Find out why Ocala is called the Brick City, who had the first elevator, where the artist of the famous Coppertone baby ad lived and more!
Sign-Up for Guided Walking Tour Experiences!
OMS offers guided tours every quarter to take deeper dives into the history and stories surrounding different themes.
Check out upcoming events by clicking the button below!
Our unique town offers gorgeous natural springs, hiking and mountain biking trails, an elegant horse country and at the center of it all… a beautiful Downtown Ocala with a rich history full of stories. We invite you to explore this history through our self-guided mobile walking tour traveling through the Downtown nestled in North Central Florida.
Immerse yourself in more than 100 years of history while exploring Downtown. The best part, you can grab a bite, sip and shop at many of the historical stops along the way! See our Downtown Dining Guide for a list of places to eat and drink.
Follow our MAP to each historical location. At each stop, you will find a place marker with a little information about the Downtown site, a number you can dial for the audio and a QR code. Use the camera on your smart phone to scan each QR code and be directed to the history and old photos of the location.
Downtown Ocala is abuzz with new projects, so if you do not see a sign at one of the stops along the way, it is due to new renovation or construction. Pull up this page, scroll below to the list of stops and click on the stop number for the detailed history!
You can follow along on your phone as well, click HERE to begin! Once you arrive in Downtown Ocala, you can follow a virtual map of the area and see pins where each nearby stop location is.
Historical Tour Stops
Click each tour stop below for historical information.
A project brought to you by Ocala Main Street and sponsored in part by the Department of State, Division of Historical Resources and the State of Florida
A big thank you to the City of Ocala for their support and the Historic Ocala Preservation Society for helping collect all the information!
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