MUSEUM & CULTURE
Crowley Museum & Nature Center
Sarasota County · Gulf Coast
A pioneer homestead and nature preserve on the Myakka River east of Sarasota, open on weekends and run largely by volunteers.
ABOUT THIS PLACE
The center stands at 16405 Myakka Road, well out into the cattle country east of Sarasota, and it shows how people lived on this land before the coast filled up. The Tatum House and a cracker cabin have been restored, and there is a working sugar cane mill and a blacksmith shop that gets used rather than displayed. Outside the buildings the preserve runs down to the Myakka River, with nature trails including a Children's Discovery Path, and a boardwalk and observation tower reaching out over Maple Branch through swamp and hammock. Deer, alligators, wading birds and hogs all use the ground. Folk school classes run through the year in skills like weaving, crochet and canning, and the Myakka River Rendezvous is a living history event with period camps and demonstrations. It opens Saturday and Sunday from ten to five in fair weather, and closes when the weather is against it
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