What's in a name

Bealsville

Started by a dozen former slaves, Bealsville's founding principles were farming, religion and education.

By MICHELLE JONES, Times Staff Writer
© St. Petersburg Times
published March 7, 2003

Even though chaos reigned throughout most of the south after the Civil War, a dozen former slaves from plantations in Springhead, Hopewell, Knights and other surrounding communities, pooled their talents to build a new way of life.

The area, given to them by plantation owners, was east of Valrico and south of Plant City near the north prong of the Alafia River. Initially called Little Alafia, the area became known as Bealsville after Alfred Beal, the son of one of the original slaves. Natives pronounce it BEES-vill.

The three guiding principals this tight-knit community was built on were farming, religion and education. Its education center, the Glover School, was built in the 1930s and remained open until 1980. The building was added to the National Register of Historic Places in November 2001. The community is raising money to restore it for use as a community center.

Phosphate mining jobs replaced farming in the 1960s as the primary source of income, but many of the families still grow much of their food.

Folk artist Ruby Williams is one of Bealsville's most famous daughters. At her produce stand on State Road 60 just east of County Road 39, hand painted signs advertise fresh fruit and vegetables, attracting passers-by to buy not only her produce but the folk art she creates. Williams' bright paintings of cows, fish and people hang in countless homes and several galleries.

Sam Horton, a longtime Hillsborough school administrator, president of the Hillsborough Chapter of the NAACP and a Bealsville native, says people from there are expected to be somebody and do something with their lives. Horton Road was named after Horton's grandfather, Bryant Horton, one of the community's founding fathers.

-- Michelle Jones can be reached at 661-2431 or jones@sptimes.com.