The Lawrence E. Will Museum, owned by the City of Belle Glade and operated by the Palm Beach County Library District, is housed in an integrated addition to the Belle Glade Branch Library.

History:

The museum was founded as part of the National Bicentennial Year Celebration in 1976.  The Museum was built with local donations to the Bicentennial Program.  Mr. Will’s father, Dr. Thomas E. Will, was a pioneer in the settlement and development of the upper Everglades.  Mr. Will followed him with a varied career in agriculture, land development, merchandising, and land and water transportation.  These personal experiences were the basis of Mr. Will’s five books chronicling Lake Okeechobee and the upper Everglades.

Museum Holdings:

The Museum’s holdings are purely local, essentially items representing the upper “Glades” area embracing the southeastern shore of Lake Okeechobee.  The Museum may be the only one located in, and dedicated to, an organic soil area.  The holdings are intended to serve as a resource base for educational programs for Glades-area students and adults and for non-resident students, adult visitors and bona-fide historical scholars.

Purpose:

The Museum’s mission is to collect, conserve, display, and organize - for educational and research goals - the artifacts, memorabilia, photographic, and written records pertinent to this unique organic-soil, sub-tropical region adjacent to Lake Okeechobee and the upper Everglades.

Permanent Exhibits:

• Photographic displays depicting the 1933-34, 1977 “digs” in the Indian habitation mound in Chosen.

• Glass-cased display of artifacts from the 1977 “dig”.

• Glass-cased displays of bone, shell, stone, wooden, and metal artifacts from several periods.

• Panel display recounting the catastrophic 1928 hurricane.

• A diorama with narration depicting a Seminole Indian village in the Everglades.

• A diorama with narration depicting "Belle Glade - Chosen townsites in the early 1900's."

• Billy Bowlegs exhibit featuring the Ann Tyler mural setting for a tunic presented to Mr. Will by Seminole Chief Billy Bowlegs II.

Collections:

Permanent exhibit items including privately-owned artifacts on loan.

• Mr. Will’s sorted and unsorted notes, writings, records, maps and charts.

• Incomplete runs of The Everglades News, New Philosophy, Glades Observer, Pahokee Observer, Pahokee News, Belle Glade News, The Herald, The Belle Glade Herald, and The Herald Observer from 1924 to 1965.

• Miscellaneous writings, reports, photographs, and paintings with some items dating back to the turn of the century.

• An antiquated telephone switchboard from the Belle Glade exchange.

• Furnishings and other items from Fear’s Hotel.

• Movie film recorded during the early agricultural development of the upper “Glades”.

Loan Exhibits:

Traveling exhibits that complement the Museum’s purpose are mounted when available.

Currently On Loan:

“On the Season”; a chronicle of the seasonal and permanent black migration from Florida to New York State.  This exhibit was created by and on loan from the Oneida County Historical Society, Utica, New York.

Educational Programs:

The Museum considers local students - grade school, high school, and community college - as its primary clientele and provides them with the opportunity to learn local history.  The Museum provides similar opportunity to adults and special groups.  A slide narration, A History of the Everglades, is available on request for group showings, in-Museum and off-site.

Governance and Management:

The Belle Glade Branch Library is under long-term lease to the Palm Beach County Library District.  Artifacts and documents are loaned to the District for display under separate agreement. Palm Beach County Library staff conduct the Museum’s daily operations: opening and closing, providing general information, guiding student tours, assisting visitors, and general custodial functions.  The Belle Glade Museum Board was established by City Commission resolution and operates through the City Manager.  Museum Board Members and library volunteers maintain and develop displays and exhibits, assist researchers, and perform curatorial functions.

Availability to the Public:

Museum hours conform to the operating hours of the Library.  Guided tours may be arranged. Research materials may be available for in-museum use on advance request.  A staff member is available every Wednesday to assist researchers.  Please contact Library staff at (561) 996-3453, or the Museum Board at (561) 996-0100, ext. 601.