Fort Christmas Historical Park
If you’re looking for an educational, inexpensive and family friendly mini-vacation, check out Fort Christmas Historical Park in Christmas. It’s a great place to learn about Florida history and the Second Seminole War.
The park features a full-scale replica of the fort built in 1837 during the Second Seminole Indian War. A small museum within the re-created fort displays US military, Seminole Indian and pioneer artifacts. Read on for some ideas.
Fort Christmas
Fort Christmas Historical Park is a fun place to visit when you want to learn about Florida’s history. It’s located outside of Orlando, and it’s a great way to spend an afternoon with the kids.
The park is free to explore, and there are a lot of historic buildings that you can see. There are houses, a school, a post office, pioneer homes, farm machinery and more.
You can also tour a full-size replica of Fort Christmas that was used during the Second Seminole War. It’s a good way to learn about the Seminole War and it’s a fun place to take the kids! There are also picnic pavilions. Each has a large barbeque grill, electrical outlets and a water hose.
Cracker Houses
The full-size replica of Fort Christmas and seven restored Cracker Houses at Fort Christmas Historical Park show pioneer life in Florida. The ‘Cracker’ architecture of East Orange County is preserved in these historical homes, interpreted to depict pioneer life from the 1870s through 1930s.
The Cracker houses on display were originally located in rural communities around the state and were inhabited by families with familiar names such as Simmons, Wheeler, Bass, and Yates.
These homes have been relocated to the property and are furnished with period furniture, appliances and kitchen items as well as hand tools.
The park also features a schoolhouse, a lunchroom, a sugar cane mill and two cow camps. Its small museum displays US military, Seminole Indian and pioneer artifacts from the Second Seminole War. The park has picnic areas, a children’s playground and facilities for baseball, basketball and tennis. Browse around this site to check more places to visit.
Pioneer Homes
The Fort Christmas Historical Park, located in the small town of Christmas, Florida, is a great destination for family outings. It features a full-size replica of a fort built during the Second Seminole Indian War; eight pioneer homes; a schoolhouse and lunchroom; and a sugar cane mill.
The seven restored pioneer houses on display are furnished with period furniture, appliances, kitchen items and hand tools. They represent families with familiar names in Florida’s pioneer days, such as Simmons, Wheeler, Bass and Yates.
This Orange County park hosts several events each year, including a popular Cracker Christmas in December and Bluegrass Music Festival in March. It also has picnic pavilions, sports fields and courts shaded with large, mature live oaks.
Schoolhouse
The town of Christmas might be a yuletide name, but its origin is actually from a fort built by the US Army in 1835 to supress the Seminole Indians. This was a string of forts the army built throughout Florida, each named for its location.
When the Second Seminole War escalated in 1835, the US army began building a number of forts to garrison men and supplies as they marched south for battle. As the army arrived in central Florida, it established a stockade that was appropriately christened, Fort Christmas.
Today this Orange County park (open every day except Mondays and holidays) features a full-size replica of the fort along with seven restored pioneer buildings. These plain, vernacular structures speak to rural Florida life from the 1700s until the 1930s.
Sugar Cane Mill
Fort Christmas Historical Park is a collection of historic buildings that tell a story of early Florida. The park is a great place for families and kids to spend the day.
The park has many historical buildings including houses, a school, post office, pioneer homes and a sugar cane mill. The park also has a museum and a gift shop.
This park is free to visit. The museum displays US military, Seminole Indian and pioneer artifacts.
The park also has 7 restored historic homes that are interpreted to show pioneer life from the 1870s through the 1930s. There are also several picnic pavilions, restroom facilities, a baseball diamond, tennis courts and a playground. There are also many events at the park. One is the Cracker Christmas Gathering on the first weekend in December where there are crafters, pioneer demonstrations, Civil War artifact displays, antique cars and tractors, Southern festival foods such as pull-pork sandwiches, gator tail, boiled peanuts, swamp cabbage and a wide variety of scrumptious baked goods. Browse next article.
Driving directions from CRM-CM Construction Management to Fort Christmas Historical Park
Driving directions from Fort Christmas Historical Park to Jungle Adventures, A Real Florida