Fellsmere in Indian River County, Florida — The American South (South Atlantic)

The Fellsmere Public School

Photographed by Tim Fillmon, September 12, 2014

1. The Fellsmere Public School Marker-Side 1

Inscription. (side 1)
The Fellsmere Public School, the first masonry school building in what is now Indian River County, was constructed during 1915 and 1916 at 22 South Orange Street. The 22,680 square foot, two-story school with a raised basement was designated by Frederick Homer Trimble, a former Methodist missionary architect who had worked in Fuzhou, China. Trimble, who began his architectural career in the United State in 1915 with the Fellsmere School, designed several building in Fellsmere and Vero Beach, and over 150 buildings in South Florida. Trimble also designed the first buildings at Florida Southern College in Lakeland. The bid to construct the school was awarded to Arthur F. Sanders, a Fellsmere contractor, on May 4, 1915 by the St. Lucie County School Board. Trimble donated the plans for the Fellsmere school but was paid $100 per month to oversee its construction. The school's construction was delayed for several months before funding was obtained from the sale of bonds. By September 1915 Sanders' crews had constructed the Fellsmere Short Line Railroad from the Fellsmere Farms Railroad north of South Carolina Avenue

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down to the center of Cypress Street to the school site. A special railcar built in Palatka was used to haul (Continued on other side) A Florida Heritage Site (side 2) (Continued from other side) materials to the school on 4x4 heart-of-pine rails spiked to 2x8 crossties. Work began on the school's foundation in October 1915, and was completed in mid-November 1915. The basement was completed mid-December 1915. On January 31, 1916, the school's cornerstone was laid under the direction of the Grand Masonic Lodge. The Fellsmere Public School was completed the same year at a cost of $40,000. The school's doors opened to 136 students on October 2, 1916. Principal Anderson A. Price, Assistant Principal Ina C. Elder, and five women teachers, Miss Jesse M. Hunter (the first teacher in Fellsmere, 1912), Miss Neva M. Hunter, Mrs. A.A. (Lula) Price, Miss Ethel Jones, and Miss Agnes Helseth provided instruction for grades 1-12. The Fellsmere School is the oldest public school building in Indian River County, and remained active as a school until 1982. It was later used as the Fellsmere City Hall and Police Station. It is the birthplace

The Fellsmere Public School Marker-Side 2 image. Click for full size.

Photographed by Tim Fillmon, September 12, 2014

2. The Fellsmere Public School Marker-Side 2

of the annual Fellsmere Frogleg Festival. In 2010, the City of Fellsmere restored the school for use as a City Hall/Government Center/Boys and Girls Club at a cost of $3,060,000. On October 19, 2010, the Fellsmere Public School building was once again re-opened to the public.

Erected 2011 by City of Fellsmere, Indian River County Historical Society and the Florida Department of State. (Marker Number F-707.)

Topics. This historical marker is listed in this topic list: Education. A significant historical date for this entry is October 2, 1916.

Location. 27° 46.013′ N, 80° 36.157′ W. Marker is in Fellsmere, Florida, in Indian River County. It is on South Orange Street 0.1 miles south of Pennslvania Avenue (County Road 512), on the right when traveling south. Touch for map. Marker is at or near this postal address: 22 S Orange St, Fellsmere FL 32948, United States of America. Touch for directions.

Regionally, this marker is in Florida’s Space Coast.

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

The Fellsmere Public School Marker with school in background image. Click for full size.

Photographed by Tim Fillmon, September 12, 2014

3. The Fellsmere Public School Marker with school in background

World,

and the Anglosphere.

Historically, it finds itself in what was once New Spain,

the territory of the Mississippian Culture,

one of the Confederate States of America,

and the Antebellum South.

Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within walking distance of this marker: Fellsmere (about 700 feet away, measured in a direct line); Fellsmere Veterans Memorial (about 700 feet away); Fellsmere Historical Church (approx. 0.2 miles away); Fellsmere Union Church (approx. 0.2 miles away); The Marian Fell Library (approx. ¼ mile away); Birthplace for Equal Suffrage for Women in Florida (approx. 0.4 miles away); The Fellsmere Railroad (approx. half a mile away); Fellsmere Historic African American Community (approx. ¾ mile away). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Fellsmere.

The Fellsmere Public School Marker image. Click for full size.

Photographed by Diane Murphy, November 2023

4. The Fellsmere Public School Marker

Photographed by Diane Murphy, November 2023

5. The Fellsmere Public School Marker

Photographed by Diane Murphy, January 2023

6. The Fellsmere Public School Marker

Credits. This page was last revised on November 12, 2023. It was originally submitted on March 24, 2016, by Tim Fillmon of Webster, Florida. This page has been viewed 1,610 times since then and 76 times this year. Photos: 1, 2. submitted on March 24, 2016, by Tim Fillmon of Webster, Florida. 3. submitted on March 25, 2016, by Tim Fillmon of Webster, Florida. 4, 5, 6. submitted on November 8, 2023, by Diane Murphy of Saint Cloud, Florida. • Bernard Fisher was the editor who published this page.