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.

Blueberry and Bluegrass Festival Donaldson Park, April 27, 2019 10am to 4 pm. Sponsored by Rotary Club of Avon Park.. Buy blueberry and plants, arts and crafts. Free entertainment and free parkiing.

Dining Car Window  Replacement  Our Silver Palm Dining car is in need of new windows.  Three windows have been repaired and several others are experiencing fogging up.  All of the gaskets need replacing and are disintegrating due to the heat and ultraviolet damage.  We really need help with donations for this project as we will be replacing 20 windows as funds become available.  Help us preserve this unique dining car for future use and luncheons.   Donations are appreciated.          

Thirty-one residents of Tanglewood Community were recent visitors to the Avon Park Depot Museum. The group assembled in the main exhibit hall and were given an overview of  historical events as they pertained to the development of the city beginning in 1886. After a group photo the ladies boarded the Silver Palm Dining Car for a luncheon

"Youth Leadership Highlands" students recently visited the Avon Park Depot Museum. The faith-based organization is sponsored by the Mason G. Smoak Foundation, a year-long class that teaches leaderskip skills and includes visiting areas of interest throughout Highlands County.

The Captain John Wesley Whidden Chapter 2501 of the United Daughters of the Confederacy recently toured the exhibits of the Avon Park Depot Museum. 
Members of this group are descendants of Confederate ancestors with the purpose of honoring their southern heritage. The president of this Lake Placid Chapter is Jeanette Peeples.

Twenty-four 4th, 5th and 6th grade students from the St. Catherine Catholic School in Sebring, accompanied by teachers Mrs. Katherine Spencer and Mrs. Patricia Gutierrez recently visited the Depot Museum as part of a school field trip. The students were given information and historical significance of the museum's exhibits. They then greeted the Amtrak as it passed the Silver Palm Dining Car access ramp. After moving into the dining car the group had lunch and later celebrated two birthdays. Home made cookies and brownies prepared by museum volunteers rounded out the dessert. Table games to include checkers, Chinese checkers, Scrabble, tic tac toe, and various card games kept the group entertained for quite some time. Simplicity, the hobo clown paid a visit and was photographed with many of the students. They then boarded their bus and returned to Sebring with good memories of an educational and fun visit to Avon Park Depot Museum.

Oliver M. Crosby was the founder of the town he originally called Lake Forest and later became known as Avon Park. He built a 32 room hotel on the shores of Lake Verona, aptly named Verona Hotel. Here in the early days prospecive property buyers were registered and given the royal treatment. The Verona Hotel was the cultural center of the new community. Religious services were held here until the various denominations built their own churches, usually on land that Oliver Crosby donated to them.

George Sebring, in his endeavors to develop the town of Sebring, was a guest here many times as there were no other lodging facilities nearby.

The Verona Hotel was greatly damaged by fire in 1926 and was demolished. Salvaged lumber was used in numerous construction sites around the town. There are more than likely structures in Avon Park still standing containing lumber from the Verona Hotel.

Read more about the Verona Hotel under the MUSEUM category and then "FOUNDING" article.

Had it not been for the efforts of this lady, Leoma Bradshaw Maxwell, there would be no Avon Park Depot Museum. When the Seaboard Coast Line Railroad Company deeded the old depot to the city it was leased to the Historical Society of Avon Park. This set in motion the development of a museum to collect and house the history of Avon Park. Mrs. Maxwell was the first director of the newly formed Depot Museum and later was directly responsible for acquiring the California Zephyr Silver Palm Dining Car. She is also the author of "The First Hundred Years of Avon Park, Florida". This book is available in the museum.