The Historical Society of Avon ParkAVON PARK, FL · EST. 1886
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The Avon Park Depot & Baseball Museum

The Avon Park Depot & Baseball Museum is located inside the historic 1926 Seaboard Air Line railroad depot at 3 N. Museum Ave. in Avon Park, Florida [aphs-baseball-museum][fb-depot-grand-opening][visitsebring-depot]. The facility features exhibits on local sports history, including spring training visits, local major leaguers, and community teams [newssun-celebrating-avon-park-s][floridafuntravel-museum].

Location, hours, and admission

Evidence: corroborated.

The museum is located at 3 N. Museum Ave., Avon Park, FL 33825, and can be reached by telephone at 863-453-3525 [aphs-baseball-museum][visitsebring-depot]. Admission to the museum is free [fb-depot-museum-photos][fb-depot-museum-group].

The museum operates on the following schedule:

The baseball museum wing occupies a 1,600-square-foot addition on the south end of the depot building and operates on the same opening schedule as the main museum [aphs-baseball-museum][newssun-artist-signs-mural-depicting][newssun-celebrating-avon-park-s].

Information Details
Address 3 N. Museum Ave., Avon Park, FL 33825 [aphs-baseball-museum][visitsebring-depot]
Phone 863-453-3525 [visitsebring-depot]
Admission Free [fb-depot-museum-photos][fb-depot-museum-group]
Regular Hours Wednesday–Saturday, 10:00 a.m.–3:00 p.m. [aphs-baseball-museum][fb-depot-grand-opening]
Summer Hours (June–Sept) Wednesday–Friday, 10:00 a.m.–3:00 p.m. [visitsebring-depot]

Museum opening and development

Evidence: corroborated.

The 1,600-square-foot baseball addition ground broke on March 17, 2025 [newssun-grand-groundbreaking-ap-baseball][newssun-artist-signs-mural-depicting]. The expansion was curated and led by Dr. Ron “Doc” Sevigny alongside Marva Turner, under Historical Society president Nancy Fisk [newssun-grand-groundbreaking-ap-baseball][newssun-play-ball-ribbon-cutting][floridafuntravel-museum]. Funding for the $500,000 project included $100,000 from the Avon Park City Council, $100,000 from the Highlands County Board of County Commissioners, $10,000 from the Avon Park Noon Rotary Club, and contributions from 196 citizen and business donors [newssun-grand-groundbreaking-ap-baseball][newssun-celebrating-avon-park-s][newssun-rotary-donates-10-000][newssun-county-oks-100k-baseball].

The official ribbon-cutting ceremony and grand opening took place on May 9, 2026, drawing an estimated 600 visitors [fb-depot-grand-opening][newssun-avon-park-prepares-open][newssun-play-ball-ribbon-cutting]. Ceremony speakers and special guests included major league veterans Hal McRae and his son Brian McRae, Tom “Flash” Gordon, Mayor Garrett Anderson, emcee David Flowers, and county commissioners Don Elwell, Chris Campbell, Scott Kirouac, and Kevin Roberts [newssun-play-ball-ribbon-cutting].

Main exhibits and displays

Evidence: corroborated.

Inside the wing, visitors walk across a full-scale baseball infield laid out on the floor, complete with bases, a pitcher’s mound, home plate, and foul lines [newssun-celebrating-avon-park-s]. Display highlights include:

Exterior artwork includes two murals painted by artist Keith Goodson: a 15-by-50-foot mural on Museum Avenue depicting major leaguers Tom Gordon and Hal McRae, and a 25-by-15-foot youth sports mural honoring local youth athletics and the Lucy Derkman Softball Complex [newssun-artist-signs-mural-depicting][newssun-celebrating-avon-park-s]. Named for longtime physical education teacher, youth coach, and civic leader Lucy Derkman (1927–2022; inducted into the Avon Park Champions Club Hall of Fame in 2012), the municipal softball facility is located on the school and civic parcel at 705 W. Winthrop Street adjacent to Avon Elementary School, with outfield frontage and ballfield entrance situated along North Anoka Avenue [city-lucy-derkman][apchampions-derkman-2012]. Three baseball-shaped bollards line the walkway near Main Street [newssun-celebrating-avon-park-s]. Note that several historical claims found in past news reports and early exhibit concepts are addressed in baseball claims to avoid.

References

Where this comes from

Evidence
corroborated — More than one independent source agrees.
Review
unverified — Drafted from sources but not yet checked by a volunteer.
Rights
public-domain

Sources

  1. Lucy Derkman Softball Complex — City of Avon Park Parks & Recreation (2026) · official
  2. Lucy Derkman — Avon Park Champions Club Hall of Fame (2012 Archive) (2012) · official
  3. Avon Park Baseball Museum — Avon Park Historical Society (2026) · official
  4. Grand-opening recap (2026) · official
  5. Avon Park Depot Museum partner listing — Visit Sebring (2026) · official
  6. Celebrating Avon Park's baseball history (Diego De Jesus) (2026) · newspaper
  7. Take Me Out to the Baseball Museum — Florida Fun Travel (2026) · secondary
  8. Avon Park Depot & Baseball Museum — official logo, 2026 promotional graphics, and photographs of exhibit wall labels and the Babe Ruth bat case (2026) · official
  9. Avon Park Depot Museum — community group posts on exhibits and admission (2026) · official
  10. Artist signs mural depicting baseball history (John Guerra) (2025) · newspaper
  11. A grand groundbreaking for AP Baseball Museum (2025) · newspaper
  12. Play Ball! (ribbon-cutting recap) (2026) · newspaper
  13. Rotary donates $10,000 for baseball exhibit · newspaper
  14. County OKs $100K for baseball museum · newspaper
  15. Avon Park prepares to open baseball wing Saturday (2026) · newspaper
  16. Jonathan I. Leib, "Major League Baseball's Spring Training in Florida, 1901–2001," The Florida Geographer (2001)
  17. Jason Byrne, Cardinals Played in Avon Park from 1927–1929 — Florida History Blog (2023)
  18. Hal McRae — SABR BioProject (Thomas J. Brown Jr.) (2026)

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