The Lee County Black History Society Inc.
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The Lee County Black History Society, Inc. (LCBHS) is a 501 (c) (3) non-profit organization. The organization is seeking financial sponsors and volunteers. Your continued support is needed for:
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Williams Academy Black History
Museum
Established 1994
Backgound Summary
In November, 1994, the LCBHS (Society) acquired the 1942 ca. Williams Academy Building from the Lee County School District just in time to save the building from demolition. In three short months between November 1, 1994 and February 24, 1995, the Society raised $15,000 and moved the building from its location at the Dunbar Community School to its present location in Clemente’ Park at 1936 Henderson Avenue in Fort Myers, Florida. The Society is leasing the park area from the City of Fort Myers. On January 15, 2001, the Williams Academy opened its doors as the only Black History Museum in Southwest Florida.
Pictured is the remnant of a 1942 addition to the original 1913 Williams Academy structure. Williams Academy was the first government funded school for black students in Fort Myers. The original two-story building was located at the corner of Anderson and Cranford Avenues. Classes went from first to eighth grades. The building was moved to the Dunbar High School site on Blount Street between 1935 and 1937. When Dunbar High School was opened in 1927, the Williams Academy was renamed Williams Primary and used for first and second grade classes.
The architecture of the building reflects the vernacular construction of the era. It remains generally in its original plan. The building represents the value that Lee County placed on black education in 1942 and provides a visual comparison with facilities provided to the white students. It serves to remind the community of the past inequities in education which should not be allowed to recur. . .
. . .Clemente’ Park, the location of the Williams Academy Black History Museum and the Society, has served various functions in the Dunbar Community through the years. The park, in addition to serving as a recreational facility, was also a senior retirement facility for black citizens when such facilities were still segregated. The park also housed a counseling center and the first library for the Dunbar Community.
Black History in Fort Myers. . .
The earliest known black settler, Nelson Tillis, arrived in Fort Myers on Christmas day in 1867. Tillis and his family at one time lived in a house on McGregor Boulevard, near the Thomas Edison Estate.
“Dunbar Community School – 1857 High Street”
Dunbar High School was built in 1927 at a cost of $99,000.00 and partly financed by black citizens in Lee County. . .It was named for the renowned black poet Paul Laurence Dunbar. The buildings layout was copied from architectural plans prepared for a white school built across town called Edison Park Elementary. . .
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