I have finally been able to thumb through a brochure I picked up while out of town at a work conference. Seeing that the conference was very near Walt Disney World it would stand to reason that I could find a Kissimmee Area Guide.
My dad was born in the Kissimmee area and we used to go and visit my grandmother when I was a child. I figured I would take a look and see what there is to do in the area besides the normal theme parks, chain restaurants, and "outlet" malls. You know, what doesn't cost a fortune to do.
I was pleasantly surprised to find a couple of Civil War related activities. Who knew that St. Cloud was originally built as a retirement city for G.A.R. members? The G.A.R. Memorial Hall still stands today and according to the brochure houses a museum and also serves as the meeting place for the Lucious L. Mitchell Camp No. 4 of the Sons of Union Veterans. Also, Mt. Peace Cemetery, contains the burial location of over 350 Union veterans. Unfortunately neither the Hall nor the Cemetery appear to have official websites.
Once the weather cools down a bit it looks like a trip over there is in order.
Call ahead, the Gar Hall is run by a cranky volunteer group and access is hard. Cemetery has a map posted on the outside of the office. Check the city museum which is in the next block down from the GAR Hall, in the old Veterans Memorial Library Building.
ReplyDeleteThanks for the heads up Bill! I was kind of shocked they didn't have a website but if the group is difficult at times I guess I am shouldn't be too surprised. Too bad really as there isn't a lot Civil War related in the area.
ReplyDeleteyou might look at the Seminole Indian War. Lt. Thomas Jackson sailed through the Kissimmee area in the 1830's!
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