Gillespie Museum

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Gillespie Museum is a science museum at 234 East Michigan Avenue in DeLand, Florida, on the Stetson University campus. It houses one of the largest gem and mineral collections in the southeastern United States. The collection began with Thomas Byrd and Nellie Gillespie, who were inspired by a stunning mineral display they saw in Seattle in the 1930s. With help from mineralogists Edwin Over and Arthur Montgomery, the collection grew to include many different specimens. In 1958, after about 30 years, the Gillespies donated a large portion of their collection to Stetson University and continued to support new acquisitions for years to come.