Mimi Hardman Legacy Fund

It’s the beginning of a new chapter of historic preservation in Lake Wales, and we hope you will be a part of it. The Lake Wales History Museum is dedicated to saving Lake Wales history, and with your support, our first project is complete—the restoration of the 1916 Seaboard Airline Freight Station. This building now houses the Mimi Hardman Collections and Research Center to properly store our collections, provide public access, and honor our founder, Mimi Hardman. This building opened to the public on January 23, 2021.

At the dedication ceremony for this new building, we shared news of the Mimi Hardman Legacy Fund. This is the new, dedicated place to give funds to help the museum continue to care for collections, restore and preserve the museum’s historic sites, and promote others to participate in historic preservation.

With contributions from the Mimi Hardman Legacy Fund, the Lake Wales History Museum plans to:

• Create an Internship Program to help museum staff care for, inventory and conserve collections of the museum. The collection includes items such as military uniforms from WWI, beautiful Victorian quilts, decorative arts & furniture, historic maps of Lake Wales, railroad lanterns, local artwork, thousands of photographs, and a world of history from the people and places of Lake Wales.

• Restore and open the Historic Crystal Lodge, located at 323 South Scenic Highway. In November 1919, the town council voted to build a small cottage along Park Avenue near Crystal Lake for community use, which became the primary meeting place of the Lake Wales Civic League, soon to be known as the Lake Wales Woman’s Club. Beginning in 1920, the cottage also served as the city’s first library, a role it held for the next 18 years. In 1938, it became the home of the Lake Wales Chamber of Commerce. Threatened with demolition in 1989, the Crystal Lodge was saved by the Historic Lake Wales Society and relocated to the Historic Corridor, where it later served the community as the Children’s Museum. Today, the museum plans to restore this beloved landmark and reopen it as the museum’s new administrative offices.
  

• Foster the next generation of community leaders by awarding a Mimi Hardman Scholarship annually to a local high school senior. We hope to assist students from Lake Wales who need help achieving their educational goals.
  

Will you please help us continue to save history

and make a donation to the Mimi Hardman Legacy Fund today? We need you to be a part of the museum's future because history is happening! Thank you for your support. A gift in any amount is welcomed and appreciated.