Churches on Scott Street in Tampa

Once upon a time Scott Street was in the middle of Tampa's Central Avenue District, which was the core of the city's African American community. Today the brick street rumbles by mostly vacant, fenced lots, where the Central Park Village public housing stood from 1954 until 2007.

But, as blue as the sky, still stands the Paradise Missionary Baptist Church. Built in the early twentieth century as the Allen Temple A.M.E. Church, this church now also houses a museum dedicated to the community it served. Just a few doors further down the street is the red brick Ebenezer M.B. Church, which when built in 1922 served Tampa's first African-American Seventh-Day Adventist congregation.

Paradise Missionary Baptist Church, as it appears today:

1926 photograph of the Allen Temple AME Church (courtesy USF Libraries):

Ebenezer M.B. Church on Scott Street:

Further Reading:

Tampa's "Central Avenue Remembered" by James Tokley (video)

"Central Park Village Demolished," Tampa Tribune, July 31, 2007

"Plans for Perry Harvey Sr. Park in Tampa Go Nowhere," St. Petersburg Times, December 12, 2008

"Displacement and Deconcentration in Tampa" Anthropology News, Dec. 2008

A Guide to Historic Tampa, by Steve Ratjar (The History Press, 2007)

Eatonville, a Town in the Southern-most State

The New York Times has been running a series of articles about the state guides published in the 1930s by the Works Progress Administration. This week they visited Eatonville, a small town in central Florida. Eatonville is the oldest incorporated African-American municipality in the United States, and was the childhood home of Zora Neale Hurston, who wrote the town's entry in the Florida guide.

"In a Town Apart, the Pride and Trials of Black Life" New York Times, September 28, 2008

Florida; a Guide to the Southern-most State (Federal Writers' Project, 1939)

The WPA Guides: Mapping America, by Christine Bold (University Press of Mississippi, 1999)

Citrus Park Colored School

Tucked away just off Gunn Highway in northwest Hillsborough County, an area now more known for estate homes, is an old, one-room school house. The Citrus Park Colored School was built in the 1920s by and for the African-American community in the Keystone-Odessa-Citrus Park area on land donated by Mrs. Barbara Allen. Rev. Charlie Walker spent many hours at the county school board's offices urging them to open this school, until they agreed to supply the materials. The families served by the school provided the labor and construction know-how to actually build the school. Citrus Park Colored School served up to thirty students at a time until it closed in 1948. Since then, the old school building has been used by the Mount Pleasant AME Church. The Citrus Park Colored School is a designated Hillsborough County Historic Landmark.

"A Shared and Pleasant History" from the Tampa Tribune

Map showing locations of Hillsborough County Landmarks (pdf)

For further reading:

"'The Most Well Utilized Building...in the United States:' Citrus Park Colored School," by Geoffrey Mohlman. Sunland Tribune (1999) Volume 25, Number 1, pages 77 - 96.

The Florida Collection, from the Jacksonville Public Library

The Florida Collection is an online resource made available by the Jacksonville Public Library. It includes biographical sketches, historic photographs, and old postcards, among other things. Browsing through the postcard index, I discovered:

* a 1900s photograph of horses at the starting line at Moncrief Park

* two brave men plucking feathers from an ostrich, and

* a 1940s advertisement for Berney's Restaurant.

The Berney's card proclaims "Dine with the Man in Green from Ripley's 'Believe it or Not'." And sure enough, there's a man in a green suit. A little googling finds a January 18, 1937, letter to the editor, published in Time magazine: "Dressed completely in green day and night, he will give to any woman dressed entirely in green the choice of his menu, gratis. ... The only man in Florida to drive an automobile with a green licenses, he has even painted the 'White Horse' Scotch whisky statue green."

Virginia Key Beach Park Re-Opens

Celebrate the Grand Re-Opening of Virginia Key Beach Park, established as a beach for African-American living in Miami in 1945!

"Freedom Beach" (Multi-media report from Miami Herald)

"Historic Virginia Key Beach Park truly is one of the special places..." (Miami Herald, February 17, 2008)

"Virginia Key Beach reopens with a splash" (Miami Herald, February 22, 2008)

Recent Florida News Stories

"One Man's Art Is Another's Trailer Trash" (Tampa Tribune, January 9, 2008: "Evoking the spirit of kitschy Americana like giant balls of string or alligator wrestling, seven aluminum-plated travel trailers once destined for the junkyard have gotten unexpected mileage as a roadside curiosity along eastbound Interstate 4."

"A Florida state song makeover you can dance to" (St. Petersburg Times, January 8, 2008: "Dance strong. Dance proud.")

"New South Florida" (South Florida Sun-Sentinel: " ABOUT THE SERIES: The New South Florida: exploring how shifts in demographics, immigration, culture, our economy and mobility have changed the way we live.")

"'Colored Beach' gets recognition" (Miami Herald, January 19, 2008: "As James D. Bradley Jr. scans the milelong strip of sand once known as 'Colored Beach,' he recalls boarding a ferry at Port Everglades 50 years ago, or riding across the sand in his father's jeep, to join hundreds at the only place in Broward where they could swim in the ocean.")

"Makinson Island in Osceola County emerging as eco-tourism site" (Orlando Sentinel, January 19, 2008: "Although it's owned by the public, few have seen Makinson up close in recent years because it's accessible only by boat. In times past, however, it has been home to citrus and cattle farms, a sanitarium for alcoholics and an exotic-animal attraction.")

"War re-enactors to put on show at Okeechobee battlefield" (TCPalm.com, January 26, 2008: "The public will get its first glimpse next week of what is to become of Okeechobee Battlefield State Park.")

"Project aims to unlock Pleasant City's history" (Palm Beach Post, January 26, 2008: " 'Wait. Go back,' Carlton Cartwright said as a grainy black and white photo of three smiling members of the city's 1940 Negro League baseball team flashed on the screen. 'One of those guys is my cousin.'")

"Preservationists facing tough, ongoing struggle" (Miami Herald, January 22, 2008: "Historic preservationists gained a trifecta of victories in Miami Beach last week.")

"Chalet Suzanne Faces New Challenges" (The Ledger, January 20, 2008)

"Uncertain future awaits Sanibel lighthouse" (Fort Myers Florida Weekly, January 10, 2008: "The U.S. Coast Guard oversees the tower and Bailey, who is chairman of the Sanibel Historic Committee, said he hopes they won't decide to let that light slowly extinguish, as more up-to-date technologies take the place of this old fashioned beacon for seamen.")

Lake Rogers Park

A week or so ago I had a chance for an afternoon walk and picnic at Lake Rogers Park in northwest Hillsborough County. It's a county-maintained park that opened in 2000 with lakes and nature trails, picnic tables and campsites. It's also a stop on the Great Florida Birding Trail; however, all I saw was osprey, seagulls, and a cardinal (but I was there in the afternoon, not the best time for bird watching).

The park is on Lake Rogers and Lake Raleigh. Raleigh Allen, a cowboy for the Lykes Company, bought some land out here in the 1880s. In the 1960s and 70s Mabel Lewis and James Sterling "Boots" Walker ran a hotel for African Americans. There was space for all types of outdoor recreation such as swimming, picnics, barbeques, and family gatherings.

Florida News

"Pirates...extremists all" (Fort Myers Florida Weekly, December 6, 2007)

"Monday Chat with Willy Johns: Seminole tribe historian looks toward future" (TCPalm, December 2, 2007)

"McCarty House fire was set by someone, but not sure if intentional" (TCPalm, December 5, 2007)

"Former local developer has big plans for a Florida ranch" (Virginian Pilot, December 5, 2007)

"1920s and '30s Saw the Start of Many Local Traditions" (High school football in Lakeland, The Ledger, November 29, 2007)

"America's first Christmas was right here" (Tallahassee Democrat, December 1, 2007)

"Challenging the Citrus Status Quo" (The Ledger, December 3, 2007)

"Hope floats for revamping historic vessel: The Schooner Western Union Preservation Society is holding a festival Sunday to raise funds to restore the aging wooden boat with a rich history." (Miami Herald, December 1, 2007)

"Work is nearly done at Dubsdread golf course in Orlando" (Orlando Sentinel, December 2, 2007)

"Historic School Falls But Memories Rise" (Meachem Alternative School in Tampa's Central Park Village, Tampa Tribune, December 1, 2007)

Florida News

"Ormond Firehouse Converting to Office Building" Daytona Beach News-Journal Oct. 1, 2007

"Wright's Stuff" Florida Trend Oct. 1, 2007

"From Bondage to Great Brooksvillian Nominee" Hernando Today Sept. 30, 2007

"Get Ready for Some Fun at the Old Ice House" Punta Gorda Herald Oct. 3, 2007

"New Finds among the Old: Historian is First Full-time Paid Venice Archive Manager" Herald Tribune Oct. 2, 2007

"Orange City Water Museum" DeLand-Deltona Beacon Sept. 28, 2007

"Library Photo Archives One of Putnam’s ‘Little-known Treasures’" Palatka Daily News

"Railroad Shop: The Day a Black Community Died" Miami Herald Sept. 23, 2007

"Florida's Space Coast was Sparked by Sputnik" St. Petersburg Times Sept. 30, 2007

"Landmark Hotel Adds a New Page to its History" Tallahassee Democrat Sept. 30, 2007

"Diversity's Good Business for Longtime Skating Rink" Miami Herald Oct. 4, 2007

"Martha Makes a House" Orlando Sentinel Oct. 7, 2007

"To Them, It's Joyful Noise" St. Petersburg Times Oct. 5, 2007

Florida Stories in the News

"Inventor Wants to Sap Storms" St. Petersburg Times 9/9/07

"Post Office Loves Being Stuck in Past" Orlando Sentinel 9/9/07

"Getting a Gauge on the Gators" News Press 9/14/07

"Bill Would Designate the Cracker Horse as the Official State Horse" WPTV.com 9/14/07

"Florida Panther Cub Comes to Lowry Park Zoo" St. Petersburg Times 9/14/07

"Voices of Lake Okeechobee" Florida Trend 9/1/07

"Hearing History's Echoes" Tampa Tribune 9/16/07

"Last Officer Class Leaving Pensacola; 7 Decade Tradition Ends" St. Petersburg Times 9/15/07

Blog of the Day: Community Mosaic

Community Mosaic is the creation story of a large outdoor mosaic celebrating the history of Winter Park's Hannibal Square community. The mosaic was designed and made by students, with the assistance of local artists and teachers.

This Week's News -- Historic Florida

"Capt. Sewell's Homestead Still Stands" -- Eliot Kleinberg of the Palm Beach Post is writing a series of columns about Florida towns turning 50. this week -- Sewell's Point.

Speaking of anniversaries, Happy 185th Birthday Jacksonville! ("Commemorating Jacksonville's First City Planners" -- Financial News and Daily Record)

"Jackie Robinson Ballpark Scores All-Star Game" (Daytona News-Journal) getting ready for the Florida State League All Star Game at "the field where Jackie Robinson broke professional baseball's color barrier 60 years ago during a spring training game."

"Train Depot Fate Still Unclear" (Panama City News Herald) What should be done with the Bay Line train depot in Panama City?

"His Land, His Ranch, His Lifetime" (St. Petersburg Times) A profile of rancher Milo Thomas

"History Club Collects Firsts" (St. Petersburg Times) Why wait until everyone has forgotten? Wiregrass Ranch High School students record history as it happens.

"Wright Rescue Takes Shape" (Orlando Sentinel) Frank Lloyd Wright buildings at Florida Southern College in Lakeland are now on the World Monuments Fund 2008 list of 100 Most Endangered Sites.

This and That

The Miami Herald reports on efforts to preserve Hialeah Race Track.

A local TV station report about Citizens to Save Hialeah Park.

The Sun-Sentinel reports that the Marjory Stoneman Douglas House will stay where it is.

The Orlando Sentinel has a special report online about Orlando's First Black Police Officials,

and the Florida Times-Union has an online special report about the decommissioning of the USS John F. Kennedy.

The clock in Tampa's city hall is named Hortense.

Beth Dunlop reviews Diaz-Balart Hall, designed by Robert A. M. Stern Associates, on the campus of Florida International University.

A major renovation project will begin soon at the historic Dubsdread Golf Course, built in College Park in the 1920s.

Eatonville's Hungerford School

This week, Orlando papers and tv news programs are reporting that the Orange County school board may close the Robert Hungerford Preparatory High School in Eatonville.

Eatonville is widely known as Zora Neale Hurston's hometown, and the source of many of her plays and novels. However, the town has a rich heritage over and beyond its role in literary history.

Eatonville is one of several African American towns settled across the United States after the Civil War, incorporated in 1887. All of the town's officials and residents were black. The Hungerford School was established in 1889, modeled after Alabama's Tuskegee Institute. The school was named after Dr. Robert Hungerford, a white physician living in Maitland who had been teaching reading and writing to local black men. The Hungerford School was founded by a young couple, Russell and Mary Calhoun; Russell Calhoun was a Tuskegee graduate. After Robert Hungerford died of typhoid fever in 1888, his son gave Calhoun 40 acres for a new school for African Americans.

The school's purpose was to educate African American boys and girls (through 12th grade), with a curriculum of literacy, vocational, and life skills. Students lived on campus, and were assigned jobs or chores. The school's campus included a dairy, chicken coops, gardens, classrooms, boy's and girl's dormitories, and a manual arts building. Classes were taught in blacksmithing, agriculture, carpentry, dressmaking, cooking, and housekeeping. As the twentieth century progressed, classes in technical subjects such as mechanical drawing and radio were added.

In 1950, the Hungerford School became a public school administered by the Orange County School Board. Old, original campus buildings were replaced by new buildings. Today, the school still occupies a large parcel of land in Eatonville, just on the east side of I-4.