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. 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.

The Town of Eatonville was officially incorporated as a municipality on August 15, 1887.

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.

The National Trust for Historic Preservation named on May 1, 2024 Eatonville, Florida as one of the eleven historic sites in the country most endangered and in need of protection due to development threats that will displace the inhabitants of the town.

thumb|upright|Zora Neale Hurston Commemorative Walkway

Geography

According to the United States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of , of which is land and (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

Racial and ethnic composition

{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center;"

|+Eatonville town, Florida – Racial and ethnic composition

!Race / Ethnicity (NH = Non-Hispanic)

!Pop 2000

!Pop 2010

!% 2000

!% 2010

|White (NH)

|169

|147

|style='background: #ffffe6; |265

|6.95%

|6.81%

|style='background: #ffffe6; |11.28%

|Black or African American (NH)

|2,151

|1,788

|style='background: #ffffe6; |1,692

|88.45%

|82.82%

|style='background: #ffffe6; |72.03%

|Native American or Alaska Native (NH)

|style='background: #ffffe6; |6

|0.29%

|0.00%

|style='background: #ffffe6; |0.26%

|Asian (NH)

|16

|style='background: #ffffe6; |7

|0.29%

|0.74%

|style='background: #ffffe6; |0.30%

|Pacific Islander or Native Hawaiian (NH)

|style='background: #ffffe6; |1

|0.00%

|0.05%

|style='background: #ffffe6; |0.04%

|Other race (NH)

|style='background: #ffffe6; |10

|0.00%

|0.09%

|style='background: #ffffe6; |0.43%

|Mixed race or Multiracial (NH)

|12

|style='background: #ffffe6; |47

|0.49%

|0.42%

|style='background: #ffffe6; |2.00%

|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%

|style='background: #ffffe6; |100.00%

2020 census

As of the 2020 census, Eatonville had a population of 2,349. The median age was 37.6 years. 22.1% of residents were under the age of 18 and 14.4% of residents were 65 years of age or older. For every 100 females there were 101.5 males, and for every 100 females age 18 and over there were 97.2 males age 18 and over.

100.0% of residents lived in urban areas, while 0.0% lived in rural areas.

There were 782 households in Eatonville, of which 41.0% had children under the age of 18 living in them. Of all households, 20.5% were married-couple households, 25.8% were households with a male householder and no spouse or partner present, and 46.5% were households with a female householder and no spouse or partner present. About 22.8% of all households were made up of individuals and 9.6% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older.

2010 census

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

Joseph E. Clark ~ 1889 - 1890
Joseph E. Clark ~ 1900 - 1912
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 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 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".