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| Photo collections: |
approximately 8,000 images from ca. 1900 to the present depicting a variety of subjects relevant to local history including images of: early agriculture; historic structures; transportation routes; and pioneers. Reprints of these photos are available. Reprints are available through the Archives department at the historical society or the photo gallery.
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| Subject Files: |
contain clippings, brochures, pamphlets and other materials relating to various subjects pertinent to area history. Highlights include the Army Air Field, Mizner Industries; IBM; and FAU.
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| Manuscript collections: |
the Historical Society is fortunate to own several important collections documenting many of the significant and everyday activities in the history of South Florida. The Chesebro Family Diaries document the lives of a family of pioneer farmers and landscape nurserymen. The Rickards Collection contains personal letters, early Florida survey books, and miscellaneous documents from 1895 through the 1920s and covers such interesting subjects as the development of Pearl City, the Yamato Colony, and the F.E.C. Railway. The Gates Collection contains many abstracts and documents from a pioneer family involved in local real estate. In addition, the archives contains Boca Raton city records from 1925 through 1930, which record the new city’s survival of boom and bust.
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| Architectural drawings: |
a small but growing number of architectural drawings document some of the most historic structures in our community.
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| Maps: |
about 50 maps plus a small collection of aerial photos and Redi Maps are available to aid environmental auditors as well as historians in the documentation of land use.
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| Oral histories: |
approximately 120 oral histories have been collected from local pioneers and the Historical Society is fortunate to house copies of the Pearl City research project (Boca’s historically black community) which formed the basis of the 1990 book Pearl City, Florida, a Black Community Remembers.
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| City directories: |
much used by house researchers and environmentalists, the Historical Society holds a collection of these tomes dating from 1956 through 1989 (with some gaps).
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| Newspapers: |
Hometown newspapers The Weekly Tattler, The Pelican and The Boca Raton News spanning the era 1938 through 1969 have been digitized and are available in a text searchable format elsewhere on this website. The BRHS also retains bound copies of the Boca News through 1981 (after which date microfilm copies are available at the public library).
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| Three dimensional collections: |
the Boca Raton Historical Society has acquired many interesting paintings and prints of local scenes and historic structures, as well as memorabilia relating to the local pioneers and the first IBM PC—developed right here in Boca Raton. The Society’s collection of over 150 furnishings and decorative items from the Mizner era are usually on display in Old Town Hall.
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| Books and Periodicals |
a collection of approximately 600 reference books on area and Florida history; historic preservation and architecture; and other subjects of interest to researchers and staff are available in the Society’s non-circulating library. In addition, the Society maintains a small periodical collection including important references such as the Florida Historical Quarterly, Tequesta, and the Boca Raton Historical Society’s own journal, the Spanish River Papers (available on this website).
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The Boca Raton Historical Society was founded in 1972 to “collect, preserve, and present information and artifacts relevant to the past and evolving history of Boca Raton.” In the ensuing years, the Historical Society has acquired a significant collection of objects and archives that document the history of our community. The following is a brief description of some of the offerings housed in Boca Raton Old Town Hall and available to researchers.
