The goals and objectives of this program are to (1) increase the look and prestige of Bay County by honoring buildings 50 or more years old with Historic Markers on their buildings, (2) enhance historical awareness in our community by bringing history to the streets, (3) encourage community home and business owners to work toward development of an historic district, and in certain cases (4) encourage home and business owners to work toward designation of their buildings to the National Register of Historic Places.

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The Historical Society encourages all owners of historic sites to pursue the research that will promote the history of their site. Please read the following requirements.

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• All signs will have the area logo at the top (County, City or CRA), then Name of structure, date, text and Historical Society of Bay County.

• The text must be a maximum of 132 words, but absolutely no more than 169.

• The name of the site at the top of the sign should be the ORIGINAL RECOGNIZED NAME. Other names may be included in the text.

• The site should be at least 50 years old.

• All historic data must be documented.

• Signs may be mounted by the use of a commercial epoxy or by drilling holes through the sign and screwing the sign into anchors inserted into the mounting surface.

• The placement of the sign. For Commercial Buildings: The signs should be placed 64 inches above ground level, measured to the center of the sign. The sign should be placed on the building face, and, when possible, on the street address side. The exact location will depend on the architectural design of the building and the owner’s preferences. For private homes: Because of the different settings for each home, the location is to be determined by the owner, but keeping in mind that it is readable from the street and ideally is on the street address side of the home. For other locations such as archaeological sites: The placement of signs will depend on factors at each site.

• Please submit application to Glenda Walters or Bob Hurst, P.O. Box 1476, Panama City, FL 32402.

• Upon approval of application, please remit payment of $150.00 to Bay County History Museum, P.O. Box 1476, Panama City, FL 32402.

• For questions contact Bob Hurst, 850-785-6184, Glenda Walters, 850-832-0840 or Becky Saunders, 850-624-6659.

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