Springhill Baptist Church in Perry

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The book Florida Black Heritage Trail was published in 2007 by the Florida Division of Historic Resources

Photo Credit: Florida Department of State, in partnership with VISIT FLORIDA

Perry Post Office has a George Snow Hill mural on canvas.

Florida has a rich and diverse history.  African American landmarks and legacies exist in various locations throughout the state. The following historical sites can be found in Taylor County.  While some of these sites can be visited, other listings are marked "private" and are not open to the public.

Perry
Jerkins High School
1412 Martin Luther King Avenue
County school board minutes from May 1887 show education for Taylor County blacks came from the roots of Spring Hill Missionary Baptist Church. Henry R. Jerkins, Jr., principal in 1930, had the most memorable impact. Jerkins arrived not long after the 1923 burning of the school that followed the Rosewood massacre in January of that year. In 1931 ground was broken for the high school. During his seven-year tenure, Jerkins expanded educational offerings and marshaled the expansion of grades, allowing children to finish their education, a rarity in the South at that time. The community had called the school “Jerkins” for some years, but only in 1946 did the name appear in official county records. The present building was constructed in 1950. In March 1995, the Taylor County School Board donated the Jerkins property to the Taylor County Leadership Council. School board minutes dating back to the late 1880s are housed at the school board. (850) 223-3441.

New Brooklyn Missionary Baptist Church
Intersection of U.S. 19 and U.S. 27
The New Brooklyn Missionary Baptist congregation, one of Perry’s most prominent black churches, formed in 1914. The church was remodeled in 1963 and again in 1989.

Perry Post Office
1600 East Jefferson Street
Florida artist George Snow Hill painted the “Cypress Logging” mural on canvas in 1938 for the Perry Post Office, as part of the Public Works of Art (WOA) Project during the Great Depression. The panel honors the mostly African American laborers who contributed to the local lumber industry. In 1987 it was moved to its present location in the East Green Street-Taylor County Administrative Annex.

Springhill Baptist Church and Cemetery
Pinecrest Drive
The oldest church in Taylor County, Springhill Missionary Baptist Church was built in 1853 in the area then known as Rosehead. In 1923 the church was burned down by the Ku Klux Klan and many families fled the area in fear of losing their lives and property. Rebuilt with the original church bell in 1925 at its current location, it remains a place of worship. The historic cemetery is located next to the site of the original Springhill Baptist Church at Springhill and Green Streets, about three miles from downtown.

Adapted from Florida Black Heritage Trail, published by the Florida Department of State, in partnership with VISIT FLORIDA, copyright 2007.  For more information on African American sites, please visit flheritage.com.Additional information can also be found at: http://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/milesmedia/floridablackheritage/