I have to admit that customer service from the staff is awesome here and the property is very peaceful and pleasant to visit. But there's really nothing much to really see here except for 3 rooms of exhibits on the entire property, ...and I think it's ridiculous that they're even charging the public for any of this at all. The pioneer houses behind the school are still completely closed from any public access from what ...I've noticed based on other reviews and from what I actually saw with my own eyes. It's been YEARS. That too was certainly a let down. There was nothing more to see in the abandoned ...library downstairs or even upstairs in the wedding area. So creepy! I could only access three tiny rooms filled with rich history in writing and pictures along the walls and some artifacts. The classroom was my best experience. I found it extremely interesting to have seen the pictures ...of so many children that came to this school from the 1920s until the 80s! And they even had some of the original desks against the wall by the windows ...inside of the classroom, whereas the main ones in the middle were all donations. So basically I paid $3 admission with their food stamps discount to view all 3 of their tiny rooms; $1 per room hahaha! There's not much to see here, so I'm just warning you guys. They also ONLY allow field trip kids to tour the school in the mornings and then they close ...very early by 3 which made me have to make a second trip here on another day. The parking lot was completely empty with the exception of an elderly couple that pulled up ...as one of the employees escorted me to view the school building. Aside from all of this, everything that WAS on display was fairly enjoyable. read more

See all

Pretty nice museum with a lot of history. Located in Davie you are expected to learn the PG version of the history on how the Everglades became farms and why the school was created. I came in with kid class for a field trip and all the host were very sweet a patient. The kids first activity was to learn on why and who decided to turn the Everglades into farms and why the canals were created. Then the kids made butter with heavy whipping cream and we got to try it with crackers. Next stop was an old school classroom where they were tough how to use a quail pen with ink. They got to write or draw on a paper with the pen and ink. They went 2 other rooms That they shared some history about the farmers and stores. After that they got water from a well. And then finally they washed clothes by hand. Overall it was pretty interesting. read more

See all

A nice little museum right here in Davie! The old Davie school museum is easy to find right off of griffin road and they have a nice little amount of parking to choose from. The school is now open to tours (of the inside) and it is open from Tuesday to Sunday from 10 am to 4 pm, however their last tours are at 2pm so keep that in mind if you are wanting to make an appointment and visit! You are able to have a self guided tour if you choose to do that instead of a guided tour, and the admission fee is ten dollars for adults and seven dollars for seniors and children 5-12. The staff is friendly and very informative, giving a lot of in depth history to the school and what was going on during that time here! This is a very nice non-profit museum and everything they receive in terms of money goes to preserving the history of this awesome building! They have a lot of really cool little artifacts and the information that goes along with them is equally as cool and interesting! You are able to buy tickets online as well so that definitely cuts down the time of how long you may be standing in line during peak times here because it will tend to get a little bit more busy during Saturday afternoons for sure! I for one enjoyed my time here and spent a nice length looking over the exhibits multiple times because I saw something new everytime I looked at the exhibits! read more

NSU university school brought 1st graders to explore this amazing piece of history. Students learned what it is like to have chores,no electricity, and even using ink with calligraphy pens.. Defintely a well organized and beneficial trip! read more

See all

The Davie School is a historic school in Davie, Florida, USA. It is located at 6650 Griffin Road. It was designed by August Geiger and opened its doors in 1918 to 90 students. The school was in continuous use as a school until 1978. On March 29, 1988, it was added to the U.S. National Register of Historic Places. There is some interesting art on the walls outside - see my photograph. I only saw the building from the outside - which surely is majestic. I have not been inside the museum as of yet. read more

See all

The Old Davie Schoolhouse is the oldest school in Broward county. It was designed by August Geiger and opened in 1918. The building is T shaped, two story, concrete and stucco with Spanish and Moorish design elements. The floors are made of Dade County Pine and the rooms had large windows to let in light and air in the days before electricity. The first floor was used for classes and the second floor was utilized for town functions. The school was paid for by developer R.P. Davie who drained the Everglades and created the town. The people of the town of Zona were so grateful to him for providing a school that they changed the name of the town to Davie in his honor. The school's first class had 90 students and operated continuously as a school until 1978 .It was added to the National Register of Historic Places on March 29,1988. The town of Davie operated this building continuously as a school until 1978. After a new school was built and this building ceased to be used. In 1980 the school was almost turned into a bus stop until residents got together to save it, forming the Davie School Association. The city of Davie bought up the property around the school. In 1998 the school building was used as an event space but was closed to the general public. In 2008 the town of Davie opened the building as the Old Davie School Historical Museum. The Old School has a recreated classroom and exhibit space with displays on farming and life in Davie in the 1920's. Upstairs can still be rented for private events like weddings and parties. Approximately 20,000 people visit the museum every year. Davie has added other historic buildings to the school house property. There is a pioneer house representative of that type of dwellings people built to live in 100 years ago complete with outhouse. Also on the property is the Walsh/Osterhoudt House from the 1920's and the Viele House from 1912 which is now the home of a temporary model railroad exhibit until August 4th. The museum hosts many school groups and camps throughout the year. They hold different educational programs and do offer certain free days like the Smithsonian Museum Day on September 21st. Teachers can get in free all summer with a school ID. They recently held a ghost hunt that sold out really quickly. I hope to make the next one. Normal admission is $10 and children 5 through 12 are $7. This is a wonderful place for people to learn hands on what life was like in this area 100 years ago. read more

See all

This small museum surprisingly packs a punch with a lot of detail, not just about the school itself, but I also got to understand the origin of the town of Davie. I highly recommend taking the guided tour; Christine's in-depth knowledge and enthusiasm about the history of the museum helped me connect the past and present developments of Davie transitioning from a rural agricultural space to a prominent educational center today. The museum also actively promotes interactive learning for young kids. As a history and social studies teacher, the old vintage classroom was a nostalgic trip down memory lane. I loved every minute of this tour. read more

I did a tour of the school house and the old homes behind the school. They have done a great job restoring all the facilities. you can get a guided tour of the school house museum. There is even a school room with the original desks and chalk board. The homes are from pioneers who settled here in the early 1900's. They are full of artifacts from the original families. People can get married at the property or have parties/receptions. They host special events throughout the year so check the museums website. read more

See all

If you like history, or find historic schoolhouses to be appealing, you will probably enjoy making this stop in Davie, as this is the oldest existing school building in Broward County, according to the National Register of Historic Places. I have visited an even older schoolhouse, the oldest wooden schoolhouse, which is located in Saint Augustine, Florida, so this school was of interest to me. I knew my friend would enjoy coming too, as he likes old photographs and learning about pioneer settlements. I took the schoolhouse tour with my friend, and Kim was our entertaining, knowledgeable tour guide. The Davie School, designed in 1917 by August Geiger, one of South Florida's most prominent early architects, opened its doors in 1918 to roughly 90 students. It was located in Zona (now known as Davie, and a major citrus producer at the time), and was in continuous use as a school until 1980. It contains keyhole windows and a keyhole entry way, reminiscent of Mediterranean architecture. Before the schoolhouse, Davie was pure swampland, as it was part of The Everglades. A few pioneer families came to populate and had a rough time. One female pioneer can be seen in a picture holding a rifle in one hand, and a dead alligator in the other, as she had to protect her chicken coop from the reptile. Seeing pictures of the first buildings, including general stores, that were built here, makes it hard to believe this was part of the South Florida landscape, as it looks straight out of a Western movie! There was a huge flood that almost entered the building in 1947, when two hurricanes hit the area. Fortunately, the water never entered the building (a testament as to its sturdiness)! It is interesting to see pictures of the schoolhouse throughout the years, with student fashions changing. Initially, the students lived on farms and would come to school barefoot. All the kids would have matching, short haircuts that looked like bowl cuts. Perhaps there was only one person in town that could cut hair back then. You then see kids with pretty circle tea dresses, and different haircuts. The schoolhouse has been restored, and is in its original condition for the most part. In the hallway, many of the hooks for the students' belongings are original from 1918, and whichever ones could not be replaced or found were replaced with modern-day representations of the old, golden hooks. They have added electricity, and air conditioning as well. The floor was never replaced as Dade County Pine is the strongest floor you can find, and is termite-proof. Students' desks are also original from that era. Because there was no electricity at the time, large windows were used for air circulation, as well as natural sunlight to penetrate the building and light up the classrooms. As I mentioned, the school was used in the 80s, and at that time, there was a green chalkboard, like the kind seen in today's classrooms. During restoration, they found that underneath that chalkboard, was the original slateboard of 1918, preserved through the decades. It still contained writing from that era too, which is fascinating! It makes you wonder about the lives of the kids whose names were written on that board. Did they stay in Davie and put down roots? Did any of them graduate high school? Are any of their family members alive? How about the kids in the pictures, are they alive and can they recognize themselves from their picture? Apart from the school building, there are also a couple of pioneer historic homes that were relocated to the property. One of them is the Viele House. It is the oldest residential structure remaining in Davie and is an excellent example of vernacular architecture. Moreover, the house is unique even among Broward's early pioneer homes because of its large size and permanent construction. It survived the hurricane of 1926, the floods of 1947, and the more recent development explosion in western Broward County. The other home is The Walsh-Osterhoudt House. It is among the oldest residential structures remaining in Davie and is significant because it was built during the early agricultural development of western Broward County. Unfortunately, both homes are closed to the public as they are being furnished and restored, but should be open for tours within a month or so. The school is a popular spot for weddings, and other events. A knitting group meets here and they also have photo contests for kids. Apparently, one of those TV wedding reality shows had a couple hosting their wedding here, so camera crews came in and filmed. I don't know which show it is as I am not into reality television, but if you do watch, perhaps you may recognize the building from the pictures posted on Yelp! read more

See all

Ducked in for a Davie-Cooper City Chamber meeting and it was a fine time, here's why: * Close to home * Consistent operation-I have been here many times over the past few years... * Cool history abounds * Nice 2nd floor space for special events * Friendly and helpful and knowledgeable staff * Exterior Tiki Bar for special event support * Our meeting was catered by Tastebuds, #Nom! I appreciate non-corporate, humble, affordable, and historic places like this. Please patronize them so they stick around. Good stuff, Cabeza OUT! read more

I had booked this venue for my daughter's birthday . The staff was super helpful and welcoming during the process of booking the event and even up until a week and a half prior to the event, they were never rude, I just wish they had been more understanding and compassionate. My reason for the 2 star rating is because yes I signed a contract and had paid the full amount of the venue I believe 30 days before the event or when ever it is that they withdraw the amount. On 11/5 exactly a week prior to the event, my family member tragically passed away. I attempted to speak to the coordinator but she was not available til a couple of days after. I didn't want to cancel my contract I just wanted to switch the date due to the difficult moment my family and I were going through, it was an unexpected death. To great disappointment they only offered to credit me $250 after I had paid $1200 for the venue. As a single mother of two, I worked hard to pay for this party I was happy that I could finally have one for my daughter who didn't have a quince or a sweet sixteen, this was a big deal for her and for me. Losing $1200 was tough. I had no intention of canceling the party just days before the date, we unfortunately had to be at a funeral on the day we were supposed to be celebrating with my daughter and with my family member who would have been there as well. My advice to anyone booking this venue or any other venue is ask what would happen in the event that you have a death in the family. This is not something I could have ever imagined happening. The venue said they couldn't refund the money bc it did not give them enough time to book the venue for that date. The vendors that I had booked for that event all were very understanding and allowed me to use my payment for another date and others even refunded me. It's an unfortunate situation all around and I hope no one has to experience this. It was very disappointing. read more

What a great tour guide we had, Dianna very knowledgeable and personable. Amazing how times have changed since 1912 at our schools. Takes about 1.5 hrs to take tour and go back in time. Great to see local history. $10.00 donation per person call ahead. Enjoy read more

When I first started looking into venues for my wedding Old Davie School seemed to be the best choice so I chose this location. Of course the staff seemed welcoming at first (because they want your business $$$$). They were polite and professional UNTIL the day of the wedding. The tables for cocktail hour weren't set up when they said they would be. They told me that they have their own staff that would clean up and that we only have to make sure we get our belongings out; then they turn around and said that we were dirty for leaving the place that way and it should have been the way we found it. Clearly they wanted us to sweep and mop the place after the wedding. Are these people crazy??!! Meanwhile, they were clocking us, we stayed 36 minutes too long in their establishment getting our belongings out, so they proceeded to charge me an additional $300. $300 for 36 minutes. I say all that to say this, if your are looking into venues for your wedding 1. DO NOT CHOOSE OLD DAVIE SCHOOL 2. Make sure you ask how much they charge if you stay an additional minute, 30 minutes, or hour. I hope you make a better choice than I did. Some side notes on Old Davie School * You cannot use any outside furniture. * There's no true "bar" available outside under the tiki hut for cocktail hour. You have to rent your own or put some tables together to create a bar. *Pray it doesn't rain on your wedding day because if you want the ceremony inside it's either going be in the same area the reception is going to be or you have to pay more money to rent the indoor area called the "Cafetorium." Good luck! read more