Roosevelt School

Roosevelt is Lake Wales' only remaining historic school, and the historic site for African American education in Lake Wales. The largest building, constructed in 1937 is of masonry vernacular construction with Italian Renaissance elements.

Information provided by Florida Department of State.

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Bethune Neighborhood Center

Formerly known as Oakland High School, this five building complex was a school for black children from Haines City, Loughman, Davenport, Lake Hamilton, Dundee and the unincorporated areas of Northeast Polk County. It is presently used for civil, recreational and ...

St. James African Methodist Episcopal Church

This AME church started as a small wooden structure in 1894 and has grown to encompass an entire corner. It is all that remains of a once thriving African American district.

Information provided by Florida Department of State.

Photo courtesy of St. ...

Historic Evergreen Cemetery

This historic cemetery is located on 12 acres of land on the western edge of Bartow. One of the area's oldest black cemeteries, it includes the headstone of Andy and Tamer Moore from 1891. The Moores were brought to Bartow ...

First Providence Missionary Baptist Church

Organized in 1856 as the Colored Providence Baptist Church, the congregation is the oldest black church in Polk County. Known today as the First Providence Missionary Baptist Church, it is located in one of Polk County's oldest settlements of West ...

Brown Home

The oldest black residence in Bartow, this Victorian style building was built in the late 1800s by Lawrence Bernard Brown, a self-taught master carpenter. Brown invested in property in Bartow and built a large number of houses which he sold ...

Bethel African Methodist Episcopal Church - Kissimmee

This one-story Masonry Vernacular church was constructed in 1916. The name of Lawrence Silas, a prosperous black cattleman in Florida's range country, appears on the cornerstone. With his father's estate gone, Lawrence Silas rebuilt the family fortune and eventually owned ...

Hannibal Square Historic Neighborhood

From its beginning in 1881, African Americans played an integral part of Winter Park's development. The original town plan designated the Hannibal Square neighborhood for homes of African Americans who worked in the groves, hotels, homes, and as carpenters and ...

Wells' Built Museum of African American History and Culture

Dr. William Monroe Wells, an African American physician, built this hotel in 1926 to provide lodging to African Americans visiting the Orlando area. Second-floor hotel rooms complemented three first-floor store fronts. The adjacent South Street Casino attracted many famous entertainers, ...

Old Mount Pleasant Baptist Church

The congregation first met in a shed in 1919, and erected this stone church in 1920. This Romanesque style building now houses the Tabernacle of the Enlightened Church of God.

Information provided by Florida Department of State.