The History of the Fellsmere Public School
After Fellsmere started rapidly developing in 1911, more and more families came to settle in Fellsmere. They brought many children with them such that a school was soon needed to educate them. The first school was established in September 1911 with an average attendance of 13 students.1
The first school classes in Fellsmere were held in a store in a wooden building on the west side of Broadway north of New York Avenue for the 1911-1912 school year. Mrs. Jesse Hunter was the first teacher.2
In 1912, the Fellsmere Farms Company built a wooden school building with two rooms on the east side of Broadway north of the First Methodist-Episcopal Church (now the Fellsmere Historical Church).3 This wooden school building was located just south of Idaho Avenue.4 Miss Emma Hall, principal, and Mrs. Jesse Hunter, assistant principal were the teachers for the 1912-1913 school year. The student enrollment reached 62 with an average attendance of 43. The lot on which this school was located was a free gift from the Fellsmere Farms Company.5
During the summer of 1913, two more rooms were added to the schoolhouse, and four teachers were employed. Miss Ina C. Elder was the principal. Miss Hall, Mrs. Hunter, and Miss Vesta Harper were her assistants. Student enrollment rose to 126, with an average attendance of 87.6 W. D. Edwards transported students by wagon from stops along North Road (CR 507 or 138th Avenue north of Fellsmere) to the school. Two girls’ baseball and two girls’ basketball teams were organized, one for grades 7-8 and grades 9-10.7
The first classes for African American children were opened in the fall of 1913 with B. F. James as the teacher.8 Classes were held in an African American church northeast of Fellsmere in the Hall, Carter, and James Subdivision until a school building was built.9
Schools were segregated until after the mid-1960s during which time federal Civil Rights Act of 1964 was passed by Congress on July 2, 1964.10
In September 1914, an additional schoolroom for white students was rented, and another teacher was employed. Miss Ina C. Elder remained as the principal, but the former teacher assistants were replaced by Misses Lerma Corey, Bertha Davis, Margaret Anderson, Mildred Smith, and Nellie Smith.11
Residents of Fellsmere realized that there was a need for a larger school building because of the ever-increasing student population. A petition was sent to the Board of Public Instruction asking them to call an election for bonding purposes. On February 16, 1915, a bonding election was held. By unanimous vote, the citizens made the decision to have $25,000 of bonds issued to build a new school “that would be a monument to the energy and educational enthusiasm of the citizenry of this portion of St. Lucie County.”12 (Fellsmere was part of St. Lucie County until Indian River County was established in 1925.) There were 25 bonds issued at $1,000 each at 6% interest to mature in 1925, 1930, and 1935.13
Prior to the bonding election, plans for a Fellsmere public school were submitted to the St. Lucie County School Board by three architects. The plans submitted by Fellsmere architect Frederick Trimble were considered best suited to the conditions. His plans provided for a two-story buff (yellow) brick building with a sub-basement. Trimble’s plans included 12 classrooms, an auditorium, a chemical laboratory, domestic art rooms, closets, and other features. The estimated cost to construct the school was $23,000, the figure which determined the amount of bonds to be issued.14 The St. Lucie County School Board accepted Trimble’s plans at its meeting on February 18, 1915.15
On May 7, 1915, bids were opened for the contract to build the school. Four construction bids were received in amounts ranging from $29,250 to $35,260. The low bidder was Fellsmere contractor A. F. Sanders. However, his low bid of $29,250 exceeded the $25,000 bond voted upon on February 16, 1915. A delegation of 20 Fellsmere citizens headed by Fellsmere Farms Manager Ernest H. Every attended the St. Lucie County School Board May 7, 1915, meeting in Ft. Pierce. After the bids were opened and knowing that the lowest bid was higher than the $25,000 issued in bonds, the delegation made an immediate request to the school board for an additional $10,000 in assistance. The school board had already anticipated and allocated an additional $4,000 above the $25,000 to equip the school, so the board granted the delegation’s request. The low bid by A. F. Sanders was approved, and Frederick Trimble “being an enthusiastic citizen”, donated the plans. At this meeting, the school board hired Trimble to inspect construction of the building at a salary of $100 per month.16 With the addition of $10,000 to the initial $25,000 plus $4,000 to equip the school, the new cost of the school was projected to be $39,000, so the school board rounded up the amount to $40,000.
The 60 foot by 140 foot (22,680 square foot), two-story building held classes for Grades 1 through 12.17 It was the first masonry school building built in what is now Indian River County, and is still the largest brick building in Fellsmere. It remains the only building in Fellsmere that has a sub-basement. The school has a grand staircase in the rear of the lobby. It also has high ceilings and transom windows over the doors for air circulation because air conditioning was not invented in 1915, when the school was designed. The school building did not have any heat until 1930.18 If it was too cold on a school day, Principal Ina Elder sent the students home.19
Architect Frederick Trimble was born in Essex, Ontario, Canada, on June 2, 1878. He was educated in Canada and received a Bachelor of Arts degree in 1911, at age 33, from Morningside College in Sioux City, Iowa.20 In 1906, he married Rena Bowker, a college classmate and fellow missionary in China, when he was 28 years old.21 From 1911 to 1914, Trimble performed architectural services under the auspices of the Methodist Episcopal Church Missions in Fuzhou, China.22 His wife, Rena, became ill, so the couple returned to the United States and embarked on his architectural career here in Fellsmere, Florida, as of August 22, 1914.23 Rena Trimble gave talks to school children about her life as a missionary in China while in Fellsmere.24
While in Fellsmere, Frederick and Rena Trimble lived in a house on California Avenue, the first east-west road south of the Fellsmere Public School.25 Frederick maintained an office in the Moore Building on the east side of North Broadway that was located between New York Avenue and South Carolina Avenue.26 Trimble not only designed the Fellsmere Public School (his first public building commission in Florida) but also many of the Fellsmere Railroad buildings and the original two-story post office building on Broadway.27 He also designed several structures in Vero Beach, Florida, including the El Vero Hotel (now the Pocahontas Building), Florida Theater, and the Citrus Bank (all of which are still in existence on 14th Avenue north of 20th Street), the Orange Apartments on 19th Street, and several homes.28
Trimble designed the Okeechobee, Ft. Pierce, and Stuart high schools, and the addition to the Delray high school.29 On October 14, 1916, 12 days after the Fellsmere Public School was opened to students, Frederick and Rena Trimble and their family moved to Orlando, where he resumed his architectural practice in the McNeill and Davis Building on 135 Main Street, Orlando, Florida.30 Frederick Trimble became one of the leading architects in the state. Besides the many high schools he designed, Trimble also designed the Monteverde Industrial School, the Princess Martha Hotel in St. Petersburg, and the Methodist Episcopal Church and the Orange General Hospital in Orlando.31 Overall, he designed more than 50 public schools in Florida and more than 150 other buildings during his distinguished career.32 He originated the master plan and designed the first buildings at Florida Southern College in Lakeland including the president’s residence.33 From his humble beginnings as an architect in Fellsmere from 1914 to 1916, Frederick Trimble went on to become a distinguished and renowned architect throughout the state of Florida during his career.
After the bid to construct the school was awarded to Arthur F. Sanders by the St. Lucie County School Board, construction was delayed until August 20, 1915, for funding to be obtained from the sale of bonds.34 The first order of construction was the building of a short line railroad from the Fellsmere Railroad (north of South Carolina Avenue) down the center of Cypress Street, approximately ½ mile to the school site in order to deliver the building materials.
September 1, 1915, was set as the start date for the actual construction of the school but that did not materialize.35 Sanders’ crews had to complete the “Fellsmere Short Line Railroad”(as the locals dubbed it) first to haul in materials. Sanders had a special railcar built in Palatka to haul materials to the school site on 4 inch by 4 inch heart-of-pine rails spiked to 2 inch by 8 inch crossties. The little railcar was shipped to Fellsmere on a Florida East Coast Railway flat car. By September 15, 1915, the Fellsmere Short Line Railroad was completed.36
Following completion of the Fellsmere Short Line Railroad, Sanders built a 14 foot by 24 foot temporary building to house an 8 foot by 14 foot office and a 14 foot by 16 foot cement storage room. Eight railroad cars carrying Ojus rock from a quarry in North Miami, two cars of cement, and two cars of lime were delivered to the school site during the week of September 19, 1915. Architect Frederick Trimble had the ground staked for the foundations of the building for construction scheduled to begin the week of September 27, 1915.37
In October 1915, A. F. Sanders increased his workforce. The temporary railroad brought in carloads of materials and work was progressing on the foundation. Frederick Trimble was constantly on the job watching to see that the plans and specifications were being met in every instance.38
On November 13, 1915, A. F. Sanders expected to have the brick foundation completed.39 Unfortunately, there was delay in the work until more material arrived and by November 27, 1915, the workers were busy on the structure again. A. F. Sanders added more bricklayers and the foundation walls were being built more rapidly.40 The basement floor had a dirt floor. (When people wanted a lunchroom or cafeteria in 1927, the townspeople of Fellsmere constructed the concrete floor.)41 Finishing touches were made to the foundation by December 11, 1915, and work on the first floor began the following week.42
On January 31, 1916, beginning at 2 p.m., the school’s 1,900 pound cornerstone was laid at the northeast corner of the school under the direction of Fellsmere’s Grand Masonic Lodge. There was a huge celebration for the event that had an estimated crowd of between 800 to 1000 people.43 There was a big free-for-all barbeque dinner; singing by the school children; addresses by C.W. Talmadge, Chief Commissioner of Fellsmere; Honorable James T. DuBois, ex United States minister to Columbia; and M.M. Crozier, member of the St. Lucie County Board of Public Instruction; a baseball game between the Fellsmere Farmers and the Kentucky Military Institute; and a dance in the evening at the Dixie Playhouse on North Broadway.44
A special memorial box was inserted at the bottom of the cornerstone. The contents of the box were listed at the bottom of the front page, left hand column, of the February 5, 1916, edition of the Fellsmere Tribune verbatim as follows:45
- A list of Grand Lodge officers of the Free and Accepted Masons
- A list of officers of the Fellsmere Lodge of the Free and Accepted Masons
- A list of officers and members of the Fellsmere Chapter of the Eastern Star
- Names of the members of the St. Lucie County Board
- Names of the local school trustees
- Names of officers and members of the Fellsmere Library Association
- Names of officers and members of the Fellsmere Lodge No. 87 I.O.O.F. (Independent Order of the Oddfellows)
- Names of officers and members of Fellsmere Camp No. 452 W.O.W. (Woodmen of the World)
- Names of officers and members of the Woodmen Circle
- Names of officers and members of the Modern Woodmen of America
- Names of officers and members of Royal Neighbors
- A Lincoln penny, a buffalo nickel, and a silver coin of each denomination then in circulation
- Copies of the local and other newspapers
- Names of the faculty and members of the Fellsmere Public School
- Names of officers of the State of Florida
- Names of officers of St. Lucie County
- A history of Fellsmere
- Data on the Fellsmere School
- Names of officers and a statement of the State Bank of Fellsmere
- List of members of the Board Club
- Union Church organization
- Business card of Donald Crawford, 214 Mufford Block, Detroit, Michigan
- Charter of the Town of Fellsmere
- List of officers and directors of the Fellsmere Farms Company
- Map of the Fellsmere Farms tract
- A short history of the Fellsmere Farms Company enterprise
The memorial box serves as a time capsule for future generations of Fellsmere, if and when it can be accessed, and if the items inside are not water damaged, corroded, faded, or disintegrated over time.
Construction proceeded on the school from February to September 1916, when it was completed almost one year after the start of construction at a final cost of $40,000. The school’s doors opened to 136 students on October 2, 1916. Principal Anderson A. Price, Assistant Principal Ina C. Elder, and five women teachers, Miss Jesse M. Hunter (the first teacher in Fellsmere in 1912) – 8th Grade, Miss Neva M. Duer – 6th and 7th Grades, Mrs. A.A. (Lula) Price – 4th and 5th Grades, Miss Ethel Jones- 2nd and 3rd Grades, and Miss Agnes Helseth – Primary Department, provided instruction for Grades 1 through 12.46
The day the school was opened, Mr. Gilbert Barkoskie (a 22 year old employee of the Fellsmere Farms Company), had the privilege of opening the door to the school. Gilbert worked as a dredge operator and lived at the Fellsmere Inn. He became attracted to the innkeeper’s daughter, Grace. Grace and Gilbert would walk down to the Fellsmere Public School to check the progress of the work during 1915 and 1916. In doing so, he became acquainted with the school’s contractor, Arthur F. Sanders. Because of Gilbert’s keen interest in the building of the school, A. F. Sanders gave Gilbert the privilege of unlocking the door on opening day, October 2, 1916, to let the principal, teachers, and students in the school for the first time.47 Gilbert married Grace on March 25, 1916, before the school was finished.48
Over the course of time, Gilbert became a prominent cattleman owning more than 2000 head of cattle on 75,000 acres of ranch land. He served 18 years as the Florida Cattleman’s Association’s Director and was named its “Honorary Director” in 1975. Gilbert was also an Indian River County Commissioner, a Fellsmere Farms Drainage District Board Member, and an Indian River County School Board member.49
On March 29, 1982, the last day for the old Fellsmere Public School, the students gathered around the flagpole in front of the school. The janitor lowered the flag, and the students walked up North Cypress Street to the new Fellsmere Elementary School. Gilbert Barkoskie went to the front doors of the old school and locked them behind the students for the last time.50
Gilbert died one year and six months later on September 30, 1983.51 In 2000, he was posthumously declared “Cattleman of the Century” by the Florida Cattleman’s Association.52
Owing to the fact that the actual cost of Fellsmere Public School was about $8,000 more than the contract price, the four men who signed the contractor’s bond were compelled to pay the extra amount.53 The four men were Richard A. Conkling, George F. Green, Murray E. Hall, and James M. Martel.54
On November 16, 1916, the school auditorium was dedicated.55
On April 6, 1917, six months after the Fellsmere Public School was opened, the United States declared war on Germany. In response to the war effort, the citizens of Fellsmere offered the Fellsmere Public School as a hospital for “diseased and wound wracked soldiers.” It was estimated that the school could accommodate at least 300 beds. Also, the basement could be adapted to storage, cooking, and working room necessary for a hospital. Chief Commissioner George E. King sent a telegram to President Woodrow Wilson on May 16, 1917, offering the school for hospital purposes. It was acknowledged the day after on May 17, 1917, by J. P. Tumulty, Secretary to the President, who expressed deep appreciation for Fellsmere’s patriotic assurances and generosity. Furthermore, the telegram stated that the message from Fellsmere would be brought to the attention of the Secretary of War. Despite the offer from Fellsmere and acknowledgment by the White House, the Fellsmere Public School was never used as a hospital.56
On May 18, 1917, two days after Chief Commissioner George E. King sent a telegram to President Woodrow Wilson offering the Fellsmere Public School to serve as a hospital during World War II, the first commencement exercises were held to honor seven graduates. School colors were purple and gold.57
In the fall of 1919, two basketball courts and two tennis courts were built. By this time, a baseball diamond had already been established. The basketball, tennis, and baseball teams were composed of boys only in high school, none from the lower grades.58
Graduating classes at the Fellsmere Public School were always small. There was only one graduate in each of the 1922-1924, 1930, 1945, 1949, and 1958 classes. In 1927, 1930-1932, 1937, and 1943, there were no graduates. The largest number of graduates were 13 students, in both the 1959 and 1963 classes. The last graduating class of 1964 had nine graduates. All total, in 47 years, there were 215 graduates from the Fellsmere Public School between 1917 and 1964.59
In 1927, a cafeteria was opened in the school.60
There were several unusual circumstances that occurred at the Fellsmere Public School over the years it was in existence as follows:61
- In September 1928, the Indian River County School Superintendent reported trouble at the school concerning a scare of “Whooping Cough” and authorized a call for help from the Florida Department of Health.
- In January 1930, a wood burning furnace was installed to heat the school.
- On April 1, 1930, the Indian River County School Board cut the teachers’ salaries by 33-1/3% and mandated pupils pay $5.00 per month to be educated. This was during the start of the Great Depression.
- On February 1, 1934, the school was closed because of lack of funds to pay the teachers.
- On April 16, 1934, the school opened again with the condition that teachers would teach for eight months but will only be paid for seven months.
- On September 15, 1934, the principalship of the school was declared to be vacant as no one had presented a valid certificate. Consequently, Miss Mary McCluer was requested to act as principal until someone qualified was selected and appointed as principal. Mr. L.R. Simms was appointed principal on September 24, 1934.
- The school was closed from October 21 through November 4, 1940, on account of sickness in the Fellsmere community.
- On May 19, 1941, all pupils entering first grade were required by the Indian River County School Board to submit birth certificates.
- As of June 16, 1943, all teachers were required to have a minimum of two years of college credits.
- On October 4, 1943, Mrs. Katherine Clark was appointed principal because her husband was called into Selective Service during World War II.
- In September, 1945, Ronald Cutler again served as principal once more after returning home from World War II.
- A public address system for the school was bought in June 1951 and installed.
In 1964, the Indian River County School Board decided to close grades 7 through 12 in the Fellsmere Public School but retained grades 1 through 6 at the school. The higher grades were bused to the Vero Beach Junior and Senior High Schools, approximately 25 miles to the south of Fellsmere. At the time, there were eight students in the 11th grade and 10 students in the 12th grade at the Fellsmere Public School. The school board also voted to move the Negro students at the Fellsmere School in the Hall, Carter, and James Subdivision to the Douglas Elementary School in Wabasso. School Board Vice Chairman Dan Richardson said that “it was impractical and financially impossible to offer a wide variety of courses at a small school.” A big disadvantage to this decision was that the students had to travel 25 miles each way to and from school. A petition signed by 498 Fellsmere residents protested this action regarding their schools.62 However, the school board went forward with its plans, so 1964 marked the last year that seniors graduated from the Fellsmere Public School. There were only nine seniors who graduated.63
During 1971, two portable classrooms were put in place and a new six-unit modular building was installed during the summer of 1976.64
Recognizing the need for a new elementary school in Fellsmere, the Indian River County School Board negotiated the exchange of the Fellsmere Public School for Washington Park owned by the City of Fellsmere. Washington Park, which was 680 feet long and 600 feet wide, covered an area of 9.366 acres. It was located between North Cypress and North Maple Streets and halfway between Pennsylvania Avenue (now County Road 512) and New York Avenue. On February 12, 1981, the City of Fellsmere passed Ordinance No. 81-1 discontinuing Washington Park as a public park in favor of exchanging it for the Fellsmere Public School on Blocks 96 and 97 in the Town of Fellsmere.65
Eleven days later, on February 23, 1981, an exchange agreement was signed between the Indian River County School Board and the City of Fellsmere. However, the exchange was not to take place until such time as the new elementary school was completed and the Fellsmere Public School was vacated by the School Board. Also, the agreement authorized the City of Fellsmere to construct a regulation size Little League baseball field at any time as long as it didn’t interfere with the continuous operation of the school.66
The Fellsmere Elementary School was built in 1981. On Saturday, March 27, 1982, cornerstone ceremonies were held at the Fellsmere Elementary School at noon by the Fellsmere Masonic Lodge.67
On Monday, March 29, 1982, students left the old Fellsmere Public School at 22 South Orange Street and walked over to the new Fellsmere Elementary School at 50 North Cypress Street, thereby ending 66 years of classes at the old school since 1916.68 Following the vacation of the Fellsmere Public School, the City of Fellsmere moved into the old building in June 1982.69 Fellsmere City Clerk Patty Suit stated that the old school now housed Fellsmere City Hall, the City Clerk’s office, Police Department, Indian River County’s Mobile Health Unit, and the Treasure Coast Senior Services Congregate Meals program which was located in the school cafeteria.70 In August 1982, at the Fellsmere City Council meeting, the old Fellsmere Public School was renamed the “Fellsmere Municipal Building.”71
By September 2, 1982, Fellsmere City Hall had moved to the Fellsmere Municipal Building. Ironically, Indian River County records showed that Fellsmere City Hall previously located in the old State Bank of Fellsmere building for the past 38 years (at the northwest corner of Broadway and Colorado Avenue) was not owned by the City. The building was foreclosed on during World War II, when the city didn’t pay its taxes. As a result, Indian River County became the owner of the building for the City’s non-payment of taxes.72
Over the weekend of February 2 and 3, 1991, Fellsmere experienced six inches of rainfall. Unfortunately, Fellsmere City Hall in the old school suffered considerable damage. City Clerk Debbie Krages reported that her office and Mayor J. P. Brooks second-floor offices had water damage from leaks in the roof. Water flooded the second floor auditorium which leaked through the floor and down into the City Council chambers. The City’s three-week-old $20,000 computer system was also knocked out of service due to flooding. The entire main roof had been repaired only five years earlier.73
In April 1991, the Fellsmere City Council began consideration of building a new City Hall to move out of the heavily damaged, deteriorating old school building.74
On July 15, 1992, the Fellsmere City Council voted unanimously to cut costs by closing the city on Mondays and change from a five day work week to a four day work week. Also, the Council reduced hourly employees’ work week from 40 hours to 32 hours. There were other measures passed in order to cut costs to prevent an anticipated $76,000 budget shortfall.75
On October 1, 1992, it was reported that the City of Fellsmere needed to relocate its operations because of the federal Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) of 1990 required the all public buildings to be accessible to people with disabilities. The old Fellsmere Public School building used for meetings and the police department would have required extensive renovation to comply with the act and with current building codes.76 By October 18, 1992, modular buildings for administrative offices had been set in place immediately west of the old Fellsmere Public School, and the address for Fellsmere City Hall changed from 22 S. Orange Street to 22 S. Cypress Street.77
In 1994, the City Council chambers were still in the old building at 22 S. Orange Street. On July 21, 1994, the Fellsmere City Council agreed to use a state historic preservation grant to restore the exterior of the Fellsmere Estates Corporation building at the intersection of Broadway and Oregon Avenue, and to look into using $100,000 of city funds to restore the interior for use as a city hall. Mayor pro tem Bob Baker instructed Ruth Stanbridge, a historic consultant, and city consultant John Little to consult architect John Dean about plans to restore the building.
On April 7, 1995, the Fellsmere City Council created a committee to look into restoring the old Fellsmere Public School at 22 S. Orange Street. Mayor Bob Baker suggested that the committee ask Vero Beach architect John Dean to examine the building to determine exactly what work needed to be done.78
In 1996, a modular building was erected south of the annex which housed the City of Fellsmere administrative offices. On November 22, 1996, the old Fellsmere Public School was entered in the U.S. Department of the Interior, National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places.79
On January 9, 1997, the City Council met in the new council chambers at 21 S. Cypress Street.80 The Fellsmere Police Department was still based on the second floor of the old Fellsmere Public School building but construction of a new police and public works compound in back of the old school building was underway. The City Council decided to abandon the old school building, since it was estimated that building needed $1.6 million worth of renovations which included meeting the requirements of the American Disabilities Act.81
After completion of the new police and public works building in 1997, the Police Department moved to its new offices in the Public Works Complex to the immediate southwest of the old school. This left the old school vacant and inaccessible. There was no elevator in the building, only stairs between floors as well as from the ground level to access the building.82
The Fellsmere City Council had considered demolishing the old school but to do so would have cost more than $1 million.83 In 1998, Fellsmere City Councilman Joel Tyson spearheaded efforts for restoring the old school.84 His intention was to restore the old school to its original state with modern amenities to include an elevator and air conditioning. He was joined by the Fellsmere Beautification Committee Chairman Clarence F. Korker (locally known around town as “Korky”) to raise funds to restore the building. Korky was also known as the “town photographer”. He developed all of the historic photos that can be seen in the Marsh Landing Restaurant in the historic Fellsmere Estates Corporation building at 44 N. Broadway in Fellsmere.
The Fellsmere Old Timers raised more than $6,000 in individual donations. The Fellsmere Frog Leg Committee donated $7,000 from the proceeds of the 1998 Frog Leg Festival and $38,000 from the 1999 Festival to the restoration. The Committee also agreed to donate 75% from its net profit of the 2000 festival to the Old School Restoration Project.85
When donations reached $115,000, Indian River County became involved with the project and held a 25-year lease on the school and grounds. In 2000, Indian River County assumed oversight of the restoration from the City of Fellsmere. Also, the City of Fellsmere received a state grant of $150,000 from the Harry and Harriet Moore Grant program. Harry and Harriet Moore, husband and wife, were civil rights activists who lived in Mims, Brevard County, Florida. They were killed when a bomb exploded under their house on Christmas Day, 1951.86
In the latter part of 1999, through the donations and a grant, Indian River County hired Energy Coating Corporation of Vero Beach to repair window frames on the southwest portion of the school and to repair the roof. Clearshield of Indian River County was hired to add storm shutters on the windows in time for the January 18 – 21, 2000, Fellsmere Frog Leg Festival.87
As a result of donations and a Florida Historical Resources grant, Indian River County Board of County Commissioners hired ACT Inc. of Land O’ Lakes to make repairs to the old school on August 5, 2003. As of 2004, approximately $600,000 was raised and the money was used to repair the roof, replace wooden soffits, replace windows, install air conditioning, restore auditorium seats, and other items.88
Although many needed repairs were made to the old school, Category III Hurricanes Frances and Jeanne in September 2004 caused widespread water damage to the building, more than the funds could provide for restoration.89
City Manager Jason Nunemaker and the City Council decided to explore the best possible location of a new city hall complex. The location of the City Hall at the “Old School” was due in large part to a design charrette conducted by Florida Atlantic University’s Design Institute in 2005. That effort focused the City’s attention on preserving its historical core and prioritized preservation efforts vis-à-vis the remaining significant structures. The centralized location of the old Fellsmere Public School enables the public to utilize amenities such as the community meeting room and the large auditorium on the second floor.90
Based on the recommendation from the 2005 Florida Atlantic University design charrette, City Manager Jason Nunemaker and the Fellsmere City Council decided to secure a $3,560,409 loan to completely restore the old school and create a government complex.91
The City hired the firm of Renker-Eich-Parks Architects in St. Petersburg, Florida, a firm that had historic preservation experience. Plans were drawn up in 2008 and a bidding window for construction/restoration opened on June 12, 2008. Bids were opened on November 6, 2008, and the project was awarded to the low bidder Doug Wilson Enterprises of Cape Canaveral, Florida, in the amount of $2,972,839.92 The City of Fellsmere issued a Notice of Award to Doug Wilson Enterprises on March 13, 2009. Construction proceeded throughout the remainder of 2009 and into the first nine months of 2010. Construction was completed on September 30, 2010.93 Due to change orders, the final cost totaled $3,292,180.25 which was rounded to $3.3 million.94
On October 21, 2010, Fellsmere’s administrative offices began moving into the newly restored old school. The Fellsmere Public School building was once again re-opened to the public on October 25, 2010, but this time as the Fellsmere Government Center and the Boys and Girls Club was housed in the building’s basement.95
On December 8, 2011, the restored 208 seat auditorium on the second floor was named the “Clarence F. Korker Center for the Performing Arts” by the Fellsmere City Council in honor of Clarence “Korky” Korker’s heroic efforts to restore the old building.96
In January 2016, Fellsmere Historian Richard B. Votapka was approached by a neighbor, Patricia Mays, who asked him if anyone need a baby grand piano. Richard Votapka immediately thought of the Fellsmere City Hall auditorium. There had been a piano in the auditorium in the early days of when the building was the Fellsmere Public School, but it was long gone. Votapka seized the opportunity and brought it to the attention of Fellsmere City Manager Jason Nunemaker, who was very receptive to having it. He agreed to have the City pay $250 to have Frank Campione of Premier Music (a piano moving service company) in Melbourne, Florida, move the piano from Patricia Mays’ house to the auditorium on February 8, 2016.97
Patricia Kinney Mays’ grandparents were early settlers of Fellsmere, and her grandfather Roy Kinney, briefly served as the Chief Commissioner of the Town of Fellsmere in 1922. After Indian River County was established in 1925, Roy Kinney was appointed by Florida Governor John W. Martin as one of the first Fellsmere City Councilmen.98 Patricia Mays’ aunt Gail Kinney graduated from the Fellsmere Public School in 1936 and from Florida State College for Women in Tallahassee in 1939 with a degree in Music Education, She returned to Fellsmere to teach piano for many years. Gail Kinney is believed to have been the oldest citizen of Fellsmere in its history. Gail Kinney reached the age of 105 when she died in 2022.
In November 2019, the Boys and Girls Club moved out of Fellsmere City Hall following the completion of a new 8,000 square foot building which was built northwest of the old school building. Vero Beach residents Larry and Karen Mulder and volunteers for the Boys and Girls Club pledged $1 million towards construction of the building enabling it to be built much sooner than expected. The architects for the project were Edlund, Dritenbas, and Binkley Architects and Associates, PA of Vero Beach.99 The contractor was Proctor and Associates, General Contractor, LLC of Vero Beach. Construction of the building started in April 2019 and was completed by November 2019.100 The Grand Opening for the new Boys and Girls Club building was held on November 21, 2019.101
The Fellsmere Public School is the birthplace of the annual Fellsmere Frog Leg Festival that has been held on the grounds of the old school building since its inception in 1991. The first frog leg festival was held during January 1991 from Thursday, January 17th through Saturday, January 19th. The Frog Leg Festival volunteer group initially cooked the frogs in fryers outside the old Fellsmere Public School. After the kitchen was modernized at the northeast corner of the basement of the school, the frog legs and gator tail meals have been prepared there and served during the world famous festival.102
During the 2020-2022 Covid-19 pandemic, Fellsmere City Council meetings were held in the auditorium. After the pandemic was over, council meetings were held in a large room at the south end of the school on the first floor.
Inside the lobby of Fellsmere City Hall is a diorama the Fellsmere Railroad as it existed in the 1920s, a scale model of the Governor Broward (one of the colossal dredges that excavated the four major drainage canals west of Fellsmere), pen and ink drawings of Fellsmere founders (Edward Nelson and Anne Fell) and their biographies, a 4 foot wide by 8 foot long painting of the Fellsmere Sugar Mill/Refinery, and biography of Frederick Hoertz, the famous artist who painted it.
The old Fellsmere Public School is a testimony to architect Frederick Trimble and contractor A. F. Sanders. It has withstood all the hurricanes, floods, and wrecking ball for almost a century. The old school has been called “the heart and soul of Fellsmere” and is one of the main attractions that Fellsmere has to offer to anyone who is interested in the history of Fellsmere.103