The Gainesville Sun reported this morning that Janie S. Williams was elected to the Alachua County School Board. Ms. Williams credited her win to her involvement with her community. She's right. The Porter's neighborhood has come a long way since it used to be referred to as Porters' Quarters under the mistaken impression that the name referred to the fact that a lot of the residents used to be porters on the railroad. The real story is as follows, from a letter I wrote to the Gainesville Sun on June 28, 1980.
It may be of interest to the community, especially now that the historic survey has just gotten under way, that O.A. Porter, the developer of Porter's Quarters was a woman, Olivia A. Porter, wife of Watson Porter, a white physician and leading citizen of the community during the period of Reconstruction.
Watson Porter was also at one time Principal of the Union Academy (a freedman's school) and a strong supporter of Josiah T. Walls, the only black man from Gainesville thrice ellected, twice seated, to the U.S. House of Representatives during the time when a great majority of the citizens of Gainesville were black and ran the town until they were "persuaded" to refrain from approaching the ballot box. Olivia Porter's real estate dealings were not unusual for the time, since much of the land was owned and administered by women, the men-folk of both races being in a rather more precarious position, or just plain shiftess. A lot of them couldn't resist the urge to go West in search of gold and adventure.
Anyone with information on the history of Gainesville in its early days, especially before 1900, is encouraged to contact Mr. Steve Henson who is directing the historic survey from offices in the Thomas Center.
And what happened then? Well, on January 24, 1988 an op-ed by Nat Tillman was entitled "Porter's dream will offer homeownership to many"
Given current conditions, this paragraph from Tillman's essay may be of interest.
"The homes will be sold on 30-year fixed mortgages at 9 percent interest. Banks that are pooling their resources to finance the project at this rate include Barnett Bank of Alachua County, Florida National Bank, First City Bank, Gainesville State Bank and Sun Bank of Gainesville."
None of whom I would wager are still in business.