Historical Winwood

Historical Winwood. . , Side 1 , The unincorporated community of Winwood is a historic African-American community located near the cities of Altamonte Springs and Casselberry. Generations of farm workers who toiled in south Seminole County's citrus groves and ferneries lived in the community around County Road 427 and Lake Mobile., Condor Merritt, one of Central Florida's most powerful African Americans, developed the area after World War II. He invested in real estate in Orange and Seminole counties using money he had earned from picking fruit and legalized gambling. One of his investments, Eatonville's "Club Eaton," later called "Heroes," was built in 1950. Merritt combined a nightclub with a hotel so that black performers could stay on the premises. Club Eaton became the leading nightclub in the area for black artists., Winwood began as part of the City of Altamonte Springs. In the early 1920s black residents comprised 40% of the city's populace. (Continued on other side). Side 2 (Continued from other side). In 1951, Merritt and 80 other residents won a lawsuit to split from the city, contending that they were being taxed but did not receive equal services. Eighty acres were separated from the city, creating the unincorporated community known as Winwood., Merritt's grave can be found at the historic Evergreen Cemetery, where generations of Winwood residents have been buried since the 1890s. Winwood was also the home of the Rosenwald School, one of a number of rural Southern schools opened during segregation by Julius Rosenwald to educate African-American students. Alcee Hastings, a congressman since 1993 and former Federal Judge, was born in Winwood and attended Rosenwald., In 2014, Altamonte Springs became a stop on the SunRail commuter train line, within walking distance of Winwood's community. Winwood has since undergone extensive redevelopment, but many descendants of the original families still call it home.