Panama City history museum celebrates Black History Month

PANAMA CITY, Fla. (WJHG/WECP) - A Panama City museum is working to preserve history by telling the story of one of the first African American families to settle in the area.

Located in Downtown Panama City, the Bay County Historical Museum holds decades of culture.

In honor of Black History Month, the museum is once again bringing out its Massalina Family exhibit.

The display highlights Jose Massalina and his son, Hawk, who settled in at Redfish Point around the time of the Civil War. They invited dozens of black families to establish the area that has since become Tyndall Air Force Base.

“He invited all freed slaves to join him there so eventually more than thirty families moved to Redfish Point and lived there for many years until eventually, of course when Tyndall took over the property, they had to move away,” Kenny Redd, the Vice President of the Bay County Historical Society, said.

Even though the Redfish Community moved, historians say their legacy shaped what Bay County is today.

For more information on the museum, including exhibit hours, visit https://www.baycohistory.org/

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