The Good Shepherd Lodge of Quincy

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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

Gadsden County's William S. Stevens High School

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 Gadsden County.  While some of these sites can be visited, other listings are marked "private" and are not open to the public.

Midway
Eugene Lamb Jr. Recreation Center
420 Palmer Road
The predominantly black town of Midway was incorporated in 1987. After the former school for blacks burned, a city hall building was constructed on this site. Named for Midway native, Mayor Eugene Lamb, Jr., former teacher and coach and visionary community leader, the site is now home to a community center, playground, basketball court and a walking trail. (850) 574-2355.

Quincy
Arnett Chapel African Methodist Episcopal Church
209 South Duval Street
Organized in 1866, this congregation is among the oldest in Gadsden County. The Romanesque Revival style building was constructed in 1938-39 and named for the Rev. Benjamin W. Arnett, the presiding bishop in Florida from 1888-1892. (850) 875-1295.

Good Shepherd Lodge
1001 West 4th Street
Across the street from the Stevens School is a small white frame building with a blue Great Floridian 2000 plaque honoring Witt A. Campbell, who served as the financial officer for the Good Shepherd Lodge of the Order of Emancipated Americans until his death in 1996. Born in Quincy in 1910, Campbell served the Gadsden County school system for 44 years. During the 1960s civil rights movement, Campbell registered voters in Gadsden County. In 1983 he was elected to the Gadsden County School Board.

Hardon Building
16 West Washington Street
One of Quincy’s earliest ice and electric plants was owned by African American resident, William Hardon. Hardon’s small generator was located in the rear of the building with the ice plant adjacent to it. The masonry vernacular building was constructed around the turn of the 19th century.

Masonic Lodge
122 South Duval Street
Since 1907 this building has been the Masonic Lodge Meeting Hall for black Masons. The two-story, frame vernacular building has an open hall on the first floor. It was moved from its original site in 1976 and remodeled.

William S. Stevens High School
1004 West 4th Street
The Stevens School was built for all grades in the 1920s Foundation. Dr. William Spencer Stevens for whom the school was named, graduated from Florida State Normal and Industrial College and in 1904 received a medical degree from Meharry Medical College in Nashville, Tennessee. Stevens became the first African American to open a medical practice in Quincy. In 1906, he opened Stevens’ Drug Store in downtown Quincy, and in the 1930s built a two-story building that served as a community hospital for the black community. In 1914, Stevens was named supervisor of the Quincy City Schools and in 1925 he began a four-year process to expand Dunbar School. The new school building was renamed in his honor, and Dr. Stevens continued to serve the city of Quincy as Supervisor of City Schools until his death in 1949.

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/