The Salerno Colored School is a once room School house that taught Black children in the early 1900s.
A Florida one-room school house in Port Salerno has been approved for a historic marker. The 1934 Salerno Colored School could be looking at further awards in the upcoming years with the recognition of its rich history.
Chair of the school for the Martin County Black Heritage Initiatives, Holly Griffin, told Treasure Coast Palm, “We have this incredible structure. People should know it’s there.”
Her organization strives to improve current race relations by preserving and educating about Black history so that the surrounding Florida area can better understand the legacy the Black community has had on Port Salerno.
The school was officially dedicated by the county Board of Public Instruction on Feb. 22, 1934, as a project headed by the Civil Works Administration. The one-room elementary school was one of the first in Martin County for Black kids and is only 25-by-31-foot. At the time, Black children were still not allowed to attend school with white children, so the Salerno Colored School was a place to support Black education.