EATONVILLE, Fla. — Orange County Public Schools was informed on Friday that the sale of 100-acres of property on a site that once housed a historic Black private school in Eatonville had fallen through. 

What You Need To Know

  • Friday is final day to close on property that once housed the Hungerford School

  • Orange County School Board acquired the property in 1951

  • A developer seeks to build 350 apartment units, townhouses and single-family homes on the property

The developer had until Friday night to close on the property, which is owned by the Orange County School Board, according to a district spokesperson.

“OCPS has been informed the contract for the purchase of the former Hungerford Prep property will not go through, which unfortunately will prevent the Town of Eatonville from realizing their portion of the proceeds as well as the increased tax revenue to support the citizens of Eatonville that this sale would have provided," a statement from OCPS read. 

"In deference to the viewpoints expressed by so many in the community, the leadership of OCPS has decided not to extend the contract or entertain other bids at this time. This decision presents us with a new opportunity to collaborate with the Eatonville community to preserve and celebrate the Town’s historic and cultural significance as the oldest incorporated Black town in the U.S."

School district officials said they will consider available options moving forward and that they "remain steadfast in their commitment to the high-quality education of students in Eatonville and beyond."

The property once housed the Hungerford School, which was founded as a private school in 1899 amid segregation, and the school board acquired the property in 1951.

John Beacham said he did not want the sale to go through. He has been pushing for the land to be returned to the town for a few years now, arguing it never should have been sold to the school board in the first place.

“No matter what your color is, you can see that in the 1950s, Jim Crow and segregation, that there’s a possibility, a strong possibility … that it was a land grab,” Beacham said.

Beacham said he hopes a lawsuit against the school board, filed recently by the Southern Poverty Law Center on behalf of the Association to Preserve the Eatonville Community, will help the town get the land back.

“It’s not about taking,” he said. “It’s about giving back what’s right.”

Now that the sale is no longer on the table, Eatonville residents are brainstorming what the decision means for their community and what the Hungerford land could eventually become.

“I think the reason that we’re here today is because people don’t know the story of the fight of freedom,” said Beacham.

As for he thinks the land should be used for, Beacham said it should be used to bring the community together.

“What I would like for this is to create a destination so people can come here, they can spend money, they can enjoy themselves," he said. "Not just Eatonville people, but everyone in Orange County and around the world. Build around tourism, culture, heritage, and art."