Chronology of Early Schools in Hillsborough County: 1871-1899
The majority of the information in this section was taken from two sources:
1. The Neighborhood Origins of Public Schools in Hillsborough County. 1871-1900 published in 1975 by the Hillsborough County School Board. (9)
2. Payroll records from Hillsborough County Public Schools (1909-1925)
The first source utilized old, handwritten minutes from School Board meetings between 1871 and 1899. The second source utilized old, handwritten payroll ledgers. The information derived from these sources is only as accurate as the recorders at the time. Wherever possible, efforts were made to validate the information by a second or third source. However, there are inconsistencies in the information that may never be fully explained. In all, there were as many as 200 schools that were founded during the 50 years covered in this section. Some schools are mentioned repeatedly and some remain in operation today. Others are only mentioned one time in a single Board minute. These schools may have closed or consolidated with another school shortly after their opening.
How Schools Were Established
While reading the Chronology of Early Public Schools in Tampa and Hillsborough County, it is important for the reader to have some understanding of the conditions during the times. As a general rule, schools in the county were established when a member of a community petitioned the Hillsborough County Board of Education to approve a school in a particular area or community. For example, the Board minutes (6-28-1897) approved Bledsoe School “ in the Bledsoe neighborhood”. Sometimes, the school was named after the individual who partitioned the Board and/or provided the facility as in the origin of Casey’s School #7 (“ near the home of Joseph Casey” 1-1872). At times, the Board approved a school by providing only a number, but no name. There are several examples in the Board minutes of early schools being discussed only by number. In most cases, an appropriate name would then later be assigned based on the school’s founder or its location. An example was School #11, which was later named New Hope School.
In order for a new school to be established, its petition had to be accepted by the Board. For this to occur, it was required that the school had an enrollment of at least 10 students. It was not unusual for rural schools to function with between 10 and 15 students, depending on the population in the area. If a school’s enrollment fell below the required 10 students, the Board would usually discontinue the school or merge it with another school in the same geographic area. For example, in 1874, a small school named Clayhill was consolidated into Richmond Pond School. There were a few documented cases where schools were allowed to remain open with less than 10 students. However, the great majority of the schools listed in the Chronology are one-room schools with at least 10 students covering all grade levels.
The Numbering System of the Early Schools
The system of numbering schools as they were Board approved is helpful in determining the order of origin of the schools, but it can also be very misleading. As each new school was approved by the Board, it received a number as in School #11. Five years later, the Board minutes refer to School #11 as New Hope School. This would suggest that New Hope School, or its predecessor, was the 11th school founded in Hillsborough County. However, there were many factors that affected the accuracy of this system for determining the order of origin of each school. For example, the records referred to at least four different schools as School #1 in Tampa. Today’s Hillsborough High School is believed to be the direct descendent to the early editions of School #1. In some cases, schools were “discontinued” when their enrollment fell below the requirement of ten students. In these situations, the number of a discontinued school might be given to a “new” school that was founded at a later date. This could lead to the conclusion that a particular school was founded at an earlier time. The best example of this was Hyde Park School, which was founded in 1889, but was recorded as school #3. Earlier Board minutes cited two earlier schools as #3 (i.e., Pleasant Hill School, in 1871; and Nebraska Avenue School, 1879). It is likely that these earlier schools were closed or merged with another school by 1889. This allowed Hyde Park School to be assigned the prestigious #3.
Another factor that influenced the accuracy of the number system with the origin of the district schools was the common practice of merging schools. One interesting example was Stanford’s School #79, which was merged with New Hope School #11 in 1891. In such situations, one of the schools gave up its name and number. In this example, Stanford’s School became #11, which would suggest that it was one of the earliest schools founded in the district. Finally, the earliest Board minutes did not provide the number for every school cited in the record. Record keeping in the late 1800’s was primitive and many omissions existed in the Board minutes. Despite these factors influencing the accuracy of the number system for the district schools, it does provide some guidance in determining the order of origin of the schools in Hillsborough County.
There are many recorded situations where a school changed its name or site location but retains its original number. (2) For example, in 1885, Mango School was School #6, which suggests that it was founded around 1871. However, earlier Board minutes listed “Wilson’s Academy” in Tampa as School #6. It is possible that this school descended directly from the first school attributed to W.P. Wilson in the 1850’s. Later, either Wilson, or a relative, may have continued the operation of the Wilson Academy in the 1870’s. This school was later relocated to the Mango area and retained the original #6. “Connecting” schools that have the same number is not always accurate. As discussed above, some early schools were discontinued and their number was given to a later, unrelated school. However, there are at least a few cases of schools being accurately connected by the same number. (3) For example, School #3 was assigned to Pleasant Hill in 1871, to Pleasant Grove in 1875, and to Nebraska Avenue School in 1879. It is now believed that these were all the same school, possibly at different locations. (4) Another example is Peru School #29, first mentioned in 1885. The #29 indicates that Peru School was probably the same as the old Moody’s School #29 (dated 1875) after Mr. Moody moved to the Peru area in 1885.
As discussed above, the Board often named schools after the individual who partitioned the Board for school approval. (S) Two interesting examples are: Donahoos School (1885; “a school established near Donahoos”) and Tucker’s School (1890). Board minutes in regard to Tucker’s School stated, “Mr. H.T. Tucker appeared before the Board and petitioned for a public school in his neighborhood; the Board carefully considered the matter and granted request; provided the house is properly furnished. Mr. H.T. Tucker was appointed supervisor. The school is enrolled under No. 65, named Tucker’s School.
Schools were often known by different names at different times. (6) For example, Burnett’s School (1879), was also known as Pringle’s School. Other examples of this were Hendrix Chapel School (1883) which was also known as Roe’s Ford, and Plano School (1889) which was also known as Rawl’s School. May’s Chapel may have been another name for Tucker’s, Rawl’s, or Bledsoe’s School. Thus, a different name does not necessarily indicate a different school. This factor is also somewhat confusing when one reviews the minutes from the early Board meetings in the district.
It was also common for the Board to establish schools “in neighborhoods” that had sufficient student populations and then assign the neighborhood as the name of the school. (7) For example, the Board ordered that Platt’s School (1888) be established in the Platt settlement. Another interesting example is the Wilder Neighborhood School (1896) about which, the Board minutes stated, “Upon the recommendation of E.G. Burney, a school was established in the Wilder neighborhood with G.W. Peters supervisor”. It is difficult to understand how and why names were used so loosely with these early rural schools , especially when viewed from today’s perspective. It is important for the reader to remember that each school was generally the ONLY school in a given geographic area, and as such, its name was not an important factor. Families would simply refer to it as the school, since it was the only school in that given location.
The supervisory role of the Board of Education was extremely limited due to the tremendous geographical range covered by the district at the time. Hillsborough County is a large county today, but in the late 1800’s, it was even larger as it included parts of Pasco, Pinellas, Polk, Hardee, Sumter and Manatee Counties (see map in the “history” section). This made it practically impossible for Board members in Tampa to visit rural schools on the outer edges of the county. However, even with limits imposed by the vast geographic range of the schools, the early Board can be commended for attempting to establish some standards for its schools. For example, there is documentation that indicates that the Board did require some form of certification from its teachers, even in the rural schools. This is first mentioned in the Board minutes on January 6, 1872 when the Board revoked a teacher’s certificate for cause. However, realistically, it is likely that many of the teachers in the early rural schools were not certified due to the difficulty in securing qualified teachers at that time. There is also documentation that suggests that the early School Board exercised some control over curriculum, required textbooks, and the length of the school term for its schools.
As discussed on the previous page, it is also important to remember the wide range of territory included in Hillsborough County. Some schools with unusual names and locations were simply located in areas that are no longer part of Hillsborough County. (8) For example, Sylvan Abbey (1886) is unfamiliar to Hillsborough, but not to Pinellas because it was located in present-day Pinellas County. This was also the case when Board minutes referred to a school in “Clear Water” in 1874. Some of the other schools mentioned in the Board minutes may have been located in present-day Polk, Manatee, or Pasco counties. As the boundaries of these counties were officially established, some “original” Hillsborough schools became schools in different counties. In these cases, the numbers of these schools may have been reassigned to new schools in this district.
Finally, in evaluating the dates and information provided about the early schools in the Chronology of Early Public Schools, the accuracy of the historical records must also be considered. Many of these early documents were handwritten over one hundred years ago. The accuracy of the information that we have today is totally dependent on the accuracy of these primitive documents. It is also likely that accurate record keeping was not a high priority during the late 1800’s. Many of the small rural schools throughout the county had difficulty operating on a day-to-day basis. The facilities were barely acceptable for the purpose of education and materials were often scarce. Under such conditions, keeping accurate historical records was not a high priority during the late 1800’s.
Note: The numerical footnotes are referenced to specific examples of situations discussed above in the next section, “Chronology of Early Schools in Hillsborough County: 1871-1900”
Chronology of Early Schools in Hillsborough County: 1871-1900
(based on the “first” listing of each school in the minutes of County School Board meetings)
| 1871, AUG 22 | Tampa School #1 | Probably located in City Hall |
| Tampa School #2 | Location uncertain; later located on Harrison and Morgan Streets; first African American school in the city | |
| Pleasant Hill School #3 | 2 miles northeast of Tampa; later relocated to the Nebraska Ave. School site | |
| Grange Hall #4 | first mentioned in Board minutes in 1879; located in Balm | |
| Sparkman School #5 | Probably located near present-day Hwy. 92 and Bethlehem Road between Dover and CorkAlafia School (located in the village of Alafia; north of Alafia River | |
| Mango School #6 | Private school funded with public funds | |
| 1871, DEC 10 | Rocky Creek School #8 | An early school located in the Rocky Creek area |
| Curlew School #10 | Located in present-day Pinellas County | |
| 1872, JAN | Casey’s School #7 | Near the home of Joseph Casey; near present-day Cork |
| Taylor’s School #9 | early school with one teacher; location unknown | |
| 1872, MAR | Tampa Schools #1 and #2 | Board minutes listed enrollments as 147 and 39 |
| 1872, AUG | School #12 | Later called Cork School or Cork Academy in 1876; located south of the present-day town of Cork |
| 1872, DEC | College Hill School | Negro School #17; possibly the 2ND black school founded |
| 1873, FEB | West Tampa School #18 | Located on the west side of the Hillsborough River opposite Tampa |
| 1873, MAR 1 | Thonotosassa School #17 | Originally located at Thonotosassa Church |
| Turkey Creek School#16 | In present-day Turkey Creek area given #24 by 1879 | |
| 1874, JAN 3 | Clearwater School#16 | Located in present-day Pinellas County probably near downtown |
| 1874, MAR 7 | Mount Zion School #14 | Minutes showed a teaching certificate approved on this date. Minutes from 1889 indicate this was an early “colored” school. Exact location unknown but was in Hillsborough County. |
| 1874, OCT 3 | School #11 | referred to as New Hope School in 1879 (1); located southwest of present-day Mann Jr. High in Brandon |
| Shumans #23 | located in neighborhood of James Shuman; name may have later been changed to Alderman’s School in 1879-also #23 | |
| 1875, JUN 7 | School #25 | Later called “Bugg’s School”; located on east side of Turkey Creek |
| Lightsey School #27 | located south of Alafia in S.J. Lightsey’s store | |
| Long Bayou School #28 | located in present-day Pinellas County |
| 1875, OCT 13 | Pleasant Grove School #3 | probably was Pleasant Hill in 1871 and later became Nebraska Ave. School in 1879 |
| Oak Hill School #5 | Probably same as original Sparkman School #5; may have been located in the Cork-Dover area.) | |
| Hughes School #13 | Only mentioned in this Board minute; location unknown | |
| Campbell’s School #15 | Located in present-day Pinellas County; was later reestablished as Bay View School near Safety Harbor | |
| Hurrah School #20 | Located several miles south of Pinecrest; may have also been combined with Moody’s Church School | |
| Mobley School #21 | First listed without a name in 1874; location unknown | |
| Moody’s School #29 | May have been located at Leslie’s Ferry, numbered #35 in 1879 | |
| Indian Pass School #22 | Located in present-day Pinellas County; later was Anano | |
| Miss Moore’s School #25 | May have been located on east side of Turkey Creek | |
| Point Pinellas School #30 | Located in present-day Pinellas County, also called Big Bayou | |
| 1875, NOV 6 | County Line School #32 | On road between Tampa and Brooksville |
| Fish Hawk School #34 | In vicinity of Boyette; probably near present-day Fish Hawk community; still active in 1909) | |
| 1876, SEP 2 | Spring Head School #31 | Located near the Howell Place in eastern part of county |
| 1876, OCT 7 | Rose Ford School | Probably Roes Ford established by M.N. Moody; later was referred to as Hendrix Chapel. (6) |
| 1877, JAN 6 | Tampa High School (1) | First mention of public high school in Tampa; advertisedin The Sunland Tribune; location not reported. |
| 1877, MAY 7 | Tampa School #1 | Board minutes show B.C. Graham appointed principal |
| School #37 | Later known as Plano School is established; location uncertain | |
| 1877, AUG 5 | Cork Station School | Two miles east of present-day Dover |
| 1877, OCT 15 | Antioch School | Located east of Thonotosassa |
| 1878, SEP 30 | Central School#13 | Location uncertain; probably was a small, local community, may have replaced Hughes |
| 1879, SEP 2 | Bryant School | Moved from “Moody’s Church”; probably south of Alafia River |
| 1879, SEP 23 | La Villa #5 | Possibly Sparkman & Oakhill previously |
| Shiloh School #12 | Probably founded earlier; north of present-day Plant City | |
| Aldermans School #23 | South of present-day Pinecrest | |
| Pringles & Bumetts’s School #42 | Near present-day Boyette) (6) | |
| 1879, SEP 23 | Oak Sink School #43 | Petitioned from “Oak Sink” community |
| Live Oak School #44 | Probably changed to Oak Grove School #44 in 1886 | |
| Hopewell School #45 | South of intersections of routes 60 and 39) Nebraska Avenue Burgess | |
| Nebraska Avenue Burgess #46* | First listed as #3; may have replaced PleasantHill; probably located on Nebraska and present-day Columbus at site of Washington Jr. High possibly renamed Bethel by 1889 | |
| Richardson’s School #47 | Believed to have been located in College Hill)*It is believed that Nebraska Ave. School was originally Pleasant Hill School #3.However, in this situation, the school number was changed possibly due to a new site for the school. | |
| 1879, OCT 16 | Keysville School #27 | Number assigned Lightsey in 1875 |
| Wordehoffs School #25 | Location uncertain; probably in Alafia area | |
| Little Manatee School #39 | Discontinued in 1883; may have been locatedin Ruskin area | |
| Sistrunks School #40 | Location of school is unknown | |
| Spring Hill School #41 | Only mention by Board; location uncertain but may have been Springhill in present day Pasco County | |
| 1880, SEP 10 | Iola School | Located in Rocky Creek area; merged with Grenada School in 1883 |
| Limona School #49 | In Limona area; founded by Dr. Pratt, later Board President | |
| 1880, NOV 10 | Independence School #50 | “In the neighborhood of Burr Wood”; probably in the Durant-Bloomingdale area |
| Mount Pleasant #51 | location uncertain | |
| McKay’s Creek #53 | Located on McKay’s Creek; discontinued in 1882 | |
| Anclote School #55 | Located in present-day Pinellas County | |
| 1881, JUN 1 | Blackjack School | “Board minutes stated: “On or near the Hillsborough River” |
| 1881, SEP 26 | “Tampa High School” | First mention of high school in Board minutes |
| F.W. Campbell’s School #28 | Located in present-day Pinellas County | |
| Orange Grove School #36 | located east of Tampa; may be at the location of later Orange Grove Elementary | |
| Grenada School | Previously Rocky Creek School; merged into Iola School in 1883 | |
| Mount Enon School | Located “in the East end”); may have been a “colored school” | |
| Bethel School | Due to involvement of Sparkman, school is believed to have been located in the vicinity of present-day Dover | |
| 1882, JUN 15 | Bay View School | Located in present-day Pinellas probably near the Courtney Campbell Causeway; may have been Alex Alexander School moved to new location 1899 |
| John’s Pass School | Located in present-day Pinellas; Board minutes state that the “citizens of John’s Pass demanded a school at that place.”) | |
| 1882, SEP 6 | Zooloo Negro School | First mentioned in Board minutes; opened briefly |
| Wilson’s Academy | Later relocated to Mango in 1885; may have been related to earliest Wilson School in the 1850’s | |
| Magnolia School #53 | Established for the “Cow-House” settlement; merged with Oak Sink School in 1889; located north of Fowler and Morris Bridge | |
| 1883, JUN 16 | Central Hill School #56 | located in present-day Pinellas in Dunedin area |
| 1883, SEP 2 | Hawkins School #35 | In Hawkins School House probably in Pinellas |
| Welcome School #58 | Located near Keysville | |
| Lesley’s Ferry School | Location is uncertain; probably in Boyette area | |
| Flint Lake #39 | Located on or near Lake Thonotosassa | |
| 1883, NOV 5 | Hendrix Chapel or Roes Ford | Near Roes Ford of the Alafia River (6) |
| Content School | Located in present-day Pinellas County near town of Largo | |
| Spring Branch School #60 | Located near the Alafia River | |
| 1883, DEC 3 | McDonald’s School #61 | Located at the McDonald settlement 9 miles north of Tampa later named Bloomingdale |
| Key Stone Park School | Little information was available; recommendation for first teacher was rejected by the Board; still existed in 1909 | |
| 1884, SEP 23 | Oak Grove School #44 | First mentioned with trustees; was probably the original Live Oak School. |
| Harmony Grove #62 | Probably located a few miles east of Cork | |
| Orient a School #63 | Located near Orient Road and East Broadway in the neighborhood currently known as Orient Park | |
| 1884, OCT 15 | Cherry Sink School | Located north of present-day USF |
| 1884, NOV 3 | Prospect Hill School #67 | Possible predecessor of Plant City School in 1885 |
| 1885, APR 6 | Plant City School #67 | Had 60 students; same location as old Prospect Hill |
| 1885, JUN 5 | Evergreen School | Located south, near the Manatee County Line |
| 1885, SEP 1 | Peru School #29 | Probably was the old Moody’s School #29 when Mr. Moody settled in the Peru area |
| Donahoos School | Location unknown; minutes read “A school was established Near Donahoo’s” with BF Donahoo as trustee | |
| 1885, SEP 18 | Mango School #6 | Relocated Wilson’s Academy to Mango School #6 |
| Boot Bay School | Later called Oakland; located near the South Florida rail road discontinued in 1887 | |
| Diston City School | Located near present-day Hillsborough-Pasco County Line | |
| Seffner School | Located at present-day Seffner | |
| Picnic School | Consolidated with Hurrah at this time; one mention by Board | |
| Zooloo School | “Colored” school reestablished with Mingo Grant as trustee; location unknown; may have been near St. Petersburg | |
| Tarpon City School | Located in present-day Pinellas County | |
| Graassville | Located in the western part of the county | |
| 1885, NOV 2 | Twin Lakes School | Only mention of school before 1900; original location is uncertain but probably close to present-day school |
| 1885, NOV 27 | Gulf City | Located at the mouth of the Little Manatee River on Tampa Bay |
| Yellow Bluff | Located in present day Pinellas County | |
| 1886, SEP 14 | Orange Centre School #33 | First mention by Board; was probably established around 1875; location is not known |
| Robles and Murphy School #75 | Located in the Murphy and Robles settlement; similar location to the Robles Pond School in 1893 | |
| Big Bayou | Established | |
| Hurrah School | Reestablished | |
| 1886, OCT 1 | Anona School #22 | Discontinued and reestablished (located in present-day Pinellas; previously known as Indian Pass School; still active in 1909) |
| 1886. NOV 6 | Hooker’s Landing | Located on Little Manatee River on border of Manatee County may have served students from both counties |
| 1886, DEC 4 | Dunedin School #13 | Located in present-day Pinellas County; its origin probably dates back to the 1870’s |
| Sylvan Abbey School #15 | was probably established much earlier; Board minutes state that school remain open despite enrollment below the required 10 students. Located in Pinellas Co. possibly near Pinellas side of Courtney Campbell (6) | |
| Tarpon Springs School #72 | Located in present-day Pinellas County in the Tarpon Springs area; probably in today’s downtown Tarpon | |
| 1887, APR 2 | Spring Place School #60 | Probably same school as Spring Branch |
| 1887, AUG 5 | Boot Bay school#15 | Relocated school near the Cork station (school) on the South Florida Railroad |
| 1887, SEP 17 | Standard Academy | Located in Antiock area about 2 miles east of Thonotosassa |
| Antiote and Tarpon Springs schools | Consolidate at Tarpon Springs | |
| 1888, FEB 18 | Floral Valley School #36 | Probably founded earlier due to number; later was relocated to Knights Station; location not clear |
| Simmons School #37 | Also referred to as Plano School; in communities of Tucker’s and Rawl’s schools | |
| 1888, APR 7 | Hammock School | First mention in Board minutes; was established earlier; was located in present-day Pinellas near Lelman station |
| 1888, JUL 7 | Platt’s Settlement School | Located on the mouth of the Alafia River; may be at same location as present-day Gibsonton (7) |
| 1888, JUL 14 | School #50 | A school was granted in the area of present-day Pleasant Grove Southeast of Brandon but it was moved in 1889 |
| Nash Settlement | North of Tarpon Springs | |
| 1888, AUG 4 | Hazen’s School #82 | Possibly on southern tip of Lake Magdalene, renamed asHorse-Pond School in 1907; later became Lake Magdalene School |
| West Tampa School | Discontinued | |
| 1888, DEC 8 | Providence School #38 | First mention for allocation; was probably established closer to 1877; later more formally established in Providence settlement in 1893: located between Brandon and Riverview |
| Stanton School #80 | Only mention by Board; location unknown | |
| St. Petersburg School | Located in the St. Pete area in Pinellas; first mention of the school but it was surely founded at an earlier date | |
| 1889, JAN 12 | Oak Sink School | Established |
| 1889, APR 6 | Seminole School #57 | Located in present-day Pinellas County |
| 1889, AUG 14 | Harlem School #2 | School #2 was re-established as primary “colored school” in the city of Tampa; located on Harrison and Morgan Street |
| Mar’s Hills School #20 | Located near Polk County line south of Springhead | |
| Plano School #37 | Also known as Rawls School and Simmons School | |
| May’s Chapel #65 | Probably the same school as Tucker and Rawls-also #65) (6) | |
| Stanford’s School #79 | located in the Bloomingdale-Brandon area; merged with New Hope School) (1) | |
| Bethal #46 | Sparkman was appointed supervisor-possibly renamed from Nebraska Avenue Bugress Wilders first mentioned in Board minutes | |
| 1889, SEP 3 | Hyde Park School #3 | possibly renumbered from original School #3 (1) |
| Ballast Point School | East side of interbay peninsula of Tampa | |
| Lebanon School #59 | (Colored school) | |
| Race Pond School #66 | Location unknown; on Race Pond? | |
| Evergreen School #55 | Possibly in Pinellas | |
| Plant City School#12 | Possibly Shiloh School earlier | |
| 1890, JUL 2 | Big Cypress School | Between present-day Skipper Road and 1-75 |
| 1890, AUG 26 | Port Tampa School | Initially established for “whites”; Board minutes in 1892 referred to this as “a colored school at Port Tampa City” |
| Spanish Park School | Located in Spanish Park community in the area of 40th St. and 7th Ave.; school was established in 1891 | |
| Ybor City School | Later called Ybor City Grammar School | |
| Safety Harbor School | Located in present-day Pinellas County; may have its origin as the school house in Precinct #1 cited in 1852 by the Hillsborough County Commissioners | |
| 1890, OCT 7 | County High School #1 | Mentioned for repairs; probably same school as Hillsborough County High School of 6th Ave |
| Tucker’s School #65 | Originally located in Mr. Tucker’s house near Rawl’s School; exact location is not known. (3) | |
| 1890, DEC 2 | Maple Creek School | Earlier known as Cherry Sink and Big Cypress |
| 1891, JUN 19 | County High School #1 | Professor B.C. Graham is appointed Principal of County High School on 6th Avenue. |
| 1891, JUL 11 | Magdalene School | Originally Hazen’s School, on Lake Magdalene northwest of Lake George |
| Sutherland School #56 | First mentioned by was established earlier; may have been located in Pinellas County | |
| Ybor City Public School | Originally located at 1211 8th Ave.; first school to educate large number of Latin/Cuban students | |
| 1892, APR 7 | Tampa Graded School | first mention of graded school in Board minutes |
| 1892, AUG 2 | New River School | Shared students with Pasco County; located northwest of present-day Hillsborough State Park near Pasco County Line |
| Sidney School | Mentioned only once; location is uncertain | |
| 1893 (early) | First Ward School | abolished in 1899; located in Tampa andwas probably same as “Tampa Graded School”; Second Ward also established |
| Plant City Graded and High School | Opened in Plant City | |
| 1893, FEB 18 | Largo School | Located in present-day Pinellas County; school was definitely founded much earlier; this date denotes a Board Meeting that was held to address charges of “unjust treatment in making appropriations” by the Board; an assistant of the school was dismissed at this meeting |
| 1893, JUL 14 | Robles Pond School | Located immediately west ofl-75 and MIX ; established as a “colored” school |
| St. Petersburg Colored School | Located in the St. Pete area of Pinellas County | |
| 1893, AUG 4 | Pine Landing School | Existed before this date; merged with Peru School in 1893 |
| Riverview School | May have been same as Pine Landing; minutes unclear | |
| Tarpon School | Existed earlier than this; probably located at Tarpon Springs | |
| 1894, MAY 26 | Holloman School | “colored” school established by Adam Holloman in his neighborhood; location unknown |
| 1894, JUL 3 | Brandon School | Located on site of present-day McLane Middle School |
| Pelot School | Location unknown; named after Methodist circuit preacher | |
| 1894, AUG 7 | Fort Brooke School | Located a few blocks south of downtown Tampa on the grounds of the early, 1870’s fort |
| Livingstone Avenue School | 1925 city map placed school at corner of 22nd and Hillsborough Ave.; uncertain if this is same school | |
| Ozona School | Located in present-day Pinellas County in near the Post Office | |
| County High School and Tampa Graded School | Separated and the Board instructed the principals to develop age-appropriate curriculum | |
| 1895, MAR 5 | Calhoun School | Located near Riverview |
| 1896, JUL 7 | Wilder Neighborhood School | Original petition for this school was rejected in 1893; later established in “the Wilder neighborhood” |
| 1896, SEP 7 | Gillet School | Located three miles southwest of Mango |
| Valrico School | First mentioned in Board Minutes; location not given | |
| 1897, JUN 1 | Idlewood Park School | Located in Idlewood Park with HM Pfann as supervisor |
| 1897, JUN 7 | Orange Park School | Located five miles north of Keystone Park |
| 1897, JUL 6 | McClean* School | *name uncertain- may have been McClain or McLean; located three miles southwest of Bloomingdale |
| 1897, JUN 28 | Bledsoe School | Exact location unknown; Board minutes indicate a school “in the Bledsoe neighborhood” |
| 1897, OCT 5 | Campabella School | Located in present-day College Hill; east of 22nd and Lake |
| Midway School | Desks were allocated for this school; location uncertain- may have been in Pinellas or east of Plant City | |
| Sweetwater School | First mentioned in Board minutes; original location uncertain; 1925 map shows school north of Tampa near International Airport, between Benjamin and Anderson | |
| Lealman School | First mentioned in board minutes | |
| New River School | Established | |
| 1898, FEB 1 | Six Mile Creek School | Located in the neighborhood of Six Miles Creek |
| 1899, JUN 6 | Spanish Park School# 11 | Discontinued; a school east of Spanish Park established |
| Sweat School | Only mentioned in Board minutes; probably located in the Balm community in Hillsborough County | |
| 1899, APR | Calhoun, Riverview, and Providence | Consolidated to become Riverview School #15 |
| 1899, JUN 26 | Peck School | Location uncertain; may have been near old Peck Post Office mail route to Thonotosassa |
Note: Explanations of footnotes are provided in the preface of Chronology of Early Hillsborough County Schools
To corroborate the existence of these early schools researched by Paul Denis in The Neighborhood Origins of Public Schools in Hillsborough County, 1871-1900, early payroll records from the district were examined. These records between 1909 and 1925 document salaries of teachers in all district schools throughout the county. Emphasis was placed on schools that are no longer in existence today. The purpose of this analysis is two-fold. First, it documents additional schools that were once part of Hillsborough County Schools, but that are no longer in existence. Second, it provides supporting documentation of the schools listed on the previous pages of the Chronology. It is fascinating that many of these early schools actually remained in operation for 20 to 40 years after they were first mentioned in the Board minutes. Amazingly, 35 of the early schools listed in the early Board minutes between 1871 and 1900 were also found in the payroll records after 1909. For example, the original Alafia School (school #6) was first listed in 1871 and, according to the 1909 payroll, was still in existence 38 years later! There is no way to determine whether this is the exact same school in the same location as the original school. Grange Hall (school #4), another of the first six schools from 1871, was also listed in the 1909 payroll records and located in the village of Balm. The old Antioch School was a very early African American school in East Hillsborough County that was first mentioned in the Board minutes in 1877. The school was located in the district payroll in 1914 indicating that it remained in operation for at least 37 years.
Finally, since these payroll records begin in 1909, the reader will notice several schools located in present-day Pinellas County (i.e., Clearwater, Dunedin, Gauseville, John’s Pass, St. Petersburg, etc.). Pinellas County did not become a county until 1911 and these schools were all part of Hillsborough County prior to that year. However, these records still stand as a testament to their origin and longevity. For example, a school at “Clear Water” was first mentioned in 1874 and was still on the payroll in 1909. It is believed that this school was located on the same site as present-day Clearwater High. In all, there were approximately 20 Pinellas County schools that have their origins in Hillsborough County. In summary, almost 200 small schools were founded in the early years of the school district in the 1800’s. Many of these schools survived and remained in operation for multiple generations of families.