About Arcadia Mill
The Arcadia Mill Archaeological Site:
The Arcadia Mill Archaeological Site in Milton, Florida represents the largest 19th-century water-powered industrial complex in northwest Florida. This site was the location of a multi-faceted operation that included a water-powered sawmill, a lumber mill with planning and lathing machines, gristmill, bucket and pail factory, shingle mill, cotton textile mill, and even an experimental silk cultivation operation. The Arcadia Mill complex also included many other structures and industries, which all came together to produce Florida’s largest antebellum industrial complex.
Information and Hours of Operation:
Arcadia Mill offers visitors an historical experience as well as the opportunity to visit a unique wetland ecosystem. Arcadia Mill is located at 5709 Mill Pond Lane in Milton, Florida. After a trip to the Visitor Center and Museum, visitors can enjoy a leisurely walk on an elevated boardwalk through the archaeological remains of the mills, across Mill Pond Creek and through the swamps associated with this historic water-powered operation.
- Guided tours are offered at 11:00 am, 1:00 pm, and 2:30 pm.
- Advanced notice needed for group tours
- Arcadia Mill and Visitor Center are open for free, Tuesday-Saturday from
- 10:00 am to 4:00 pm.
- For further information, please call 850-626-3084 or email.
Arcadia Mill Summer Teacher Workshop
Arcadia Mill is excited to announce the History and Archaeology in the Classroom Workshop! Arcadia will be partnering with the Florida Public Archaeology Network (FPAN) to offer a one day workshop that will focus on Arcadia Mill history as well as archaeology in the classroom. Sessions will provide opportunities for teachers and educators to incorporate historical and archaeological information, methods, and ideas into science, history, language arts, math, social studies, and art curricula.
Arcadia Mill will host the Teacher In-Service workshop on Tuesday, June 26th from 8:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. at Arcadia Mill, 5709 Mill Pond Lane, Milton, FL 32583. This workshop will provide educators with non-digging archaeology-based training, lesson plans, activities, and projects to expose students to the excitement of archaeology while teaching the basics. In addition, sessions will discuss the history of Arcadia Mill and Civil War history in Santa Rosa County.
Please choose a link for more information:
UWF Archaeological Field School at Arcadia Mill
Arcadia Mill is excited to announce the start of our 4th annual summer archaeological field school! From May 22 to July 27, UWF students and staff will conduct focused research on the residential areas of the antebellum water-powered complex. The 2012 field school will focus on the mill owners' residence and nearby slave residences that are located in the uplands above the Arcadia Mill complex. We invite the public to visit Arcadia Mill this summer and check out the archaeological excavations. Upon arrival at Arcadia Mill, ask your tour guide about visiting the archaeological dig.
We will also host a series of Friday archaeological field labs in the Arcadia classroom on:
June 8
June 15
July 6
July 20
The field lab is open to the public from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. and children must be accompanied by an adult.
For more information, please call 850.626.3084.
Check this out!
WSRE presents "In Your Own Backyard - Arcadia Mill"
Special thanks to Mike Rowan, Ted King, and Sherri Weeks
School and Group Tours at Arcadia Mill:
**Lesson Plans and Tours are available for all grade levels.**
Planning and Scheduling Your Trip:
- Step 1: Choose the tour plan which best suits your needs. Choose at least two possible tour dates and times. Please note that we only offer tours Tuesday through Saturday.
- Step 2: To schedule a tour, or for further information, please contact Roy Oberto, at (850) 626-3084, or email him. We prefer that reservations be made with two weeks notice. The earlier the better!
Fees:
School tours at Arcadia Mill are $1.00 per child, or a $10.00 flat fee of groups with less than 10 children. One adult per every ten students is admitted for free; every additional adult is $1.00.
Tour Lengths and Times:
All tours last no longer than 1.5 hours. Tours may begin no earlier than 9:30 a.m. and no later than 2:30 p.m.
Capacity:
All tours will accommodate up to 75 students or 3 classes per day.
Picnicking:
Arcadia has a beautiful shaded picnic area that all scheduled tour groups are welcome to use. However, education staff must be notified about your groups lunching decision prior to the day of your tour.
Other Educational Organizations and Home School Groups:
Other organizations are always welcome to tour Arcadia. The Education Staff will be pleased to assist leaders in choosing which tour plan is most appropriate for their group.
Tour Options:
Walk Through the Past at Arcadia Mill
Recommended for K - 2nd grade, this tour leads students through Arcadia Mill's beautiful natural surroundings on the site’s elevated boardwalk. Students will learn about Arcadia’s history and the unique plants that inhabit the site. In addition, students will see replica mill technology, participate in a classroom activity, and explore the “hands-on” portion of the Arcadia museum.
Adventures With Arcadia Mill 1817-1855: An Era of Industry and Enterprise
Recommended for 3rd - 6th grade, this tour explores history and archaeology at Arcadia. Students will have the opportunity to explore archaeological remains along the boardwalk and observe 19thcentury tools at the Discovery Pavilion. In the classroom, students will learn about the Law of Superposition during a stratigraphy activity.
Society, Economics and Archaeology at Arcadia
Recommended for 8th - 12th grade, this tour delves into the intricate social history at Arcadia Mill. Students will learn about how economics, slavery, and politics shaped the local community at Arcadia. In addition, students will have the opportunity to work as an archaeology assistant and use a Munsell color chart to analyze dirt samples in the classroom.
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