Hours of Operation
7 days a week 10AM - 4PM
*Closed on major holidays (Easter, Thanksgiving, Christmas Eve, Christmas Day, New Years Day)
Pricing
$7 Adults
$3 Children 4-12 years old
Location
2491 Babb Rd. Kissimmee FL 34746
Guided Tour Information
Guided tours are available each Monday.
Cost: $10 adults / $5 children
An appointment is required for tours other days of the week.
Call 407-396-8644 x2 for tour availability
Self Guided Tour Information
Come anytime between 10 am - 4 pm for a self-guided tour. Information panels and maps are available on-site
Pioneer Village
The Pioneer Village is comprised of a permanent collection of authentic structures which once upon a time stood in different areas of Osceola County. They were carefully relocated to our present location and gently preserved to demonstrate how life was once lived before our modern times.
Come walk our grounds and stroll through history at the Pioneer Village!
Partin Family – Caretaker’s House ( Entrance building)
The Caretaker’s House from the Partin Family is a great addition to the Osceola County Historical Society. Henry O. Partin made history in Osceola County by introducing Brahman cattle to the cattle industry in Florida. This structure was originally located on Partin’s ranch and served as a Caretaker’s House. Early research shows it may have been built in 1932. Although this makes the structure “newer” than the rest of the Pioneer Village buildings, it was still part of Osceola County history. This structure will be the first building you walk through with our gift shop located inside.
Blacksmith's Shop
By crafting horseshoes, nails, tools and other items, the blacksmith provided a variety of services vital for a community's existence and growth. Local Boy Scouts used an original plan from the 1800's to build our shop, which includes a full working forge and authentic tools.
Lanier "Cracker House"
Built in 1889 by the Lanier family, prominent ranchers in Osceola County. The Cracker House, an early-American form of architecture, is defined by the center breezeway which creates a natural air conditioner for the home. Included with the house are a wash house, smokehouse, and gardens-- all essential to homesteader life in the 1800's.
Tyson House
The Tyson family represent yet another variety of Osceola County settler. This family worked hard as farmers, but had far less expendable income. The one-room house is an original structure from Osceola County, and allows OCHS to tell the story of an average farming family in the late 1800s. This family had 11 children.
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- The Tyson house shares the story of James C. Tyson and his family.
- After working and living around Osceola County, James settled in Narcoossee at some point between 1884 and 1890.
- He got married, had his first son, and purchased a small plot of land where James and his wife, Victoria, built their first home. According to property tax records, it appears the Tison home was built in 1892.
- Over the course of 1890-1917, the Tyson family welcomes 11 children.
The Cadman Complex
When the Cadman’s arrived in New York by ship in 1888 on their way to Florida, they became part of a larger trend: investors – many of them wealthy – attracted to Florida by promises of natural bounty and beauty, temperate climate, and commercial opportunity. For the Cadmans, the enticement came by way of family patriarch, Lt. Col. William Edwin Cadman’s younger brother, John Heaton Cadman, Esq., who was involved in a Florida land development project.
Cadman Bungalow and Kitchen Facts:
- The Cadman family purchased a home from the Fell & Davidson development group in Narcoossee.
- The family remodeled the home to fit their needs, with Colonel and Mrs. Cadman occupying one bedroom, their daughter, Margery, in the second bedroom, and the three boys occupied a separate building called the Bachelors’ Quarters.
- The Cadman home and kitchen were occupied by the Cadman family from roughly 1888-1980.
- Generations of the family grew up here, and many modifications were made to the home over the years, including the addition of extra
Cadman Bachelor’s Quarters Facts
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- At its original location, the building was added to supply sleeping quarters for the Cadman boys.
- Many of the features of the building are consistent with the house and kitchen from that time, including surfaced siding and framing and natural “hard-oil” finish that still remains.
Citrus-Packing House Facts
- Research shows that the packing house was likely built around 1890, as documents record “Cadman Groves, Inc. Packing House since 1890.”
- The packing house had a sorter that was operated by peddling a piece of rope around a pulley.
- The oranges were wrapped in paper coated with bee’s wax and linseed oil (an invention claimed by the Cadman family).
- The building was updated throughout its use, but was a staple in the Cadman’s citrus operation.
- It was moved to the Pioneer Village at Bass Rd. in 2005.
- The citrus packing house allows the Osceola County Historical Society to share the narrative of the citrus industry in Florida while using a unique and authentic setting as the centerpiece of the story.
Seminole Village
Known today as the Seminole and Miccosukee Indians, the Seminoles trace their history to hundreds of tribes in the Maskoki linguistic family living in what is now the Southeastern United States. Spanish explorers and eventually the U.S. Government battled the Seminole tribes for land, culminating in the Seminole Wars of the early 1800s. At the end of the third war in 1858, a few hundred Seminoles remained in isolated areas of Florida, and the government abandoned efforts to relocate them.
- The Seminole dwelling, or chickee, is an open, round-log wood frame with a thatched gable roof.
- There is an elevated platform roughly 3 feet off the ground within the chickee.
- Upright palmetto logs, unsplit and undressed, support the roof.
- The thatched palmetto leaves are water tight, durable and resist violent wind.
- Coontie plant roots were used to make flour.
- The waterways like Shingle Creek were used for fishing, transportation and safety.
1800s Replica Train Depot
Prior to the late 1800s, travel was completed primarily by foot, horse, or wagon. After the expansion of railroad lines through Florida, convenient transportation became affordable to more of the population. The replica is based on the Narcoossee Train Depot, a simple, rectangular, single story structure with a gable-roof. The Train Depot is divided into two rooms – the passenger waiting room and a larger freight room with sliding door access. The building was built at train- level and is surrounded by a platform.
Water, a daily necessity for life, is seasonally limited in areas of Osceola County. Pioneers built water towers to store collected rainwater or pump water from rivers, lakes, and streams. This water tank was donated to the Osceola County Historical Society by the Kempfer family. The Kempfer family used this water tank at their Deer Park home in eastern Osceola County. Typical water tank towers would have included more brace beams and would have been taller to allow for adequate water pressure.
1800s Replica Schoolhouse
This building is a replica of the Narcoossee School, which was built in 1887 for children of newly arrived investors who bought agricultural properties from the land developers Fell & Davidson. The original building still stands at the corner of Yukon Street and County Road 15 and is currently managed by the Narcoossee Chapter of the Osceola County Historical Society.
1800s Replica Historic Church
The 1800s Replica Historic Church is based on the St. Peters Episcopal Church. St. Peters Church was consecrated in 1898 after Lt. Colonel William Cadman took the lead in raising funds to build the church.
- Available for private events!
- Seating for 50-75 people
- Pew seating available
- $250 fully refundable security deposit is required
- A/C is provided
- $125 per hour (two hour minimum)
Pavilion at the Pioneer Village at Shingle Creek
The Pavilion at the Pioneer Village at Shingle Creek is set in rustic charm and showcases the areas natural beauty and pioneer history.
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- Maximum capacity of 150 people
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- Tables and chairs provided (inside use only)
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- $125 per hour (two hour minimum)
- Fully refundable security deposit is required
Mary Kendall Steffee Nature Preserve
Adjacent to Shingle Creek, this 7.8 acre preserve represents a piece of Osceola County as it was in the time of Florida's original Native American tribes and early pioneers. The vegetation growing here provided the early inhabitants materials needed for dyes, clothing, medicine and other necessities.
