The History of Florida’s License Plates: 1905-present

Join us during the month of June at Panama City Publishing Company Museum for a license plate exhibit from one of the state’s largest collections, curated by a local collector and historian, Christopher Lambe. The exhibit will encompass displays of plates from the earliest days of licensing when plates were made of porcelain enamel, state-issued plates from the teens, twenties, and thirties, booster plates advertising cities and local attractions from the 1940s, motorcycle plates from as early as the 1940s, and local Bay county license plates.

The display will also showcase some of the rarest plates ever issued by the state of Florida, providing an
opportunity to enjoy some license plates many likely never even knew existed!

If you have ever visited the Panama City Publishing Company Museum, you have probably heard the story of
Miss Lillian’s license plates. Miss Lillian was never one to spend a dime if she didn’t have to. The print shop was a busy place with lots of heavy machinery, and the heart pine floors took a beating. Sometimes the floors would get damaged and need to be repaired. Rather than repair the hole, Miss Lillian would fasten one of her old license plates over the hole. Problem solved, back to work!

When the damage from Hurricane Michael was so extensive that the floors had to be replaced, the contractor was able to source some heart pine floors from an old Milk Duds factory in Chicago. Museum volunteers carefully removed the license plates, mapped out where each specific one was, and when the new floor was installed, the license plates were replaced exactly where they were before.

When Christopher Lambe heard about Miss Lillian and the license plates, he had to come to investigate! We are so excited for him to come and share his license plates with us.

It is perhaps a strange suggestion that our beloved states’ license plates can tell such an interesting tale. The dawn of the automobile age ushered in a new era in the state of Florida, helping pave the way for the growth and development of our state. But even more so than the state’s development, the appearance of these automobiles came with one absolute certainty: that the government would find a way to generate tax revenue from them! Thus, the Florida license plate was born.