Editing Eatonville, Florida

{{Use mdy dates|date=April 2024}}
{{Infobox settlement
<!-- Basic info  ---------------->
|name                     = Eatonville, Florida
|official_name            = Town of Eatonville
|other_name               = 
|native_name              = <!-- for cities whose native name is not in English -->
|nickname                 = 
|settlement_type          = [[Town (Florida)|Town]]
|motto                    = "The Town that Freedom Built"
|image_skyline            = Eatonville, Florida; Town Hall.jpg
|imagesize                = 
|image_caption            = Eatonville Town Hall
|image_flag               = 
|flag_size                = 
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|shield_size              = 
|image_blank_emblem       = Eatonville.png
|blank_emblem_type        = 
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|image_map                = Orange County Florida Incorporated and Unincorporated areas Eatonville Highlighted.svg
|mapsize                  = 250x200px
|map_caption              = Location in [[Orange County, Florida|Orange County]] and the state of [[Florida]]
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<!-- Location ------------------>
|subdivision_type         = [[List of sovereign states|Country]]
|subdivision_name         = {{flag|United States}}
|subdivision_type1        = [[U.S. state|State]]
|subdivision_name1        = {{flag|Florida}}
|subdivision_type2        = [[List of counties in Florida|County]]
|subdivision_name2        = {{noflag|[[Orange County, Florida|Orange]]}}
|subdivision_type3        = 
|subdivision_name3        = 
|subdivision_type4        = 
|subdivision_name4        = 
<!-- Politics ----------------->
|government_footnotes     = 
|government_type          = [[Mayor-council government|Mayor-Council]]
|leader_title             = [[Mayor]]
|leader_name              = Angie Gardner
|leader_title1            = [[Vice Mayor]]
|leader_name1             = Theodore Washington
|leader_title2            = [[City Council|Council Members]]
|leader_name2             = Wanda Randolph,<br>Rodney Daniels, and<br>Tarus Mack
|leader_title3            = [[City Clerk|Town Clerk]]
|leader_name3             = Veronica King
|leader_title4            = [[City Attorney|Town Attorney]]
|leader_name4             = Clifford Shepard III
|established_title        = [[Plat|Founded (Lawrence)]]
|established_date         = {{circa|1880-1881|lk=yes}}<ref name=TIME /><ref name=EatInc/>
|established_title2       = [[Municipal corporation|Incorporated<br>(Town of Eatonville)]]
|established_date2        = August 15, 1887<ref name=EatInc/>
|area_magnitude           = 
|unit_pref                = Imperial
|area_footnotes           = <ref name="CenPopGazetteer2020">{{cite web|title=2020 U.S. Gazetteer Files|url=https://www2.census.gov/geo/docs/maps-data/data/gazetteer/2020_Gazetteer/2020_gaz_place_12.txt|publisher=United States Census Bureau|accessdate=October 31, 2021}}</ref>
|area_total_sq_mi         = 1.16
|area_land_sq_mi          = 0.98
|area_water_sq_mi         = 0.17
|area_water_percent       = 
|area_urban_km2           = 
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|area_metro_km2           = 
|area_metro_sq_mi         = 
|area_blank1_title        = 
|area_blank1_km2          = 
|area_blank1_sq_mi        = 
<!-- Population   ----------------------->
|population_as_of         = [[2020 United States census|2020]]
|population_footnotes     = 
|population_note          = 
|population_total         = 2349
|population_density_sq_mi = 2384.77
|population_metro         = 
|population_density_metro_km2     = 
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|population_blank1_title  = 
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<!-- General information  --------------->
|timezone                 = [[North American Eastern Time Zone|Eastern (EST)]]
|utc_offset               = -5
|timezone_DST             = EDT
|utc_offset_DST           = -4
|coordinates              = {{coord|28|37|7|N|81|23|0|W|region:US_type:city|display=inline,title}}
|elevation_footnotes      = <!--for references: use <ref> tags-->
|elevation_m              = 29
|elevation_ft             = 95
<!-- Area/postal codes & others -------->
|postal_code_type         = [[ZIP code]]
|postal_code              = 32751
|area_code                = [[Area codes 407 and 689|407, 689]]
|blank_name               = [[Federal Information Processing Standard|FIPS code]]
|blank_info               = 12-19650<ref name="GR2">{{cite web|url=https://www.census.gov|publisher=[[United States Census Bureau]]|access-date=January 31, 2008|title=U.S. Census website}}</ref>
|blank1_name              = [[Geographic Names Information System|GNIS]] feature ID
|blank1_info              = 0282054<ref name="GR3">{{cite web|url=http://geonames.usgs.gov|access-date=January 31, 2008|title=US Board on Geographic Names|publisher=[[United States Geological Survey]]|date=October 25, 2007}}</ref>
|website                  = {{URL|www.townofeatonville.org}}
|footnotes                = 
|pop_est_as_of            = 
|pop_est_footnotes        = 
|population_est           = 
|area_total_km2           = 3.00
|area_land_km2            = 2.55
|area_water_km2           = 0.45
|population_density_km2   = 920.65
}}
'''Eatonville''' is a town in [[Orange County, Florida]], United States, six miles north of [[Orlando, Florida|Orlando]]. It is part of [[Greater Orlando]]. Incorporated on August 15, 1887, it was one of the first [[Freedmen's town|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.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.visitflorida.com/en-us/listing.a0t40000007qtiMAAQ.html|title=The Moseley House in Winter Park, FL}}</ref> Author [[Zora Neale Hurston]] grew up in Eatonville and the area features in many of her stories. 
 
The [[Hungerford Vocational High School|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.<ref name="AA" /> 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. Eatonville is home to [[WESH]] and [[WKCF]], two television stations serving the Orlando television market.

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.<ref name=SUN />

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, Florida|Maitland]].

==History==
Ten years after the [[Emancipation Proclamation]], formerly enslaved people migrated to rural [[Central Florida]], finding work in the [[citrus grove]]s.<ref name="TIME">{{cite web |last1=French |first1=Scot |title=Eatonville Timeline |url=https://preserveeatonville.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/09/ZMagazine2018_TIMELINE.pdf |website=Preserve Eatonville |publisher=Association to Preserve the Eatonville Community, Inc |access-date=March 20, 2023}}</ref> 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.<ref name=TIME /> 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, Florida|Tallahassee]] ''Weekly Floridian'' newspaper titled, "A Negro Colony in Florida" stated,

<blockquote>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.<ref name=TIME /></blockquote>

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.<ref name=TIME /> 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'.”<ref name=TIME /> 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.<ref name="SUN">{{cite news |last1=Teichner |first1=Martha |date=March 19, 2023 |title=A Florida town, once settled by former slaves, now fights over "sacred land" |url=https://www.cbsnews.com/news/eatonville-florida-residents-fight-over-land/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240830000613/https://www.cbsnews.com/news/eatonville-florida-residents-fight-over-land/ |archive-date=August 30, 2024 |access-date=March 19, 2023 |publisher=CBS News |agency=CBS Sunday Morning}}</ref>

The '''Town of Eatonville''' was officially incorporated as a municipality on August 15, 1887.<ref name=EatInc>{{Cite web|title=About Eatonville|url=http://www.townofeatonville.org/about-eatonville|website=www.townofeatonville.org}}</ref>

[[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, Florida|Sanford]], nineteen miles away.<ref name=TIME />
 
Rev. Columbus H. Boger Sr. (1857-1918)  was Eatonville's first mayor, serving from 1887-1888. He edited the ''Florida Watchman'' newspaper.<ref>{{cite book | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=_1iRfGqI2LAC | title=Florida's Black Public Officials, 1867-1924 | date=1998 | publisher=University of Alabama Press | isbn=978-0-8173-0915-2 }}</ref> A Post Office opened at Eatonville in 1889,<ref>{{cite web|url=http://about.usps.com/who-we-are/postmasterfinder/welcome.htm |title=United States Postal Service Postmaster Finder |publisher=United States Postal Service |date=2017 |access-date=November 30, 2017}}</ref> 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]].<ref>{{cite web |last1=Torres |first1=Agnes |title=Eatonville Had Own Answers To The Cotton Club|url=https://www.orlandosentinel.com/news/os-xpm-1987-08-13-0140080163-story.html |website=Orlando Sentinel |date=August 13, 1987}}</ref>

===Eatonville Historic District===
The Eatonville [[Historic district (United States)|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]].<ref>[http://www.nationalregisterofhistoricplaces.com/FL/Orange/districts.html Orange County listings NRHP]</ref>

===Gallery===
'''''Some homes and buildings located in the Eatonville Historic District:'''''
<gallery>
Image:MOSELEY HOUSE.jpg|
Image:Eatonville Hist Dist Florida02.jpg|
Image:Eatonville Hist Dist Florida03.jpg|
Image:Eatonville Hist Dist Florida04.jpg|
Image:Eatonville Hist Dist Florida01.jpg
</gallery>
[[File:Zora Neale Hurston Commemorative Walkway.jpg|thumb]]

==Geography==
Eatonville is located at {{Coord|28|37|7|N|81|23|0|W|type:city}} (28.618727, –81.383440).<ref name="GR1">{{cite web|url=https://www.census.gov/geographies/reference-files/time-series/geo/gazetteer-files.html|publisher=[[United States Census Bureau]]|access-date=April 23, 2011|date=February 12, 2011|title=US Gazetteer files: 2010, 2000, and 1990}}</ref>

According to the [[United States Census Bureau]], the town has a total area of {{convert|1.1|sqmi|km2}}, of which {{convert|1.0|sqmi|km2}} is land and {{convert|0.1|sqmi|km2}} (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'').

==Demographics==
{{US Census population
|1900= 125
|1910= 108
|1920= 125
|1930= 136
|1960= 857
|1970= 2024
|1980= 2185
|1990= 2170
|2000= 2432
|2010= 2159
|2020= 2349
|footnote=U.S. Decennial Census<ref name="DecennialCensus">{{cite web|url=http://www.census.gov/prod/www/decennial.html|title=Census of Population and Housing|publisher=Census.gov|access-date=June 4, 2016}}</ref><br>Florida Department of Agriculture<ref>{{cite book|last=Florida Department of Agriculture|date=1906|title=Census of the State of Florida|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=rn0zAQAAMAAJ&q=Census+of+the+State+of+Florida|location=Urbana, I.L.}}</ref>}}

===2010 and 2020 census===
{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center;"
|+'''Eatonville town, Florida – Racial and ethnic composition'''<br><small>{{nobold|''Note: the US Census treats Hispanic/Latino as an ethnic category. This table excludes Latinos from the racial categories and assigns them to a separate category. Hispanics/Latinos may be of any race.''}}</small>
!Race / Ethnicity <small>(''NH = Non-Hispanic'')</small>
!Pop 2000<ref name=2000CensusP004>{{Cite web|title=P004: Hispanic or Latino, and Not Hispanic or Latino by Race – 2000: DEC Summary File 1 – Eatonville town, Florida |url=https://data.census.gov/table?g=160XX00US1219650&tid=DECENNIALSF12000.P004|website=[[United States Census Bureau]] |access-date= }}</ref>
!Pop 2010<ref name=2010CensusP2>{{Cite web|title=P2: Hispanic or Latino, and Not Hispanic or Latino by Race – 2010: DEC Redistricting Data (PL 94-171) – Eatonville town, Florida |url=https://data.census.gov/cedsci/table?q=p2&g=160XX00US1219650&tid=DECENNIALPL2010.P2|website=[[United States Census Bureau]] |access-date= }}</ref>
!{{partial|Pop 2020}}<ref name=2020CensusP2>{{Cite web|title=P2: Hispanic or Latino, and Not Hispanic or Latino by Race – 2020: DEC Redistricting Data (PL 94-171) – Eatonville town, Florida |url=https://data.census.gov/cedsci/table?q=p2&g=160XX00US1219650&tid=DECENNIALPL2020.P2|website=[[United States Census Bureau]] |access-date= }}</ref>
!% 2000
!% 2010
!{{partial|% 2020}}
|-
|[[Non-Hispanic or Latino whites|White]] (NH)
|169
|147
|style='background: #ffffe6; |265
|6.95%
|6.81%
|style='background: #ffffe6; |11.28%
|-
|[[Non-Hispanic or Latino African Americans|Black or African American]] (NH)
|2,151
|1,788
|style='background: #ffffe6; |1,692
|88.45%
|82.82%
|style='background: #ffffe6; |72.03%
|-
|[[Native Americans in the United States|Native American]] or [[Alaska Native]] (NH)
|7
|0
|style='background: #ffffe6; |6
|0.29%
|0.00%
|style='background: #ffffe6; |0.26%
|-
|[[Asian Americans|Asian]] (NH)
|7
|16
|style='background: #ffffe6; |7
|0.29%
|0.74%
|style='background: #ffffe6; |0.30%
|-
|[[Pacific Islander Americans|Pacific Islander]] or [[Native Hawaiian]] (NH)
|0
|1
|style='background: #ffffe6; |1
|0.00%
|0.05%
|style='background: #ffffe6; |0.04%
|-
|[[Other races (U.S. Census)|Other race]] (NH)
|0
|2
|style='background: #ffffe6; |10
|0.00%
|0.09%
|style='background: #ffffe6; |0.43%
|-
|[[Multiracial Americans|Mixed race or Multiracial]] (NH)
|12
|9
|style='background: #ffffe6; |47
|0.49%
|0.42%
|style='background: #ffffe6; |2.00%
|-
|[[Hispanic and Latino Americans|Hispanic or Latino]] (any race)
|86
|196
|style='background: #ffffe6; |321
|3.54%
|9.08%
|style='background: #ffffe6; |13.67%
|-
|'''Total'''
|'''2,432'''
|'''2,159'''
|style='background: #ffffe6; |'''2,349'''
|'''100.00%'''
|'''100.00%'''
|style='background: #ffffe6; |'''100.00%'''
|-
|}

As of the [[2020 United States census]], there were 2,349 people, 849 households, and 437 families residing in the town.<ref>{{Cite web|title=S1101 HOUSEHOLDS AND FAMILIES - 2020: Eatonville town, Florida|url=https://data.census.gov/table?q=Eatonville+town;+Florida+&tid=ACSST5Y2020.S1101|website=[[United States Census Bureau]]}}</ref>

As of the [[2010 United States census]], there were 2,159 people, 709 households, and 514 families residing in the town.<ref>{{Cite web|title=S1101 HOUSEHOLDS AND FAMILIES - 2010: Eatonville town, Florida|url=https://data.census.gov/table?q=Eatonville+town;+Florida+&tid=ACSST5Y2010.S1101|website=[[United States Census Bureau]]}}</ref>

===2000 census===
As of the [[census]]<ref name="GR2" /> of 2000, there were 2,432 people, 761 households, and 548 families residing in the town.  The population density was {{convert|2,469.5|PD/sqmi|PD/km2|sp=us|adj=off}}. There were 858 housing units at an average density of {{convert|871.2|/sqmi|/km2|sp=us|adj=off}}. The racial makeup of the town was 89.31% [[African American (U.S. Census)|African American]], 7.5% [[White (U.S. Census)|White]], 0.49% [[Native American (U.S. Census)|Native American]], 0.29% [[Asian (U.S. Census)|Asian]], 1.56% from [[Race (United States Census)|other races]], and 0.82% from two or more races. [[Hispanic (U.S. Census)|Hispanic]] or [[Latino (U.S. Census)|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 [[marriage|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===
{{colbegin|colwidth=25em}}
* Columbus H. Boger Sr. ~ 1887 - 1888<ref>[https://npgallery.nps.gov/GetAsset/e5fa60c5-551d-41d3-bbef-2a52ff3a7b0b National Register Of Historical Places, Section 8, Page 5]</ref><ref name="books.google.com">[https://books.google.com/books?id=_1iRfGqI2LAC&q=eatonville+mayor+1924 Florida's Black Public Officials, 1867-1924]</ref>
* Joseph E. Clark ~ 1889 - 1890<ref name="books.google.com"/>
* John Hurston ~ 1897 - 1899<ref>[https://books.google.com/books?id=6gbQHxb_P0QC&dq=eatonville+mayor+1896&pg=RA1-PA478 Encyclopedia Of African American History, pg.478]</ref><ref>[https://www.blackpast.org/african-american-history/eatonville-florida-1887-0/ Eatonville History]</ref>
* Joseph E. Clark ~ 1900 - 1912<ref name="books.google.com"/>
* John Hurston ~ 1912 - 1916<ref name="books.google.com"/>
* Matthew B. Brazell ~ 1916 - 1920<ref name="books.google.com"/>
* Samuel M. Moseley ~ 1920 - 1922<ref name="books.google.com"/>
* Hyrum N. Lester ~ 1922 - 1924<ref name="books.google.com"/>
* Augustus Johnson ~ 1930? - ?
* Columbus H. Crooms ~ 1938 - 1963
* Nathaniel Vereen Sr. ~ 1963 - 1980<ref>[https://www.orlandosentinel.com/news/os-xpm-1989-12-04-8912043229-story.html Orlando Sentinel Article]</ref>
* Abraham Gordon ~ 1980 - 1986<ref>[https://www.orlandosentinel.com/news/os-xpm-1986-02-16-0200130259-story.html Orlando Sentinel Article]</ref>
* Nathaniel Vereen Sr. ~ 1987 - 1989
* Ada Sims ~ 1990 - 1992<ref>[https://www.orlandosentinel.com/news/os-xpm-1991-05-20-9105200228-story.html Orlando Sentinel Article]</ref><ref>[https://www.orlandosentinel.com/news/os-xpm-1992-09-29-9209290815-story.html Orlando Sentinel Article]</ref>
* Harry Bing ~ 1992 - 1994<ref>[https://www.orlandosentinel.com/news/os-xpm-1993-02-16-9302160092-story.html Orlando Sentinel Article]</ref>
* Anthony Grant ~ 1994 - 2009<ref>[https://westorlandonews.com/eatonville-mayor-anthony-grant-investigated-for-absentee-ballot-fraud-bribery/ Anthony Grant Investigation]</ref>
* Bruce Mount ~ 2009 - 2015<ref>[https://www.flcourier.com/news/nation/eatonville-mourns-passing-of-former-mayor/article_ca7665fd-6c59-57ef-9629-c1c8bad68f63.html Bruce Mount Obituary]</ref>
* Anthony Grant ~ 2015 - removal for voter fraud<ref>[https://www.clickorlando.com/news/2017/05/20/former-eatonville-mayor-found-guilty-in-voter-fraud-trial/ Voter Fraud Charges]</ref>
* Eddie Cole ~ 2016 - 2022
* Angie Gardner ~ 2022–present
{{colend}}

== 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).<ref>{{Cite Google Maps|access-date=April 29, 2022|title=Map of Eatonville, Florida|url=https://www.google.com/maps/place/Eatonville,+FL/@28.6227362,-81.3983754,14z/data=!4m5!3m4!1s0x88e7704bc85d2a59:0xef081959cc533266!8m2!3d28.6183364!4d-81.3858914}}</ref>

== Education ==
{{Main|Hungerford Vocational High School}}
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 {{convert|160|acre|ha}} 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, Florida|Orange County]] provided bus transportation for black children from nearby [[Winter Park, Florida|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.<ref name="AA">{{cite book |last1=Hall |first1=Clyde W. |title=An African-American Growing Up on the West Side of Winter Park, Florida: 1925-1942 |date=2005 |publisher=Savannah State University Document Center |location=Savannah, Georgia |pages=128}}</ref>

===Land===
The Hungerford campus had grown to {{convert|300|acre|ha}} 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".<ref name=SUN /> 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 {{convert|100|acre|ha}} 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.<ref name=SUN /> 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.<ref name=SUN />
[[File:Hurston-Zora-Neale-LOC.jpg|thumb|200x200px|[[Zora Neale Hurston]]]]

== Notable people ==
* [[Ha Ha Clinton-Dix]], [[National Football League|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.

== References ==
{{Reflist}}

== Further reading ==
* {{cite news |title=In a Town Apart, the Pride and Trials of Black Life |last=Cave |first=Damien |date=September 29, 2008 |newspaper=[[The New York Times]] |access-date=February 20, 2010 |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2008/09/29/us/29florida.html }}
* {{cite book
|title=The Florida Negro. A Federal Writers' Project Legacy, ''Appendix B: Views of Eatonville''
|editor-first=Gary W.
|editor-last=McDonough
|year=1993
|pages=144–152
|publisher=University Press of Mississippi
|isbn=0878055886}}

== External links ==
{{commons category|Eatonville, Florida}}
* [http://www.townofeatonville.org Town of Eatonville official website]
* [http://www.ocls.info/locations/Eatonville/eatonville.asp Eatonville Branch Library]
* {{usurped|1=[https://web.archive.org/web/20010217060048/http://www.zoranealehurstonfestival.com/ ZoraNealeHurstonFestival.com]}}
* [https://archive.today/20130209022052/http://www.visitflorida.com/listings_more/listing.18526 "Zora Neale Hurston Dust Tracks Heritage Trail, Zora Neale Hurston Branch Library"] at visitflorida.com
* [http://memory.loc.gov/ammem/today/jan07.html Today in History: January 7], Library of Congress

{{Orange County, Florida}}
{{Florida}}

{{authority control}}

[[Category:Towns in Orange County, Florida]]
[[Category:Greater Orlando]]
[[Category:Towns in Florida]]
[[Category:Populated places in Florida established by African Americans]]
[[Category:1887 establishments in Florida]]
[[Category:African-American history of Florida]]