Qualla: Constitution Convention Museum State Park

Constitution Convention Museum State Park: Introduction

Tue, 10 Feb 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Photo credit Ebyabe, CC BY-SA 3.0. The town of St. Joseph no longer exists. Founded in 1835 on the shores of the Gulf of Mexico, it swelled into one of the wealthiest communities in territorial Florida, hosted the convention that drafted the state's first constitution, and then disappeared entirely by 1844 - erased by yellow fever, hurricanes, and fire. Today, just outside Port St. Joe on US Route 98 in northwestern Florida, a state park museum stands where that vanished town once thrived, preserving the story of the 56 delegates who gathered here to argue, debate, and ultimately forge a path to statehood.

Image: Ebyabe | CC BY-SA 3.0

Constitution Convention Museum State Park: A Boomtown's Bold Gambit

Tue, 10 Feb 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Photo credit Ebyabe, CC BY-SA 3.0. St. Joseph was barely three years old when it pulled off an audacious political coup. In 1838, the question of whether the Florida Territory should seek statehood divided the region sharply. The wealthier planters of Middle Florida pushed hard for admission to the Union, while se...

Image: Ebyabe | CC BY-SA 3.0

Constitution Convention Museum State Park: Forty Days That Made a State

Tue, 10 Feb 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Photo credit Ebyabe, CC BY-SA 3.0. From December 3, 1838, through January 11, 1839, a group of territorial delegates assembled in St. Joseph to draft Florida's first constitution. The debates were fierce. Questions of slavery, banking regulation, and the boundaries of governmental power consumed weeks of argument ...

Image: Ebyabe | CC BY-SA 3.0

Constitution Convention Museum State Park: The Ghost of St. Joseph

Tue, 10 Feb 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Photo credit Ebyabe, CC BY-SA 3.0. The town that hosted Florida's founding moment barely outlived it. Yellow fever swept through St. Joseph in successive waves, killing hundreds. A devastating hurricane struck in 1841, and a fire consumed much of what remained. By 1844, the town was abandoned - its wharves rotted,...

Image: Ebyabe | CC BY-SA 3.0

Constitution Convention Museum State Park: Voices in the Convention Hall

Tue, 10 Feb 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Photo credit Ebyabe, CC BY-SA 3.0. The museum at the heart of this state park brings that lost world back to life. Inside, a reproduction of the original convention hall features life-sized, audio-animated figures of the key delegates. Visitors can hear facsimiles of Reid, Duval, Levy, and Baltzell debating the fi...

Image: Ebyabe | CC BY-SA 3.0