Union Academy was the fulfillment of the dream of local African American pioneers seeking to advance the moral and cultural welfare of young people through education. By the 1870s, West Bartow’s First Providence Missionary Baptist Church hosted the first dedicated school for African American children. The school sites were named Brittsville, and by 1887, the City of Bartow funded their schoolhouse. Two schools, Mrs. J. A. Wiley’s Colored Institute (1887-1890), which also trained teachers, and the first public school. Bartow Colored School (1892-1896) followed in succession with the Brittsville School. The Brittsville School was closed in 1893. Uniting representatives of the Baptist. African Methodist Episcopal, and African Methodist Episcopal Zion churches to petition the city of Bartow for a new school after the closing of the Brittsville School in 1895. The request was approved, and Bishop Thomas Lomax of the African Methodist Episcopal Zion church donated property on 5th Avenue for the new building. Coupled with a two-day city-wide celebration. Union Academy’s corner stone was held on August 19, 1897. The first day of instruction was September 14, 1897. The school consisted of four classrooms and boasted as enrollment of 120 students. The teachers at Union Academy High School was responsible for teaching students the importance of education for individuals as well as our communities and the nation for 128 years, until its closure in 1969.

Mrs. Lula Marion Simmons Longworth offered the name of Union Academy, which was accepted, after her Alma Mater, Union Academy, in Gainesville, Florida. In 1907, under the leadership of Principal Charles E. Murray, the school reached junior high school status. In 1923, the school added a secondary department, bringing it to high school status. The first high school graduate was Lela Burkett, also honored as Polk County’s first graduating African American Senior on June 4, 1928. Union Academy qualified for and received a Rosenwald grant. The grant coupled with local funds, insured that a new modern facility was ready for commencement in 1929 on a site purchased from Jack Longworth. In 1948, Brittsville Elementary was consolidated with Union Academy, and barracks from the recently closed Bartow Army Airfield were used as classrooms. New high school and primary buildings were added in 1955. Union Academy was the education site for African Americans students residing in the Bartow, Mulberry and Fort Meade area prior to desegregation. The 1964 Civil Rights Act mandated desegregation in public schools, and by the fall of 1969 all school students from Union Academy were transferred to Summerlin Institute.

PRINCIPALS OF UNION ACADEMY INCLUDE

- Rev. Andrew N. Richie

- Rev. Ben Childs

- Charles E. Murray

- Lawrence C. Jones

- W.M. Davies

- Samuel P. Robinson

- N.M. Christopher

- S. Meredith Mosely

- James E, Stephens