Manatee History Matters: Love and learning in Cortez Village

The first schoolhouse in Cortez was built in the mid-1890s from lumber hauled by ox carts from Palma Sola.

When finished, the one-room building with board and batten siding stood on a plot of land owned by Millard Brown, whose mother-in-law was recruited as the school's first teacher.

Under her care, the children of Cortez's first settlers began their educations.

Yet, as you often see in small communities such as Cortez, the little schoolhouse served more than just this one purpose. For years, it also functioned as a community center and house of worship until the area's first church was constructed.

Although this original school building still stands proudly in Cortez, many might more easily recognize what is actually the second schoolhouse built in the historic fishing village.

In 1912, a three-room brick schoolhouse, one of six built by the Manatee County School Board that year, found its home at the entrance to Cortez. This building replaced the little wooden schoolhouse as a place of learning and a community resource. It, too, was often used as a community center and meeting place. It hosted movie nights with 5-cent admission, political rallies used the front porch as a speaking podium, holiday festivals and more. It even provided shelter in times of trouble such as when a hurricane laid siege to the Cortez waterfront in 1921.

Through the years, this building has witnessed quiet moments and long-forgotten memories. If the walls could talk, we can only imagine the stories of love, loss, or laughter they could tell.

One such story might be of J. Hartley Blackburn and the woman with whom he would spend his life.

Blackburn, son of a Methodist preacher, was born in Madison, graduated high school in Miami and received his bachelor's degree at Florida Southern College. Ultimately, he

earned a master's degree in education from Duke University and received years of additional training in his pursuit of higher education.

In 1932, he found his way to the Cortez schoolhouse where he started his career as a teaching principal. Each day, he worked and taught alongside fellow faculty member, Betty Phelps. They fell in love and within two years were married.

The couple continued to play an active role in the education of Manatee County's youth. Mrs. Blackburn taught in Manatee County for another 17 years, which included a term during wartime as football coach for Manatee County Junior High. Mr. Blackburn became principal of Manatee County Elementary and Junior High School, before being elected school superintendent of Manatee County. He was re-elected five times before his eventual retirement in 1968 when the position became appointive rather than elective.

Over the course of his career as superintendent, the number of students enrolled in the Manatee County school system nearly quadrupled. He had attended seminars for administrators in Washington, D.C., and at Harvard, served as chairman of the National Superintendents Conference, and was recognized as the first Florida superintendent to receive a distinguished service award from the American Association of School Administrators.

Through all the years his passion for education never wavered and neither did his commitment to his wife. To see where their story first began, visit the Florida Maritime Museum, housed in the 1912 schoolhouse at 4415 119th St. W., Cortez. The museum is open 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday. Admission is free.

Halee Turner, special events coordinator at the Florida Maritime Museum, loves to help others share their stories. She can be reached at Halee.Turner@manateeclerk.com or 941-708-6120.

This story was originally published February 10, 2015 at 12:00 AM with the headline "Manatee History Matters: Love and learning in Cortez Village ."