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Walk down memory lane with us to look at past special exhibits we’ve enjoyed here at the Florida Museum! While this exhibit has moved on to other places, we treasured the opportunity to learn and explore. Find out what exhibits are currently here at the Museum:

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exhibit logo with text Florida Cattle Ranching five centuries of tradition with three photographs - a running cow and calf, a rodeo and a black and white photo of two people sitting on horses. Below these is a full image of a person on a horse and cattle in a forest of line trees and the text Florida Cowboys Keepers of the last Frontier, photographs by Carlton Ward Jr.Florida Cattle Ranching: Five Centuries of Tradition and Florida Cowboys: Keepers of the Last Frontier, Photographs by Carlton Ward

This paired exhibit was on display February 12 through May 8, 2011

Move over Texans — Floridians are the original cowboys. From 16th century Spanish explorers to Seminoles, Crackers and modern ranchers, Florida Cattle Ranching: Five Centuries of Tradition explored the story of one of Florida’s oldest and most important cultural activities. This exhibit featured authentic artifacts, photography and artwork, and showed how cattle ranching continues to contribute to the culture and economy of 21st century Florida.

Florida Cowboys: Keepers of the Last Frontier, celebrated the grit and raw beauty of the Florida heartland and its enduring cowboys with photographs by Carlton Ward, Jr., an eighth-generation Floridian with a strong connection to ranching.

Florida cowboys are living legacies of the longest history of ranching in North America and guardians of the landscape that has shaped them. Nearly one-fifth of the state is devoted to the cattle industry. These working ranches play a vital role in Florida’s economic health and the conservation of wildlife, wetlands and other natural areas.

Ward’s photographs have appear in both the Florida Cowboy and the Florida Cattle Ranching exhibits.

Florida Cattle Ranching: Five Centuries of Tradition was produced by Florida Folklife Program, Department of State, and Florida Cultural Resources, Inc. Funding was provided by the National Endowment for the Arts/Folk & Traditional Arts, Florida Humanities Council, Florida Cattlemen’s Association, Florida Cattlemen’s Foundation, Florida Division of Cultural Affairs, Florida Cracker Cattle Association, Lalla Rook Tompkins, Iris Wall, and Susanne and Pete Clemons.