Eatonville, Florida
| Eatonville, Florida | |
|---|---|
| Town | |
 | |
 | |
| Coordinates: 28°37′7″N 81°23′0″W / 28.61861°N 81.38333°WCoordinates: 28°37′7″N 81°23′0″W / 28.61861°N 81.38333°W | |
| Country |
 United States |
| State |
 Florida |
| County | Orange |
| Incorporated | 1887 |
| Government | |
| • Mayor | Bruce Mount |
| Area | |
| • Total | 1.1 sq mi (2.9 km2) |
| • Land | 1 sq mi (2.6 km2) |
| • Water | 0.1 sq mi (0.3 km2) |
| Elevation | 95 ft (29 m) |
| Population (2010) | |
| • Total | 2,159 |
| • Density | 2,000/sq mi (740/km2) |
| Time zone | Eastern (EST) (UTC-5) |
| • Summer (DST) | EDT (UTC-4) |
| ZIP code | 32751 |
| Area code(s) | 407 |
| FIPS code | 12-19650[1] |
| GNIS feature ID | 0282054[2] |
| Website | www.townofeatonville.org |
Eatonville is a town in Orange County, Florida, United States, six miles north of Orlando. It is part of the Orlando–Kissimmee metropolitan statistical area. The town includes the Eatonville Historic District.
Zora Neale Hurston grew up in Eatonville and the town is home to the Zora Neale Hurston Museum of Fine Arts. Every winter the town stages the Zora Neale Hurston Festival of the Arts and Humanities. The Zora Neale Hurston Library opened in January 2004. Eatonville was also the hometown of former professional football player David "Deacon" Jones.
The population was 2,159 at the 2010 census.[3] It was one of the first all-black towns to be formed after the Emancipation Proclamation in 1863 and was incorporated on August 15, 1887.
Artist Jules Andre Smith did 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.
History
While sources seem to disagree on the exact date and even the year of the town's incorporation, the town's own 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 Americans to create a large enough tract of land to incorporate a black town.[4]
Hurston's novel Their Eyes Were Watching God presents a brief overview of the founding of the town through the eyes of Janie Crawford, the main character of the novel, and some suggest a cipher for Hurston herself. The novel also mentions several places in the state of Florida that many outsiders would have no concept of without the novel.
Eatonville Historic District
The Eatonville Historic District is a Historic district (United States) designated 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 including several related to the town's establishment as a home for African-Americans and its most famous former resident, Zora Neale Hurston.[5]
Gallery
Geography
Eatonville is located at 28°37′7″N 81°23′0″W / 28.61861°N 81.38333°W (28.618727, -81.383440).[6]
According to the United States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of 1.1 square miles (2.8 km2), of which 1.0 square mile (2.6 km2) is land and 0.1 square miles (0.26 km2) (9.17%) is water.
Demographics
As of the census[1] of 2000, there were 2,432 people, 761 households, and 548 families residing in the town. The population density was 2,469.5 inhabitants per square mile (958.2/km²). There were 858 housing units at an average density of 871.2 per square mile (338.0/km²). The racial makeup of the town was 89.31% African American, 7.5% White, 0.49% Native American, 0.29% Asian, 1.56% from other races, and 0.82% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino 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 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 for the town was $11,257. About 21.9% of families and 25.0% of the population were below the poverty line, including 29.3% of those under age 18 and 24.5% of those age 65 or over.
Notable residents
- Zora Neale Hurston, folklorist and author
- Deacon Jones, football defensive end
- Norm Lewis, actor and baritone singer
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 "American FactFinder". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved 2008-01-31.
- ↑ "US Board on Geographic Names". United States Geological Survey. 2007-10-25. Retrieved 2008-01-31.
- ↑ "Profile of General Population and Housing Characteristics: 2010 Demographic Profile Data (DP-1): Eatonville town, Florida". U.S. Census Bureau, American Factfinder. Retrieved September 21, 2012.
- ↑
- ↑ Orange County listings NRHP
- ↑ "US Gazetteer files: 2010, 2000, and 1990". United States Census Bureau. 2011-02-12. Retrieved 2011-04-23.
Further reading
- Cave, Damien (September 29, 2008). "In a Town Apart, the Pride and Trials of Black Life". The New York Times. Retrieved February 20, 2010.
External links
 |
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Eatonville, Florida. |
- Town of Eatonville official website
- Eatonville Branch Library
- Zora Neale Hurston Festival official website
- ZoraNealeHurstonFestival.com
- "Zora Neale Hurston Dust Tracks Heritage Trail, Zora Neale Hurston Branch Library" at visitflorida.com
- Today in History: January 7, Library of Congress
| |||||||||||||||||||||||
