By Bryce Abshier – Originally published in the 2019 Founder’s Review Magazine
During the early parts of the 1900s, many old-fashioned schoolhouses took root throughout the rural parts of Marion County. As time progresses and generations pass, it’s important to preserve the history of how formal schools first began locally.
Perhaps no historian better cataloged the early Marion County schools than Broward Lovell, a former county school superintendent who retired in April of 1967. Lovell served as superintendent from 1941 to 1960, setting a record for the longest-serving superintendent in Marion County. He spent the final years of his career as a teacher at what was then called Central Florida Junior College.
As a passionate educator, Lovell published many materials on the early schoolhouses around the county. His work, along with data left by other historical county documents, gives us a glimpse at the origins of South Marion area schools.
Summerfield High School
The structure of this old school still stands to this day behind the Summerfield Post Office and adjacent to the First Baptist Church of Summerfield on SE 65th Court. Upon opening in the early 1920s, enrollment at Summerfield High School totaled about 250. According to Lovell, the first students to ever graduate from the school were Ruth Proctor, Thelma Harrelson, and Joseph Hall. Many prominent South Marion figures would attend throughout the years that the school was in service.
Kids sometimes complain about riding the school bus in these modern times, but if only they knew just how good they have it. Prior to 1920, students attending Summerfield High School were transported by horse-drawn wagons. In the following years, a gentleman named Jim Proctor bought an open-air Ford bus that would transport students. The old-fashioned bus looked a lot like a horse-drawn wagon, with canvas awnings that could be drawn down to close in the seating area. While the motorized transportation was an improvement, traveling to school each day was still crowded, hot, and slow-moving.
Arthur White, founder of White’s Furniture in Summerfield, bought the property where Summerfield High School rests in 1980, after renting it for several years in the 1970s. He used the building as a warehouse for his furniture store for several years before eventually building a brand new structure next door to his business on Highway 441.
Arthur White actually attended Summerfield High School himself until 1955. For his junior and senior years of school, he went to Lake Weir.
White recalled that in the 1940s and ’50s, Summerfield would field a six-man football team that competed against other schools from small towns. In those days, it was hard to build an entire eleven-man roster, as what is played in traditional football. They just didn’t have enough students. Summerfield would compete against schools from other small towns like Cedar Key and Melrose.
In the present day, the roof of the school is in poor condition and needs to be replaced. “If it had a steel frame, it may be worth investing in,” Mr. White explained. Other than that, the structure is strong. “If they don’t tear it down, it’ll probably stand for another 30 years,” said White.
Inside the building, underneath boards of the school’s old stage, Arthur White once found a unique item. He discovered a glass bottle of orange soda, dated from 1924. Incredibly, the bottle still had some liquid inside that was colored orange.
Broward Lovell described many good times had with social activities at the Summerfield school in his writings. Each year on May Day (celebrated on May 1st), students would take part in a “Maypole Dance.” This antiquated celebration involved tying a ribbon around a tree or pole and dancing around it. Historians believe this tradition started thousands of years ago as a way to welcome the arrival of spring.
Additionally, the school would host many roasts, picnics, and basketball games for students. Club activities included a Home Economics club and a student government-oriented club called the Alpha Theta Literary Society.
Ocklawaha Elementary School
Sometime during the early months of 1928, after what is described as a long dispute over finding a suitable location, plans were cemented to build Ocklawaha Elementary School. The old schoolhouse building still stands in Ocklawaha today, located on SE 135 Ave, next door to Solita’s Comfort Inc. It is just a few blocks north of the Lake Weir Grocery Store.
Ocklawaha resident Robert Martin donated five acres to the Marion County School Board for the building of Ocklawaha Elementary School. As a native Georgian, Martin moved to Ocklawaha at the age of 22 to work for a turpentine distilling plant alongside the Ocklawaha River. The five acres that he donated to the school were part of a 43-acre lot he purchased in 1919.
In June of 1959, the curtain closed on the old Ocklawaha Elementary School as the Marion County School Board voted to close it down. All students were transferred to the Weirsdale school. The consolidation of the two schools came at the recommendation of Robert Martin, along with Mr. Douglas, Mr. Albright, and Mr. Boyer, all three prominent Weirsdale residents.
After Ocklawaha Elementary School was abandoned, some conflict arose with the property. When Martin originally transferred the deed for five acres to the Marion County School Board, it was with the clause that he would receive it back once it was no longer used for schooling purposes. While the school board was willing to comply with this request, a legal technicality made things difficult. By law, the school board was not allowed to give property away. Attorneys in Tallahassee had to get involved for Robert Martin to get his property back. This was finally accomplished in 1962, with House Bill 2587 that sold Martin back his five acres for $1.
Weirsdale High School
Most will probably recognize this old relic as the current home of the Orange Blossom Opry, a concert venue that features popular performers. It is located at 16439 SE 138th Terrace, Weirsdale. As recent as March, the Orange Blossom Opry has featured headline musicians like country singer Collin Raye.
Long before it was a concert venue, this brick structure served as Weirsdale High School and eventually became exclusively an elementary school. According to a writing by Broward Lovell, other schools throughout the county were consolidated. As mentioned earlier, all of the students from Ocklawaha Elementary School were merged into the Weirsdale school in 1959.
The last high school graduation for Weirsdale took place in 1955. The school building was constructed sometime around 1923. In 1934, a large auditorium was added to the original building at the recommendation of Rev. G.E. Albright and Georgiana Erck, who were trustees of the school. The Weirsdale School Auditorium, which is still in use today by the Orange Blossom Opry, was constructed by a gentleman named T. Danzer for the sum of $7,658 in 1935.
Originally, the school was intended for high school students but later enrolled elementary-aged children because the remaining Weirsdale students were transferred to Lake Weir High School. The school carried on afterward as exclusively an elementary school until it was permanently decommissioned in 1968. All remaining children at that time were sent to Stanton-Weirsdale Elementary School.
Belleview Elementary School
It is no secret that Belleview’s current City Hall building once served as Belleview Elementary School. The structure is located in the heart of town at 5343 SE Abshier Blvd.
Belleview Elementary was constructed shortly after the Marion County School Board opened bids to construction companies in March 1928. The building has remained in constant use since being completed. After serving as an elementary school for a few decades, the City of Belleview moved its offices there from the old Belleview City Hall building, which is now Hiers-Baxley Funeral Home, 5946 SE Robinson Rd.
Over the years, many community groups made use of the former Belleview Elementary School. One such group, the Parkview Players, featured regular theater performances in the auditorium area of the former school. Theatre productions of the Parkview Players would include amateur actors and actresses from the community who enjoyed performing. After 1994, the Parkview Players were no longer allowed to use the auditorium, and the room is now exclusively used for City of Belleview Commission meetings.
