Eatonville, Florida

Eatonville is a town located in Orange County, Florida, six miles north of Orlando. As of the 2000 census, the town had a total population of 2,432. It was one of the first all-black towns to be formed after the Emancipation Proclamation in 1863 and, on August 15, 1887, was the first such town to be incorporated. Zora Neale Hurston grew up there. Every winter, Eatonville stages its annual Zora Neale Hurston Festival of the Arts and Humanities and the Zora Neal Hurston Library (note unusual spelling) opened in January 2004. [1] (http://memory.loc.gov/ammem/today/jan07.html), [2] (http://www.flausa.com/interests/article.php/articleId=22915/section=historyculture/superSection=Interests/page=5), [3] (http://www.townofeatonville.org/history_pg2.html)

Eatonville was also the hometown of former professional football player David Deacon Jones. Artist Jules Andre Smith did a series of paintings depicting life in Eatonville during the 1930s and 1940s. Twelve of these works are at the Maitland Art Center in Eatonville. [4] (http://www.aaregistry.com/african_american_history/2055/Eatonville_Florida_a_FUBU_Black_town)

While sources seem to disagree on the exact date and even the year of the town's incorporation, the town's own official site [5] (http://www.townofeatonville.org/history_pg2.html) provides a detailed account of the process and the dates. According to that official source, the town is named after Josiah E. Eaton, one of a small group of white landowners who were willing to sell sufficient land to African Americans to create a large enough tract of land to incorporate a black town.

Contents

1 Geography 2 Demographics 3 External link 4 External links

Geography

Eatonville is located at 28°37'7" North, 81°23'0" West (28.618727, -81.383440)Template:GR.

According to the United States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of 2.8 km² (1.1 mi²). 2.5 km² (1.0 mi²) of it is land and 0.3 km² (0.1 mi²) of it is water. The total area is 9.17% water.

Demographics

As of the censusTemplate:GR of 2000, there are 2,432 people, 761 households, and 548 families residing in the town. The population density is 958.2/km² (2,469.5/mi²). There are 858 housing units at an average density of 338.0/km² (871.2/mi²). The racial makeup of the town is 7.52% White, 89.31% African American, 0.49% Native American, 0.29% Asian, 0.00% Pacific Islander, 1.56% from other races, and 0.82% from two or more races. 3.54% of the population are Hispanic or Latino of any race.

There are 761 households out of which 35.5% have children under the age of 18 living with them, 28.0% are married couples living together, 37.6% have a female householder with no husband present, and 27.9% are non-families. 22.5% of all households are made up of individuals and 8.5% have someone living alone who is 65 years of age or older. The average household size is 2.92 and the average family size is 3.42.

In the town the population is spread out with 33.6% under the age of 18, 8.8% from 18 to 24, 27.5% from 25 to 44, 19.6% from 45 to 64, and 10.4% who are 65 years of age or older. The median age is 31 years. For every 100 females there are 88.7 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there are 81.3 males.

The median income for a household in the town is $29,457, and the median income for a family is $31,042. Males have a median income of $21,719 versus $21,328 for females. The per capita income for the town is $11,257. 25.0% of the population and 21.9% of families are below the poverty line. Out of the total population, 29.3% of those under the age of 18 and 24.5% of those 65 and older are living below the poverty line.

External link

• Town of Eatonville official site (http://www.townofeatonville.org)

External links

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