The Fessenden Elementary School, a historic school previously known as Fessenden Academy, was founded in 1868 on the outskirts of

Ocala, Florida Ocala ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Marion County, Florida, United States. Located in North Central Florida, the city's population was 63,591 as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, up from 56,315 at the 2010 census and making ...

, between

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and Zuber. Since the 1950s, it has been part of the

Marion County Public Schools Marion County Public Schools (MCPS) is a public school district that covers Marion County, Florida. The district has its headquarters in Ocala, Florida. School Board *District 1: Allison Campbell *District 2: Lori Conrad (Vice-Chair) *Distri ...

district. When Fessenden was founded as a private academy for newly freed African-American students, there were no public schools for black students due to

Jim Crow laws The Jim Crow laws were U.S. state, state and local laws introduced in the Southern United States in the late 19th and early 20th centuries that enforced Racial segregation in the United States, racial segregation, "Jim Crow (character), Ji ...

. On September 29, 1994, it was listed on the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government's official United States National Register of Historic Places listings, list of sites, buildings, structures, Hist ...

as the Old Fessenden Academy Historic District. The district covers and has three buildings and one structure.

History

In 1868, the school that would become Fessenden Academy was founded by a group of

freedmen A freedman or freedwoman is a person who has been released from slavery, usually by legal means. Historically, slaves were freed by manumission (granted freedom by their owners), emancipation (granted freedom as part of a larger group), or self- ...

led by Thomas B. Ward. The school was initially staffed by young, educated white women from the northeast and Florida.Amistad Research Center. http://amistadresearchcenter.tulane.edu/archon/?p=creators/creator&id=94 The first African-American teacher was appointed in 1877. Noticing the condition of the school in 1890, Ferdinand S. Fessenden agreed to build a two-story building and provide desks and learning materials. It is built of

coquina rock Coquina () is a sedimentary rock that is composed either wholly or almost entirely of the transported, abraded, and mechanically sorted fragments of mollusks, trilobites, brachiopods, or other invertebrates. The term ''coquina'' comes from the S ...

. In 1892 Fessenden deeded the school, under the auspices of the

American Missionary Association The American Missionary Association (AMA) was a Protestant-based abolitionist group founded on in Albany, New York. The main purpose of the organization was abolition of slavery, education of African Americans, promotion of racial equality, and ...

of the

Congregational Church Congregationalism (also Congregational Churches or Congregationalist Churches) is a Reformed Christian (Calvinist) tradition of Protestant Christianity in which churches practice congregational government. Each congregation independently a ...

. The school grounds have a memorial stone to F. S. Fessenden. His grave is believed to have been marked by this memorial. The main building was built in 1909 with funding from

philanthropist Philanthropy is a form of altruism that consists of "private initiatives for the public good, focusing on quality of life". Philanthropy contrasts with business initiatives, which are private initiatives for private good, focusing on material ...

Andrew Carnegie Andrew Carnegie ( , ; November 25, 1835August 11, 1919) was a Scottish-American industrialist and philanthropist. Carnegie led the expansion of the History of the iron and steel industry in the United States, American steel industry in the late ...

. Joseph L. Wiley, principal of Fessenden, secured this $6,500 grant. This funding, plus $1,500 raised in donations, was used for the main building: it included the library, accommodations for female boarders, a dining hall, and more classrooms. In 1951 Fessenden Academy ceased independent operations. It was absorbed into the public Marion County School System.

Alumni

Ruby McCollum Ruby McCollum (August 31, 1909 – May 23, 1992), born Ruby Jackson, was a wealthy married Black woman in Live Oak, Florida, who was charged in 1952 for first-degree murder for killing Dr. C. Leroy Adams, a White doctor and state senator–elect. ...

of Live Oak, Florida * Frederick Giordani of Ocala, Florida

Archival material

* ''Records of the Fessenden Academy, 1911–1964,'' are held in the American Missionary Association archives,

Amistad Research Center The Amistad Research Center (ARC) is an independent archives and manuscripts repository in the United States that specializes in the history of African Americans and ethnic minorities. It is one of the first institutions of its kind in the United ...

Tulane University The Tulane University of Louisiana (commonly referred to as Tulane University) is a private research university in New Orleans, Louisiana, United States. Founded as the Medical College of Louisiana in 1834 by a cohort of medical doctors, it b ...

. They consist of 37 boxes of individual student files, budgets, and school publications.

References

External links

*
1909 picture of Fessenden Academy
Educational institutions established in 1868 Educational institutions disestablished in 1951 Buildings and structures in Ocala, Florida National Register of Historic Places in Marion County, Florida Historic districts on the National Register of Historic Places in Florida Schools in Marion County, Florida Historically segregated African-American schools in Florida Schools supported by the American Missionary Association {{Florida-school-stub

History

Alumni

Archival material

See also

References

External links