LEMON CITY KNIGHTSVILLE

Bound by the area east of I-95, between 71st and 54th Streets, the Lemon City community had at least three identifiable historic black communities at the turn of the 20th century, including this area, Knightsville. Surrounded by groves owned by white residents, the neighborhood consisted of five acres divided into small lots along a sand road (now NE 68th Street) that stretched west up the pineland ridge from Rock Road (NE 2nd Avenue). Knightsville was the cultural center of Lemon City’s black community, many of whom were of Bahamian descent. Two churches were located in the neighborhood, Mount Tabor Missionary Baptist Church, founded in 1894, and St. James African Methodist Episcopal Church, founded in 1901. Both churches were damaged in the 1906 Florida Keys hurricane, but were later restored. The lodge of the local chapter of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, a two-story wood frame building, was also located in Knightsville. The first floor served as a local school, while the second was used as meeting space and for social events. In the mid-20th century, as racial discrimination and urban renewal began to force black residents out of Lemon City, both churches relocated northwest to the Liberty City area.