Our story
From a local building to a lasting legacy
What began with the purchase of the Stuart Feed Store in 1988 has become a museum that keeps Stuart’s history for the next generation.
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1988
A building worth saving
Purchase of the Stuart Feed Store
When the city purchased the Stuart Feed Store and property in 1988, Stuart Heritage wanted to convert the building into the Stuart Heritage Museum. However, it was not an easy process. To help with expenses, the front portion of the building was rented by Mrs. Peter’s Smoked Fish House for a couple of years.
Stuart Feed Supply, mid-1980s -
Early years
Building the collection
Gathering artifacts
During those early years, donations of artifacts were gathered and organized in the remainder of the building. Some of the earliest Stuart memorabilia came from the efforts of Capt. Francis Adams, who had established a Stuart mini-museum in a small building behind the Stuart Police Station on 7th Street from June 1972 until his death in September 1975. With these and other donations from families who had lived in the area for decades, Stuart Heritage’s inventory and variety of items steadily increased.
Donated by local families -
August 1992
The museum opens
Stuart Heritage Museum
In August 1992, Stuart Heritage, Inc. opened the Stuart Heritage Museum in the old feed store, and it has run the museum there ever since. In 2011 the building turned 110, the oldest commercial building in Stuart.
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Today
Preserving Stuart’s story
A lasting impact
Local architect Don Armstrong was a founding member and Stuart Heritage’s first president. He and other members set the organization’s goal to protect Stuart’s historical identity. Besides its numerous artifacts on display at the museum, that preservation has included saving numerous early buildings and homes which might otherwise have been torn down.
Stuart Heritage Museum today
