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Preserving history
World’s luckiest fishing village boasts new heritage museum
DESTIN — The Destin History and Fishing Museum opened to the public Oct. 1, 2005. The museum offers an exciting and educational look into Destin’s unique past, highlighting its Native American history, the life ways of early settlement families, and the development of Destin’s fishing industry. The Museum is located at 108 Stahlman Ave. in Destin’s historic harbor district. The museum is open Tuesday through Saturday.
The new museum is the result of years of planning and gathering artifacts and information, a project begun by a local grassroots movement concerned with the loss of old Destin in a quickly evolving community. Destin’s past begins with the Native settlement of the area, as these people came here for much the same reason people come today – for the good fishing, mild weather and beautiful water. That history flourishes with the arrival of Destin’s Founder, Leonard Destin. Destin was a New Englander who established Destin’s first major industry, fishing.
The museum emphasizes the role seine (net boat) fishing had on life in Destin and how it evolved into the Charter Boat fleet Destin is famous for today. The museum exhibits a large collection of mounted game fish, all caught in Destin waters. Included is a display of fishing tackle and fish finding equipment used throughout the years on the boats in Destin.
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