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Non-Profit Spotlight: Florida Maritime Museum and Folk School

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Housed in a historic 1912 schoolhouse and surrounded by the tranquil grounds of the Cortez Nature Preserve, the Florida Maritime Museum is a local treasure that maintains a living record of our area’s past. The museum has recently added a unique "folk school" that will aid in their mission of collecting, preserving and sharing traditional knowledge, cultural artifacts and personal stories specific to Florida's fishing and maritime heritage.

The museum is situated on almost 4 acres of land in the historic fishing village of Cortez, which lines the shore of Sarasota Bay on the mainland of west Bradenton, just across the water from Bradenton Beach. It is free and open to the public Tuesday-Saturday, 9 a.m.-4 p.m. Cortez was founded in the 1880's by settlers from North Carolina who fished for mullet, which was salted and then transported out of the area for sale. By the early 1900's, it was a booming enterprise, serving as a catalyst for the area's growth and development. It remains as one of Florida's last fully-active fishing villages.

The village suffered many blows to its commercial fishing industry, including the 1995 net ban, which pitted the commercial and sport fishing industries against each other. In the end, Florida voters approved an amendment to the state constitution to ban the use of entanglement nets in nearshore and inshore waters, devastating the commercial fishing culture in small coastal towns throughout the state, including Cortez.

Though there are still two fish houses that remain active in Cortez today, it can be difficult to imagine the quaint Old Florida enclave as having once been one of the most productive fisheries in the nation. Once inside the museum, however, visitors discover a wealth of photos, ship models, a maritime library and other assorted artifacts that create a vivid image of the bountiful fishing village that once existed.
 
 
In addition to the schoolhouse, the museum also relocated to its grounds the Burton Store/Albion Inn, a historic building that had been located where the current Coast Guard facility sits. The building's interior is currently being improved in order to serve as the primary classroom for the folk school. It is expected to be finished by the end of this year.

The effort to preserve the Cortez heritage was one of many historical endeavors undertaken by R.B. "Chips" Shore, the late, longtime Clerk of the Courts for Manatee County, who was not only a dedicated historian but an avid fisherman and boater who enjoyed visiting the village. The museum is sponsored by the Manatee County Clerk of Circuit Courts, but Shore split off his department's involvement by forming a 501(c)3 that could manage revenue-producing endeavors such as the folk school, which is being assisted by aid through the Patterson Foundation, the Preston Family, as well as the Manatee Tourist Development Council.
 
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While the museum aids in demonstrating what once was, serving the critical role of preventing our past from being lost to antiquity and becoming all but unknown to future generations, the vision for the school is to preserve not only the historical record but the traditions and way of life that once endured.

"There is so much history here," said Captain Mike Finney, chairman of the board that oversees the non-profit. "The folk school will be a way to not only connect people who live here now to the history of their community, but to draw in the folks who visit and show them that this area is much more than just condos and beaches. I think Chips would be proud of what we’re doing."

Classes include subjects like fish painting, fermentation, quilt making, knot tying, fish filleting, net mending, candlemaking, skin on frame kayak building, ancestry 101, photo preservation, memoir writing and much more. The programs are offered year-round, with affordable pricing options available for members, groups and individuals.
 

Museum supervisor Kristin Sweeting explained that the class offerings will be ever-evolving and respond to the interests of attendees. So far, they have been a complete success, drawing not only Manatee residents but people from as far away as Sarasota and Venice who make the drive up in order to attend, as well as a surprising number of tourists who take a class while visiting the area. This serves to expose more and more people to the village, who then return to enjoy its restaurants, waterways and other old Florida charms.

Cortezians have weathered the net ban, tropical storms and hurricanes, financial booms and busts, over-development of the surrounding areas, and other calamities that threatened their way of life in order to preserve their culture. Time and progress, however, may be the biggest threat to such perseverance. The new folk school will be a powerful tool in protecting Cortez's historic heritage for future generations to both learn from and take pride in. Check out the class schedule here. You can also aid the endeavor by clicking here to make a secure donation to the Florida Maritime Museum.
 
 

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