Richard and Pat Johnson Palm Beach County History Museum, History museum in West Palm Beach, Florida, USA

The Richard and Pat Johnson Palm Beach County History Museum is a local museum in West Palm Beach housed on the third floor of a 1916 courthouse at 300 North Dixie Highway. Its People and Places galleries hold a permanent collection of millions of objects and images spanning over 12,000 years of Palm Beach County and Florida history, while temporary exhibits open each fall in the Courtroom Gallery.

The museum opened in 2008 and draws from collections built by the Historical Society of Palm Beach County, founded in 1937. Its earliest acquisition was a black-and-white photograph of an island street scene, which grew into millions of images, maps, and documents.

The museum bears the names of its founders Richard and Pat Johnson, reflecting how the community preserves its shared past. Displays focus on the people who shaped daily life here, from indigenous residents to early settlers and pioneers who built the area.

The museum is open weekdays from 10 AM to 4 PM and closed Sundays. It is easily accessible in downtown West Palm Beach with nearby parking options, free spots for visitors with disability permits, and an ADA entrance on the east side with elevators available.

The building began construction in 1916 and was finished in 1917; county tax assessor James M. Owens and his deputy Myrtle Miller were the first officers to move in. By 1972 wartime additions had enclosed the courthouse completely, and in 2002 the Board of County Commissioners voted to spend nearly $20 million on restoration, which began in 2004 after the wraparound structure was removed.