112 Martin Luther King Ave.

Description

"Own a piece of history". St. Augustine Historic home in downtown Lincolnville, This 4 bedroom 2 bath home has the original hardwood floors, doors, and clawfoot tub. Smoke detectors were hard wired in 2014 under the electrical permit. All updated plumbing, HVAC system, electrical and new 2 tab shingle roof installed in 2022. Currently leased to 4 Flagler College students which makes it a great income producing property. The best is the historic value of this property. See additional remarks below for the history behind this property. This house was built between 1904 and 1910 on what was then called Central Avenue. The name was changed in 1986. There are many streets in America named to honor Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., but this one is special because he actually walked on it in the course of changing history. In 1964 this was the home of Robert Victor Bell, who worked for the Post Office, and his wife Willie Mae Bell. The family was active in the civil rights movement, and their daughter, Veronica, was one of the pioneers of school desegregation in St. Augustine. The Bells provided lodging for people who came to town to support the civil rights efforts here. One of them was J.T. Johnson, a longtime aide to Dr. King, who took part in one of the most famous incidents of the movement: what came to be known as “the splash heard `round the world.”On June 18, 1964, a swim-in was held at the Monson Motor Lodge on the bayfront. Johnson and his colleagues were shown in what became the most famous photograph ever taken in St. Augustine--of the motel manager pouring acid in the pool while they swimming.That horrifying image of “Southern Hospitality" showed there world that the old segregated way of doing things had to endThe photograph appeared on the front page of the Washington, D.C. newspaper the day that the United States Senate voted to pass the landmark Civil Rights Act of 1964, outlawing discrimination in hotels, motels, restaurants and employment. This Historic Marker Presented this 2nd Day of July, 2008 by Northrop Grumman. is displayed in the front yard of this historic piece of history.