An old proverb states that “the eyes are the windows into the soul.” A genealogy corollary is that “a photo is a window into the lives of your ancestors.”
I love old photos, whether they are portraits of my ancestors or historical photos of the period when they lived. And it is important to a complete research that one attempts to understand the environment that surrounds our ancestors’ lives if one wants to truly appreciate what they went through.
So where can they be found? Obviously, the best resource is our own photo albums and those that our relatives possess. But what about other resources? Many archives, historical societies, libraries, and genealogical societies have collections of old photos. And in the past few years, there has been a massive movement towards making these historical photo collections available online. Some have search capabilities where you can actually put in a surname or a location, the name of a building, or a historical event and find what is available.
For the state of Florida, what collections are available for you to browse and/or search online? Here is a list of sites to start with. Please feel free to add in the comments other online resources that you might be aware of in the state.
Please be aware that there may be very strict rules regarding downloading or other use of the images that you may find. Copyright and other legal protections may be in force. Make sure that you read the limitations of use for any image that you find in these collections and wish to download and/or copy. It is your responsibility to adhere to the rules for all of these collections.
Please note that links to these sites may change in the future. The author (me) will not constantly be checking and updating these links, so if you find a broken link, please use your favorite search engine to locate the new link.
(Updated November 2023)
Florida Historical Photo Archives
- Abandoned Florida
- Aerial Photography Florida
- Ah-Tah-Thi-Ki Museum – Clewiston
- Amelia Island Museum of History – Fernandina Beach
- APCO – Daytona Beach
- Barry University Photograph Collection
- Bay County Public Library Photo Collections
- Bay County Public Library Photographs
- Beaches Museum & History Park – Jacksonville Beach
- Boca Grande Historical Society – Boca Grande
- Boynton Beach Image Collections
- Broward County Library Digital Archives Photographs
- Captiva Island Historical Society – Captiva
- Central Florida Memory
- Child of the Sun – Florida Southern College Digital Photograph Collection
- Citrus County Pictures
- City of Coral Springs – Coral Springs
- Clearwater Sun Photograph Collection
- Collier County Museums Historic Photo Archive
- Coral Gables Memory
- Eustis Memorial Library Picture Archive
- Everglades Digital Library Photographs
- Exploring Florida
- Flagler College Photographs
- Florida Ancient Faces
- Florida Citrus Photographs Collection
- Florida Dead Fred
- Florida Digital Postcards
- Florida Gulf Coast University Digital Repository
- Florida Heritage Collection
- Florida Historical Society – Cocoa
- Florida International University Photo Collections
- Florida Keys Historical Photos
- Florida Keys Public Libraries Photo Albums
- Florida Memory Historic Photos
- Florida Memory Photographs
- Florida Penny Postcards
- Florida Photographic Collection
- Florida Southern College Archives Digital Collections
- Florida State College for Women, Scrapbooks
- Florida Tech Online Collections
- Florida Vintage Ephemera
- Florida, DP.LA Photos
- Florida, Farm Security Administration/Office of War Information Black-and-White Negatives
- FSU Digital Library Photographs
- Hillsborough County Photographic Collections
- Hillsborough County Public Library Cooperative – Digital Collections
- Historic Florida Southern College
- Historic Florida Imagery
- Historic Marathon Photos
- Historic South Florida Photos
- Jacksonville Historical Society – Jacksonville
- Jacksonville Pictures and Photos
- Jacksonville Public Library Digital Collections
- Jacksonville Public Library Special Collections
- Key West Art & Historical Society – Key West
- Key West Photos – 1960s
- Koreshan Historic Collection
- Lakeland Public Library Digital Collections Photographs
- Largo Public Library Digital Collection Photographs
- LGBTQ History Museum
- Library of Congress Prints & Photographs – Florida
- Library of Congress Prints & Photographs Online Catalog
- Manatee County Historic Images
- Manatee County Historical Resources – Bradenton
- Manatee County Public Library Historical Digital Collections
- Marco Island Historical Society – Marco Island
- Miami Flashback
- Miami-Dade Public Library Digital Collection Photographs
- Monroe County Public Library – Florida Keys Photos
- Naples Historical Photos
- National Archives – Digital Photograph Collections
- Northeast Florida, World War II Resources
- Old Florida Photos
- Old Florida Photos
- Orange County Historic Photos
- Palm Beach County Historical Society – Photos
- Pinellas Memory
- PK Yonge Library of Florida History – Photographs
- Polk County History Center – Bartow
- Publication of Archival, Library & Museum Materials
- Punta Gorda History Center – Punta Gorda
- Ringling Collection – Photos
- Rollins Digital Collections Photographs
- Safety Harbor Photo Collection Photographs
- Sanibel Historical Collection
- Sarasota County Historical Resources – Sarasota
- Smithsonian Images
- South Florida Vintage Press
- St Augustine Historical Society – Saint Augustine
- Stetson University Photograph Collections
- Tallahassee & Florida State University, A Community History of Race Relations
- Tallahassee Democrat Photo Archive
- Tampa Bay and West Florida – Burgert Brothers Photographic Archives
- Tampa Digital Collections
- Tampa Photo Supply Collection
- Treasure Coast Genealogical Society Postcard Collection
- UDT-SEAL Museum Association Inc. – Fort Pierce
- University of Florida Archives Photograph Collection
- University of Florida Photograph Collections
- University of Miami Photo Collections
- University of North Florida Digital Collections
- University of South Florida Digital Exhibits
- University of South Florida Photograph Collections
- University of West Florida Historic Trust Photographs
- Venice Museum and Archives – Venice
- Vintage Aerial Photos – Florida
- Vintage Jacksonville Photographs
- West Florida Photohistory
- Windows of Tampa
For historic photos from other states as well as articles about photo research, please visit the Photos page.
For all Free Florida Links, click on the category of interest:
Newspapers
Yearbooks
Births
Marriages
Deaths
BMD Records
Alumni Records
Cemetery Records
Church Records
Coroner Records
Criminal Records
Digital Archives
Directories
Divorce Records
Immigration Records
Institutional Records
Military Records
Mortuary Records
Naturalizations
Obituaries
Photos
Probate and Wills
School Records
Tax Records
Voter Records
