Hannibal Square Heritage Center

The museum is run to showcase not just the art of the African-American community of the area, but also to highlight and educate about the history of the community. Hannibal Square was built around a main railroad in 1881, and many Black families enjoyed relatively decent economic prosperity here, as they found jobs in the railroad and domestic service positions serving Winter Park residents (Hannibalsquareheritagecenter.org, 2016).  During this time, Hannibal Square was a place of "muted racism" which was to be found in the general Winter Park area during this time (Rollins College, 2014). The square and the museum are an important part of telling the story of the African-American experience in the early and mid-twentieth century America. Because of the relatively high economic activity and opportunities that were afforded the population that served the Winter Park area, it is a special look into (what we might call, in a time when African-Americans were treated as second-class citizens) middle-class African-American life and families.