The Enduring Botanical Legacy of Apalachicola’s Dr. A. W. Chapman, M.D.: Speaker Program

The Apalachicola Area Historical Society (AAHS) will be presenting a program on “The Enduring Botanical Legacy of Apalachicola’s Dr. A. W. Chapman, M.D.” featuring Rebecca W. Dolan, PhD as part of their Spring Speaker Series. This program will be held on Saturday, March 18, 2023 at 4:00 PM at the Raney Carriage House, 126 Market Street, Apalachicola, FL. Guests are invited to hear about the legacy of Chapman who first published the “Flora of the Southern United States” in 1860. This publication was the first time the plants of this region were depicted and described. This session will include a dive into both the fascinating, but arcane way plants new to science are named and the archived specimens and documents that support the process.

Rebecca W. Dolan, PhD is the retired Director of the Friesner Herbarium at Butler University in Indianapolis, IN. She has written a number of publications and was a faculty affiliate at the Center for Urban Ecology and Sustainability. She is a resident of Franklin County, FL.

Additional Spring Speaker Series events are scheduled for April 22 and May 20. These Speakers events are part of a well-established and popular series by the Apalachicola Area Historical Society held through May on Saturdays, mid-month, at 4:00 PM in the Raney Carriage House. Local and visiting history enthusiasts have gathered for these informative talks for quite a few years. Previous speakers have spoken about Apalachicola’s predominantly African American North Side, Territorial City St Joseph, Early Maps of the area, Niles Register Florida History, the ice delivery industry, Cemetery Preservation, Apalachicola Historic Squares and more.

For more information, please call and leave a message at (850) 653-1700, email to AAHS.Raney@gmail.com, or visit us online at www.apalachicolahistoricalsociety.org. The Raney House Museum is located at 128 Market Street at the corner of Avenue F in historic downtown Apalachicola and is open from 10:00 AM – 4:00 PM Tuesday through Saturday.  Funded in part by the Franklin County Tourist Development Council.