This year’s holiday exhibit at the Sanibel Historical Museum & Village will focus on the history of each of its nine historical buildings. The exhibit, ““Trees, Timelines, & Special Memories,” opens December 3. The Village will host its usual pre-Luminary Open House on December 3 with free admission from 3 to 5 p.m.
After doing extensive research on each of the village’s buildings, volunteers found that most of them were used for several different purposes before they were moved to the village.
“We found it to be quite fascinating to discover each building’s complete history,” said Board Member Gayle Pence, who headed up the project.
For example, the 1926 Bailey Store on the bay was used by three other businesses after the Baileys moved to their new store on Tarpon Bay Road in 1966 and before the 1926 store was moved to the Historical Village in the 1990s.
“We have found each building to have a fascinating timeline,” Pence added. These timelines will be on exhibit in each of the village’s nine buildings. The holiday trees and exhibits will reflect the items found on the timelines. Pence said this holiday exhibit will offer a whole new layer of island history never before shared at the village. “This will truly be a magnificent display of holiday Trees, Timelines, and Special Memories,” Pence added.
The Sanibel Historical Museum and Village is open Tuesdays through Saturdays from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. In accordance with the city of Sanibel’s regulations, masks are required inside the buildings. Full guided tours are available only if reserved in advance for groups of no more than six, depending on docent availability. This precautionary measure is due to COVID-19. “We hope to be able to resume our regular tours, at 10:30 and 1:30, as soon as possible and within safety guidelines,” Alfino said.
The Sanibel Historical Village is located at 950 Dunlop Road (next to BIG ARTS) and there is handicap access. Admission is $10 for adults over 18. Members and children are free. The village has handicap access to all but one building, the tiny Post Office. For more information, call (239) 472-4648 during museum hours or visit www.sanibelmuseum.org.
