Another business strip occupied the 600 block of Macomb Street. Businesses on this part of the street included Bill the Tailor, where men went to get the perfect fit; Sullivan Groceries, where Red Delicious apples were pilfered by school children; . . . — — Map (db m229313) HM
As Macomb Street continues its journey north of Carolina Street, it crosses Georgia Street. This area included additional businesses, such as the physicians' offices of Dr. Charles
Stevens and Dr. Millard Williams. Bill Chavis Filling Station was . . . — — Map (db m229168) HM
As Macomb Street crossed Brevard Street, there was an abrupt incline. The hill was once taller than today and necessitated steps on the west side that allowed pedestrians to more easily scale the gradient. On the opposite hill was an elegant house . . . — — Map (db m229124) HM
As varied as the commercial enterprises were, the community and its activities were just as unique and exciting. Churches played a principal role in the community life of Frenchtown. St. James CME, Bethel African Methodist Episcopal, and Bethel . . . — — Map (db m229203) HM
Copeland Street had its share of homes and businesses in the Frenchtown enclave. The most frequented business was Mitchell's Funeral Home, which later became Strong and Jones Funeral Home. The most infamous spot was Malones Bar and Grill, where . . . — — Map (db m229440) HM
Frenchtown is the oldest community in Tallahassee that was set aside exclusively for African Americans. When the American Civil War ended in 1865, newly freed slaves were allocated a portion of the wet, mosquito and snake-infested land. The land was . . . — — Map (db m229064) HM
The name "Frenchtown" dates to the early 19th century, when settlers migrated from France to the Lafayette Land Grant, a township given to Gilbert du Motier, Marquis de Lafayette, on July 4, 1825, in gratitude for du Motier's services to the . . . — — Map (db m229211) HM
Greater Frenchtown Greater Frenchtown is a derivative of the original Frenchtown, in name and geographics. Current and long-time residents who are familiar with the history know the neighborhoods now called Greater Frenchtown as the . . . — — Map (db m229282) HM
Folklore linked Frenchtown to settlers who emigrated to the Lafayette Land Grant and later moved to town. Census and property records contradict this story. Researcher Julianne Hare advances two other possibilities. When the area was first platted . . . — — Map (db m229577) HM
As the area grew and prospered, residents became more attuned with the responsibilities that came with freedom. Small homes were replaced by more impressive dwellings; businesses expanded and settled on Macomb Street; churches were rebuilt on . . . — — Map (db m229215) HM
Lincoln was established in 1869 under a Florida law that required schools for newly emancipated slaves. Caring, innovative and highly educated principals and teachers served for 100 years, until its closure in 1969 as a result of desegregation. . . . — — Map (db m229881) HM
Not "Old Lincoln" or the "Original Lincoln" or "Historic Lincoln," just Lincoln! Lincoln High, Our Alma Mater, Dear to Us You'll Be. In Our Hearts We Will Always Cherish Memories of Thee. Lincoln was the jewel of the Frenchtown community. The school . . . — — Map (db m229689) HM
Lincoln School served as the primary public education institution for African Americans in Leon County from 1869 to 1969. Established in 1869 as one of only two Freedman's Bureau schools in Florida to educate newly freed slaves. It was named after . . . — — Map (db m110972) HM
Another pioneer family led by George Madison and Annie Floyd Gardner maintained homes and property in the 400 block of Carolina Street. Among the properties was a building that housed several African American insurance companies and another that . . . — — Map (db m229300) HM
Martin Luther King Jr. (MLK) Boulevard, formally Boulevard Street, was once a place of attractive, well kept houses where the Yellowhairs, Warrens, McPhersons, Sanfords, and Bessie Malachi, owners of private homes lived. The street was lined with . . . — — Map (db m229809) HM
Built in 1894 by Lewis Washington Taylor and Lucretia McPherson Taylor, the Taylor House is located in Frenchtown, one of Tallahassee’s most historic neighborhoods. Settled by freed slaves after the Civil War, it quickly became a vibrant . . . — — Map (db m151382) HM
Side 1
Governor William Dunnington Bloxham House 1844
This Federal-style building was constructed in 1844 by Richard A. Shine, a prominent builder and mason who constructed the south wing of Florida's Capitol in 1845. In 1881, . . . — — Map (db m79566) HM
The first Leon Academy opened in 1827, three years after Tallahassee's founding, and operated until the mid-1840s. In 1869, the Leon County Board of Public Instruction established separate schools for whites and blacks. In 1871, the county opened . . . — — Map (db m79541) HM
Founded in 1887 as the State Normal College for Colored Students, Florida Agricultural and Mechanical University (FAMU) is the only historically state supported educational facility for African Americans in Florida. It has always been . . . — — Map (db m79570) HM
Founded in 1887 as the State Normal College for Colored Students, Florida Agricultural and Mechanical University (FAMU) is the only historically state supported educational facility for African Americans in Florida. It has always been . . . — — Map (db m79571) HM
Site of Pittman Boarding House
In 1947, Willie and Carrie Pittman purchased this lot at 1447 South Bronough Street from Fred and Clara Carrol for the price of $10. Soon after, the Pittmans built a two-story, 13-room, wood-frame house on the . . . — — Map (db m172640) HM
The first healthcare facility in Florida for African-Americans was the Florida A&M College (FAMC) Hospital, known as the Florida A&M University (FAMU) Hospital after 1953. The school's original two-story, 19-bed wooden sanitarium was built in 1911 . . . — — Map (db m79623) HM
Racial violence erupted in the small and quiet Rosewood community January 1-7, 1923. Rosewood, a predominantly colored community, was home to the Bradley, Carrier, Carter, Goins, and Hall families, among others. Residents supported a school . . . — — Map (db m17707) HM
This home is a reconstruction of the home where musician Ray Charles (1930-2004) lived with his mother, Aretha Williams, and adopted grandmother, Margaret "Muh" Robinson, shortly after his birth in 1930, until about the age of five. "RC", as Ray was . . . — — Map (db m52361) HM
Adams Cemetery, once known as the Fogartyville Colored Cemetery, began in 1896 when William H. and Eliza Atzeroth Forgarty donated four acres of land to the community for use as a public cemetery. The cemetery’s earliest marker is the final resting . . . — — Map (db m100900) HM
Curry Houses National Register Historic District
On this site, Captain John and Mary (Kemp) Curry built 22 homes after purchasing 30 acres from Dr. Franklin Branch in 1859. Their extended family of 29 moved here from Key West on a . . . — — Map (db m168455) HM
The Manatee County Board of Public Instruction purchased property from Mr. Alden J. Adams on July 25, 1914, and from Mr. and Mrs. J. K. Singletary on May 17, 1922, “for the purposes of a school for Negro children.” The old Manatee . . . — — Map (db m72415) HM
[Marker Front]:
At the close of the Seminole War in 1842, this frontier was opened to settlement. Major Robert Gamble and other sugar planters soon located along the rich Manatee River valley, and by 1845 a dozen plantations were producing . . . — — Map (db m15665) HM
Based on the limited historical records concerning life on the Gamble plantation, this is a conceptual rendering of the first type of cabin erected to house the enslaved people in the late 1840's. They were constructed of Sabal Palm logs which grew . . . — — Map (db m240762) HM
(side 1)
Lincoln Memorial High School was established in 1949 and served as the only public high school in Manatee County to allow colored children to attend until it closed in 1969 in order to complete the desegregation of Manatee County's . . . — — Map (db m102467) HM
For the first twenty years, the Silver Leaf Club, also known as the Rubonia Women's Club, met in member's homes. In time, the Club grew and began a search for an affordable larger building. Following World War II, Mead Smith of Palm View purchased a . . . — — Map (db m102466) HM
In 1905, Dr. Richard Samuel Hughes II graduated from Meharry Medical College in Nashville, Tennessee, the second oldest African American medical school in the country. After moving to Ocala in 1908, Dr. Hughes helped form the American National . . . — — Map (db m120370) HM
It was the U.S. Army’s hope that forts and garrisons would be more self-sufficient and not depend on supplies from the Army. On September 11, 1818, a general departmental order stated, "the commanding officer of every permanent garrison. will . . . — — Map (db m202093) HM
In 1882, John A. Cole and his family established the community of Santos and named it for the town in Brazil where he and his family lived following the American Civil War. When Cole and his family returned to the United States, they . . . — — Map (db m166862) HM
A short distance north of here stood the sugar plantation of Jehu Foster Marshall, established in 1855. At the start of the Civil War in 1861, Marshall was named a colonel in the Confederate Army and soon commanded one of General Wade Hampton's . . . — — Map (db m167953) HM
History of Santos Founders and Families In 1882, John A. Cole and his family (black Americans) established Santos, naming it after a village in Brazil (South America) where they had gone to start a new life following the American Civil War. . . . — — Map (db m166911) HM
The Red Ball Express was an enormous truck convoy system created by Allied forces to supply their forward area combat units, from August 25 to November 16, 1944. The route was marked with red balls and the trucks were also marked with red balls and . . . — — Map (db m198380) HM WM
Tuskegee Airmen
WWII
1941 - 1946
1st African-American Air Corps Unit
1000 Awarded Wings at Tuskegee
Combat Record
North Africa Europe
Flew 1900 Sorties
Destroyed 1000 German Aircraft
No U.S. B-25 Bombers lost . . . — — Map (db m198588) WM
Paradise Park was a theme park for African Americans established in 1949 by Carl Ray and W.M. "Shorty" Davidson, the owners of nearby Silver Springs. The park was located on the south side of the Silver River, about ½ mile away from Silver Springs. . . . — — Map (db m167987) HM
Paradise Park was a segregated African-American resort located about a mile down the Silver River from the popular Silver Springs attraction near Ocala, Florida. The park was developed by Carl Ray and W.M. "Shorty" Davidson, co-owners of Silver . . . — — Map (db m225935) HM
Back in the 1900s, Stuart locals were a healthy lot, and thanks to balmy temperatures, endless sunshine, and salty air, visiting northerners often found they regained their good health too. No wonder the entire region came to be known as “a healing . . . — — Map (db m193671) HM
(side 1)
A distinctive type of vernacular architecture found in Key West and South Florida is the Bahamian or Conch house. The name "Conch" was attached to Bahamians who worked as wreckers, ship builders, spongers, and merchants. The name . . . — — Map (db m150495) HM
(side 1)
Originally African American residents of Coconut Grove attended integrated religious services at Union Chapel, now known as Plymouth Congregational Church. The African Americans, who were used to a more spirited religious . . . — — Map (db m120630) HM
St. Mary First Missionary Baptist Church was the first African American church in Coral Gables. The church was founded on March 9, 1924, and its congregation of seventeen members first met in an old school house on Thomas Avenue in the MacFarlane . . . — — Map (db m150787) HM
Israel Lafayette Jones was born in Raleigh, North Carolina in 1858. He was an adventurous soul in search of a life of freedom and independence. He arrived in South Florida in 1892, where he met and married a Bahamian woman named Mozelle Albury. . . . — — Map (db m245790) HM
On November 13, 1955 a segregated beach called Homestead Bayfront North was opened where you stand today. The park was created as the result of many "wade-ins;" public protests for Black Americans to be granted access to the waterfront. With the . . . — — Map (db m245791) HM
In the early 1820's, enslaved Africans, runaways, and "Black Seminoles" seeking freedom from slave catchers and plantation masters, secretly worked their way down to CAPE FLORIDA. They met with bold captains of sloops from the British Bahamas who . . . — — Map (db m79723) HM
The first black community on the South Florida mainland began here in the late 1880s when Blacks primarily from the Bahamas came via Key West to work at the Peacock Inn. Their first hand experience with tropical plants and building materials proved . . . — — Map (db m75597) HM
Born 1793 in Virginia. Joined 12th U.S. Infantry in 1813; Served with it thru War of 1812; In 4th Regiment rest of his life. Promoted from 3rd Lieut. to Major, Commanded garrison at Key West. In Seminole War was sent with 117 men to aid Gen. Clinch . . . — — Map (db m88531) HM
The United States of America took possession of Florida from Spain under the terms of the 1821 Treaty of Paris. In 1830, the U.S. implemented the Indian Removal Act, forcing Seminole Indians south into the Miami and Everglades area. The Second . . . — — Map (db m78126) HM
In 1961, Jesse Holt became the first African-American athlete allowed to compete against whites in the City of Miami, during strict times of segregation. His first Amateur Athletic Union Track and Field Competition was held at Moore Park, where his . . . — — Map (db m229588) HM
Lawson Edward (L.E.) Thomas (1898-1989) was born in Ocala. He attended Florida A&M College, and later the University of Michigan Law School. He moved to Miami in 1935, and made his first appearance in municipal court in 1937. As the first black . . . — — Map (db m229149) HM
Bound by the area east of I-95, between 71st and 54th Streets, the Lemon City community had at least three identifiable historic black communities at the turn of the twentieth century, including this area, Boles Town. The neighborhood was named for . . . — — Map (db m175541) HM
Bound by the area east of I-95, between 71st and 54th Streets, the Lemon City community had at least three identifiable historic black communities at the turn of the 20th century, including this area, Knightsville. Surrounded by groves owned by . . . — — Map (db m175409) HM
Bound by the area east of I-95, between 71st and 54th streets, the Lemon City community had at least three identifiable historic black communities at the turn of the 20th century, including this area, Nazarene. Pronounced by locals as “Naz’ree,” the . . . — — Map (db m175410) HM
This land on the north side of the Miami River was developed as a residential area soon after the City Park opened in 1909. Along NW 3rd and NW 4th Streets a mixture of single-family and multi-family structures were built that were made of strong . . . — — Map (db m78195) HM
In 1897 Mrs. Mary Brickell sold this 10-acre “rocky wasteland” to the City of Miami for $750. It was a half mile north of the city limits on a narrow wagon county trail. The first burial, not recorded, was of an elderly black man on 14 . . . — — Map (db m78119) HM
The Historic Coconut Grove Cemetery was first used as a graveyard for the Grove's Bahamian settlers in 1906. The community's original cemetery was a small lot opened by the city in 1904 on what is now the 3500 block of Charles Avenue. That site was . . . — — Map (db m150977) HM
In 1944, the City of Miami hired its first five black police officers who were sworn in as "emergency patrolmen" to enforce the law in what was then called the Central Negro District. These stalwart men were Ralph White, Moody Hall, Clyde Lee, . . . — — Map (db m228930) HM
Virginia Key Beach Park is an environmental and historic landmark located on a barrier island. Its earliest recorded history is of an 1838 skirmish during the Second Seminole War in which three Seminoles were killed on this site. From the early . . . — — Map (db m79381) HM
On its opening night, August 31, 1949, Major League Baseball Commissioner Albert Benjamin “Happy” Chandler declared, “I know of no more beautiful ballpark anywhere than this new Miami Stadium.” From its iconic neon façade, . . . — — Map (db m120653) HM
A 1918 map located a "Negro Dance Pavilion" on Virginia Key. When Virginia Key Beach Park opened in 1945, a concrete dance floor was included on this site. Beach visitors danced the Lindy Hop, Foxtrot, Twist, Monkey, Mash Potato, Robot, and Hustle . . . — — Map (db m120688) HM
When Virginia Beach Park officially opened to the public in 1945, a prefabricated "snack bar" was among the site's first amenities. A 1947 hurricane destroyed it. In 1951, this permanent concession stand was constructed. For decades, park and beach . . . — — Map (db m120685) HM
By the 1870s, nearly 1,000 African Americans were living in and around the unincorporated community of Lemon City, located just north of the Miami city limits. Most of the black community were Bahamian immigrants who worked for the wealthier white . . . — — Map (db m128320) HM
In the 1980s, thousands of Haitian immigrants settled in Miami, and the neighborhood of Little Haiti began to form. The building that would become this Haitian marketplace was originally constructed in 1936, but sat unused at the time. In 1984, the . . . — — Map (db m128656) HM
Miami Shores Community Church, a member of the United Church of Christ, is the oldest church in Miami Shores. The Shoreland Company, the developers of Miami Shores, built the building in 1925 as a pump house and fire station. The original . . . — — Map (db m229336) HM
In January of 1863, Col. James Montgomery of Kansas was authorized to raise a regiment of troops consisting entirely of free blacks and former refugee slaves. The following month, he arrived in Key West to recruit men for that regiment.
All . . . — — Map (db m224902) HM WM
Near this site lie the remains of 294 African men, women and children who died in Key West in 1860. In the summer of that year the U.S. Navy rescued 1,432 Africans from three American-owned ships engaged in the illegal slave trade. Ships bound for . . . — — Map (db m84722) HM
While serving in the Army during the Korean War, Coffee Butler performed for the troops. After his national service he played baseball professionally in Cuba and throughout the Caribbean until 1960.
Coffee gained recognition for sharing the . . . — — Map (db m243926) HM
Founded in 1864, Cornish Chapel members began building their church in 1885. Designed to resemble European cathedrals, it served as a place of worship, school, and refuge during inclement weather. The foundation was quarried from the site and its . . . — — Map (db m101245) HM
This gymnasium is the remains of the fourth Fredric Douglass High School. Named for Frederic Douglass, a black social reformer, abolitionist, orator and statesman. The first school was built in 1884. It was built to separate and educate the black . . . — — Map (db m243931) HM
Hemingway often refereed boxing matches in Key West's Bahama Village. One match, fought in 1936, was particularly brutal. The manager of one of the fighters, Kermit "Shine" Forbes, conceded the fight by literally "throwing in the towel." Hemingway . . . — — Map (db m246979) HM
Miriam Williams, pictured left, said "[I was] [o]nly in my late teens when I went to cook for Miss Pauline[....] [She] interviewed me and when she asked about my cooking experience and I said 'just a little home cooking' I could tell she liked me . . . — — Map (db m246974) HM
The United States Marine Corps was the last branch of the military to admit African Americans.
The Montford Point Marines were the first African Americans to serve in the Corps. Thirteen of those young men were native sons of Key West, Florida. . . . — — Map (db m224873) HM WM
Sandy Cornish (Uncle Sandie) was born a slave in Maryland about 1793. He migrated to Florida in 1839 where with his wife Lillah's help he was able to buy his freedom. In the late 1840's his free papers were lost in a fire. Six unprincipled men . . . — — Map (db m223513) HM
This structure is one of a handful of African Methodist Episcopal churches serving Bahama Village. The church started in 1887 a few blocks from its present location. The congregation has seen its fair share of loses during its more than 120-year . . . — — Map (db m222638) HM
This place of worship was named for Saint Stephen who is recognized as the first Christian martyr. He was stoned to death for his views on poverty and the role of the early church. The structure is built from locally quarried limestone and coral . . . — — Map (db m222629) HM
NaNa, the tallest dune in Florida, is a protected landmark due largely to the efforts of MaVynne Betsch (January 14, 1935-September 5, 2005), widely known as the "Beach Lady." Betsch, who once performed opera in London, Paris and Germany, returned . . . — — Map (db m59606) HM
During the period of racial segregation, African Americans were barred from most
of the beaches in Florida. American Beach was founded in 1935 to provide African
Americans with beach access in a resort atmosphere. Nana, as the sand dune . . . — — Map (db m58907) HM
Burney Park at American Beach was named for Isadore Horace Burney II, a native of Athens, Georgia. After graduating from Atlanta University in the mid-1930s, Burney began his life-long career as an agent in Athens for the Afro-American Life . . . — — Map (db m219573) HM
Evans' Rendezvous was renowned as a heartbeat of American Beach. Willie Brantley Evans was born in Orangeburg, South Carolina, on August 5, 1915. As a young man in the 1930s, he worked with the Civilian Conservation Corps for two years before . . . — — Map (db m205284) HM
The Franklintown community was first populated by ex-slaves from the Samuel Harrison plantation. Franklintown Chapel's congregation was organized in 1880 by Trinity M.E. Church, located in the City of Fernandina at the north end of Amelia Island. . . . — — Map (db m58542) HM
American Beach was established in 1935 under the leadership of Abraham Lincoln Lewis, one of seven co-founders of the Afro-American Life Insurance Company, and one of Florida’s first black millionaires. His vision was to create a beach resort as a . . . — — Map (db m58868) HM
Side 1
The Guzman house is a one-story masonry frame Vernacular style home. It has an irregular plan protected by a side facing gable roof with a front gable extension. The exterior walls are covered with wood shake shingles. The fenestration . . . — — Map (db m219579) HM
The Stewarts' vacation cottage at 5449 Waldron St. was built in 1941 by Ralph and Marie Taylor Stewart. Waldron Street is one of the highest points on American Beach and was named after the Reverend J. Milton Waldron, one of the founders of what was . . . — — Map (db m227630) HM
In the early 1900s, Nassau County had several schools serving its African American communities in Bryceville, Callahan, Hilliard, Kent, Evergreen, Kings Ferry, Musselwhite, Nassauville, Yulee, and Fernandina. Peck High School, established in 1927, . . . — — Map (db m163007) HM
Louis Dargan (L.D.) Ervin was born in Darlington, South Carolina, in 1873. He attended the Georgia State Industrial College for Colored Youth of Savannah, the oldest institution of higher education for African Americans in Georgia. Ervin . . . — — Map (db m144776) HM
In the early 1930’s, A.L. Lewis, president of the Afro American Insurance Company, bought 200 acres of beachfront so his employees could enjoy the Florida shore during the days of segregation. For the next 40 years, American Beach was a paradise . . . — — Map (db m144780) HM
American Beach was established in January 1935 when the Afro-American Life Insurance Company purchased 33 acres of land with a 1000-foot shoreline. This Masonry Vernacular home was built that year for the president of the company, Abraham Lincoln . . . — — Map (db m92952) HM
The First Missionary Baptist Church was founded by slaves in 1860 under the leadership of its first pastor. Elder William Rose of Savannah, Georgia. The congregation worshipped in multiple buildings until settling at its current location in 1873. . . . — — Map (db m174753) HM
New Zion Baptist Church, the second oldest and largest black Baptist Church on Amelia Island, was founded on May 15, 1870 under the leadership of Reverend Lewis Cook (1834-1880). He and 69 parishioners held their first meeting in a stable on First . . . — — Map (db m58939) HM
(Side 1)
The groundwork for Peck High School started in 1880, when a group led by Henry B. Delaney petitioned for an African American school in Fernandina. In 1885, a four-room building known as Colored School No. 1 opened at Atlantic . . . — — Map (db m93837) HM
A nearly two year ordeal for 100 enslaved Africans in Florida ended when they departed from Fernandina in 1829 and relocated to a settlement for freed slaves called New Georgia, in Liberia, Africa.
The Spanish slave ship Guerrero, . . . — — Map (db m144894) HM
In May 1887, the original wood frame building of St. Peter's Episcopal Church in Fernandina was given to the black congregation and called Good Shepherd Episcopal Church. The structure was moved to face east on Ninth Street. The rectors of St. . . . — — Map (db m92955) HM
(side 1)
Launched in 1994, the international and inter-regional project ‘The Slave Route: Resistance, Liberty, Heritage’ addresses the history of the slave trade and slavery through the prism of intercultural dialogue, a culture of peace . . . — — Map (db m152489) HM
Side 1
In 1822, the South Carolina Conference of the Methodist Episcopal Church added Amelia Island to the St. Mary's Circuit. They appointed the Rev. Elijah Sinclair as the circuit rider, and early services were held in the Donald McDonnell . . . — — Map (db m219576) HM
Side 1
During Florida's British Period (1763-1783), the small trading hamlet of Mills Ferry was established here on the St. Marys River. Mills Ferry was first chronicled in the early 1770s by William Bartram. He noted that the Seagrove & . . . — — Map (db m93857) HM
Side 1
Bryant Academy opened in the 1950-1951 school year, the result of an effort by the Nassau County School Board to provide more adequate schools for African Americans. The school board issued revenue bonds and closed nine existing African . . . — — Map (db m170000) HM
