National Register of Historic Places

Eatonville Historic District

Eatonville, Orange County, Florida
Listed
February 3, 1998
Type
District
Period
Listed
Ref No.
97001214

About this property

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 is featured 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 more than 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. 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. Artist Jules Andre Smith created 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.

Location

Eatonville, Orange County, Florida
28.61873, -81.38212

Categories

BLACKCOMMUNITY PLANNING AND DEVELOPMENTSOCIAL HISTORY
National Register nomination ›
Sources

Property data from the National Register of Historic Places, National Park Service (public domain).

Description adapted from Wikipedia under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.

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Everything a full report reveals about Eatonville Historic District

This page lists Eatonville Historic District. A full Aubrey report for an address near it pulls together this listing alongside battlefield records, land patents, and every other historical record within a chosen radius:

Overview
An interactive map of the location with historic sites, battles and Native heritage plotted, and its full story era by era.
The Land
The historic sites and place names around the location, and how this land was settled and used.
Geology
The bedrock beneath the site, its age and rock type, reaching back millions of years.
LiDAR Terrain
Laser-scanned terrain that reveals earthworks and old features hidden in the landscape.
Conflict & War
The battles, raids and skirmishes fought near here, across every era of American conflict.
The Civil War
The Civil War on this ground, 1861 to 1865: who held it, and the battles, camps and regiments nearby.
The Soldiers
The men who marched from here in the Civil War, named and traced where the record allows.
Native Heritage
The Native nations who held this land, mapped across time from before European contact to today.
Settlement
Who claimed and held this ground, from Indigenous homelands through the colonial powers to the United States.
The Community
How the town grew, who came, and what kind of place it became, traced through the census record.
Rivers & Rail
The rivers, canals and railroads that connected this place between 1830 and 1911.
Notable People
The people born, buried or genuinely tied to this exact place, with their stories.
Historical Maps
Historic maps of the location layered over how it looks today.
Finds & Access
Museum objects tied to the area, and the laws on searching, collecting and access here.
Literature
The old books, county histories and archives that mention this place, quoted with their sources.
Spotlight
A deep dive into the most remarkable, lesser-known history of the place, traced back to the record.
Points of Interest
The most significant historic sites and landmarks near the location, and why they matter.
Timeline
The whole story of the location told era by era, from first peoples to the present day.
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Nearby Historic Sites

Church of the Good Shepherd
Industrial
0.9 mi
Waterhouse, William H., House
Industrial
0.9 mi
Maitland Art Center
Industrial
1 mi
Downtown Winter Park Historic District
Industrial
2 mi
Warlow, Thomas Picton, Sr., House
Industrial
2 mi

Questions about this property

When was Eatonville Historic District listed on the National Register?

Eatonville Historic District was listed on the National Register of Historic Places on February 3, 1998.

What type of historic resource is Eatonville Historic District?

Eatonville Historic District is classified as a district in the National Register of Historic Places.

What is the period of significance for Eatonville Historic District?

The period of significance for Eatonville Historic District is recorded as the listed era.

Can I research the history near Eatonville Historic District?

Yes. Aubrey Research reports search National Register listings, battlefield records, land patents, and other primary historical sources within any radius of a US address. A report for an address near Eatonville Historic District will include this listing and all other historical records in the area.

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