Clermont's Historic Village

My husband Sandy and I took a day trip to Clermont, Florida. He was looking for a WWII museum that would be interested n providing a display for the many WWII photographs taken by his father, Anthony Brooke Sr.

We visited the Clermont Village and Museum on the shore of Lake Minneola. Dodie King, the Village Manager was very happy to take the photos and planned to display them. The World War II Museum is housed in an authentic WWII Quonset hut. Their collection includes uniforms, documents and military artifacts provided by local veterans. 

While we were there we toured the other historical buildings on the property.

Besides the quonset hut museum, there are four restored buildings giving visitors a glimps of days gone by. The Townsend House was built around 1895 by James and Sallie Townsend. James founded the St. Mark A.M.E. Church, which continues to serve the community to this day. After taking a course in midwife-nursing, Sallie assisted at the birth of more than a thousand children. She opened a maternity home for black women in 1941.

The Kern House was built around 1885. Alexander and Eleonora Kern were early settlers in Clermont. Their's is a two-story frame house. Alexander built and operated the first public water system in Clermont. He owned and operated the Wilson General Merchandise Store from 1897 until his death in 1907.

The original Cooper Memorial Library built in 1914 was named for Mrs. Alice Cooper, who offered to lease a lot in town to the Clermont Library Club, if it used it for a library.

The Clermont Railroad Depot was built around 1925 by Peter Demens and is currently used as the office of the Historical Society. The Village also includes a replica of Clermont's first school, constructed with the assistance of old build photographs.

Color sketches and photography provided by Sandy Brooke.

 Clermont Historical Village is located at 49 West Avenue, Clermont, Florida 3471. Admission us free and guided tours are given by volunteers. Operating hours are Friday 1 to 3 p.m. And Saturday and Sunday 1 to 4 p.m.

For additional information call 352 593-8496

Check online at: www.clermontvillage.org or Facebook at Clermont Historic Village Museum