Welcome to the Palm Beach County Black Cultural Heritage Trail. Here you’ll find the 7 locations on the trail specific to the southern portion of Palm Beach County. Please visit the Palm Beach County Black Cultural Heritage Trail home page to find destinations in the West, Central, and North portions of the trail along with a full interactive map of the trail.

This post was written by Brian Knowles of Power Builders. All photography by Daniel Fortune.

St. Paul AME Church
315 E. Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd., Boynton Beach

St. Paul A.M.E. Church, founded on February 5, 1892, is the oldest church in Boynton Beach. The original church, situated at the NE corner of Boynton Beach Blvd. and US 1, was relocated in 1925 due to segregation laws. After being moved to Wells Avenue, it was destroyed by the storm of 1928. A new wooden building with Gothic Revival details was erected in 1929 and dedicated in 1930. 1954 the current location at 315 E. Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd. was established, featuring Gothic Revival elements, stained glass windows, and carved wood details inside. The church also served as a gathering place for African Americans participating in protests of segregated beaches, lunch counters, and other facilities in 1964.

Additional sites and landmarks nearby include:

Barton Memorial Park Cemetery
1110 NW 5 St, Boynton Beach

Initially named Cherry Hill Cemetery, this burial ground for the Black community was founded in 1926 south of the Boynton Canal and east of the present Interstate 95. Following a period of neglect, Mary and William Barton diligently maintained their son’s grave within the cemetery, eventually leading to its identification as Barton’s Cemetery. Today, it is a noteworthy component of the City of Boynton Beach Heritage Trail, featuring a marker that provides historical insights.

St Cuthbert’s Episcopal Church
214 Martin Luther King Jr Blvd, Boynton Beach

Established in 1924 by a gathering of Anglicans hailing from the Bahamas, St. Cuthbert’s Episcopal Church had its first leader in Uterprehy Thompson. Prior to the construction of the church, the community engaged in worship along a local canal bank. The original structure succumbed to the fury of the 1928 hurricane but was reconstructed the following year. The bell currently adorning the exterior of the church has a historical origin—it is salvaged from the wreckage of the Coquimbo ship. This vessel met its demise off the Boynton coast in 1909. The Norwegian barkentine Coquimbo ran aground on Boynton’s offshore reef after loading a full cargo of long-leaf pine lumber in Gulfstream, Mississippi.

Established in 1894 as Delray Beach’s first African American community, the West Settlers enclave demonstrated self-sufficiency through its array of commercial establishments and churches catering to its residents. Initially situated on N Blackmer Street, the epicenter of business and social activities shifted to NW 5th Avenue. The structure at the northwest corner of NW 1st Street and NW 5th Avenue, referred to as “The Fountainette,” housed a soda fountain, doctor’s offices, and a pharmacy, notably operated by Dr. Simon Barnes, the sole pharmacy serving the African American community.

The former residence of the eminent Black educator and community leader, Solomon D. Spady, at 170 NW 5th Avenue, now stands as a museum primarily dedicated to African American history, showcasing the Mission Revival structure dating back to circa 1926. An early contributor to the community’s development was William Robinson, who, in 1902, developed the property at 315-317 NW 1st Street for his wife, Essie. Noteworthy for being one of the first homes in the area with electricity, running water, and a telephone, the Robinson homestead earned recognition as an official Red Cross hurricane shelter in the 1940s. In 1997, the locality received local designation as the West Settlers Historic District.

Spady Cultural Heritage Museum
170 NW 5th Avenue, Delray Beach

The Spady Cultural Heritage Museum, established in 2001, operates from two former homes of African Americans with the mission of discovering, collecting, and sharing the African American history and heritage of Florida.

The main building, a 1926 Mission Revival home, belonged to Solomon D. Spady, a prominent educator and community leader in Delray Beach from 1922 to 1957. Solomon D. Spady received a Great Floridian plaque at this site, commemorating his contributions.

The second house, built in 1935 on NW 3rd Avenue, originally used by the city’s first Black midwife, Susan B. Williams, was relocated to the museum site. The museum provides displays, youth initiatives, yearly events, and “Ride & Remember” trolley tours that commemorate African American history and impact in Delray Beach and the Palm Beaches at large.

Additional sites and landmarks nearby include:

B.F. James & Frances Jane Bright Mini-Park
East side of Northwest Fifth Avenue, 100 feet south of Northwest First Street, Delray Beach

Established on this site in 1895, Schoolhouse Number Four, known as Delray Colored, began in a thatch hut following a successful petition by the Black Community. Jonathan Clarkson Gibbs, then Superintendent of Public Instruction, responded to the petition by providing a teacher. B.F. James in 1895 and Frances Jane Bright in 1900 were the first educators in this school.

Operating under the “Separate but Equal” Educational Program, Colored students were entitled to six months of annual instruction, whereas their White counterparts received nine months, a practice that persisted until the reforms of 1943.

Other significant African American establishments were built within a block of this location, including Greater Mount Olive Baptist Church, Saint Paul African Methodist Episcopal Church (Mount Tabor), and The Free and Accepted Masons Lodge, established in 1896, 1897, and 1899, respectively.

La France Apartments formerly “The La France Hotel”
140 NW 4th Ave, Delray Beach

Situated in the historically significant West Settlers neighborhood, the LaFrance stands as a landmark in this historical African American community. Notably, in 1949 it was the only Black-owned hotel spanning the distance between Delray Beach and Fort Lauderdale.

In the era of Jim Crow segregation in the United States, the LaFrance played a pivotal role by offering essential accommodations for African American travelers. A considerable portion of its patrons were African Americans engaged in seasonal employment in Delray Beach, serving as maids, butlers, chauffeurs, and waiters for affluent white residents enjoying the region’s seasonal affluence.

The hotel derives its name from Francenia Patrick, the wife of Charlie Patrick. Charlie Patrick amassed significant wealth through real estate investments, positioning himself and his wife within the esteemed Black high society of the Delray Beach area.

Pearl City Neighborhood of Boca Raton
128 NE 11th St Boca Raton

Established in 1915, Pearl City was created to offer residential space for African American residents located south of the present-day Glades Boulevard, between Dixie and Federal Highway. A significant number of these residents migrated from either the Bahamas or southern states like Georgia, Alabama, and South Carolina. Their aim was to diminish the substantial distance, approximately 5 miles, that workers on local farms had to cover when commuting from Deerfield.

The naming of Pearl City is likely associated with the Hawaiian Pearl pineapple, given its location on the site of a former pineapple packing shed. Initially named Pearl, Ruby, and Sapphire, the streets have undergone renaming in recent years. Over the years, Pearl City transformed into a self-sufficient community with its own churches, businesses, schools, and entertainment venues, particularly during the era of segregation.

The historical district remains a residential area, and it is advised to visit the Boca Raton Historical Society for more information. You can find them at 71 N. Federal Highway, Boca Raton, FL.