Florida Maritime Museum

The Florida Maritime Museum occupies a 1912 schoolhouse set on nearly four acres in the historic commercial fishing village of Cortez. Exhibits document the traditions, vessels, and lives of Florida's maritime communities through photographs, artifacts, boat-building tools, and restored historic equipment. The museum adjoins the Cortez Cultural Center and holds regular Folk School classes in traditional crafts including net mending, knot tying, and wooden boat building. Admission is free; pairing the visit with the Cortez Cultural Center next door and the village's historic waterfront restaurants makes for a full afternoon.