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Our Group

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​The Everglades Women's Club, founded in 1928, held their meetings in the “Old Laundry” building for over a decade before purchasing it in 1965 for use as a permanent clubhouse. The group remained actively involved in local events and civic projects until their membership began to dwindle in the 1980s. The group voted to disband and donated the building to the county to become a museum in 1988.

The Friends of Museum of the Everglades was formed from remaining members of the Everglades Women’s Club and became incorporated in as a 501.c3 non-profit organization in 1992. Our stated mission is simply “to assist in the development of the Museum of the Everglades.”

Friends of Museum of the Everglades (FME) secured grants in part by promising to provide volunteers to help staff the museum in perpetuity. The combined efforts and resources of the Friends, the City of Everglades government, Florida Department of State, Florida Division of Historical Resources, and Collier County Government helped restore the graceful frame building to its original glory – a stellar example of 1920s frontier industrial architecture. 

FME is governed by a Board of Directors, and we hold an annual members’ meeting with elections every December. Board meetings are held in person at the museum every 2nd Tuesday from September through June. 

Our group generates revenue through memberships, a donation box at the museum, and from donations taken at special events we sponsor. All proceeds are used to support the mission and work of Museum of the Everglades, including (but not limited to) purchase of historic artifacts, funding refreshments and entertainment for museum events, providing equipment, resources and prizes for collaborations with our local school (the last K-12 public school on a single campus in Florida), and much more.

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