Eatonville, Florida
| Eatonville, Florida | |
|---|---|
| Town | |
Eatonville Town Hall
|
|
 Location in Orange County and the state of Florida |
|
| Coordinates: 28°37′7″N 81°23′0″W / 28.61861°N 81.38333°WCoordinates: 28°37′7″N 81°23′0″W / 28.61861°N 81.38333°W | |
| Country |
 United States
|
| State |
 Florida
|
| County | Orange |
| Incorporated | 1887 |
| Government | |
| • Mayor | Eddie Cole |
| Area | |
| • Total | 1.1 sq mi (2.9 km2) |
| • Land | 1 sq mi (2.6 km2) |
| • Water | 0.1 sq mi (0.3 km2) |
| Elevation | 95 ft (29 m) |
| Population (2010) | |
| • Total | 2,159 |
| • Density | 2,000/sq mi (740/km2) |
| Time zone | Eastern (EST) (UTC-5) |
| • Summer (DST) | EDT (UTC-4) |
| ZIP code | 32751 |
| Area code(s) | 407 |
| FIPS code | 12-19650 |
| GNIS feature ID | 0282054 |
| Website | www |
Eatonville is a town in Orange County, Florida, United States, six miles north of Orlando. It is part of the Orlando–Kissimmee metropolitan statistical area. The town includes the Eatonville Historic District.
Incorporated on August 15, 1887, it was one of the first self-governing all-black municipalities in the United States. The population was 2,159 at the 2010 census.
Noted author Zora Neale Hurston grew up in Eatonville, which she featured in many stories. In 1990 the town founded the Zora Neale Hurston Museum of Fine Arts. Every winter the town stages the Zora Neale Hurston Festival of the Arts and Humanities. A library named for her opened in January 2004. Eatonville is also the hometown of David "Deacon" Jones, a professional football player.
Artist Jules Andre Smith has done a series of paintings depicting life in Eatonville during the 1930s and 1940s. Twelve of these works are at the Maitland Art Center in the adjacent town of Maitland.
Eatonville is home to WESH and WKCF, two television stations serving the Orlando television market.
While sources seem to disagree on the exact date and year of the town's incorporation, the town's official site provides a detailed account of the process and the dates. According to that official source, the town is named after Josiah C. Eaton, one of a small group of white landowners who were willing to sell sufficient land to African Americans to incorporate as a black town.
Hurston's novel Their Eyes Were Watching God presents an overview of the founding of the town through the eyes of Janie Crawford, the protagonist. It is considered a roman à clef. The novel refers to several Florida locales known only to insiders.
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