Fruitlands Institute
Posted by: 
Markerman62
N 28° 06.094 W 081° 43.125
17R E 429396 N 3108662
Located at 700 North Third Street, Lake Alfred
Waymark Code: WM11M4N
Location: Florida, United States
Date Posted: 11/10/2019
Views: 4
Side 1
On this site stood a Rosenwald School. Educator Booker T. Washington (1856-1915) enlisted philanthropist and CEO of Sears, Roebuck & Company, Julius Rosenwald (1862-1932) to help fund the building of rural community schools for African American children. Between 1912 and 1932, Washington and Rosenwald collaborated to build 5,357 schools and buildings in fifteen states throughout the Jim Crow South.
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Side 2
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A delegation of Lake Alfred African American citizens petitioned the Polk County Board of Public Instruction to erect a school for their children. Permission was granted and the Fruitlands Institute opened in 1929, named for the local real estate company which donated the land. The school was a Two-Teacher Type funded by African Americans $600, Whites $350, Public $1836, Rosenwald $500. The school was taken down in 1964.
Marker Number: PCHC-023
Date: 2018
County: Polk
Marker Type: City
Sponsored or placed by: Polk County Historical Commission, The City of Lake Alfred, The Lkae Alfred Historical Society
Website: Not listed
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