ORANGE PARK— To celebrate Black History Month, community members took a special stroll down memory lane on Saturday.

The Historical Society of Orange Park hosted their inaugural Black History Walks through the Magnolia Cemetery.

Similar to the Moonlight on Magnolia tours, the event walked guests through the cemetery, focusing exclusively on the town's African-American history. 

Through the two-day guided tour event, held on Feb. 15 and Feb. 22, guests made stops at the final resting places of some of Orange Park's prominent Black figures, unlocking important moments from the past.

From the town’s resident carpenter and builder Joseph Green and the 1891 private Orange Park Normal and Industrial School that educated the town’s early Black students, to T.C. Miller Elementary’s first Black administrator Annie Lee Keyes, Saturday’s walk showcased stories that tour guides and presenters alike shared.

At one of the first stops, Betty Demmons shared the story of Green, who built around 15 buildings in Orange Park, all of which she said have since been destroyed. The last of the buildings was a house located on McIntosh Avenue. Demmons said St. James A.M.E Church later purchased it.

Demmons' presentation featured not only a verbal retelling of Green’s history, but also physical pieces of treasure, such as the original blueprints to a house on McIntosh, a copy of Green's 1908 tax poll card and his obituary.

Guests also heard about Keyes from her own son, who detailed her experience teaching Black and White children during the start of integration at T.C. Miller. The school had one single classroom where all the Black kindergarten through eighth grade students were taught. 

He said that when Keyes was a young student at T.C. Miller, teacher Teresa Miller would often send her to the back of the class to have her own teaching sessions with other students. Keyes remained as a principal and educator in the school district for 30 years.

Farther down the walking path, guests indulged in the Filmore family's life stories, which Shauntai Arrington shared. Mary and Solomon Filmore settled down with their family in Orange Park during the 1920s. They owned many pieces of land in the area, including where Grumpy’s Restaurant and Dollar General are currently located on Kingsley Avenue. 

Solomon was a fisherman who, during the Great Depression, began doing odd jobs to support the family. Arrington said that Mary made her own soaps, sewed on the side and worked for the Johnson family who owned Club Continental on Astor Street. 

Solomon passed away in the 1960s, but built Mary a beer garden, or a juke joint, to keep her occupied and employed. It was located on Kingsley Avenue, just before the railroad tracks.

Next, Sandra DiGiovanni shared the story of the prominent Pollard Family, who settled in Orange Park in the 1930s. One well-known descendant was Robert "Piggy" Pollard III, who graduated from Orange Park High School back in 1996 and was known as a local football star who went on to play for professional teams. He passed away back in 2020.

In addition to the presenters, the event also featured a pop-up “museum” further delving into the community and educational African-American history of the town.