Abstract
The Union Academy was one of the most important institutions in Gainesville’s black community for over fifty years. It was the town’s first public high school and from its graduating classes came most of Alachua County’s black teachers and black leaders. The facility which housed the Academy was built during Reconstruction by black carpenters who had learned their skill as slaves. Land for the building had been purchased by the school’s board of trustees. A symbol of self-sufficiency and pride for Gainesville’s black citizens for many decades, the Union Academy also represented the value they placed on education.
Recommended Citation
Laurie, Murray D.
(1986)
"Union Academy: A Freedmen's Bureau School in Gainesville, Florida,"
Florida Historical Quarterly: Vol. 65:
No.
2, Article 4.
Available at:
https://stars.library.ucf.edu/fhq/vol65/iss2/4
