Marco Island Historical Society

The mission of the Marco Island Historical Society ( MIHS) is to preserve and share the history and heritage of Marco Island and the surrounding communities. The Society, founded in 1994, is dedicated to the discovery, research, acquisition, and preservation of the multi-faceted history of Marco Island, the neighboring islands and communities.

Organizational Overview

The MIHS uses its museum complex (completed in 2010) to help fulfill its goals of educating and informing residents and visitors of our rich cultural heritage. The MIHS seeks not merely to preserve the remaining pieces of Marco’s past but to educate the public about the area’s complex history so that residents and visitors will be inspired to preserve their cultural resources, whether on Marco or in their own home town. The Marco Island Historical Society (MIHS) is the private non-profit side of a successful private-public collaboration. The partnership between Collier County and the MIHS dates to the original agreement to build the museum. The main provisions in that Memorandum of Understanding divide the responsibilities as follow: -The MIHS owns, maintains, and manages its own collections. -The MIHS is responsible for managing the Museum Gift Shop – income and expenses. -The MIHS is responsible for programming, managing, and maintaining the Rose History Auditorium, income, and expenses. -The MIHS is responsible for staff and volunteer expenses related to the MIHS operations. -The MIHS provides historical content, scripts, and often items from our collections to support exhibits. -The MIHS helps to fund exhibit spaces. -Together both organizations help program exhibits for the changing exhibit gallery