Florida Historical Markers Programs - Marker Detail

Description: The first school in the region north of Lake Okeechobee, known as “The Bend,” was a thatched-roof structure built around 1897. Homesteader Peter Raulerson and family did not have enough children old enough to support a school, and were forced to bring in five students from nearby Platt’s Bluff. The children and the first teacher, Dr. George M. Hubbard, boarded with the Raulersons. In 1902, the area was renamed Tantie in honor of another local schoolteacher, Tantie Huckabee. A new one-room schoolhouse was built in 1909 by Peter’s son, Lewis, for the contract price of $500 and located on the west side of Parrott Avenue. The white frame building was designated School #14 by the St. Lucie County School Board and Hubbard became the first teacher of its 36 students. Due to population growth, a one-room addition was built in 1914. A second addition was constructed in 1915, but the school was so crowded by the fall that a tent was set up for the overflow. Construction began in 1916 on the Okeechobee Public School, and classes moved to the new building. Following the purchase of School #14 by the Okeechobee Historical Society, it was relocated to this site in 1976. The society restored the building to serve as a museum.