33 Bernard Street

The Story of Bernard Street

The Freedom Trail marker on this site discusses the beginnings of a community on Bernard Street during the 1880s and 1890s. The North City was an industrial area, and many of the residents on this street worked in nearby plants as lumber workers and laundresses.

North City Baptist Church was first established by local African Americans in 1886, and is located at 15 Bernard St. today. Dawson C.M.E. Chapel, now on Orange Street, also stood on Bernard for a time.

Prominent Residents of Bernard Street

Cary White (1900-1983)

Cary White was born in Marianna, Florida and moved to St. Augustine as a child. He and four of his brothers (who were also deaf) attended St. Benedict the Moor Catholic School and the Florida School for the Deaf and Blind (FSDB). In 1925, White became the first Black Deaf graduate of FSDB. He continued to live and work on campus as a teacher, farmer, mechanic, and driver.

White and his family became pillars of the community, with several members working at FSDB for their entire careers.

Desegregating St. Augustine's Schools

The ACCORD Freedom Trail marker here lists several local Civil Rights activists who lived on Bernard Street. Many of these were young students who desegregated local schools like Ketterlinus and Fullerwood.

Each of these activists were hailed by Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. as heroes:

• Alfred Eugene Davis
• Christopher White
• Janet Elizabeth White
• Janice Marie White
• Walter Eugene White
• Deanna Debra Brown
• Michael Edward Brown
• Rosa Etta Washington
• Bungum Roberson
• Eliza Hawthorne

Resources

Tap the blue underlined text to view the following online resources.

33 Bernard Street marker text, from the ACCORD Freedom Trail website.

North City Baptist Church history, from Flagler College Public History Dept.

"Bernard Street home to many heroes," 2016 article from the St. Augustine Record.

"Working at FSDB becomes a family affair," 2014 article from the St. Augustine Record.