"Old Stanton" High School
Posted by: 
Markerman62
N 30° 19.941 W 081° 39.799
17R E 436238 N 3355799
Located on West Ashley Street between Broad Street North and North Clay Street, Jacksonville
Waymark Code: WM17FN3
Location: Florida, United States
Date Posted: 02/12/2023
Views: 0
This magnificent building was built in 1917 after the Great Fire of 1901. It replaced an earlier structure on the same site (pictured on right). The school was named for Lincoln's Secretary of War, Edwin Stanton, who was instrumental in creation of the Freedmen's Bureau.
Stanton High School, founded as a grade school for African-Americans after the Civil War, was expanded into the first public high school for blacks by it dynamic principal, James Weldon Johnson. After the school was destroyed in the Great Fire, Principal Johnson fought for the school to be replaced by this all-brick structure, and for its replacement to have the same priority as the similarly destroyed replacement all-white school. Through his legal expertise, Johnson also prevented Stanton from being moved or combined with other schools.
New Stanton High School was moved to its current location on 13th Street in 1953, where it continues as one of the highest-ranking schools on the country.
This building was briefly a vocational school.
Marker Number: None
Date: None
County: Duval
Marker Type: City
Sponsored or placed by: Durkeeville Historical Society
Website: Not listed
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