Graduates of the former Consolidated High School in Lake Butler helped to unveil a historical marker commemorating the school for Black students for approximately a decade before schools were desegregated.
The ceremony was held April 6 at Lake Butler Elementary School, which used to be Consolidated High School.
Black students in Union County used to attend various one- and two-room schools throughout the county and then be bussed to schools in other cities for their high-school years.
In 1957, Consolidated High School was built for $219,000. As its name suggests, it was a consolidated school for the county’s Black students.
Ruth Mildred Jenkins, who was already teaching in Union, was the school’s principal.
When the school it opened, it was grades 1-10, though 11th and 12th grades were eventually added.
The school was known for having strong math and science departments and earned state and national awards.
Consolidated also had a 41-member choir that was featured on Jacksonville’s “The Ken Knight Show.”
In the spring of 1968, Union’s schools were integrated, with Consolidated High School becoming Lake Butler Elementary.
