourist vehicles and a discussion of the history of the Tin Can Tourists by coordinators Forest and Jeri Bone from the Michigan based home of Tin Can Tourists.

Mark your calendars to attend this very special historical event.