The Society
brings History to Life.

The Historical Society of Palm Beach County is a non-profit organization whose mission is to collect, preserve, and share the history of Palm Beach County. The Society maintains a large library on the history of Palm Beach County, Florida, and the Caribbean. Through its archives, which includes nearly two million photographic images, maps, newspapers, journals, periodicals, architectural drawings, and research files, the Society maintains an active research facility and documents the people and events that have shaped Palm Beach County. In addition, the multiple education programs and initiatives of the Historical Society in schools and communities are of primary importance to our vision of building an understanding and appreciation of local history in our children.

After the Historical Society was formed in 1937, West Palm Beach attorney A. Stanley Bussey donated a vintage black-and-white photograph of an island street scene to the newly established Society, the first gift to what would become a remarkable collection of artifacts and documents representing the cultures and communities, failures and successes of life in Palm Beach County.

The creation of the Richard and Pat Johnson Palm Beach County History Museum in 2008 finally allowed the collection to fully serve its critical purpose: to share and showcase the rich history of Palm Beach County and the larger context of Florida’s heritage dating back at least 12,000 years.