Eatonville is a town in

Orange County Orange County most commonly refers to: *Orange County, California, part of the Los Angeles metropolitan area Orange County may also refer to: U.S. counties *Orange County, Florida, containing Orlando *Orange County, Indiana *Orange County, New ...

Florida Florida is a state located in the Southeastern region of the United States. Florida is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the northwest by Alabama, to the north by Georgia, to the east by the Bahamas and Atlantic Ocean, and to ...

, United States, six miles north of Orlando. It is part of the Orlando–

Kissimmee Kissimmee ( ) is the largest city and county seat of Osceola County, Florida, United States. As of the 2020 census, the population was 79,226. It is a Principal City of the Orlando-Kissimmee-Sanford, Florida, Metropolitan Statistical Area, wh ...

metropolitan statistical area In the United States, a metropolitan statistical area (MSA) is a geographical region with a relatively high population density at its core and close economic ties throughout the area. Such regions are neither legally Incorporated town, incorporate ...

. Incorporated on August 15, 1887, it was one of the first self-governing all-black municipalities in the United States. The Eatonville Historic District and

Moseley House Museum Moseley House Museum is a house museum located in Eatonville, Florida. The house is the second oldest structure in the town, constructed in 1888. The house was owned by Jim and Matilda Clark Moseley, Matilda was the niece of Eatonville's founder ...

are in Eatonville. Author

Zora Neale Hurston Zora Neale Hurston (January 7, 1891 – January 28, 1960) was an American author, anthropologist, and filmmaker. She portrayed racial struggles in the early-1900s American South and published research on Hoodoo (spirituality), hoodoo. The most ...

grew up in Eatonville and the area features in many of her stories. 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. The population was 2,159 at the 2010 census. The majority are African American. Artist

Jules Andre Smith Jules Andre Smith (1880–1959) was a war artist for the United States Army during World War I. He was born in Hong Kong, lived a few years in Hamburg, Germany as a child after his father died, and moved with his mother and family to New York Ci ...

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 The Maitland Art Center (formerly known as The Research Studio) is a historic site in Maitland, Florida. It was founded and designed by architect and artist J. Andre Smith (1880-1959) in 1937 as an artist colony, dedicated to experimental art. ...

in the adjacent town of Maitland. Eatonville is home to

WESH Wesh or WESH may refer to: *Wesh in Spin Boldak, Kandahar province, Afghanistan *Wesh–Chaman border crossing one of the major international border crossings between Afghanistan and Pakistan *Darrell Wesh (1992), Haitian-American sprinter *Marlena ...

and WKCF, two television stations serving the Orlando television market.

History

A Post Office opened at Eatonville in 1889, and closed in 1918. 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. According to that official source, the town is named after Josiah C. Eaton, one of a small group of white landowners who were willing to sell sufficient land to

African American African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American" generally denotes descendants of ens ...

s to incorporate as a black town. Hurston's novel ''

Their Eyes Were Watching God ''Their Eyes Were Watching God'' is a 1937 novel by American writer Zora Neale Hurston. It is considered a classic of the Harlem Renaissance, and Hurston's best known work. The novel explores main character Janie Crawford's "ripening from a vib ...

'' 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 The Chitlin' Circuit was a collection of performance venues throughout the eastern, southern, and upper Midwest areas of the United States that provided commercial and cultural acceptance for African American musicians, comedians, and other enterta ...

, hosting performers ranging from

B.B. King Riley B. King (September 16, 1925 – May 14, 2015), known professionally as B.B. King, was an American blues singer-songwriter, guitarist, and record producer. He introduced a sophisticated style of soloing based on fluid string bending, shimm ...

Aretha Franklin Aretha Louise Franklin ( ; March 25, 1942 – August 16, 2018) was an American singer, songwriter and pianist. Referred to as the " Queen of Soul", she has twice been placed ninth in ''Rolling Stone''s "100 Greatest Artists of All Time". With ...

, the young local

Ray Charles Ray Charles Robinson Sr. (September 23, 1930 – June 10, 2004) was an American singer, songwriter, and pianist. He is regarded as one of the most iconic and influential singers in history, and was often referred to by contemporaries as "The Ge ...

Sam Cooke Samuel Cook (January 22, 1931 – December 11, 1964), known professionally as Sam Cooke, was an American singer and songwriter. Considered to be a pioneer and one of the most influential soul artists of all time, Cooke is commonly referred ...

, The Platters,

Duke Ellington Edward Kennedy "Duke" Ellington (April 29, 1899 – May 24, 1974) was an American jazz pianist, composer, and leader of his eponymous jazz orchestra from 1923 through the rest of his life. Born and raised in Washington, D.C., Ellington was based ...

Ella Fitzgerald Ella Jane Fitzgerald (April 25, 1917June 15, 1996) was an American jazz singer, sometimes referred to as the "First Lady of Song", "Queen of Jazz", and "Lady Ella". She was noted for her purity of tone, impeccable diction, phrasing, timing, in ...

Billie Holiday Billie Holiday (born Eleanora Fagan; April 7, 1915 – July 17, 1959) was an American jazz and swing music singer. Nicknamed "Lady Day" by her friend and music partner, Lester Young, Holiday had an innovative influence on jazz music and pop si ...

and

James Brown James Joseph Brown (May 3, 1933 – December 25, 2006) was an American singer, dancer, musician, record producer and bandleader. The central progenitor of funk music and a major figure of 20th century music, he is often referred to by the honor ...

Mayors

* Joseph E. Clark (born October 1859) 1889 to 1890 and 1900 to 1912 * Matthew B. Brazell (born 1862) was mayor of Eatonville from 1916 to 1920 * Angie Gardner (born ____) 2022 to present

Eatonville Historic District

The Eatonville

Historic District A historic district or heritage district is a section of a city which contains older buildings considered valuable for historical or architectural reasons. In some countries or jurisdictions, historic districts receive legal protection from c ...

was designated and added to the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic v ...

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,

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

Geography

Eatonville is located at (28.618727, –81.383440). According to the

United States Census Bureau The United States Census Bureau (USCB), officially the Bureau of the Census, is a principal agency of the U.S. Federal Statistical System, responsible for producing data about the American people and economy. The Census Bureau is part of the ...

, the town has a total area of , of which is land and (9.17%) is water.

Demographics

As of the

census A census is the procedure of systematically acquiring, recording and calculating information about the members of a given population. This term is used mostly in connection with national population and housing censuses; other common censuses incl ...

of 2000, there were 2,432 people, 761 households, and 548 families residing in the town. The population density was . There were 858 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the town was 89.31%

, 7.5%

White White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no hue). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully reflect and scatter all the visible wavelengths of light. White on ...

, 0.49% Native American, 0.29%

Asian Asian may refer to: * Items from or related to the continent of Asia: ** Asian people, people in or descending from Asia ** Asian culture, the culture of the people from Asia ** Asian cuisine, food based on the style of food of the people from Asi ...

, 1.56% from other races, and 0.82% from two or more races.

Hispanic The term ''Hispanic'' ( es, hispano) refers to people, Spanish culture, cultures, or countries related to Spain, the Spanish language, or Hispanidad. The term commonly applies to countries with a cultural and historical link to Spain and to Vic ...

Latino Latino or Latinos most often refers to: * Latino (demonym), a term used in the United States for people with cultural ties to Latin America * Hispanic and Latino Americans in the United States * The people or cultures of Latin America; ** Latin A ...

of any race were 3.54% of the population. There were 761 households, out of which 35.5% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 28.0% were

married couples Marriage, also called matrimony or wedlock, is a culturally and often legally recognized union between people called spouses. It establishes rights and obligations between them, as well as between them and their children, and between t ...

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 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. 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 Per capita income (PCI) or total income measures the average income earned per person in a given area (city, region, country, etc.) in a specified year. It is calculated by dividing the area's total income by its total population. Per capita i ...

for the town was $11,257. About 21.9% of families and 25.0% of the population were below the

poverty line The poverty threshold, poverty limit, poverty line or breadline is the minimum level of income deemed adequate in a particular country. The poverty line is usually calculated by estimating the total cost of one year's worth of necessities for t ...

, including 29.3% of those under age 18 and 24.5% of those age 65 or over.

Transportation

Interstate 4 Interstate 4 (I-4) is an Interstate Highway located entirely within the U.S. state of Florida, maintained by the Florida Department of Transportation (FDOT). Spanning along a generally southwest–northeast axis, I-4 is entirely concurrent wi ...

passes through the city limits, but there is no exit. The closest exits are

Florida State Road 423 State Road 423 (SR 423), known for most of its length as John Young Parkway, and Lee Road east of Orange Blossom Trail, is a four- and six-lane surface road in the U.S. state of Florida. SR 423 runs from SR 408 north to U.S. Routes 17/ 92 (US& ...

(to the south) and

Florida State Road 414 State Road 414 (SR 414) is a state highway in the U.S. state of Florida encompassing the John Land Apopka Expressway and Maitland Boulevard. Route description Free section The free section is built mostly to expressway standards, with few ...

(to the north).

Notable people

Ha Ha Clinton-Dix Ha'Sean Treshon "Ha Ha" Clinton-Dix (born December 21, 1992) is a former American football safety who played in the National Football League (NFL) for seven seasons, primarily with the Green Bay Packers. He played college football at Alabama and ...

, football safety *

, folklorist and author * Deacon Jones, football defensive end *

Norm Lewis Norm Lewis (born June 2, 1963) is an American actor and singer. He has appeared in Europe, on Broadway, in film, television, recordings and regional theatre. Productions that he has been involved in include '' Dessa Rose'', ''Miss Saigon'', '' T ...

, 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 ''The Last Drag'' is the third studio album by the Samples. It was released in 1993. Critical reception ''The Washington Post ''The Washington Post'' (also known as the ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'') is an American daily newspaper pub ...

'', released in 1993.

References

External links

Town of Eatonville official website

Eatonville Branch Library

ZoraNealeHurstonFestival.com

"Zora Neale Hurston Dust Tracks Heritage Trail, Zora Neale Hurston Branch Library"
at visitflorida.com

Library of Congress {{authority control Towns in Orange County, Florida Greater Orlando Towns in Florida Populated places established by African Americans 1887 establishments in Florida African-American history of Florida