Heritage Village will mark National Constitution Week this month with an event tracing how Pinellas County broke away from Hillsborough County, part of a fall lineup at the Largo museum that also includes new youth programs, additional Schoolhouse Storytimes and the return of the Speaking of History lecture series.
The 21-acre living history museum, shaded by natural pines, re-creates old Florida community life through historic houses, a general store and costumed programming.
The fall schedule caps a banner year for the county-run site. Heritage Village opened the Turner House, an exhibit on the lives and era of an early pioneer family, and on July 11 drew about 2,500 people to its 50th anniversary celebration, which featured a time capsule, the opening of the Smithsonian exhibit “Many Voices, One Nation,” the debut of Kirk Le Wang’s Citrus King sculpture honoring citrus grower Lue Gim Gong, music and other festivities.
The Constitution Week event, “We the People of Pinellas: Constitution Connection,” runs from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Sept. 19. It examines the people, events and constitutional principles behind the push to establish Pinellas County in 1912.
“We saw a parallel between America stepping away from the British and our founding fathers in Pinellas County stepping away from Hillsborough County,” said Monica Drake, Heritage Village manager. “We used to be West Hillsborough before we were Pinellas County, and the taxpaying citizens who lived here were unhappy with the lack of support from the other side of the bay for services such as better roads and schools.”
Visitors can take part in a scavenger hunt with prizes for the winner, pick up free historical children’s books courtesy of the Boca Ciega Chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution while supplies last, and buy hot dogs from Heavenly Hotdogs. Other family activities are planned throughout the grounds.
Schoolhouse Storytime
Educational programs for all ages are woven into the fabric of Heritage Village, from guided tours to home-school activities.
Local author and Passion Struck podcast host John Miles will be featured at Schoolhouse Storytime from 10:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. Sept. 12 with his award-winning children’s book “You Matter, Luma.”
“It’s a beautiful children’s book about the importance of every child and understanding that they are seen and they are valued,” said Hannah Hayes, curator of education. “At our historic 1912 Harris Schoolhouse, there will be adventure activities, a reading and a Pages in the Park book walk exhibiting his book.”
Pages in the Park is a self-guided outdoor experience that pairs the book’s pages with a walking route, promoting literacy, exercise and time outdoors.
“Watching this project move from imagination to reality reminds me why stories matter,” Miles said. “They shape how we see ourselves. And when children learn early that they matter, everything changes.”
Miles said the book grew out of what he describes as a crisis of mattering.
“I see the fallout of this crisis everywhere: burned-out leaders, disengaged teams, distant families and individuals quietly questioning their value,” he said. “That’s why I founded Passion Struck — a movement and platform dedicated to human performance through mattering.”
His next book, “The Mattering Effect,” is scheduled for release in October.
Speaking of History
Thomas Hallock, a University of South Florida professor, will discuss “William Bartram, a New Nation and the Drifting State of Florida Literature” at 2 p.m. Oct. 11 in the Pinellas Room.
Hallock wrote “From the Fallen Tree: Frontier Narratives, Environmental Politics and the Roots of a National Pastoral” and co-edited “Early Modern Ecostudies: From the Florentine Codex to Shakespeare,” “William Bartram, the Search for Nature’s Design: Selected Art, Letters and Unpublished Manuscripts” and “John and William Bartram: Travels on the St. Johns River.” He recently published “A Road Course in Early American Literature,” a collection of travel and place-based essays on why he loves teaching the American literature survey.
On Nov. 8, Trevor Bryant will discuss St. Augustine’s role in the Revolutionary War.
Heritage Village, 11909 125th St., Largo, is open 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Wednesday through Saturday and 1 to 4 p.m. Sunday. For more information, visit heritagevillagefl.org or facebook.com/heritagevillagepinellas.