The Town of Eatonville, Florida is Established
The small town of Eatonville, Florida, began with a desire to have an established space for African-American residents. This desire became a reality on August 15, 1887, when 27 Black electors came together to establish the municipality.
Before the town was established, Joseph C. Clarke, a freedman, and northern philanthropist Lewis Lawrence purchased more than one hundred acres of land from Josiah Eaton. Eaton was one of the few white landowners who was willing to sell land to African Americans. After purchasing the land, the men began to distribute it to Black families from the surrounding area of central Florida.
The first residents gathered at the “town hall” and cast their votes for Columbus H. Boger to serve as mayor in addition to several other town officers. This made Eatonville the first town to be organized, governed and incorporated by African American citizens.
Life in Eatonville centered around three main institutions, which include the church, school and family. The St. Lawrence African Methodist Episcopal Church (A.M.E.) was the first religious institution in the city. The residents also established the Robert Hungerford Preparatory High School in 1889. The school was named after a white physician who taught Eatonville men how to read and write.
The prep school was modeled after Tuskegee University and was led by Russell and Mary Calhoun. It was designed to educate the town’s youth in a variety of subjects including cooking, housekeeping, blacksmithing, agriculture and more. Hungerford High School became one of the best schools in the central Florida area.
In addition to being the first city run by African-Americans, Eatonville is also known for its association to author Zora Neale Hurston. Although she was born in Alabama, Hurston considered Eatonville to be home. Her experiences helped to shape her writing style and the town was featured in some of her works, including her 1937 novel, Their Eyes Were Watching God. In 1990, the town established the Zora Neale Hurston Museum of Fine Arts and continues to celebrate her by hosting an annual festival in her honor.
