HISTORIC OAKLAND NEIGHBORHOOD BUSINESS DISTRICT

The Oakland Neighborhood of Haines City functioned as the business/commercial district for African Americans from the early 1900s to well into the 1970s. It is a seven-block area spanning Avenue “A” through Avenue “H” of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr Way (previously North 11th Street). Businesses that thrived during this period included restaurants/cafes, grocery stores, ice cream parlors/soda fountains, dry good retailers, a jewelry retailer, a dry cleaner, a movie theater, barbershops, an American Legion Hall, a pool/billiard room, beer gardens, gas/auto service stations and a wine and spirit retailer. During the seasonal citrus harvesting (September – May) period, commerce activity of Oakland’s business district equaled or exceeded that of the broader Haines City downtown commercial district. Oakland Senior High School, a historically African American high school, occupied the entire block between avenues “D” and “E,” and closed in 1968. In recent years, store front faith-based entities have established a presence in the area. Residential homes were and continue to be comingled in this seven-block district.