Museums

The former home of the legendary Florida A&M University football coach Jake Gaither is now a museum listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Learn about his storied tenure as one of the winningest coaches in college football history through memorabilia, awards, photographs, trophies and more.

The mission of The Grove Museum is to preserve and interpret the Call-Collins House, its surrounding acreage, and its historical collections, in order to engage the public in dialogue about civil rights and American history. Built by enslaved craftspeople, the ca. 1840 Call-Collins House at The Grove is one of the best preserved antebellum residences in Florida. Home to several generations of the Call and Collins families, most recently LeRoy and Mary Call Collins, the site was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1972. The house and 10.5-acre grounds underwent an award-winning rehabilitation under the leadership of the Florida Department of State and opened to the public in 2017 as The Grove Museum.

Built in 1890 by John G. Riley, local educator and civic leader, the home is the last visible evidence of Smokey Hollow, an African-American community that once thrived in downtown Tallahassee.  Exhibits feature historical artwork and photographs.  The museum was rated No. 8 on the Black Entertainment Television’s list of “Must See African American Places in the U.S.” 

Catherine Murat, born a Virginian, moved to Florida with her parents where she met and married a Frenchman, Achille Murat. Related to George Washington by birth, she became a French princess by marriage. She lived at Bellevue from 1854 to 1867. In 1860, twenty-five enslaved descendants of Africans lived at Bellevue. They worked in the cotton fields, provided skilled labor, and tended to the cooking, among them members of the Hughes and Lee families. Explore these contrasting plantation communities at Bellevue’s house, kitchen, and slave cabin