Lake Worth Beach in Palm Beach County, Florida — The American South (South Atlantic)
I. A. Banks Memorial Park
Photographed by Tim Fillmon, June 28, 2024
1. I. A. Banks Memorial Park Marker
African Americans and Bahamians settled this neighborhood in an unincorporated area between Lake Worth and Lantana around 1914. Then known as the Quarters, it provided multi-family housing and private residences for agricultural workers. In 1926, the Town of Lake Worth annexed the neighborhood as the Osborne Colored Addition. It was the only section of the city where Black people were permitted to reside as a result of Jim Crow segregation laws. Lake Worths first cemetery, Pine Crest, was also segregated. Recording its first burial in 1923, Pine Crest only allowed the interment of white residents. Burials of Black people had to take place in either Boynton Beach to the south or West Palm Beach to the north. In 1960, Lake Worth established the 1.5-acre Osborne Municipal Cemetery for colored residents. Ten years later, Lake Worth desegregated Pine Crest Cemetery. In 1983, the residents of the neighborhood successfully petitioned the city to rename Osborne Municipal Cemetery the I. A. Banks Memorial Park in honor of Reverend I. A. Banks, the founder of nearby New Hope Missionary Baptist Church.
A Florida Heritage
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Erected 2023 by The City of Lake Worth Beach and the Florida Department of State. (Marker Number F-1234.)
Topics. This historical marker is listed in these topic lists: African Americans • Cemeteries & Burial Sites • Settlements & Settlers. A significant historical year for this entry is 1960.
Location. 26° 35.795′ N, 80° 3.52′ W. Marker is in Lake Worth Beach, Florida, in Palm Beach County. It is at the intersection of Wingfield Street and Washington Avenue, on the right when traveling south on Wingfield Street. Touch for map. Marker is at or near this postal address: 1515 Wingfield Street, Lake Worth Beach FL 33460, United States of America. Touch for directions.
Regionally, this marker is in South Florida, on the Gold Coast, on the Treasure Coast, and in Greater Miami. It is also in the American South and on the Eastern Seaboard. Globally, it is in the North Atlantic Region, North America, a Gulf of Mexico state, the Western Hemisphere, the Western World, and the Anglosphere. Historically, it finds itself in what was once New Spain, the territory of the Mississippian Culture, one of the Confederate
Photographed by Tim Fillmon, June 28, 2024
2. I. A. Banks Memorial Park Marker
Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within 2 miles of this marker, measured as the crow flies: Pine Crest Municipal Cemetery (approx. 0.7 miles away); Evergreen Cemetery (approx. 0.7 miles away); James Homestead and First Jewell Post Office (approx. 1.1 miles away); First Schoolhouse (approx. 1.4 miles away); Chapel Of The Holy Spirit (approx. 1.6 miles away); Coastal Patrol Base No. 3 (approx. 1.7 miles away); 1885-1893 (approx. 1.8 miles away); Palm Beach Junior College (approx. 2 miles away).
Another marker is no longer nearby. First Town Hall (was approx. 1.4 miles away but has been confirmed missing).
Also see . . . I. A. Banks Memorial Park. (Submitted on July 14, 2024, by Tim Fillmon of Webster, Florida.)
Photographed by Tim Fillmon, June 28, 2024
3. I. A. Banks Memorial Park Marker
Credits. This page was last revised on July 14, 2024. It was originally submitted on July 14, 2024, by Tim Fillmon of Webster, Florida. This page has been viewed 270 times since then and 18 times this year. Photos: 1, 2, 3. submitted on July 14, 2024, by Tim Fillmon of Webster, Florida.
