MEDIA ADVISORY: March 10, 2014
ORMAN HOUSE HISTORIC STATE PARK AND JOHN GORRIE MUSEUM STATE PARK TO HOST PUBLIC MEETING
~The public is invited to share
input on the land management plans ~
APALACHICOLA– Join the Florida Department of Environmental
Protection’s Florida Park Service for a public meeting and presentation of the update
to the management plan for two state parks, Orman House Historic State Park and
John Gorrie Museum State Park on Tuesday, March 18 at 7 p.m. at Apalachicola
Community Center in Apalachicola.
For Orman
House Historic State Park, proposed updates will include:
-
Orman House Historic State Park has the
potential to become a premier historic house museum that enhances the nature
and heritage based tourism opportunities of the area.
-
The plan recommends various upgrades to the
experience of touring the Orman House as well as management of the collections
and the interpretive experience.
- The plan recommends the restoration of the mule
barn to its historical use, the potential replacement and interpretation with
onsite information of the servant’s quarters and additional programs/events on
site, as well as additional plantings (native and historically accurate) in the
Chapman Botanical Gardens.
- The addition of an interpretive trail/boardwalk
though the flood plain forest will afford visitors an additional recreational
opportunity as well as an educational opportunity to learn about the natural
area at the park.
For John
Gorrie Museum State Park, proposed updates will include:
- The John Gorrie Museum State park educates
visitors about one of Florida’s most prominent early citizens who opened
the gates of modern technology and changed forever the way America and the
world lives and works.
- The plan recommends a defined circulation plan
with ADA-compliant crosswalks and pathways that will guide visitors through the
park experience. This allows for better interpretation of the park and provides
a safer, more enjoyable experience for the visitors.
- The new landscape plan will be designed to
showcase native species, serve as a circulation guide between the sites and tie
the park together along with defined crosswalks between the museum, tomb and
memorial.
-
The plan includes a number of activities to
improve the museum building and protect the collections as well as redesign and
update the exhibits in the museum by adding information and content focusing on
the accomplishments of Dr. Gorrie.
The Advisory
Group meeting to review the updates to both management plans will be held Wednesday,
March 19, 9 a.m. to 12 p.m. in the same location.
The
public notice, agenda and both draft plans are available online here. Copies may
also be obtained by contacting Josh
Hodson, Park Manager, (850) 927-2111, Joshua.Hodson@dep.state.fl.us.
The public meetings will take
place:
General Public Meeting
7:00 p.m.
March 18, 2014
Advisory Group Meeting
9 a.m. to 12 p.m.
March 19, 2014
Apalachicola Community Center
1 Bay Avenue
Apalachicola, Florida
| 
