Lake City-Columbia County Historical Museum
Preserving the Past for Future Generations
P. O. Box 3276
157 SE Hernando Avenue
Lake City, Florida 32025
(386) 755-9096
Email: lakecity427@gmail.com
Free Admission
Hours: Weekdays 2pm to 5pm and Saturday 10am-1pm
Mission Statement
To serve all residents and visitors to Columbia County and Lake City as
an agent for collecting, documenting, preserving, displaying, interpreting,
commemorating and loaning artifacts and information that reflect the history
and heritage of the region. It is not only a collecting and information
center, but it is also a catalyst for community involvement, education,
development and assistance for local cultural programs; it enriches ongoing
events through historical perspective; and it serves as a site for cultural,
social and civic activities.
The Family
The Vinzant Family. John Vinzant Jr., was originally from Georgia but
following the Civil War, in which he was wounded in battle, relocated to
Columbia County.
Following the war, John Vinzant served as a store clerk and taught school
until 1877. Mattie met John in the fall of 1871, when her parents stopped
for supplies at a store in Lake City where John was clerking. John and
Mattie chatted briefly as Mattie sat in a wagon outside the store, and he
later passed her this note written on a scrap of paper. “I hope you will not
think me bold and impertinent, but as our acquaintance is short, may I have
the pleasure of visiting you for the purpose of extending our acquaintance.”
He was 31 years old and she was 21.
John and Martha corresponded from 1871 to 1874; a collection of these
letters is on display in the Museum. On January 29, 1874, John Vinzant Jr
and Martha “Mattie” Futch were married . During the marriage they had three
children, Martha Alice, Arithea May and Birdie Marie. John was appointed
Clerk of the Circuit Court for Columbia County and moved to Lake City in
1877. He continued to teach part-time in the local schools and served on the
Board of Trustees of the Lake City Institute, which was located on the banks
of Lake Desoto.
In 1880 John bought this house for $450.00.
He served as clerk of the court for sixteen years, the last clerk
appointed by the governor and the first elected by popular ballot vote. He
also served two years as tax collector, and as cashier in Lake City second
bank, Savings and Trust of Florida in the 1890’s. He contributed to the
Florida Agriculture College Fund when that institution was established in
Lake City in 1888.
John and Martha Vinzant’s daughter’s Martha Alice, Arithea May and Birdie
Marie all married and began their family away from the family home.
Unfortunately for Arithea May the marriage proved to be full of tragedy.
Married to Herbert Perkins, they moved to Washington D.C. A son was born in
1912, but he died in infancy. And shortly afterwards May became a widow. She
returned to Lake City and her parent’s home.
May Vinzant Perkins
Almost from the start, music and literary efforts spurred her development
as she attended the Lake City Institute and later enrolled at the University
of Florida, which evolved from the old Florida Agriculture College in Lake
City. Musical composition led to published songs at the turn of the century
as her poetry and historical accounts also began to appear in print. During
her school years and later, she combed North Florida libraries for research
material to buttress her writing. Meanwhile, she established contact with
the Lake City Reporter, a liaison she would maintain for years to provide an
outlet for her work. She also served the newspaper for a period as society
editor. May Vinzant died in 1981 at the age of 102.
The Museum is born.
In May of 1982, a small group met to organize the Historic Preservation
Board of Lake City and Columbia County, Inc. In October of 1983, the Board
jointly agreed with the Blue-Grey Army Inc. to buy the Vinzant home and
restore it to serve as a historical and cultural center as well as a museum
and headquarters for the Blue-Grey Army and the Preservation Board.