By Maribel Brinkle, President of the Apopka Historical Society
In Summary:
The Florida Historical Marker Council approved a marker for Mead’s Bottom on October 2, marking a milestone in preserving Apopka’s Black history. The Historical Society’s project also includes books and a mural honoring Sarah Mead, who arrived in Apopka as a free woman in 1870 and encouraged other Black settlers to follow. The marker will now be fabricated, with installation details and a public celebration to be announced.
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Congratulations, Apopka! The State of Florida has awarded our city a state historical marker for Mead's Bottom, one of the oldest Black settlements in Northwest Orange County. On October 2, 2026, the Florida Historical Marker Council voted to approve the marker, the culmination of a three-year effort by the Apopka & Northwest Orange County Historical Society to carry this history into the permanent public record.
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The project began with a book.
Celebrating Legends of Apopka, one of four published for this project and available at the museum shop. The second chapter was art: artist German Lemus was commissioned to paint the large mural of Sarah Mead and the people of Mead's Bottom, which now stands at the corner of U.S. Highway 441 and McGee Street. The state marker is the third chapter, and it completes the work.
Sarah Mead was born into slavery in Georgia and came to Apopka a free woman in 1870. An entrepreneur in every sense of the word, she built a life and a livelihood here, encouraged other Black settlers to follow in the late 1800s, and helped spark the young town's economic growth. At Mead's Bottom, Black and white settlers came together to build Apopka and the industries that sustained it citrus, lumber, and turpentine.
Earning a Florida state historical marker is no small feat. The process is arduous: years of documentation, research, review, and revision before the state's Historical Marker Council. This approval represents three years of that work, and the Historical Society could not be prouder of the marker, and of the city it honors.
"This marker is preservation, and it is also economic development," said Dr. Brinkle. "Historical markers bring visitors, traffic, and tourism. They bring pride to a city and to a community. And they preserve, for a lifetime, the sacrifices and the history of the people who came before us."
"I congratulate my team at the Historical Society for their tremendous effort and support in bringing this home," Dr. Brinkle added. "This belongs to the whole community."
The Society also thanks Jeremy Heiker, Florida Historical Marker Coordinator with the Division of Historical Resources, for guiding the application through the state's review. The marker will now be fabricated, and installation plans and a public celebration will be announced soon.
The Apopka & Northwest Orange County Historical Society congratulates the City of Apopka on this honor. Something good has happened here, and now it will stand for generations!
Key Points:
- The Florida Historical Marker Council approved the Mead’s Bottom marker on Oct. 2.
- Mead’s Bottom is one of the oldest Black settlements in Northwest Orange County.
- Sarah Mead, born into slavery in Georgia, arrived in Apopka as a free woman in 1870 and became an entrepreneur.
- The designation follows three years of work by the Historical Society, alongside books and a mural by artist German Lemus.
- Marker fabrication is next, with installation plans and a community celebration forthcoming.
