The Tatum Ridge Schoolhouse

The oldest surviving schoolhouse in Sarasota County, the Tatum Ridge Schoolhouse was built circa 1905 on Tatum Blvd, just north of today’s Kennedy Lane. In the late 1940s, no longer needed as a school, the building was moved and renovated to create two units for migrant farmer housing. In 2000, the abandoned schoolhouse was moved to the Center to preserve its important place in Florida pioneer history. 

The schoolhouse is in need of restoration. To date, the Center has been able to reinforce the structure, erect a canopy to protect it from the elements, determine original construction materials, and fabricate tapered piers.  In the fall of 2007, the project has been resumed through the generosity of recent donations and a grant from The Bank of America Client Foundation.

Information Quest

Do you have information about the Tatum Ridge Schoolhouse? If so, we can use your help. So far we have the picture above and a few pictures of school children to document this historic structure.  More information and pictures are needed to restore and properly exhibit the building. Do you have pictures of the schoolhouse or people who attended the school? Do you have access to letters, diaries, or memoirs that somehow document the Tatum Ridge Schoolhouse?  Please let us know.

Help us Restore This Historic Schoolhouse with a Financial Donation      If you can contribute financially, please make out your donation check to CMNC with the Tatum Ridge Schoolhouse noted. Mail to 16405 Myakka Road, Sarasota, FL 34240.

Thank you!

Help us Restore This Historic Schoolhouse by Volunteering your Time