History of Bartow High School
Bartow High School traces its institutional heritage
to the one room log schoolhouse built in 1858 by
pioneer Redding Blount. The community at the time
was called Fort Blount after the small civilian
stockade built for refuge during the Third Seminole
Indian War. The primitive school served the needs of
the local pioneer families. The community was also
known as Peace Creek. The first professional
educator was Dr. Daniel Waldron whose salary was
paid for by Blount. The advent of the War Between
the States interrupted the educational pace, and
brought a new name to the town. Fort Blount received
its own postal service and the community was renamed
Bartow. Bartow was the name chosen to honor
Confederate General Francis Bartow of Georgia. He
was the first high ranking officer to die in battle
for the southern cause.
In 1862, Dr Waldron
and most of the older male students volunteered for
military service in the Confederate armies.
Notwithstanding classes continued in private homes
and at the school house as much as possible. That
same year marked a turning point in the history of
the school and community. Cattle baron Jacob
Summerlin purchased the Blount’s homestead of 140
acres. Summerlin was an enterprising individual and
continued to add to his fortune through blockade
running. Additionally, he was quick to share his
profits with fellow citizens. It is highly probable
that the school’s bell, taken from an
Anglo-Confederate blockade runner in the Gulf of
Mexico in 1864, was the first of his many gifts to
education.
(That bell is now housed in a display case in the
Main Office at Bartow High School.)
One
year following cessation of hostilities brought on
by the war, Jacob Summerlin made an extraordinary
gift. In 1866, he donated 120 acres of land
(comprising the present day downtown area of Bartow)
to establish a county seat, churches, and a school.
He personally donated cattle to insure families
wouldn’t starve and donated $1100.00 dollars to
build Bartow’s first two story building (housing the
Masonic Lodge on the upper floor, and a school on
the lower). The school was named Summerlin Institute
in his honor, and attendance was by tuition.
Bartow’s
population hovered at 300 until the arrival of the
railroad in 1885. A boom quickly followed.
Population leaped to over 2,000 and following the
sale of the original Summerlin School lands, it
generated funds needed to commence building a new
school. The new Summerlin Institute was a
substantial building with a large tower. It was
heralded as the only brick “school house” south of
Jacksonville. The cornerstone was laid by Jacob
Summerlin and the local Masonic Order, with an
August ceremony on “Summerlin Day” May 12, 1887. As
this was to be a free public institution Bartow High
School recognizes the 1887 commencement as its
birth. Besides teaching youth the school also housed
a Teacher’s Academy to train educators. At the
same time, as the new Summerlin Institute began,
Bartowans not unmindful of segregation, met the
educational needs of the African American by
establishing two additional schools. J.A. Wiley’s
Colored Institute coupled with the First Providence
Missionary Baptist Church filled the gap. The church
school was later known as the Brittsville School. In
1893, leading African American citizens petitioned
the City of Bartow for a new school. The Odd Fellows
Hall was rented as the school site until a new
building was completed in 1897. This school
consisted of four large classrooms and boasted an
enrollment of 120 pupils. Named Union Academy this
school opened on September 14, 1897. The day marked
the beginning of a new era for the African American
community. Union Academy was named for the fourth
African American school in Florida, founded in 1867
by the Freedmen’s Bureau, following the Civil War in
Gainesville.
Summerlin Institute continued
to grow as well, and in 1902 the upper grades moved
into a new facility east of the 1887 structure. In
1917, city growth prompted another move to the site
of present day Bartow Elementary Academy, creating a
full campus of grades one through twelve.
Enrollment continued to climb in both schools, Union
Academy and Summerlin Institute, forcing the
addition of satellite school rooms at Union Academy.
In 1923, a longtime dream was fulfilled by the
Academy’s addition of a secondary department,
bringing it to high school status. The year 1928
witnessed Polk County’s first African American high
school graduate. The next year the original Union
Academy was razed and a new centralized elementary,
junior and senior high campus was built on East
Wabash Street. Keeping pace with the growing city
necessitated the need for another additional school
building. Land once incorporated as part of the
South Florida Military College was selected for the
site of the new Summerlin Institute. The old
military school was a state college that existed
from 1895 to 1905 and was one of several colleges
amalgamated to form the University of Florida.
The early decades of the twentieth century rounded
out the complement of high school activities; such
as, the inception of football, baseball, &
basketball for boys and girls. This was the
beginnings of winning traditions. In addition,
English, Mathematics, and Science departments
increased. Vocational courses were added, quickly
followed by formation of the band, chorus, and
academic teams. The post World War II boom was
the catalyst for additional improvements. The 1950s
realized the completion of the Bartow Memorial
Stadium, more classrooms, and a gymnasium. The
1964, Civil Rights Act mandated desegregation in
public schools and in the fall of 1969 students from
Union Academy were transferred to Summerlin
Institute. Union Academy became Golfview Junior
High. Since the early 1900’s, Summerlin
Institute had been unofficially called “Bartow High
School” and in a show of unity, the diplomas for the
1971 graduating class were changed to reflect the
new name. Summerlin Institute’s and Union Academy’s
proud heritage then passed to Bartow High School.
The addition of the International Baccalaureate
School in 1995 is further testimony to the Bartow
community’s goal of excellence in scholarship. In
the fall of 2005, Bartow High incorporated a
military “school within a school,” entitled
Summerlin Academy, echoing the heritage of Bartow’s
first schools. A tangible link displaying over a
hundred years of the school’s rich heritage is the
annual ringing of the ancient “Summerlin Bell” at
graduation. It’s tolling is a reminder of our rich
past and a commencement to a productive future.
Bartow High School’s commitment to provide the very
best in education is evidenced by a host of alumni
achieving local, state, and national prominence,
further inspiring students to achieve any goal in
life.
Lloyd Harris
19 Sep 2006
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