Constitution Convention Museum

The original settlement in St. Joseph lasted only nine years, but was a boomtown when it was founded in 1835 and competed with Apalachicola as a Gulf Coast trading port. During its short life, the city was selected over Tallahassee to host Florida's first State Constitution Convention. The museum, which sits on a portion of the park's 12 acres, commemorates the work of the 56 territorial delegates who drafted Florida's first constitution in 1838. Following four more constitution conventions, Florida was finally admitted to the Union in 1845 as the 27th state. Visitors can take a self-guided tour through displays and exhibits of the era. A replicated convention hall takes visitors into the debate of delegates Robert Raymond Reid, William P. Duvall, David Y. Levy and Thomas L Baltzell. These life-size, audio-animated mannequins bring a realistic demonstration of the debate and process of drafting a state constitution.