THE LEGACY OF DENNIS SAWYER

Edwin Dennis Sawyer (1874-1964) was born in the Bahamas, the second child of freed slave Alfred Sawyer. From age 18-25, Dennis worked on a ship and then in Ft. Pierce as a fisherman. In 1898, after moving to Cocoa, he married Rebecca Dallas. The couple settled on Merritt Island and raised five children. In 1902, Dennis Sawyer applied for U.S. citizenship. He organized and helped build Mt. Olive AME Church in 1908. He owned a 2-story building known as "Sawyer's Hall," which had space for community and Masonic lodge meetings, a small store, and rented living quarters. He helped establish one of the first African American schools on Merritt Island. In 1931, Sawyer arranged for the construction of a 2-room schoolhouse that was later known as Merritt Junior High. Sawyer grew vegetables, fruits, and sugarcane, and was often seen with his produce wagon pulled by his mule, Maude. He also captained the tug Mystic, which pulled fruit barges to Cocoa for loading onto Florida East Coast Railway cars, and skippered a trade boat that S.F. Travis ran down to Jupiter. Sawyer was a 33rd degree Mason, a mediator between the black and white communities, and is remembered for his fine produce, generous nature, and excellent character.