In Ocoee, the Withers-Maguire House (16 E. Oakland Ave.) is home to a Community History and Pioneer Family Museum. The house was built in 1888 by a Kentuckian who wintered in Florida, then sold to a Georgian who came to grow citrus. Ocoee was also the site of racial violence in 1920, leading many black citizens to leave the town. These events have been brought to life in an original historical drama, "The Whirlwind Passeth."

Sanford was a steamboat port on the St. Johns and the "celery capital of the world." The Sanford Museum (520 E. 1st St.; 407-302-1000) in Lake Mellon Park displays memorabilia of the city's past as well as an archival collection of items related to the career of diplomat Henry Sanford, for whom the town is named.

Two other museums in Sanford offer a broader view of Seminole County: The Seminole County Museum (300 Bush Blvd.; 407-321-2489), in the 1926 former "Old Folks Home," has period rooms and exhibits devoted to county history, including the Seminole Wars, transportation, forestry and agriculture. The Seminole County Public Schools Museum (301 W. 7th St.; 407-320-0520), is in the handsome 1902 Romanesque-revival Sanford High School, one of the oldest schools in the state still in use. Various rooms cover different subjects, such as Native Americans, pioneer life and an early 1900s schoolroom. The museum is a learning center especially for county school children, but is open to the public afternoons.

The Lake County Historical Museum (317 W. Main St.; 352-343-9600) is a regional museum on the main floor of the restored 1924 Lake County Courthouse in Tavares. It celebrates pioneer history, depicting the importance of ranching and citrus. The Eustis Historic Museum (536 N. Bay St.; 352-483-0046) is in the 1910 Clifford House. The Citrus Museum in the former carriage house tells the story of Eustis when it was the citrus capital of the world, before the freezes of 1893 and 1894. The Royallou Museum (450 Royallou Lane; 352-383-0006) behind the Mt. Dora Center for the Arts tells about this city's early days, when it was called Royallou.

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