City receives historic marker for ‘Boynton Colored School’

The Boynton Beach community recently gathered at Heritage Park for a dedication of the Official Historical Marker for the Poinciana Elementary "Boynton Colored School" site, which was on the corner of Seacrest Boulevard and Northeast 12th Avenue.

Speakers included Jerry Klinger from the Jewish American Historic Preservation Society and Janet DeVries Naughton from the Boynton Beach Historical Society.

The plaques, which are awarded by the Historic Preservation Board of Boynton Beach, "illustrate our city's history, increase awareness of the historic preservation program, and promote appreciation and civic pride in our community's history," according to the board.

Philanthropist Julius Rosenwald (part owner and leader of Sears, Roebuck and Co.) partnered with Black educator and activist Booker T. Washington during the Progressive Era of the early 1900s to build thousands of schools in 15 southern states for Black students. The schools became known as Rosenwald Schools, according to the Boynton Beach Historical Society.

"In 1925, at the height of Florida's great 1920s land boom, the Rosenwald Fund contributed $900 in seed money toward a new four-room, three-teacher Boynton Colored School," DeVries Naughton said in a statement. "The fund also provided architectural plans and specifications for the schoolhouse."

The Washington and Rosenwald partnership was "centered on mutual respect and purpose," Klinger said in a statement, adding, "They both understood that education for all was key to transforming the future."

Visit boyntonhistory.org/tag/colored-school for more information.