The former Plymouth Elementary School moved closer to possible listing on the National Register of Historic Places Wednesday after a state review board approved forwarding its nomination to the National Park Service. 

The Florida National Register Review Board approved forwarding the nomination following a presentation on the historic school and comments from community members, including a former student. The National Park Service will make the final determination on whether the property is listed in the National Register. 

Kyra Lucas of the Florida Division of Historical Resources presented the nomination, describing Plymouth Elementary as historically significant for its association with Black heritage and education and for its architecture. The period of significance runs from about 1925, when the original portion of the school was constructed, through the mid-1960s, when the school closed following integration and consolidation of Orange County Public Schools. 

The school was one of the few public schools serving Black children in the rural Plymouth community near Apopka, Lucas said. The property had been used for educational purposes since the 1910s, before construction of the existing school building. 

Lucas also described the school as an anchor of the Black community. Two major churches that initially met in the school later established permanent sanctuaries nearby. The school consists of an original section constructed around 1925 and a two-classroom addition constructed in 1939. 

The building has undergone changes since it stopped operating as a public school, including updates to plumbing and electricity and the installation of a modern kitchen and restrooms. Its continued use as a community center helped preserve the building, Lucas said. 

“Despite these changes, the building complex retains much of its integrity,” Lucas said. 

Several Plymouth community members attended the meeting and spoke in support of the nomination, sharing memories of the school and discussing its importance to the community. 

Plymouth Improvement celebrated the board’s decision in a Facebook post after the meeting. 

“This is an important milestone in preserving a place that holds so much of our community’s history,” the organization said. “The nomination will now move forward in the federal review process with the National Park Service before any final listing becomes official.” 

The organization called the board’s action “a big step forward for Plymouth’s history.” 

The review board voted without opposition to forward the nomination to the National Park Service for listing in the National Register under Criterion A for historical significance and Criterion C for architecture at the local level.