6 African-American Institutions That Have Lasted Over Time
Eatonville, FL
America’s first black incorporated town, Eatonville, is the subject of writer Zora Neale Hurston’s classical novel, “Their Eyes Were Watching God.” The town occupies a place unlike any other in American folklore and black history.
Just six miles from Orlando, FL, Eatonville was named after Union Army Captain Josiah C. Eaton, and was the first town where land could be legally sold to blacks by whites. On Aug 15, 1887, 29 black men met in town hall and voted to incorporate the town—27 of them signed the incorporation papers.
According to the U.S. Census Bureau’s 2009 population estimates, Eatonville had a population of 2, 368, of which, 89.8 percent was African-American.