- November 12, 2024
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Catherine Wilson, right, and her family. Courtesy photo
The Flagler Beach Historical Museum opened next to city hall in 2000. Photo by Jacque Estes
Friends and admirers gathered at the Flagler Beach Women’s Club to honor Catherine P. Wickline Wilson for her 15 years of leadership at the Flagler Beach Historical Museum on Saturday, July 16.
Wilson is the daughter of George E. Wickline and the granddaughter of A.V. and Etta Wickline. In 1956 she moved to Flagler Beach with her husband, Bernie Wilson, and their daughters, JoAnne and Barbara Revels (Flagler County Commissioner).
The idea for the museum began with tables of historic items, and pictures displayed on the walls, in the Flagler Beach City Hall Commission Room on Friday mornings. The response was great and soon people began donating historical items from their families.
“As volunteers began the cataloguing, we realized that we needed to find space for a real museum,” Wilson said. “We elected a Board of Directors and their work began to find funding for this project.”
The small group visited several other museums in and out of the State, for a plan for the best layout for the space in Flagler Beach. The Tourist Development Council helped fund the renovation after the City of Flagler Beach gave permission to use the former area used by the fire department.
Wilson is an author, having written “A New Beginning: A Picturesque History of Flagler Beach,” in 1998. She has also been honored as a Flagler Beach Rotary Citizen of the Year. She retired after 25 years with Barnett Bank.
Her community involvement through the years has included president of the Flagler Beach School PTA, president of Flagler Beach Volunteer Fire Dept. Auxiliary, president of the Flagler Beach United Methodist Church Women’s Society, director of the church choir, chairman of the Flagler Beach Recreation Committee, a charter member of the Flagler County Music Society, and a member of the Flagler County Historical Society.
The Flagler Beach Historical Museum was founded in the year 2000 and opened it its current location in 2001. Visitors are invited to experience history from the ‘Stone Age to the Space Age’. The motto explains why the museum is so popular with visitors of multiple interests. Begin with prehistoric bones and fast forward to dehydrated astronaut food and a flag that was taken into space on the space shuttle Endeavour.
The Museum is open 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., Monday through Sunday, and until 9 p.m. on the first Friday of every month.
