Upcoming Events | Sulphur Springs Museum

March 9

April 13

May 11

June 15

2025 Sunday Speaker Series

All at 2 p.m.

Refreshments Served

SeriesFunded by a grant from:

Scribbling Women in Florida

Author Betty Jean Steinhuser explores the life and work of a dozen women authors who “ran south in agitation” to Florida, from the Reconstruction era through the late 20th Century. We follow Harriet Beecher Stowe, Constance Fenimore Woolson, Sarah Orne Jewett, Laura Ingalls Wilder, Marjory Stoneman Douglas, Zora Neale Hurston, Marjorie Kinan Rawlings, Edna St. Vincent Millay, Rose Wilder Lane, Elizabeth Bishop, Anne Morrow Lindbergh, and Rachel Carson as they explore the Land of Flowers.

The Future of Florida's Coasts: What we can Learn from the History of Tampa Bay

Florida's coastal regions face numerous challenges. The past offers lessons for how we can confront them. This program provides historical context for the threats Florida's coasts face and some hope from the history of Tampa Bay. Seemingly doomed by the 1970s, Tampa Bay rebounded and today is a healthy estuary and a site of a vibrant coastal culture thanks to the efforts of everyday people. Evan Bennett, Ph.D., is Professor at FAU and author of Tampa Bay: The Story of an Estuary and Its People.

Having Fun, Wish You Were Here! An Illustrated History of the Postcard in Florida.

Author Liz Coursen takes her audience on a trip…a trip back in time, from a Florida when ox carts traveled via ferry and air-conditioning existed only in the imagination to a Florida of Streamliners and Orange Blossom Specials, using museum-quality postcards to tell the tale.

Juneteenth, Pride, Freedom

Juneteenth marks the moment formerly enslaved people learned they were emancipated. And while some notions of freedom remained elusive in the wake of the Civil War, certain freedoms could never be stolen from black folks even in the dredges of slavery--the freedom to love themselves and others, spiritually and romantically, the freedom to resist their own destruction. Black folks have lived and loved in many ways, and as we celebrate Juneteenth alongside Pride, this talk celebrates the history of the diverse lives and loves Black people sustained in slavery and beyond. David Ponton III, Ph.D., is Associate Professor at USF.

Sept. 14

Oct. 12

Motion Picture Paradise: A History of Florida’s Film and TV Industry

Often overlooked in its contribution to film history, Florida has played a key role in creating the modern entertainment industry. This presentation discusses how Florida became a “third coast” to the American film and television industries over the past one hundred years. Starting with the first film pioneers in Jacksonville during the 1900s and 1910s to South Florida’s television boom during the 2000s and 2010s, Florida has inspired countless exciting stories captured by the camera. David Morton, Ph.D., teaches film history at UCF.

Southern Road to Freedom: Florida’s Underground Railroad

The nation’s first Underground Railroad was established in Florida in the late 17th century, serving as a beacon of freedom for runaway slaves from the American South. Existing before the better-known Northern Underground Railroad, enslaved Africans gained their freedom by escaping and earning asylum in Spanish Florida. Author Magdalena Lamarre focuses on Florida’s early history as a Spanish territory, the escape routes used by runaway slaves, and the black communities they established before the abolition of slavery in the United States.

Nov. 16

War in Paradise: World War II in Florida

In the first weeks after Pearl Harbor pulled America into a two-front war, Germany’s U-Boats worked with impunity. Off Florida alone, they sank 24 ships. Some of Florida’s very features that attracted tourists made it a logical place for soldiers as well. The state, a strategic asset for its geography and climate, became an armed camp. Hotels turned into barracks, and hospitals, bases, and airfields increased from 8 to 172 by 1943. The sleepy southern state became one of the nation’s hotspots, and Florida would never be the same. Join Author Eliot Kleinberg for a fascinating look at World War II Florida.