Why isn't the Clifton community recognized as a historical site?

The Clifton Colored School-

Merritt Island,1892-1920.

School sessions were held during the summers after citrus and crop picking season was complete so children could help in the groves. Students had to complete primary school and “demonstrate proficiency in all of their subjects  math, Latin, English, and physiology.” There is very little information known on the small, African American community of Clifton.Portions of where the community existed are now a part of State Road 3 on North Merritt Island. However, The North Brevard Heritage Foundation is reconstructing and restoring the schoolhouse to move it to Brevard Community College’s Titusville campus to serve as a museum within a park.

Photos: Bob Paty/ the North Brevard Heritage Foundation

THE CLIFTON COLORED SCHOOL
1890-1891

Before the Clifton Schoolhouse was built, Butler Campbell and Andrew Jackson's children were home schooled by a black teacher, Mr. Mahaffey. The County paid the teacher five dollars per student, but would not provide a schoolhouse. In 1890-91, Campbell and Jackson decided to build a schoolhouse. A neighbor, Wade Holmes provided a one-acre lot on the northwest corner of his property. The three men built a 12' x 16' heart pine structure that sat on coquina cornerstones about one foot off the ground. The west-facing front was fitted with a double-paneled door. Two sets of glass-paned windows were on the north and south sides. The roof was made of cedar or cypress boards. Campbell's children included Florida, Eugenia, Agnes, Henry and Willie, Valedictorian in 1892. Jackson's children were Annie, Mary, Floyd and Douglas, Valedictorian in 1893. Studies included reading, physiology, English, math and Latin. By 1910, the children were out of school or attending school elsewhere. In 1924, Eugenia returned to Clifton and later lived in the structure. When NASA bought properties on North Merritt Island in the 1960's, the families relocated to other areas and most of the houses were moved or demolished.

A FLORIDA HERITAGE SITE SPONSORED BY THE BREVARD COUNTY HISTORICAL COMMISSION, THE BREVARD COUNTY TOURIST DEVELOPMENT COUNCIL AND THE FLORIDA DEPARTMENT OF STATE - F-557 - 2005

Marker is located 2.8 miles north of the Haulover Canal on the Canaveral National Seashore, on the east side of U.S. Route 3.