Page 43 - Florida Sentinel 2-4-22

Black History: The History Behind The Names
Other Educational Facilities
A direct descendant of freed slaves, Dr. Samuel Horton, Jr., was raised in Bealsville. He attended Glover School and Midway Academy. After gradu- ating from high school, Dr. Horton continued his educa- tion at Florida A & M Univer- sity, where he earned his Bachelor’s Degree in Education. He later earned his Ph.D., from Nova Southeastern University.
Dr. Horton returned to Tampa and launched his career as an educator in 1949. He rose through the ranks. In 1978, Dr. Horton became the first African American appointed to the position of General Director for Secondary Education in the Hillsborough County School District.
After Dr. Horton retired in 1991, the Hillsborough County School District named the Jef- ferson High School stadium in his honor.
In 1996, Dr. Horton be- came the President of the Hills-
DR. SAMUEL HORTON, JR. April 21, 1929 ---
April 7, 2009
borough County Branch of the NAACP. He remained in that capacity until his health failed. He stepped down as its presi- dent in 2005.
Dr. Horton died on April 7, 2009. The following year, the Hillsborough County School District named the newly built Instructional Center at N. 40th Street and E. 21st Avenue the Dr. Samuel Horton Instruc- tional Service Center.
Dr. Samuel Horton Instructional Service Center
Bealsville
ALFRED BEAL November 25, 1859 --- November 25, 1948
After the Civil War, twelve freed slaves remained on the property of their owner, planning their future. After the Southern Homestead Act of 1866, took place, they were able to acquire prop- erty, ranging between 40 and 160 acres.
Plantation owner Sarah Howell allowed the freed slaves to use horses, mules and farming equipment to create the settlement. They named the community How- ell’s Creek.
The original families in- cluded Peter Dexter, Bryant Horton, Roger Smith, Robert Story, Isaac Berry, Mills Hol- lomon, Sam Horton, (the grandfather of O. V. Har- grett, Sr.), Jerry Stephens, Neptune Henry, Steven Allen, Abe Messenger, and Mary Reddick, the only woman and the only one in the group who could read and write.
Eventually, the settlement was renamed Alafia.
Alfred Beal, the son of Mary Reddick and Frank M. Beal, a white overseer, reached adulthood. Beal settled on land not far from his mother and became suc- cessful.
As time passed, some of the settlers lost their land to foreclosure. Beal pur- chased the properties and later sold them back to their original owners.
He also donated three acres of land to the commu- nity for the first church, the first school, and the first cemetery.
In 1923, the residents of Alafia renamed the commu- nity Bealsville in honor of Alfred Beal.
Alfred Beal died on his November 25, 1948, on his 89th birthday.
George Washington Carver
George Washington Carver was born into slavery in Diamond, Missouri. He went on to become one of the most prominent scientists and inventors of his time, as well as a teacher at the Tuskegee Institute. Carver is best known for creating more than 100 products using the peanut. The prod- ucts included dyes, plastics and gasoline.
Carver opened in 1909 as an elementary school. It was converted to a high school in 1941, after a fire damaged Middleton High School.
After Middleton was re- built and opened in 1943, Carver became a junior high
GEORGE WASHINGTON CARVER
Jan. 1864 --- Jan. 5, 1943
school. It was eventually re- named an elementary school, and today serves as an alter- native education facility.
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