Heritage Day at May-Stringer Museum Marks Hernando County's 183rd Anniversary

Residents and visitors gathered at the May-Stringer Museum in Brooksville for Heritage Day on Saturday, Feb. 21, 2026, as the Hernando Historical Museum Association and community partners marked Hernando County’s 183rd anniversary. The event combined living history demonstrations, hands-on activities and museum tours aimed at families and area history buffs.

Organizers opened tours of the May-Stringer Museum and two additional historic homes, with on-site tickets available; adults were charged $10.00. The May-Stringer House sits at 601 Museum Ct., Brooksville, and HHMA’s regular hours list the house open Tuesday through Saturday from 11:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m., with tours beginning on the hour and the last tour at 2:00 p.m. Visitors at Heritage Day moved between the house, the 1885 Train Depot and the Countryman One Room Schoolhouse during the day.

Key displays tied local history to national stories. A Florida Confederate Memorial Wall was set up at the museum; the display lists Confederate casualties from Florida and, to be included, a person had to be killed during the war or have died from their wounds shortly after the war. A replica of George Washington’s war tent was assembled on site, providing what organizers described as insight into the living conditions of America’s first president during the Revolutionary War; the tent and associated artifacts were provided and assembled courtesy of the Withlacoochee Chapter of the Son of the American Revolution (SAR), with SAR reenactors on hand.

The programming also highlighted deeper regional history. The site of Brooksville and surrounding Hernando County traces back, event materials noted, to one of the oldest Creek villages in Florida, Chocochatee. Event coverage referenced the complex relations among Creek groups and Seminoles, stating that the Seminoles were Creek Indians as well but sworn enemies of the Creeks that lived there. Heritage Day programming included explanations of Florida’s Civil War-era politics, noting that Florida did not hold a statewide popular vote to secede; delegates chosen in Tallahassee made the decision, in part because many coastal Floridians relied on trade with other states.

The Hernando Historical Museum Association frames its work as preservation and education: "The Hernando Historical Museum Association consists of three museums which celebrate and preserve the hard work and ingenuity of generations past and inspire current and future generations to value this heritage which was essential to Florida’s history, culture, and economic growth." HHMA operates the May-Stringer House at 601 Museum Ct. (phone (352) 799-0129), the 1885 Train Depot (phone (352) 799-4766) and the Countryman One Room Schoolhouse (phone (352) 515-3054). HHMA also noted on its site that it offers ghost tours, special events and local history books in its gift shop, and that it is seeking volunteers and members to support ongoing programs.

Heritage Day brought a mix of artifact displays, reenactor demonstrations and neighborhood-level tours to Brooksville, anchoring the county’s 183-year milestone in places and objects residents can still visit at the May-Stringer campus.