Matheson Museum

Cultural Heritage Museummathesonmuseum.org

The Matheson History Museum is an independent 501(c)(3) non-profit founded in 1994 in Gainesville, Florida that preserves and interprets local history through permanent and rotating exhibits, a research library and archives, historic buildings, and educational programs serving Alachua County residents, scholars, and school groups.

Company typePrivate
Founded1994
HeadquartersGainesville, United States
Headcount1–10
GTM typeB2C
OfferingServices

Matheson Museum firmographics

Firmographics

Name: Matheson Museum
Legal name: Matheson History Museum
Website: https://mathesonmuseum.org
Company type: Private
Founded year: 1994
Operating status: Operating
Headcount range: 1–10 employees
Short description: The Matheson History Museum is an independent 501(c)(3) non-profit founded in 1994 in Gainesville, Florida that preserves and interprets local history through permanent and rotating exhibits, a research library and archives, historic buildings, and educational programs serving Alachua County residents, scholars, and school groups.
Ownership category
akta.pro rank

Matheson Museum industry classification

Industry

Product category: Cultural Heritage Museum
NAICS: Museums, Historical Sites, and Similar Institutions (712), Museums (712110), Historical Sites (71212)
SIC: Services-Amusement & Recreation Services (7900)
akta.pro primary industry: History Museums (THAJADAB)
akta.pro secondary industry: Archaeological Sites & Heritage Interpretation Centers (THAJADAG)

Keywords

Local history museums
Historical preservation services
Community museum exhibits
Archival research collections
Cultural education programs

Where Matheson Museum is headquartered

Location

Headquarters

HQ city: Gainesville
HQ country: United States
HQ region: North America

Offices5 records

Markets served

Matheson Museum business model

Business model

GTM type: B2C
Offering type: Services
Cost components: Personnel, Operations, Infrastructure, Marketing or Sales, Others

Revenue model

Donations and Grants: The museum is an independent non-profit funded solely by grants, membership dues, and donations. They accept monetary donations, securities, life insurance, real estate, bequests, and qualified retirement plans.
Membership Dues: Community members can become members, making them stakeholders in the preservation of local history. Members receive a quarterly newsletter for free.
Facility Rentals: The Main Exhibit Hall is available for rentals. Non-profit events are $100/hour, private events are $200/hour plus taxes, including access to prep kitchen, tables, chairs, AV equipment.
Corporate Sponsorships: Local businesses can support the museum's mission through organizational or fundraising sponsorships.
Planned Giving: Donors can leave an enduring legacy through estate and financial planning.

Pricing tiers

Model	Billing	Price
Freemium	Pay-as-you-go	General Admission - Free
One time/ perpetual license	Pay-as-you-go	Non-Profit Event Rental
One time/ perpetual license	Pay-as-you-go	Private Event Rental

Distribution channels5 records

Marketing channels11 records

Matheson Museum product offering

Product offering

Core offering

The Matheson History Museum is an independent 501(c)(3) non-profit museum that preserves and interprets the history of Gainesville, Alachua County, and surrounding Florida regions. It operates exhibitions, a library and archives, educational programs, summer camps, author talks, and venue rentals, with free admission to the public.

Product overview

The Matheson History Museum is an independent non-profit museum (501(c)(3)) that operates as a single-site cultural institution with multiple interconnected offerings. The museum complex includes: the main exhibition galleries (housed in the former American Legion Hall at 513 East University Avenue) featuring permanent and rotating exhibitions on Alachua County and Florida history; the Matheson Library & Archives (at 418 East University Avenue) containing over 20,000 historic Florida postcards and 1,500 stereograph cards; the Historic Matheson House (currently closed for rehabilitation); the Tison Tool Barn with over 1,000 historic tools; and Sweetwater Park. The museum also offers venue rentals of the Main Exhibit Hall, educational programs including summer camps and speaker series, and an online exhibitions portal with 11 digitized exhibitions. All museum admissions and most programs are free to the public.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

Matheson History Museum Exhibitions Permanent and temporary exhibitions on Alachua County and Florida history, including a re-creation of the Matheson & Company Store, a Timucuan Canoe, and items from the historic 1885 Alachua County Courthouse. The museum produces 2-3 temporary exhibitions annually.
Matheson Library & Archives Research library and archives housing over 20,000 historic Florida postcards, 1,500 stereograph cards, maps, photographs, documents, books, and artifacts. Research visits available by appointment only with the Curator of Collections.
Historic Matheson House One of three oldest residences in Gainesville, completed in the late 1850s by Alexander Matheson. Currently closed for rehabilitation; tours unavailable until restoration is complete.
Tison Tool Barn Houses the extensive historic tool collection of John Mason Tison, Jr., containing over 1,000 tools from the 1850s to the early 20th century. Tours available by appointment.
Main Exhibit Hall Rentals Event venue rental of the Main Exhibit Hall for non-profit or private events, including prep kitchen, tables, chairs, tablecloths, screen and projector with HDMI input, and podium with microphone. Capacity of 100 for seated dinner or 150 for seated presentation.
Matheson History Camp Summer camp program offering hands-on educational crafts and activities about Florida's prehistoric past, Indigenous and American history, and archaeology.
Events and Speaker Series Author talks, panel discussions, and programs on local and Florida history throughout the year, including the annual Floridiana Festival and Sarah's Birthday Bash.
Research Services Facilitates over 200 research requests and appointments each year from scholars, authors, and community members through access to its archives and collections.
Online Exhibitions The museum currently has 11 online exhibitions available for viewing, with an ongoing Exhibit Digitization Project to digitize previous exhibitions and all exhibitions moving forward.
Membership Program Community members can become members, making them stakeholders in the preservation of local history. Members receive a quarterly newsletter and participate in the Southeastern Reciprocal Membership program.

Companies that use Matheson Museum

Customer profile

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Matheson Museum technology and API

Technology

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API: No
API docs
API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Matheson Museum partnerships and signals

Strategic signal

Partnerships

Seven partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

UF Museum Studies ProgramcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership for the 'In the Pines: The Shadow of the Turpentine Industry' exhibit opening Spring 2027, examining peonage labor during Jim Crow Era.
Alachua County Community Remembrance ProjectcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCollaboration on 'In the Pines' exhibit and 'The Other Book Part 2' oral history recordings project documenting local history.
Florida HumanitiesminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartner for author talk events, including 'Early Spanish Florida: An Author Talk with Judith Bense'.
University of Florida PressminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCo-presenter of author talk events with Florida Humanities.
African & African American Historical Society, Inc.minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCo-presenter of 'African and African American Legacies in Florida' event with local organizations.
University of Florida Samuel Proctor Oral History ProgramminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartner for 'The Other Book Part 2' oral history project recordings.
Southeastern Reciprocal MembershipminorChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorReciprocal membership program allowing members access to multiple museums in the southeastern region.

Scale indicators8 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Matheson Museum competitors and assessment

Company assessment

Broad incumbents

Harn Museum of Art: University of Florida art museum in Gainesville operating permanent collections, temporary exhibits, and educational programs. Comparable as a Gainesville-area museum with a non-admission-driven model, but a broader-incumbent art institution rather than a history-focused local museum.
Museum of Florida History: Statewide Florida history institution operating as the state's flagship history museum. Comparable scope of subject matter (Florida history) but with materially larger scale, broader funding base, and more extensive programming than the Matheson Museum.
Florida Museum of Natural History: University-affiliated natural history museum in Gainesville with permanent and temporary exhibits, research collections, and educational programming. Comparable in geography and adjacent thematically, but a much larger institution with state/university backing rather than a community 501(c)(3).

Direct peers

Heritage Museum of Northwest Florida: Regional Florida history museum with archives, exhibits, and educational programs serving a similar community-museum role. Directly comparable in scale, non-profit funding model, and local history mission.
St. Augustine Historical Society: Florida historical society operating museum galleries, archival collections, and historic properties for public interpretation. Directly comparable as a non-profit history institution with archives and heritage interpretation.
Pioneer Florida Museum: Small Florida history museum operating as a non-profit with permanent/rotating exhibits on regional history and pioneer-era artifacts. Closely comparable in size, mission, and rural/community-history focus to the Matheson Museum.
Tampa Bay History Center: Florida-based history museum with permanent/temporary exhibits, archives, research access, and educational programming. Comparable regional Florida history mission, similar exhibit cadence and curriculum-based programming, though larger scale than the Matheson Museum.

Others

City of Gainesville Parks, Recreation & Cultural Affairs: Municipal partner that co-maintains Sweetwater Park (the museum's grounds), provides major grants, and supports cultural programming. Ecosystem partner rather than competitor, but materially comparable as a community cultural-services provider in the same geography.
Visit Gainesville / Alachua County Visitors & Convention Bureau: Local destination marketing organization that co-promotes the Matheson Museum and lists it as a partner attraction. Thematically adjacent as a tourism and visitor traffic driver that supports museum visitation but does not compete.

Emerging players

Cade Museum for Creativity and Invention: Newer Gainesville museum focusing on creativity, invention, and STEAM education with on-site programs and exhibits. Partially comparable as a non-profit Gainesville cultural institution with school/camp programming, but distinct subject matter.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

Matheson Museum financial estimates

Financial estimate

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Matheson Museum leadership team

Management profile

Number of profiles

Profiles6 records

Matheson Museum funding detail

Funding detail

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Matheson Museum M&A and investment

M&A and investment

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Matheson Museum

What does Matheson Museum do?

Is Matheson Museum a public or private company?

Matheson Museum is a private company. It is classified as nonprofit foundation owned and is currently operating.

When was Matheson Museum founded?

Matheson Museum was founded in 1994. It employs 1 to 10 people.

Where is Matheson Museum based?

Matheson Museum is headquartered in Gainesville, United States, in the North America region.

How does Matheson Museum make money?

Five revenue lines are on record. Donations and Grants are the primary driver. The others are membership Dues, facility Rentals, corporate Sponsorships and planned Giving.

Who are Matheson Museum's main competitors?

Broad incumbents on record are Harn Museum of Art, Museum of Florida History and Florida Museum of Natural History. Direct peers are Heritage Museum of Northwest Florida, St. Augustine Historical Society, Pioneer Florida Museum and Tampa Bay History Center. Others are City of Gainesville Parks, Recreation & Cultural Affairs and Visit Gainesville / Alachua County Visitors & Convention Bureau. Cade Museum for Creativity and Invention is listed as an emerging player.

Does Matheson Museum have an API?

No public API is recorded for Matheson Museum.

What industry is Matheson Museum in?

Matheson Museum's product category is Cultural Heritage Museum. Its primary akta.pro industry code is THAJADAB, History Museums, with a secondary code of THAJADAG, Archaeological Sites & Heritage Interpretation Centers. Its NAICS code is 712 and its SIC code is 7900.