Dr. Beal's Shell Museum

Dr. Beal's Shell Museum (HM17XT)

Location: Mary Esther, FL 32569 Okaloosa County
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Country: United States of America
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N 30° 24.646', W 86° 46.568'

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Inscription
Dr. James Hartley Beal (1861-1945) was an influential pharmacist, chemist, lawyer, educator, and scientist. Despite his busy life, he began collecting land and marine shells, purchasing his first specimen, in 1888. The Fort Walton Beach resident bought this house in early 1928. The building was used by Dr. Beal as his office and housed his extensive shell collection. By 1940, his collection had grown to be one of the largest shell collections in the world. The nearly two million shells were donated to Rollins College, where they remained on display until 1988. They were then transferred to the Florida Museum of Natural History at the University of Florida, Gainesville. The house was extensively remodeled and converted into the Summerhouse Restaurant, which operated there from the 1980s until 2004. It was originally located at 2 Miracle Strip Parkway in Fort Walton Beach. The building was slated for demolition in the fall of 2004. In order to save the building, Dr. Beal's Shell Museum was purchased and moved by barge to its present location.
Details
HM NumberHM17XT
Tags
Marker NumberF-616
Year Placed2007
Placed ByHubert Alan Laird and the Florida Department of State
Marker ConditionNo reports yet
Date Added Monday, September 15th, 2014 at 8:18pm PDT -07:00
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Locationbig map
UTM (WGS84 Datum)16R E 521501 N 3364324
Decimal Degrees30.41076667, -86.77613333
Degrees and Decimal MinutesN 30° 24.646', W 86° 46.568'
Degrees, Minutes and Seconds30° 24' 38.76" N, 86° 46' 34.08" W
Driving DirectionsGoogle Maps
Area Code(s)850
Closest Postal AddressAt or near 2807 W Hwy 98, Mary Esther FL 32569, US
Alternative Maps Google Maps, MapQuest, Bing Maps, Yahoo Maps, MSR Maps, OpenCycleMap, MyTopo Maps, OpenStreetMap

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