Explore Nearby Museums
 Updated: 4/30/2020 
The Elliott Museum
Stuart, Florida
Description
The Elliott Museum and the House of Refuge

This general museum features a variety of exhibits which focus on three areas--art, history and technology. The highlight of the permanent exhibitions is the auto gallery which features a unique robotic display with over fifty vehicles. The robot retrieves vehicles upon request and brings them to a display turn table for examination. Visitors can also see vintage vehicles on the floor of the gallery, including a Springfield, Massachusetts-made Rolls Royce, a 1930 school bus into which you can climb, and an exhibition of three differently-powered early cars. Other exhibitions include a Foucault Pendulum, an exhibition of early bicycles and inventor Sterling Elliott, and Evinrude outboard motors. There are also exhibits about actress Frances Langford, vintage stores, local history, boat models, and a Baseball gallery featuring over 700 signed baseball cards, bats, and baseballs. The Museum also operates an active art studio where people take classes in everything from digital photography to sculpture. The Museum offers an impressive slate of changing exhibitions in its 3,000 square foot exhibition gallery. Recent exhibitions have included "Leonardo da Vinci's Machines in Motion," and "The Art of Seating: 200 Years of American Design."

Mission

The mission of the Elliott Museum is to inspire creativity through exhibitions and programs about art, history, and technology for people living in and visiting the Treasure Coast.

History

The Historical Society of Martin County was formed in the mid-1950s to preserve and interpret the House of Refuge on Hutchinson Island, the last remaining house of its kind still standing. Soon after, Harmon Elliott donated funds to build a Museum to house the Society's offices and to feature exhibitions about his father's inventions. Together, father and son held 222 patents. Among the inventions attributed to Sterling are the pneumatic tire, what we now know as rack and pinion steering, the paper cup, addressing machines and the women's bicycle. He also purchased store fronts from New England to present in the Museum that he was creating. Over the years the community began to use the Museum as a provider of changing exhibitions and also art classes. Also, important local history materials were donated to the Museum. With these avenues of service opening up, the Museum expanded its mission and vision. After several hurricanes damaged the 1961 facility, and with the gift of a significant collection of vintage automobiles, the Board of Directors embarked on a new building campaign. In 2009, the old building was torn down, and a new 49,000 square foot facility was designed. The new facility opened in 2013.

Artifact Collections
Museum Collection

The Museum has 28,000 items in its collection. The Collection includes over 90 vintage cars, classic boats, boat models, outboard motors, bicycles, motor cycles, and a reproduction air plane. The Museum also has a significant collection of Americana from the late 1800s into the early 1900s, including store accoutrements. The museum has a large collection of American art from the late 1800s and early 1900s. Important pieces of local history include archeological items, items from ship wrecks, Seminole materials, and items relating to the Pineapple industry. The Museum has a very large collection of signed baseball memorabilia. There is a significant library and archives including historical photographs of Martin County, Florida, actress Frances Langford, and other items. There are over 3,000 books, including a significant collection of maritime books. The Museum has perhaps the largest collection of materials relating to actress Frances Langford.

Governance

Historical Society of M C

Library
Library and Archives

The Library and Archives is nearly ready to open to the public for regular hours. Librarians continue to process more than 1,000 boos, many of which are about Maritime history. Archivists are beginning to process historic photographs and documents, including some surrounding the early history of Martin County.

Access: General Public

Appointment required: True

Services
Gift Shop
Event Rental
Group Tours
Address
825 NE Ocean Blvd.
Stuart, FL 34996
phone: 772-225-1961
fax: 772-225-2333
home page: hsmc-fl.com/elliott-museum/
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Hours of Operation
Elliott Museum and House of Refuge
Daily10 AM - 5 PM

Closed Easter Sunday, Fourth of July, Thanksgiving Day, Christmas Day, and New Year's Day.

Admission

Adults: $14
Seniors (over 65): $12
Military: $12
Members: free
Children (6-12): $6
Children under 6 free
Combo Ticket Elliott and House of Refuge: $18
AAA or AARP: $13

Museum Type(s)
Art
Culture
History
Historic House
Historical Society
Science
Staff
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MUSEUM CONFERENCES

Virginia Association of Museum's 2025 Annual Conference!

March 15 - 18, 2025

Blacksburg, Virginia

Virginia Association of Museum's 2025 Annual Conference!

Saturday, March 15 - Tuesday, March 18, 2025

The Inn at Virginia Tech

Blacksburg, Virginia

Hosted by: Virginia Association of Museums

2025 Conference Theme: Looking Back to the Future For the past several years, many museums have been deeply involved in planning programs and events to observe the 250th birthday of the United States of America. While this is certainly an occasion to celebrate, this anniversary also forces us as a society to reckon with ongoing inequities and challenges within the US that go back to its inception. As museums ask their audiences to look to the past to understand the present and shape a better future, perhaps now is a good moment in time for Virginia’s museum community to take pause and look back at its own history. We are excited to see you in Blacksburg in March 2025 as we take a moment in our hectic schedules to take pause and visit our diverse pasts. Let’s uncover and share our histories to build a more resilient Virginia museum community.

Ohio Museum Asociation 2025 Annual Conference - Athens

March 29 - 31, 2025

Athens, Ohio

Ohio Museum Asociation 2025 Annual Conference - Athens

Saturday, March 29 - Monday, March 31, 2025

TBA

Athens, Ohio

Hosted by: Ohio Museums Association

"Innovation: Museums and Reaching our Potential

The heart of innovation is transformation – shaking up our established way of doing things by introducing new methods, new ideas, and new approaches to both obstacles and opportunities

Museums across Ohio are not just adapting, but innovating to reach their full potential and better serve their communities. No matter their role, museum professionals are introducing forward-thinking perspectives and initiating creative solutions to launch the field into a future where museums can remain trusted and relevant community cornerstones

How can your museum stay true to mission and serve your community in new and meaningful ways? How can we as museum professionals meet the challenges of the future with reinvigorated enthusiasm

Join us in Athens, March 29-31 as we explore these topics and more at the 2025 Ohio Museums Association’s Annual Conference: Innovation: Museums and Reaching our Potential.

For more information, please email oma@ohiohistory.org.

North Carolina Museums Council 2025 Annual Conference

March 30 - 31, 2025

Raleigh, North Carolina

North Carolina Museums Council 2025 Annual Conference

Sunday, March 30 - Monday, March 31, 2025

TBA

Raleigh, North Carolina

Hosted by: North Carolina Museums Council

Museums Unwalled: Expanding Horizon

This theme highlights the importance of museums as dynamic entities that engage with communities, foster education, drive cultural change and often go beyond the building itself. By focusing on areas such as community engagement, digital and virtual presence, interdisciplinary collaborations, sustainability, accessibility, and cultural diversity, we aim to provide a comprehensive and enriching experience for all attendees

The primary objective is to provide a platform for museum professionals and others working in the industry to share ideas, best practices, resources and innovative approaches that demonstrate how museums can reach audiences in and beyond our physical spaces. We aim to inspire attendees to think broadly about the potential of their institutions and to foster a spirit of innovation and community engagement.

By facilitating discussions, workshops, and networking opportunities, the conference will empower current and future museum professionals and to expand their impact, embrace new challenges, and create meaningful connections with their audiences and communities.

Arkansas Museums Association 2025 Conference

March 31 - April 3, 2025

Washington, Arkansas

Arkansas Museums Association 2025 Conference

Monday, March 31 - Thursday, April 3, 2025

Historic Washington State Park

Washington, Arkansas

Hosted by: Arkansas Museums Association

"From the Ground Up: Cultivating Essential Skills in Museums

This year, the AMA conference theme is "From the Ground Up: Cultivating Essential Skills in Museums" As museum professionals we learn and use a wide variety of tools and skills every day

The Arkansas Museums Association is planning its 2025 Annual Conference, which will be hosted by Historic Washington State Park on March 31-April 3, 2025.

The goal of the conference is to support and foster the museum community through a mix of speakers as well as workshops, practical and informative presentations, in-depth discussions, and examples of projects and initiatives that are relevant to museums in Arkansas. Arkansas Museum Association members take ownership in the conference experience as presenters, speakers, panelists, facilitators, and workshop leaders.

For more information, please email arkansasmuseums@gmail.com.

New York Museum Association 2025 Conference in Ithaca, NY

April 5 - 8, 2025

Ithaca, New York

New York Museum Association 2025 Conference in Ithaca, NY

Saturday, April 5 - Tuesday, April 8, 2025

Ithaca Downtown Conference Center

Ithaca, New York

Hosted by: Museum Association of New York

Cultivating Community: Looking In, Reaching Ou

Who are the members of our communities? How can we evaluate our internal structures to help us better understand our organization, define our audiences, and serve our communities? How do we bring all communities together to support our field? How can we support and develop our internal community of staff, volunteers, and board members? How can we advocate for funding that meets operational capacity needs and includes equitable staff support? What changes do we need to make to prioritize the health and well-being of our museum workforce that will support the longevity and sustainability of our institutions and strengthen our ability to build meaningful community relationships

MANY presents conference sessions, workshops, panel discussions, facilitated discussions, and peer-to-peer learning experiences focusing on our 2025 conference theme, Cultivating Community: Looking In, Reaching Out. We will be gathering in Ithaca, in the Southern Tier Region of our state, located on the traditional homelands of the Gayogo̱hó:nǫɁ (the Cayuga Nation)

MANY’s annual conference helps museum professionals build a network to share perspectives, tools, and skills that develop excellence across the field. Our goal is to nurture a community of practice, advance institutional change, and create an inclusive and expansive New York team of collaborators who learn together.

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