Eatonville, Florida

Eatonville is a town in Orange County, Florida, United States, six miles north of Orlando. It is part of Greater Orlando. Incorporated on August 15, 1887, it was one of the first self-governing all-black municipalities in the United States. (Brooklyn, Illinois, incorporated July 8, 1873, is the oldest incorporated Black town in the U.S.) The Eatonville Historic District and Moseley House Museum are in Eatonville. Author Zora Neale Hurston grew up in Eatonville and the area features in many of her stories. The Robert Hungerford Normal and Industrial School was founded in 1897 to provide education for black students in grades 6-12 and taught children for over 100 years.

In 1990, the town founded the Zora Neale Hurston Museum of Fine Arts. Every winter the town stages the Zora Neale Hurston Festival of the Arts and Humanities. A library named for her opened in January 2004.

The population was 2,349 at the 2020 census. The vast majority are Black or African American. Eatonville has no gas station, supermarket or pharmacy; only a Family Dollar. With a median household income of $27,000, the town is struggling to survive.

Artist Jules Andre Smith has done a series of paintings depicting life in Eatonville during the 1930s and 1940s. Twelve of these works are at the Maitland Art Center in the adjacent town of Maitland.

Eatonville is home to WESH and WKCF, two television stations serving the Orlando television market.

History
Ten years after the Emancipation Proclamation, formerly enslaved people migrated to rural Central Florida, finding work in the citrus groves. J.E. Clark and several friends attempted to purchase a block of land to establish a "colony for colored people, but so great was the prejudice then existing against the Negro that no one would sell them land for such a purpose", according to Clark. Lewis Lawrence, originally from Utica, New York, agreed to help them in 1881. Lawrence convinced Captain Josiah Eaton, a neighbor and friend, to sell him 22 acres, which Lawrence subdivided. Upon each lot he had a small house constructed and instructed an agent to sell them. An article in the Tallahassee Weekly Floridian newspaper titled, "A Negro Colony in Florida" stated,

"A Negro settlement has been established at Maitland...which is divided into forty-eight lots, 50x50 feet, to be sold to Negroes at from $19 to $30 per lot. Mr. Lawrence has erected on this land a framed church 30x20 feet, a bell for which has been presented by the Congregational Sabbath School of Chelsea, Connecticut. No liquor is ever to be sold or given away on the ground; no gambling or disreputable house of any kind will ever be allowed, under a forfeiture of the purchase."

In 1884, the Orange County Reporter wrote about the “colored village at Maitland, sometimes known as Lawrence, the name of its worthy founder”. Mr. Lawrence requested that the settlement use the name Eatonville. The following year, Maitland incorporated using votes from Black people, and at least one Black man was elected as a town officer. A year after incorporation, there were "discussions of separation as a peaceful, progressive-minded, mutually beneficial solution to the so-called 'race problem'.” While sources seem to disagree on the exact date and year of the town's incorporation, the town's official site provides a detailed account of the process and the dates.

Jim Crow laws enforced segregation, violence and racial discrimination in the Southern United States in the late 19th century. The Eatonville Speaker newspaper printed an invitation in 1889:

“Colored People of the United States! Solve the Great Race Problem by Securing a Home in Eatonville, Florida, a Negro City Governed by Negroes.” The article describes Eatonville as a "thriving community of 200-300 people — all colored, and NOT A WHITE FAMILY in the whole city.” The newspaper also recounts a near-lynching in Sanford, nineteen miles away. A Post Office opened at Eatonville in 1889, and closed in 1918.

Hurston's novel Their Eyes Were Watching God is set in the town and nearby communities, many of which have disappeared with the expansion of Greater Orlando.

Before the days of racial integration, Club Eaton was a popular stop on the Chitlin' Circuit, hosting performers ranging from B.B. King to Aretha Franklin,Ray Charles, Sam Cooke, The Platters, Duke Ellington, Ella Fitzgerald, Billie Holiday and James Brown.

Eatonville Historic District
The Eatonville Historic District was designated and added to the National Register of Historic Places on February 3, 1998. The district is bounded by Wymore Road, Eaton Street, Fords, and East Avenues, Ruffel, and Clark Streets. It contains 48 historic buildings. Several are related to the town's establishment as a home for African Americans and to its most famous former resident, Zora Neale Hurston.

Gallery
Some homes and buildings located in the Eatonville Historic District:

Geography
Eatonville is located at 28.61861°N, -81.38333°W (28.618727, –81.383440).

According to the United States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of 1.1 sqmi, of which 1.0 sqmi is land and 0.1 sqmi (9.17%) is water.

Climate
The climate in this area is characterized by hot, humid summers and generally mild winters. According to the Köppen climate classification, the Town of Eatonville has a humid subtropical climate zone (Cfa).

2010 and 2020 census
As of the 2020 United States census, there were 2,349 people, 849 households, and 437 families residing in the town.

As of the 2010 United States census, there were 2,159 people, 709 households, and 514 families residing in the town.

2000 census
As of the census of 2000, there were 2,432 people, 761 households, and 548 families residing in the town. The population density was 2,469.5 PD/sqmi. There were 858 housing units at an average density of 871.2 /sqmi. The racial makeup of the town was 89.31% African American, 7.5% White, 0.49% Native American, 0.29% Asian, 1.56% from other races, and 0.82% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 3.54% of the population.

In 2000, there were 761 households, out of which 35.5% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 28.0% were married couples living together, 37.6% had a female householder with no husband present, and 27.9% were non-families. 22.5% of all households were made up of individuals, and 8.5% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.92 and the average family size was 3.42.

In 2000, in the town, the population was spread out, with 33.6% under the age of 18, 8.8% from 18 to 24, 27.5% from 25 to 44, 19.6% from 45 to 64, and 10.4% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 31 years. For every 100 females, there were 88.7 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 81.3 males.

In 2000, the median income for a household in the town was $29,457, and the median income for a family was $31,042. Males had a median income of $21,719 versus $21,328 for females. The per capita income for the town was $11,257. About 21.9% of families and 25.0% of the population were below the poverty line, including 29.3% of those under age 18 and 24.5% of those age 65 or over.

Government
The Town of Eatonville has a Mayor-Council government.

Mayors

 * Columbus H. Boger Sr. ~ 1887 - 1888
 * Joseph E. Clark ~ 1889 - 1890
 * John Hurston ~ 1897 - 1899
 * Joseph E. Clark ~ 1900 - 1912
 * John Hurston ~ 1912 - 1916
 * Matthew B. Brazell ~ 1916 - 1920
 * Samuel M. Moseley ~ 1920 - 1922
 * Hyrum N. Lester ~ 1922 - 1924
 * Augustus Johnson ~ 1930? - ?
 * Columbus H. Crooms ~ 1938 - 1963
 * Nathaniel Vereen Sr. ~ 1963 - 1980
 * Abraham Gordon ~ 1980 - 1986
 * Nathaniel Vereen Sr. ~ 1987 - 1989
 * Ada Sims ~ 1990 - 1992
 * Harry Bing ~ 1992 - 1994
 * Anthony Grant ~ 1994 - 2009
 * Bruce Mount ~ 2009 - 2015
 * Anthony Grant ~ 2015 - removal for voter fraud
 * Eddie Cole ~ 2016 - 2022
 * Angie Gardner ~ 2022–present

Transportation
Interstate 4 passes through the city limits, but there is no exit. The closest exits are Florida State Road 423 (to the south) and Florida State Road 414 (to the north).

Education
The Robert Hungerford Normal and Industrial School was founded in 1897 for vocational education for Black students by Professor and Mrs. Russell C. Calhoun, a graduate of Tuskegee Institute. At that time, segregation in the South provided few opportunities for non-whites. The 160 acre land was donated by E.C. Hungerford of Chester, Connecticut in memory of his physician son, Robert, who died of yellow fever. Cash donations came from across the country, including $400 from Booker T. Washington. The school was successful and more than 100 students were boarding in 1927, as well as local children attending and adult classes offered at night. Ten years later, Orange County provided bus transportation for black children from nearby Winter Park to attend the school. The school provided both vocational and college preparation, teaching English, Latin, history, general science, biology, algebra, geometry, industrial arts and home economics. Students could also learn bookkeeping and typing, physical education and agriculture. Programs for drafting and radio were added during the 1940s. The campus included girls & boys dormitories, a dining hall, library, chapel, laundry, industrial training shops, home economics laboratory, equipment barn and farmland. To keep expenses down, students were assigned various duties around the campus including jobs at the school's dairy, chicken coops, gardens and janitorial/maintenance of the institution's classrooms and buildings. The school had been privately funded until the Orange County Public Schools (OCPS) took control in 1950. The Hungerford School was closed in 2010.

Land
The Hungerford campus had grown to 300 acre in 1950, and was held in trust for the school. That land was almost 40% of the town of Eatonville. However, OCPS purchased the land from the trust in 1951 for about $16,000 with the stipulation that it be used "for the education of Black children". Since the original purchase, OCPS has petitioned the courts multiple times to reduce the number of acres required to be used for the education of black children from 300 to 100 with OCPS receiving almost $8 million. The remaining 100 acre parcel was appraised in 2019 for $20 million, but the OCPS announced their intention to sell the land to a developer for $14 million on March 31, 2023. The plans include a "new community" of 350 homes, apartments, retail businesses and restaurants. Existing residents claim the new development would wipe out the historic community and violate the land agreement, so locals are in a fight with the school board.

Notable people

 * Ha Ha Clinton-Dix, NFL football safety
 * Zora Neale Hurston, folklorist and author
 * Deacon Jones, NFL football defensive end
 * Norm Lewis, actor and baritone singer

Cultural references

 * "Eatonville" is a song by indie rockers The Samples, written by Andy Sheldon. The song was written after Sheldon read Their Eyes Were Watching God and is on their fourth album, The Last Drag, released in 1993.