Oak Hill, FL
| Oak Hill, Florida | |
|---|---|
| City | |
 Location in Volusia County and the state of Florida |
|
| Coordinates: 28°53′5″N 80°50′49″W / 28.88472°N 80.84694°WCoordinates: 28°53′5″N 80°50′49″W / 28.88472°N 80.84694°W | |
| Country |
 United States
|
| State |
 Florida
|
| County | Volusia |
| Area | |
| • Total | 11.7 sq mi (30.3 km2) |
| • Land | 6.6 sq mi (17.0 km2) |
| • Water | 5.1 sq mi (13.2 km2) |
| Elevation | 13 ft (4 m) |
| Population (2010) | |
| • Total | 1,792 |
| • Density | 150/sq mi (59/km2) |
| Time zone | Eastern (EST) (UTC-5) |
| • Summer (DST) | EDT (UTC-4) |
| ZIP code | 32759 |
| Area code(s) | 386 |
| FIPS code | 12-50450 |
| GNIS feature ID | 0287965 |
| Website | www.oakhillfl.com |
Oak Hill is a city in Volusia County, Florida, United States. The population was 1,792 at the 2010 census.
The first inhabitants of what would become Oak Hill were the Timucuan Indians, who lived along the shore from circa 2000 BC to 1500 AD, when European settlers started to arrive. In 1564, the French illustrator, Jacques LeMoyne, made a map showing an Indian village named Surruque el Viejo near el Baradero de Suroc. The name "Oak Hill" seems to have been first used by seasonal northern loggers circa 1850.
Florida became a state in 1845, and British and American permanent settlers started to arrive. They began to displace the various tribes, including the Seminoles, who fought back. One Seminole War raid in 1856 resulted in four deaths. A resident, Arad Shelton, took their bodies north to New Smyrna Beach by wagon.
By the Civil War, Oak Hill had a salt works, some part-time stores, and the first orange groves had been planted (by a Mr. Mitchell). Oak Hill also has Civil War veterans buried in the local cemetery: five who fought for the Union, and six who fought for the Confederacy.
Hotels, stores, a post office, and a school operated by Rev. Wicks in the Congregational church served a few white students in the morning and several black students in the afternoon. A public school for white students was constructed in the early 1890s, and a prominent black freedman, Bill Williams, provided instruction and space for black students in 1901. A public school for black students was constructed in 1927.
In 1924, a grade 1 through 10 school was built on Ridge Road, just to the east of Dixie Highway (now US-1), which was paved the same year. This building was replaced in 1960 by a new structure, which eventually became the W.F. Burns Elementary School. In 2008, the county school board closed the school (citing budget cuts) and slated it for demolition. County work crews stripped the facility of anything of value.
The non-profit Oak Hill Community Trust, with the assistance and guidance of local architect Sid Corhern, Tom Gibbs, and many, many other concerned citizens purchased the property from the county school board in late 2009. A charter school operator was contacted and after voluminous paperwork, was approved in January 2011.
Beginning in September 2010, hundreds of volunteers gave thousands of hours of their time to refurbish the buildings. They did plumbing, electrical, painting, landscaping and much more, often with donated materials. The school opened in August 2011, with 260 students enrolled.
In 2012, Kennedy Space Center donated a surplus 10,000 square foot office building to the school, on condition that it had to be moved from KSC without delay. Again, volunteers stepped forward and the building was delivered (in eight sections) to the site, reassembled, refurbished as classrooms, and is now in use.
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