ORLANDO, Fla. — A judge is deciding what comes next after a hearing involving a property the Orange County School District owns in the historic town of Eatonville.

What You Need To Know

  • A judge is deciding what comes next after a hearing about a property the Orange County School District owns in the historic town of Eatonville

  • Plaintiffs say the Hungerford property is significant to the history of the town of Eatonville and its future survival

  • Right now, the piece of property near I-4, Wymore Road and Kennedy Boulevard is vacant

“This property is significant to Eatonville history, to Florida history, to U.S. History,” said Kirsten Anderson, the plaintiff’s lawyer and deputy legal director of economic justice for the Southern Poverty Law Center.

On Friday, they argued that the judge in the case should deny the Orange County School Board’s motion to dismiss their suit seeking to block the sale of the property.

Anderson says in 1951, a court decided that the Hungerford property should be transferred to the school board for the use of education for Black children.

At the time, she says there were no schools for Black children in Orange County, and that they want the land protected.

“So, the school has inherited a sacred history of this land that also encompasses more than 14% of the landmass in Eatonville," Anderson said. "And so, it’s very important to our clients and to the community that this land is protected and that is used only for the benefit of the public trust."

During her arguments, Anderson, representing the Association To Preserve The Eatonville Community and Hungerford descendant Bea Leach Hatler, called this case an “unusual case in American history” — part of that being due to the unique nature of the town of Eatonville, which is the first town incorporated by African Americans in the U.S.

Right now, the piece of property near I-4, Wymore Road and Kennedy Boulevard is vacant and surrounded by chain-link fence and “No Trespassing” signs around it. 

The lawyer for OCPS said if the School Board decides to move forward with a sale, there would be hearing first.

He also argued that the plaintiffs are not heirs, successors or trustees to the Hungerford trust.

When asked for comment on the case, OCPS released the following statement: “While the district was pleased to present arguments before the court this morning, out of respect for the judicial process, we do not comment on pending litigation.”

Anderson says when they filed the lawsuit, the School Board was planning to sell the land for a mixed-use commercial development, which she claims the district couldn’t do because a use restriction is still in place. 

“On behalf of, for example, Mrs. Hatler, that this legacy her family created and donated this land, created this school, and it got entrusted to the School Board with this use restriction," Anderson said.