Early Self-Government:
Eatonville, Florida
Known as “The Nation’s Oldest Black Incorporated Municipality” the town of Eatonville was founded in 1887 and named for Joseph Eaton, the Caucasian who donated the land. Eatonville was “home” to the late author, playwright, and anthropologist, Zora Neal Hurston. The town celebrates her birthday every January.
Fort Mose, Colonial America’s Black Fortress of Freedom, is included in this station. In 1738, prompted by the Spanish colonists’ promise of freedom if they made their way to Florida and converted to Catholicism, more than 100 African-born slaves from the English plantations in South Carolina arrived in St. Augustine. The Spaniards established the fort and town of Gracia Real de Santa Teresa de Mose, the first legally sanctioned free black community in what is now the United States.
