Famous People of Eatonville

Zora Neale Hurston – Probably the most well know. Visit her page here  to learn more about her.

Deacon Jones – David “Deacon” Jones, born in Eatonville, was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1980. A former defensive end in the NFL, he played for the San Diego Chargers, Los Angeles Rams and the Washington Redskins. Considered to be one of the greatest defensive players ever, Jones earned the nickname the “Secretary of Defense”.

Russell and Mary Calhoun – After attending Tuskegee Institute in Alabama, Russell C.and Mary Clinton Calhoun came to Eatonville and founded the first school for blacks in Central Florida, the Robert Hungerford Normal and Industrial School. Patterned after Tuskegee and Hampton Institutes, with the belief that every student needed to use both head and hands, all students were required to enroll in basic academics and one or more vocational subjects. In 1950 the courts gave the school to Orange County as a public trust, and it then became the Robert Hungerford Preparatory High School.