{"id":58892,"date":"2025-11-13T19:36:58","date_gmt":"2025-11-14T00:36:58","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lakelandgazette.info\/news\/?p=58892"},"modified":"2025-11-13T19:37:01","modified_gmt":"2025-11-14T00:37:01","slug":"city-of-lakeland-invites-community-to-dedication-of-morehead-community-plaza-ribbon-cutting-ceremony-will-honor-the-legacy-of-lakelands-first-black-neighborhood","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lakelandgazette.info\/news\/2025\/11\/13\/city-of-lakeland-invites-community-to-dedication-of-morehead-community-plaza-ribbon-cutting-ceremony-will-honor-the-legacy-of-lakelands-first-black-neighborhood\/","title":{"rendered":"City of Lakeland Invites Community\u00a0to Dedication of Morehead Community Plaza Ribbon-cutting ceremony will honor the legacy of\u00a0Lakeland\u2019s first Black neighborhood"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

The Morehead Community was Lakeland\u2019s first Black neighborhood, founded in the 1880s by Black railroad workers and their families. Although the homes and churches were relocated during redevelopment in the early 1970s, the stories, achievements, and contributions of the neighborhood\u2019s residents remain an important part of Lakeland\u2019s history.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Two spellings, one community \u2014<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The City of Lakeland reviewed historical records to determine the most accurate spelling of the community\u2019s name. Early written references, dating back to the late 1800s, use the single \u201co\u201d spelling \u2014 Morehead. Over time, the spelling Moorehead also appeared in local memory and personal accounts, reflecting the way many families came to know the neighborhood. Both spellings represent a community filled with pride, resilience, and significance.The City acknowledges the two historical spellings and uses both spellings in this exhibit to honor all residents and descendants of this community.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThis new plaza reflects Lakeland\u2019s commitment to recognizing the people and communities who helped build our city,\u201d said Shawn Sherrouse, City Manager. \u201cMorehead was a place of strength, faith, and family. We are honored to preserve its legacy for generations to come.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

About the City of Lakeland<\/strong>
The City of Lakeland, founded in 1885, is one of the largest municipalities in Central Florida and is home to more than 120,000 residents. Lakeland is dedicated to historic preservation, civic engagement, and community partnership through programs that connect residents to their city\u2019s past, present, and future.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The Morehead Community was Lakeland\u2019s first Black neighborhood, founded in the 1880s by Black railroad workers and their families. Although the homes and churches were relocated during redevelopment in the… <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":58893,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"inline_featured_image":false,"_uf_show_specific_survey":0,"_uf_disable_surveys":false,"wpai_generated_summary":"","footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":true,"token":"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.I8sTZ66b49u_7XO-0ViJDFjhiwHQu319CSjZmVaLgGwMQ"},"version":2,"attached_media":[{"id":58893,"url":"http:\/\/lakelandgazette.info\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/Morehead-Community-Plaza-Invitation-1.webp","type":"image\/png"}]},"_wpas_customize_per_network":false},"categories":[6],"tags":[12526],"class_list":["post-58892","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-community","tag-city-of-lakeland-invites-community-to-dedication-of-morehead-community-plaza"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lakelandgazette.info\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/58892","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/lakelandgazette.info\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/lakelandgazette.info\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lakelandgazette.info\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lakelandgazette.info\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=58892"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/lakelandgazette.info\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/58892\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":58894,"href":"https:\/\/lakelandgazette.info\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/58892\/revisions\/58894"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lakelandgazette.info\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/58893"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lakelandgazette.info\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=58892"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lakelandgazette.info\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=58892"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lakelandgazette.info\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=58892"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}