Will the Stuart Heritage Museum stay on the downtown waterfront? Voters decide in August

STUART — Voters will decide in August whether pieces of the city's history stay put for another decade or longer.

That history is maintained at the Stuart Heritage Museum, inside the historic Stuart Feed Store at 161 SW Flagler Ave., near City Hall. The museum, through the nonprofit Stuart Heritage Inc., leases the building from the city and is seeking a 15-year lease with the option for renewal.

Stuart's city charter requires voter approval of any lease of city waterfront property for more than 10 years. The museum has been operating without a lease since 2020.

"This is an integral part of the city of Stuart," said City Commissioner Christopher Collins following a unanimous vote Monday by the commission to put the question on the August primary ballot. It needs 60% of the vote to be approved.

How we got here

"We want to be able to preserve what got us here," said Gary Maxwell, president of the museum board of directors. "I think it's always important to know where you've come from to know where you're going."

Children "don't know what a dial telephone is," he said, referring to rotary-dial phones. The museum has several such phones on display.

Children "'dial' people's phone numbers, but they think it's pushing numbers," Maxwell said. "They don't understand where the dials came from."

The museum also gives children "a broader understanding of their place in society," Maxwell said.

History of the museum

At least part of the museum's building has been around for more than a century, opening in July 1901 as a grocery store, according to a document provided to TCPalm by a docent at the museum. Massachusetts builder Sam Mathews built it for George Washington Parks, who named it Geo. W. Parks General Merchandise. The Parks family lived on the second floor.

It was the second store to operate along the St. Lucie River in Stuart, serving as a gathering place for residents. The building is on the Stuart Historic Register; the museum opened in 1992.

Inside is Parks' potbelly stove, two chairs from the Krueger plantation house and a Spanish dagger.

Many items have been donated by residents, said docent Judy Woods. a retired Martin County teacher and native Floridian.

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A lease for 10,000 visitors

Maxwell wants a $100-a-year lease from the city. If city officials required the museum to pay market rent, the museum would have to move, Maxwell said. The museum operates on donations, memberships and gift-shop sales, he said.

More than 10,000 people visited the museum last year, Maxwell said. The museum hosts six to eight speakers each year to talk about the area's past.

"We can't stop the tide of progress," Maxwell said. "But I feel it's important that we don't let progress wash away our history. And that's what the museum is about."

Keith Burbank is TCPalm's watchdog reporter covering Martin County. He can be reached at keith.burbank@tcpalm.com and at 720-288-6882.

This article originally appeared on Treasure Coast Newspapers: Voters to choose whether Stuart Heritage Museum gets long-term lease