New boat shop to display historic sailboats

Pine trees are coming down on a patch of land behind Heritage Village’s Greenwood House near McKay Creek to make room for a new boat shop to be built to display vintage sail boats such as the Optimist Pram, Windmill, Sun Cat and Snipe boats, vessels that are a large part of Pinellas County’s nautical history. The trees are being removed this week. Afterwards the ground will be “grubbed” and leveled in preparation for the laying of the building’s concrete slab foundation. 

Construction of the new boat shop is made possible through a unique public-private partnership with Pinellas County government, the Pinellas County Historical Society, the Clearwater Yacht Club, Hoffman Architects, P.A. and Proefke Construction. Donated funds will be used for permits and supplies; volunteer labor will be used to actually build the facility.

The structure will feature a 24’x40’ display area for the boats, plus a smaller, air-conditioned 12’x40’ display room.  This boat shop will profile an important chapter of coastal living in Pinellas County and will include trophies, tools and other nautical memorabilia from the museum’s collections.  An oral history project featuring early Pinellas boat builders and others in the industry is another important component of the boat shop project.

Heritage Village is located at 11909 125^th St. N. in Largo. This living history museum brings more than 150 years of local history to life. Tour 28 authentic buildings and structures, and experience historical Pinellas County through hands-on exploration. Paths wind through 21 acres and connect with the Florida Botanical Gardens and the Florida Gulf Coast Center for Fishing and Interactive Museum.

Heritage Village is open Wednesday to Saturday, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. and Sunday, 1 to 4 p.m. It is closed all Pinellas County holidays. For more information about Heritage Village visit www.pinellascounty.org/heritage, or call (727) 582-2123.

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