School Founding 1882-1885 Banner

FSDB History: 1882 – 1885

School Founding

Thomas H. Coleman

1882

Enthusiasm in the heart of a young deaf man, a state appropriation, and donated land set the stage for the creation of what is now the Florida School for the Deaf and the Blind (FSDB).

In 1882, Thomas Hines Coleman, a deaf man, was preparing to graduate from Gallaudet College (now Gallaudet University) in Washington, DC. Coleman had previously graduated from the South Carolina School for the Deaf and the Blind and knew that he wanted to make education his life’s work.

Florida was one of the few states that had not yet made provision for the education of children who were deaf or blind. Coleman wrote to Florida Governor William Dunnington Bloxham and found that he supported the concept of such a school.

Governor Bloxham

1883

Governor Bloxham agreed and convinced the state legislature to set aside $10,000 for each of the years 1883 and 1884 to begin the work of the school. The state requested bids from interested towns for the site and accepted a $1,000 cash bid from the City of St. Augustine. Five acres of land between San Marco Avenue and the Intracoastal Waterway were donated by Captain Edward Eugene Vaill, who owned the St. Augustine Hotel. The property was described as a “very desirable one that commands a magnificent view.”

1884

Contractor William A. MacDuff erected the first three Wooden School Buildings on the south campus on Genoply Street, completed in December at a cost of $12,749. The first floor of each building served as classrooms, with dormitories and teacher/staff living quarters on the second floors.

Three original wood buildings

1885

The school opened on February 2, 1885, as the Florida Institute for the Blind, Deaf and Dumb. The word “dumb” at that time meant someone who was mute or did not speak. Tuition was to be “absolutely free,” and the indigent were to be provided with clothes as well.

When Thomas Coleman declined to become principal for health reasons, C.H. Hill, a teacher at the Maryland Deaf-Mute Institute, was offered the job. When he did not accept, Park Terrell, an educator from Columbus, OH was hired as the first principal (1885-1890) at a salary of $1,800. Coleman became the head teacher, and Mrs. M. D. Taylor was the matron.

Park Terrell was appointed as the first principal (1885-1890). Previously, he had taught at the Michigan School for the Deaf and the Ohio School for the Deaf. He resigned in 1890 and became a municipal bond specialist in New York, where he gave speeches and authored feature articles on the subject.

The opportunities the school afforded were tremendous; however, it was several years after the school opened before parents could be induced to enroll their children. During the first year, there were 11 pupils in attendance. At that time, there were about 119 children in the state who were deaf or blind, and it was estimated that 78 of these children were of school age. Gradually, the fears of parents were reduced, their prejudices were allayed, and they saw the value of the work being done by the school.

The school operated under a Board of Managers from 1885 to 1903, which consisted of the Florida governor, the state superintendent of public instruction, the state attorney general, and the state treasurer.

Back to History Timeline Page
Next to New Beginnings: 1886-1905