Come visit Cracker Country for FREE on Smithsonian Magazine Museum Day! Explore our historic buildings, participate in hands-on activities & chores, and learn from historic demonstrations. Don't forget to stop by the General Store. Proceeds from our gift shop help support our educational field trip programs.
Cracker Country
Reliving Rural Florida History
Museum Day
Historically Dressed Educators
Discover Florida's unique cattle ranching traditions
Historically Dressed Educators
Discover Florida's unique cattle ranching traditions
Knowledgeable interpreters dressed in period outfits at each site are ready to share Florida's history!
Did you know that Florida has the longest history of ranching of any state in the United States?
Come learn how to herd cattle in a subtropical environment.
Hands-on Activities
Help us with everyday chores!
Hands-on Activities
Help us with everyday chores!
See our model train display, print a postcard on an antique printing press, meet a 19th century Florida cow hunter and help with the everyday chores like churning butter and cleaning laundry with an old-fashioned washboard.
Shopping & Demonstrations
Hand-made crafts and demonstrations
Shopping & Demonstrations
Hand-made crafts and demonstrations
Visit our General Store! The store features nostalgic and reproduction items, historical toys and games, books, candy, and many other unique gift ideas.
Also check out our historical demonstrators who exhibit and demonstrate their wares.
Historic Structures
See our late 19th century rural Florida buildings
Historic Structures
See our late 19th century rural Florida buildings
The museum holds a collection of 13 original buildings dating from 1870-1912 which were relocated from across the state of Florida. Our buildings range from public buildings like our Terry Store and Okahumpka Train Depot, to private buildings like our Carlton and Smith homes.
Family Friendly
Activities for both young and old
Family Friendly
Activities for both young and old
Great for families, seniors, scout groups and more!
Tour our historic buildings and grounds, see our Terry Store, play with period toys, help with everyday chores like churning butter, and learn about Florida's Cowhunters.
What to Expect
Museum Day
About the Event
Date: September TBA, 2023
Time: 10am-4pm
Smithsonian Magazine Museum Day is a national celebration of museums. On this day, you can visit Cracker Country and experience a historic rural Florida lifestyle for FREE!
General Pricing: FREE for all
Parking: Enter the Fairgrounds via MLK Parking Entrance and park near Gate 2. $10.00 per car. $16.00 per RV/Bus/Oversized vehicles.
See & Do
During Museum Day Live, visitors can tour historic buildings and grounds that represent home life, commerce and transportation as it was in many rural Florida communities just before the turn of the 20th century. See our model train display, meet a 19th century Florida cow hunter and help with the everyday chores like churning butter and laundry with an old-fashioned washboard.
$2 Dip a beeswax candle -- cash only
Main Stage
Rekindled Bits of Grass | Bluegrass Band - 11am, 1pm, 3pm
Bee keeping & honey demonstrations
Wood duck decoy carving demonstrations
Cigar box dulcimer making
Pine needle basket weaving
Stop & Shop
There are lots of unique holiday gifts to be found at the General Store! The store features nostalgic and reproduction items, historical toys and games, books, candy, and many other unique gift items.
The General Store accepts cash, Visa, Master Card, and personal checks with ID.
Proceeds from sales in the General Store help support Cracker Country's field trip programs.
What to Eat
Inside Cracker Country: Sandwiches, chips, and drinks are available for purchase. Picnic tables are available for a picnic lunch.
Testimonials
Guest Comments - Museum Day
I will always remember...how much fun we had making a doll.
The friendliness of people and the wealth of information!
We loved jumping in the sacks and making rope.
Hands on! Great people at exhibits very informative. Learned a lot Kids enjoyed!
Enjoyed the atmosphere of a simpler, slower, quieter country Florida.
The butter, the guests and docents made the experience great.
I will always remember watching my kids do REAL manual labor (tilling the soil).
Taking us back in time, my daughter got to see a glimpse of history.
I will always remember the Rail Road Depot and men who were there, they knew their stuff.
I will always remember the time with my children/seeing how things used to be : )
Pets are not allowed in Cracker Country.
Service animals are allowed, as defined in the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) or animals approved as part of an exhibition.
Service animal means any dog that is individually trained to do work or perform tasks for the benefit of an individual with a disability.
Dogs whose sole function is to provide comfort or emotional support do not qualify as service animals under the ADA.