St. Petersburg Museum of History, History museum near St. Pete Pier, Florida

The St. Petersburg Museum of History is a history museum in Florida housing an extensive collection of artifacts and documents from the region. The collections include old photographs, maps, letters, and objects that reveal how the Pinellas Peninsula developed over time.

Mary Wheeler Eaton founded the museum in 1920 as the St. Petersburg Memorial Historical Society. The city granted the organization its site after the 1921 Tampa Bay hurricane destroyed the aquarium standing there. It is the oldest museum in Pinellas County.

The museum's name comes from the St. Petersburg Memorial Historical Society, founded by Mary Wheeler Eaton in 1920. Its holdings include William Howard Taft's plus-sized pajamas, George Armstrong Custer's reading glasses, and "Little Cooperstown," the world's largest collection of signed baseballs. Traveling exhibits, evening events, and guest speakers are part of its programming.

The museum stands at 335 Second Avenue NE, beside the St. Petersburg Pier approach in downtown St. Petersburg. Its research center is open to academics, historians and the general public, with documents, photographs, maps and books on St. Petersburg, Tampa Bay and Florida. Allow time for both the galleries and the archive.

The museum houses a notable collection of signed baseballs from American sports history. It also displays a full-sized replica of an early aircraft known for its role in one of the first commercial flights.