Georgetown Steering Team

The area referred to as “Georgetown” was originally part of land purchased by adjoining property owners Henry S. Sanford and J. Wofford Tucker. As land developers, these men divided their properties into lots that they sold for profit. Prior to the city’s incorporation in 1877, African Americans owned property that was purchased from Sanford and Tucker. Records from 1880 reflect that Lot4, Block 4 in “Tuckertown” had been deeded to Harriet Jackson, for the sum of $150. Henry and Harriet Jackson operated the first African American owned business on Sanford Avenue, a restaurant located at the foot of 1st Street. An 1886 deed indicates the transfer of a lot in Tuckertown to Prince Mark Strobart, an African American minister at St. Paul Missionary Baptist Church. These deeds are the first records which reflect land ownership by African Americans in the area. 

The communities of Tuckertown and Georgetown grew quickly from the late 1880’s through 1910’s with businesses, churches, residences, and the Hopper Academy school constructed to support the growing population. Tuckertown lost its separate identity as the area became known as Georgetown.

In 1885, the first Georgetown school, Colored School No. 11, was located at the northeast corner of Seventh and Cypress Avenue. It was founded with $100 from the school board. Mr. McLester was the first principal at the school, followed by Mr. Reed.

In 1906, Joseph Nathaniel Crooms became principal of the Hopper Academy. The school, built by the community, had 5 teachers and 240 initial students and educate for Black students in elementary, middle and high school students (until Crooms Academy). 

Classes at Hopper continued until 1968. Since then, then building has become a community center to host art classes and events. The building is now being renovated by the Community Improvement Association of Seminole County, Inc. 

Crooms Academy was founded in 1926 in the nearby African American town of Goldsboro and was Seminole County’s first high school for African American students. The school was founded by Joseph Crooms and his wife Wealthy Crooms. 

The first school in Seminole County to offer Black students a high school education that went all the way to the 12th grade and provided a full range of subjects. The school continued until schools were desegregated in 1970. Today, it is Crooms Academy of Information Technology, a technology magnet school.

Black churches in Georgetown were formed before the city of Sanford was incorporated. Churches were a safe haven for community and worship for former enslaved Blacks.

Saint James African Methodist Episcopal (AME) Church was formed in 1867 as a prayer group, 10 years before the City of Sanford was incorporated. The church building was constructed from 1910 and 1913 by famed Black architect Prince W. Spears. Saint James (AME) Church is the Mother Church of AME faith West Sanford, Bookertown, Cameron City, Midway, and Fort Reid.

St. Paul Missionary Baptist Church was formed in 1878 under an arbor brush. The building was constructed in 1880. A newer building was constructed in 1889 and was used until 1958. The church’s final structure was built in 1961.

Zion James Missionary Baptist Church was founded in 1888 under Wash Levingston. Services were first held in an old horse stable on Mellonville Avenue from 1888 to 1890. John Hurston, the father of award-winning author and anthropologist Zora Neale Hurston was a pastor for 17 years to about 200 people.

Georgetown’s business district developed along Sanford Avenue between 1st and 6th Streets and thrived from around 1880 to 1950’s, when Sanford was booming in agricultural and transportation development.

The Georgetown community has been shaped by active and engaged citizens for more than a century. Through their contributions they have made a profound and lasting impact on the city. Some notable figures included doctors, educators, authors, architects, and business leaders.

Some of the first Sanford businesses owned by black settlers were in Tuckertown. In 1887, there were twenty-eight registered voters. Between 1887 and 1923 Georgetown supported five barbers, a blacksmith, a butcher, a dentist, five dress makers, two draymen, seven farmers, a general store, three dry goods and millinery, five hand laundries, three insurance agents, a jeweler, seven medical doctors, two pharmacists, five postal workers, three realtors, three restaurant owners, five taxi drivers, a theater, undertakers, and many churches.

Georgetown residents went to Sanford Avenue to “see and be seen”. Hair was coiffed at Scipio Bracey’s Barbershop and Julia Brown’s Beauty Shop. Family and friends shared in photo sessions at the studios of Willie “Pocket” Brown and later Theodore “Tick” Martin. Former students of Crooms Academy fondly remember prom dances or basketball games in the dance hall on the second floor at Jerry’s Arcade.

The community’s health rested in the capable hands of Dr. George H. Starke, Dr. Julius Ringling, Dr. Edward Strickland, and Marie Francis. Residents purchased medications and sundries at Jerry’s Drugstore and Stapler Pharmacy, socializing with neighbors doing the same.

The Afro-American Life Insurance Company provided residents insurance policies that were otherwise difficult to obtain at the time, and helped ensure the financial security of beneficiaries in times of need.

A highly sought after residential district developed south of 6th Street along Sanford Avenue, and prominent African American families chose to have their homes built there. A number of the homes were designed by Tuskeegee trained African American architect, Prince W. Spears. These homes were designed with attention to detail and architectural style, and became the center of cultural and social activity in the community.

One of Georgetown’s globally-known resident, Zora Neale Hurston, wrote her first published novel, Jonah’s Gourd Vine (1934), while in Sanford. Hurston is famous for her book Their Eyes Were Watching God (1937). Later on, Hurston was also part of the Harlem Renaissance while living in New York. She is recognized as the most prolific African American writer of her time. Many of her books are set in small communities like Sanford.

Circa 1915, families began to move out of the area for opportunities elsewhere.

In 1910 the Sanford Herald published the “The Celery City”, aimed at marketing the city to potential investors. The edition features a section on Georgetown and references the “tasty”, “comfortable”, and “pretty” homes of Y.A. Roberts, W.C. Steward, and F.H. Harris.

In 1936 the Works Progress Administration Federal Writers Project documented the Georgetown community. Project writer Margaret Barnes noted the many lovely residences, lodges, stores, and churches that served the African American community. She stated, “By far the best shops and residences are on Sanford Avenue.”

Information gathered from the Sanford Museum, UCF RICHES Program, Pathways to History historical markers.