ST. AUGUSTINE, Fla. – A vital piece of St. Johns County’s Black history is going through a major renovation, but your help is needed to make it fully happen.
The Lincolnville Museum and Cultural Center located on M.L. King Avenue was at one time home to the first Black public high school in St. Johns County. Today, it is affectionately known as the “Excelsior building” and is just a few years shy of its centennial birthday. Executive director Gayle Phillips first started as a volunteer several years ago.
“I walked in this place, and it was just like, ‘Wow, this place needs help. What can I do?’” Phillips said. “And I found myself saying it out loud. It almost became like a calling to me.”
A lot has improved under Phillips’ watch. The museum is filled with exhibits sharing the county’s Black history. It discusses slavery, segregation, the civil rights movement, and shares the stories of numerous noble figures and their accomplishments.
But making sure the building is around for another century or more is a big priority. The restoration project is already off to a running start, but the museum needs donations to help pay for the full project, which includes a new roof, new HVAC system and the replacement of an aging elevator.
But the top floor where students gathered for lessons will be significantly renovated, including the full restoration of the “Excelsior Room,” a multi-use room. According to Phillips, the goal is to bring it back to its glory days.
“We want to re-design the room,” Phillips said. “Bring it back to the original splendor of that room.”
Phillips said there is already a grant from the National Park Service. But a lot of the things for that grant were cut, so she says the museum has just applied for the Department of State grant for $1.2 million.
Phillips said the museum had to come up with a $250,000 match, which they were able to do through large sum donations and pledges. Phillips said the museum also had to borrow from its day-to-day operations. Even then, it does not include a lot of the equipment that will still be needed.
Phillips said the goal is to have the final preservation project complete by 2024. That’ll be the 100th anniversary of the first class at the high school. Phillips said for many, including former students, preserving the building’s history means the world.
“The fact that people who were one generation out of slavery insisted on having a high school here,” Phillips said. “We spoke with a woman not too long ago who walked all the way from Elkton off 207. She and her sister walked to St. Augustine to come to high school here every day.”
People can donate in person, or go to https://www.lincolnvillemuseum.org/.