ORANGE PARK, Fla. – Even people who live in Orange Park might not know the story behind the school that used to occupy the property where Town Hall now sits.
An abolitionist group came to town shortly after Reconstruction and taught Black and white students under one roof at the Normal and Industrial School.
It didn’t take long, however, for racism to rear its ugly head.
It’s a story of perseverance that dates back to the late 1800s.
The now-defunct Orange Park Normal and Industrial School led the way when it came to educating Black children.
Founded in 1891 by the American Missionary Association, the school prided itself on teaching the children of former enslaved people.
Cynthia Cheatwood from the Orange Park Historical Society said the school was ahead of its time.
“Latin, rhetoric, advanced mathematics, you had sciences of all varieties. Things that Florida schools had not quite gotten to yet,” Cheatwood said.
The school had dormitories for boys and girls, and a church where students worshipped on Sundays.
Black children of all ages were taught by white missionaries from the Northeast, and it didn’t take long for people in town to take notice.
“October of 1891 it opened with 26 kids. So, it was kind of a small deal, but within a year it was at 100,” Cheatwood said.
The school became so popular that white families wanted to enroll their children, too.
“People were coming and enjoying and talking about and a buzz got started, more white kids there, so the people who did not like that idea became threatened by it,” Cheatwood said.
One of the people threatened by the integrated school was Florida’s state superintendent of public education, William Sheats, who was a staunch segregationist.
He eventually lobbied for a law to be passed in 1895, making it illegal for white and Black students at any school to be taught together in the same building by the same teachers.
This led to several Normal School teachers and staff getting arrested and jailed, followed by a swift court case.
“The school actually won the case, but that didn’t please the KKK,“ said Cheatwood.
Because of all of the backlash and the threats by the KKK, the school eventually closed in 1913.
The KKK burned down the school’s church a short time later.
“It was a real shame. What that could have continued to offer this community. It staggers the mind to think about it. So many generations didn’t get that advantage because of racism,” Cheatwood said.
The school was later demolished in the 1950s, and Orange Park’s Town Hall now sits in its place.
In 2018, former mayor Connie Thomas spearheaded a campaign to place a historical marker in front of Town Hall, honoring the school and its people after hearing the story.
“I was stunned,” Thomas said. “I think in this case, it was supposed to be a forgotten experience, but it wasn’t. I am so proud of all the people who have come together over time to make sure that this was not a forgotten experience. In fact, it is something that should be honored and treasured.”
Former Vice Mayor Eddie Henley was one of the keynote speakers at the marker’s unveiling. He said it serves as a reminder of the hurdles Black Americans continue to work to overcome.
“As an African American, some of the trials and tribulations, and some of the things we have dealt with over the years, getting an equitable education, is one of them,” Henley said. “I think that it’s something that we still struggle with today. I think the school itself laid a great foundation.”
As she looks through old photos of the Normal School and its people, Cheatwood hopes more people will continue to learn and remember the history.
“We hear so much white history. But Florida and the South have to embrace that that is such a different history than African American history,” Cheatwood said. “In order to understand each other, we need to hear each other’s story and we’re not hearing that story enough.”