Now preserved as Orman House Historic State Park, this stately antebellum mansion is a fascinating blend of Federal and Greek Revival styles.
Inside, period furnishings convey the feel of when Apalachicola was a bustling commercial city at the mouth of a unbroken river system extending to industrial Columbus, Georgia.
Parlor pianoResources
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Overview
Trailhead: 29.730885,-84.989929
Address: 177 Fifth St, Apalachicola
Fees: $2 per person museum tour
Restroom: Yes
Land manager: Florida State Parks
Phone: 850-653-1209
Open 9-5 Thu-Mon. Tours are provided hourly on the hour from 9-3, except noon.
Directions
From US 98 in downtown Apalachicola, head to the riverfront. Follow Water St. upriver and make the jog onto Avenue I where it turns away. Make the next right onto Market St. Parking is at the base of the bluff in front of the Veterans Memorial.
About the Park
With many ships at his command, Orman didn’t need or want Florida’s famed cypress or heart pine.
Instead, he ordered wood shipped from Syracuse, New York to construct this grand home.
Tall windows bring in a great deal of natural lightApalachicola was an up-and-coming seaport. Over the next 30 years, Orman’s commercial traffic spurred extensive growth throughout the city.
Tied in with plantation growers, Orman made Apalachicola a prime exporter of cotton during these years.
View of the marshy river basin from the porchHe was friends with Alvan Wentworth Chapman, a noted botanist, and Dr. John Gorrie, who invented the ice machine.
A massive magnolia on the propertyChapman Botanical Garden, a memorial garden created for Chapman by a local garden club, is also part of the Orman House Historic State Park complex.
Chapman Botanical Garden Chapman Botanical Garden honors the memory of Dr. Alvan Wentworth Chapman, a noted botanist who in 1860 published Flora of the United States.Architecturally, the mansion is a fascinating blend of Federal and Greek Revival styles.
Inside, artifacts and stories shared by interpretive guides lead to a deeper understanding of the forces that shaped Apalachicola, a notable historic city that has well preserved its past.
Styling on the staircaseExplore More!
Slideshow
See our photos of the Orman House
Nearby Adventures
More worth exploring while you’re in this area.
Scipio Creek Boardwalk A sweeping view of the Apalachicola River estuary waits like a pot of gold at the end of the rainbow on this beautiful nature trail and boardwalk
John Gorrie Museum State Park One of only two Floridians honored in the halls of Congress for their achievements, Dr. John Gorrie is the inventor of the icemaker and the father of air conditioning.
Apalachicola National Estuarine Research Reserve A UNESCO Biosphere Reserve, the Apalachicola National Estuarine Research Reserve blankets nearly a quarter million miles of marine basin on Florida's Forgotten Coast.
St. George Island State Park Blessed with brilliant white quartz sand, St. George Island State Park is a sparkling, quiet getaway protecting nearly 2,000 acres of coastal habitats on a barrier island between Apalachicola Bay and the Gulf of Mexico. 
- Michael Crotty Bicentennial Park - November 3, 2026
- A.J. Henry Park - November 1, 2026
- Okeeheelee Nature Center Trails - October 22, 2026