Join the Matheson Museum on Wednesday, August 13, 2014 at 6:00 p.m. with Dr. Paul Ortiz, Dr. Matt Gallman, and Dr. Patricia Hilliard-Nunn, tracing the history of Alachua County’s African American families from the Civil War to the present-day.
The symposium will examine the challenges and triumphs of Alachua County residents after the Civil War. Dr. Paul Ortiz will discuss Mathew Lewey, one of the first licensed African American lawyers in Florida. Dr. Gallman will discuss African American Union soldiers who settled in Florida. Dr. Patricia Hilliard-Nunn will trace the history of Alachua County’s African American families from the Civil War to the present-day. Time for questions and discussions will be included in the program. Light refreshments will be provided. A donation of $5 per person is suggested.
RSVP on Facebook: For more information, call 352-378-2280 or email us.
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The Matheson Museum commemorates the 150th anniversary of the Civil War Battle of Gainesville this year at the Matheson Museum’s temporary exhibition, “Sesquicentennial,” open Monday, July 14, 2014 through Friday, August 29, 2014. This exhibition reflects the social changes that have taken place since the Civil War Battle of Gainesville on August 17, 1864. The Matheson Museum is open Monday through Thursday from 9:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m.
“Sesquicentennial” traces the evolution of civil rights in Alachua County, telling the stories of African Americans during Reconstruction, the Jim Crow South, and the Civil Rights Movement of the 1950s and 1960s. Learn about Josiah T. Walls, who was forced to serve in the Confederate Army as a young man until he was captured by Union forces. After being released, he voluntarily enlisted in the 35th U.S. Colored Troops and served in Picolata, near St. Augustine. In 1871 he became one of the first African American in the U.S. House of Representatives. In the 1870s and 1880s Josiah T. Walls was admitted to the Florida Bar, served as the mayor of Gainesville and on the Alachua County Commission. Explore the history of the Pleasant Street Historic District, Gainesville oldest African American community which was founded by freed slaves. Learn about the institutions and people of the Pleasant Street Historic District which helped African Americans rise to political office and pushed the local Civil Rights Movement forward. Discover the role of education in the ongoing struggle for Civil Rights. Explore the integration of Alachua Public Schools by listening to the oral history of Joel Buchanan who transferred from Lincoln High School to Gainesville High School. Examine the creation of Porter’s Quarters, a community named after Dr. Watson Porter who sold plots of land exclusively to African Americans, many of whom were employed in Gainesville’s industrial sectors near the railroad tracks next to present day Depot Avenue. This exhibition was made possible in part by the Tourism Product Development grant.
The annual reeanctment of the Battle of Gainesville will take place Saturday, August 16 at 10:00 a.m., held in Sweetwater Park on the south side of the Matheson Museum. The day before, Friday, August 15, 100 reenactors will set up camp in Sweetwater Park, allowing the public to observe and experience the daily rituals of men who fought in the Civil War. Both the reenactment camp and battle are free and open to the public.