Volusia County, FL- The Volusia County Council will unveil the state historical markers for two schools that provided education for African-American youth from the 1920s to 1969.
The ceremonies will take place at:
·3:30 p.m. Friday, Feb. 24, at Malloy Head Start Center (formerly the DeLeon Springs Colored School), 330 E. Retta St., DeLeon Springs
· 11:30 a.m. Saturday, Feb. 25, at Coleman Head Start Center (formerly the Orange City Colored School), 200 E. Blue Springs Ave., Orange City
The Orange City ceremony will take place directly across the street from the Orange City African-American Heritage Festival in Mill Lake Park.
The schools, which educated hundreds of local students, were funded by the Julius Rosenwald Foundation, the Board of Public Instruction of Volusia County, and local donations. Both are listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Early teachers included Marian Coleman and Carrie Malloy, after whom the current Head Start centers are named.
The events are sponsored by the County Council in partnership with the City of Orange City, VIA Orange City Woman’s Club, Orange City African American Heritage Festival, Everybody is Somebody Inc., DeLeon Springs
Community Association, Volusia County Historic Preservation Board, and the West Volusia Historical Society.
Former teachers and students are asked to contact Volusia County’s Community Information Division at 386-822-5062 or pkuehn@volusia.org so they may be recognized at the ceremonies.
Photo: An early class at the Orange City Colored School. Principal Marian Coleman is in the back row, fifth from the right. Photo credit: Volusia County Government.
Copyright Southern Stone Communications 2017.
