County Memory Project

Preserving the stories, places, people, and memories that make Florida counties home.

What Is the County Memory Project?

Each round, one Florida county is chosen by community vote for a focused week of local history, research, memories, photographs, documents, and stories.

Protect Rural Florida digs into the county’s past while the people who know it best help fill in the pieces.

The goal is simple: preserve more than dates and names. We want the places people remember, the families who shaped the area, the communities that disappeared, the work people did, the stories passed down, and the things that still matter today.

How It Works

1. Florida votes
Counties compete for the next County Memory Project.

2. One county is chosen
The winning county gets a dedicated week of research and community collection.

3. The community helps tell the story
Residents, former residents, families, organizations, and anyone with a connection to the county can submit memories, photographs, documents, local knowledge, and research leads.

4. PRF digs deeper
I research old maps, aerials, newspapers, public records, historic places, forgotten communities, and the leads people send in.

5. We preserve what we find
The project becomes a finished county feature and a permanent page here so the stories and information do not disappear when the week is over.

Current County Memory Project

CALHOUN COUNTY

Calhoun County won the first County Memory Project after more than 12,000 votes from across Florida.

Now the real work begins.

This week, Protect Rural Florida is digging into Calhoun County’s history while collecting photographs, memories, family stories, documents, local knowledge, forgotten places, and research leads from the people who know the county best.

If you have something connected to Calhoun County, send it in. It does not have to be a complete story. A photograph, name, place, memory, newspaper clipping, family connection, or even something you have always wondered about can be enough to start digging.

SUBMIT TO THE COUNTY MEMORY PROJECT

What We’re Looking For

You do not need to have a polished story or know every detail. Sometimes one photograph, one family name, one old place, or one memory is enough to start connecting the pieces.

We’re especially interested in:

Family stories and everyday life
Old photographs and documents
Farms, ranches, and working land
Forgotten communities and neighborhoods
Schools, churches, cemeteries, and gathering places
Local businesses and workplaces
Historic buildings and properties
Traditions, sayings, events, and ways of life
Roads, waterways, swimming holes, and natural places
Maps, newspaper clippings, and records
Local mysteries and research leads
Places or stories you think should not be forgotten

*If it helps tell the story of the county, we want to hear about it.

Submissions are reviewed by Protect Rural Florida. Submission does not guarantee inclusion in the final project.

Why This Matters

Rural Florida is changing fast. Places disappear, families move, buildings come down, land changes hands, and stories get lost when nobody writes them down.

The County Memory Project is about preserving what people remember while we still can.

Not just the big moments. The everyday stuff too.

The roads people grew up on. The stores everybody remembers. The families who worked the land. The churches, schools, swimming holes, businesses, communities, and stories that made a county feel like home.

If we don’t document it, eventually somebody has to guess.

Protect Rural Florida is here to help make sure more of it gets remembered.

Past County Memory Projects

Each finished County Memory Project will stay here as part of a growing archive of Florida’s local history, community memory, and forgotten places.

Calhoun County — In Progress

The completed Calhoun County feature will be added here when this round is finished.

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