The Alachua Phenomenon: Two Centuries in Florida’s Eden

Main Exhibit Hall

Alachua County, by modern standards, is characteristically un-Floridian. It has no beaches, it has no amusement parks, and it presently has no commercial citrus groves. And yet, today Alachua County is the beating heart of north central Florida. The Alachua Phenomenon will examine what made that happen over the last 200 years. In the process, the history of the county will unfold through an examination of the land, environment, agriculture, industry, education, and community. We invite you to join us and discover two centuries in Florida’s Eden.

This original exhibition includes photographs and objects from the Matheson collection and items on loan from our Alachua County museum partners, including one of the original copper lions from the 1885 county courthouse.

Curator: Willett Hancock, Curator of Exhibitions, Matheson History Museum

Graphic Designer: Rick Kilby, https://www.rickkilby.com/

A Journey from Arrival to Self-Sufficiency

Mini-Exhibit in the Mary Ann Cofrin Exhibit Hall

From 2024 right up until presidential inauguration day in 2025, the Greater Gainesville International Center worked with the International Rescue Committee to resettle six refugee families here in Gainesville. This is the story of some of our newest neighbors, told through the live drawings of Terrence Ho and narrative by Lauren Poe.

Lauren and Terrence both worked with the GGIC and IRC to resettle families from Afghanistan, Guatemala, Venezuela, and Ukraine between July 2024 and January 2025.

This exhibit is made possible from a major contribution from Satchel’s Pizza and the Kundiman Foundation.

Weaving a Community: 30 Years of the Matheson History Museum

Mary Ann Cofrin Exhibit Hall

CLOSING Saturday, December 20

In the late 1980s, Gainesville had a well-documented and researched history, numerous nationally-recognized historical sites, and multiple civic organizations centered around the preservation and proliferation of local history. What it did not have was a centralized place dedicated to that rich local history, where the accumulated knowledge and artifacts of the last two centuries could be housed and protected. This year, the Matheson History Museum will commemorate its 30th Anniversary of meeting that need.

To celebrate, Weaving a Community will take an all-encompassing view of the Matheson’s history and its origins. The exhibition reveals the museum’s roots through the history of the Matheson family, the American Legion Hall, and the wider civil society. It presents our history in an unbroken tapestry, revealing interesting and intertwined threads that tie the museum, the history of Gainesville, and our community together.

Curator: Willett Hancock, Curator of Exhibitions, Matheson History Museum

Graphic Designer: Rick Kilby, https://www.rickkilby.com/

When Johnny Came Marching Home: Some Gave All – All Gave Some

by Ken McGurn and Matthew Pollard

Outdoor Exhibition – located on the west side of the main Matheson building behind the set of flag poles along Sweetwater Branch

This sculpture was designed by Ken McGurn and fabricated by Matthew Pollard. In partnership with the Matheson, the City of Gainesville and Ken McGurn the artwork will remain here for a year or more. Next time you’re downtown spend a few minutes viewing the artwork and remembering those who came home from war with both physical and mental wounds.

McGurn: “We honor the dead, but often ignore the wounds, both physical and mental, carried by those who returned. I did this to remind people that war leaves wounds and to heal some of my own memories. The first represents the soldier in his shiny new uniform marching off to war, rifle over his shoulder. The second is unfinished, rusting brown representing the soldier as he patrols in the jungle, rifle across his chest in the ready position. The third is the soldier home from war. The ‘rifle’ is now a crutch where his missing a leg. The material is steel representing the soldier’s strength.”

Ken McGurn served in the Army and Army Reserves from 1963 to 1979. He was deployed to Vietnam in 1965 and Germany from 1968-1970. We honor all of those who served.