Former students want dilapidated, historic school building restored
Palatka’s former Central Academy on the National Registry of Historic Places
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PALATKA, Fla. – If you check out Visit Florida’s website, you’ll notice it states Palatka as being home to the sunshine state’s first accredited school for Black students. If you dig further, you’ll see the old Central Academy is filled with fascinating Putnam County history.
According to the Palatka Housing Authority, which now oversees the building, the current Central Academy School building was built in 1936, replacing the original building that was destroyed by fire. Then in 1971, the school was closed following desegregation. Then in 1998, the authority says it was added to the National Registry of Historic Places. The Putnam County school district also confirmed to News4jax it used the building as a maintenance warehouse, and the property as a bus depot before selling it to the Housing Authority in 2009.