In Tallahassee, Florida, a task force has chosen St. Augustine, Florida, as the location for Florida’s first museum of Black history. However, some committee members oppose this decision, arguing that the historic building should be placed in Eatonville, Florida, the oldest incorporated African American municipality in the United States.
Recently, members of the Florida Museum of Black History Task Force reviewed proposals to select a home for the state’s inaugural museum of Black history, according to Wesh 2. St. Augustine, located in northeast Florida, emerged as the top choice with a score of 96, narrowly surpassing Eatonville’s score of approximately 95. Opa-Locka in Miami-Dade County secured third place with 84 points.
Eatonville’s Mayor Angie Gardener and several other task force members expressed disappointment, as they hoped Eatonville would be chosen due to its rich historical significance. Incorporated on Aug. 15, 1887, Eatonville, located six miles north of Orlando, was founded by former slave Joseph C. Clarke, who eventually became the town’s first mayor, the James Madison Institute noted . The Black utopia provided a haven and autonomy for African Americans amid the challenges of segregation and discrimination in the late 19th and early 20th centuries.
Eatonville’s history.
On Nov. 18, 1885, Joseph E. Clarke, the visionary founder and second mayor of Eatonville, acquired an initial 12-acre plot in the southern reaches of what would eventually become Eatonville. Over time, Clarke expanded his holdings, ultimately amassing 112 acres by the town’s formal incorporation.
In August 1887, 27 African American men convened and unanimously voted to incorporate the Town of Eatonville in Orange County, Florida, thereby solidifying its status as the oldest all-black town in the United States, as highlighted by the James Madison Institut e. Envisioned and marketed as a functional and affordable all-black community, offering a refuge for freedmen seeking respite from the harsh conditions prevailing throughout the South, the town’s development included modest one-story wood-frame houses with two or three rooms, along with designated areas for churches, municipal buildings, clubhouses and cemeteries.
Residents frequented nearby lakes for recreational activities such as fishing, boating and picnicking. The lakes also provided essential resources for daily living, including cooking, bathing and crop irrigation. Men found steady employment year-round in the numerous citrus groves surrounding Eatonville, working as pickers, pruners and in packinghouses. At the same time, some contributed to the construction of new railroad lines throughout the region.
Eatonville flourished culturally, becoming a focal point for African American intellectuals, artists and leaders during the Harlem Renaissance. Notably, Zora Neale Hurston, a prominent writer associated with the Harlem Renaissance, lived in the thriving Black oasis for years. She depicted Eatonville in her acclaimed novel Their Eyes Were Watching God.
The vote for St. Augustine could be changed, according to Mayor Gardener.
In a press release published in April, Mayor Gardener revealed that Eatonville had secured “the land and a comprehensive plan to build the Florida Black History Museum to further pay homage to the town’s “enduring legacy of embracing those who, once enslaved, came here to thrive.”
During her recent interview with Wesh 2 , Mayor Gardener noted that the task force’s decision could still be changed.
“I don’t see that it’s completely over. Now, if the feasibility study is still setting out, sitting out there to be completed, then I think that the town of Eatonville still wins that argument,” she added.
State Rep. Anna V. Eskamani from Orange County also strongly advocates for Eatonville to be selected as the museum’s home.
“When we also think about our region and access points, Orlando clearly stands out in already having the infrastructure to meet the need of what I know will be an internationally praised museum of African American history,” Eskamani said.
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