Okahumpka Community Club

03/14/2026

Attention Lake County - Okahumpka residents:
If you receive a certified letter from the Lake County Government and it includes the term "Adverse Possession", don't do a thing except seek consultation with an attorney immediately.
If you have already received such a letter, please get a copy to one of O.C.C.'s board members.

2. Legal Conflicts

Compensation Requirement: Under Article X, Section 6 of the Florida Constitution, no private property can be taken by a government entity without "full compensation". Attempting to use adverse possession to bypass this payment would be a violation of constitutional rights.
Inverse Condemnation: If a county occupies your land without starting a formal condemnation proceeding or paying you, this is known as inverse condemnation. In this scenario, the landowner has the right to sue the county for the value of the property taken.

3. When a County Can Own Your Land
While they won't use adverse possession, a county can legally acquire your property if:

Formal Eminent Domain: They follow Florida Statutes Chapter 73 or 74, prove a public need, and pay you the appraised fair market value.
Tax Deed Sales: If you fail to pay property taxes for several years, the county can eventually sell the property at a tax deed auction to recover the debt.
Road Dedication: Under Florida Statute 95.361, if a county maintains a road for four continuous years, the road may be "presumed to be dedicated" to the public, though this is a specific statutory rule for infrastructure, not a general adverse possession claim.

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03/08/2026

Special thanks to the Tri-County National Organization of Negro Women for hosting an Okahumpka Rosenwald School presentation.

01/11/2026

Today on January 6, we honor the life, death and legacy of Julius Rosenwald, a visionary whose philanthropy reshaped education and opportunity in America, especially across the rural South in Black communities following the Civil War. Born to German-Jewish immigrants and rising to prominence as president of Sears, Roebuck & Co., Rosenwald was a judicious business man who believed in equal opportunity. Perhaps his greatest impacts came through his belief in “giving while living.” Partnering with Booker T. Washington, they transformed the social and economic landscape of the segregated South, insisting on community collaboration through a match fund. He advocated for dignity in design for places far from the bigger cities of America. Our archives hold thousands of records of the Rosenwald Fund, entailing his support of Black artists, scholars, and institutions, including Fisk University. Rosenwald's approach to philanthropy was strategic and inclusive, and remains a model for collective funding and human rights today.

12/13/2025

Rosenwald Park Organization News:
Team Rosenwald on The Hill! 🏛️
So glad to join fellow members of the Julius Rosenwald Park Campaign to lobby our U.S. Senate!
We hit Capitol Hill to push for support for our bi-partisan bill to establish a first of its kind national park to Julius Rosenwald and the thousands of African-American families [like mine] who helped bring their dream of a quality education to life!

11/25/2025

Celebrating the 119th Birthday of Virgil Darnell Hawkins. A civil rights hero to be revered. Excellent Speakers and musicians!

10/20/2025

Birthday Celebration!
Honoring Civil Rights Pioneer, Attorney Virgil D. Hawkins
1-4 PM November 22nd
New Bethel AME Church
27821 Virgil Hawkins Drive, Okahumpka, FL
Join this historic event!

10/11/2025

10/07/2025

09/19/2025

A remarkable Symposium of Central Florida museums held at the Pavillion in Tavares on Wednesday. Chip and Barb shared details about the school restoration and next steps to building the Virgil D. Hawkins Community Center. Please mark your calendars to attend the Lake County Commissioners meeting Tuesday, September 23rd at 9 a.m.

09/12/2025

Ladies and Gentleman, We currently have 126 of you who signed up to this Community Club site as followers. THANK YOU.
Unfortunately, we only have 15 people who actually have our feed post to their page. Thank You for being very supportive of our efforts.
Right now, we need ALL 126 and their friends and families help. You see, we are almost done with our Historic Okahumpka Rosenwald School Project. To refresh everyone's memory, our Rosenwald School is part of a program that a private citizen developed and funded about 1/3 of the money that it took to build almost 5,300 schools for Black Children to get an education because the white school districts were not teaching them.
Our Okahumpka Rosenwald School is one of those schools, but more importantly, it is one of the only 120 schools that were built in Florida! As of this day, their are only 20 believed to still exist, and most of those are offices, businesses, or private homes.
This school is one of around 530 that still exist at all, and every major historical organization in 15 states, are trying to save the schools that are left. What's more is this is one of the most remarkable private funded endeavors in the history of the United States. And this was done by a Jewish Man who started in New York City as an immigrant who was scraping by as a men's suit maker and taylor, who would eventually become the sole owner of the Sears Department store empire.

TODAY, WE ARE ASKING YOU TO HELP WITH THIS IMPORTANT HISTORY PROJECT IN A WAY THAT IS NOT HARD.
On Tuesday September 23rd, 2025 at the meeting beginning at 9:00 a.m., the Lake County Board of County Commissioners hold their regular meeting. During this meeting, they will hear from our board members about this restoration project, and hopefully many of you, and others who support this important project. We ask you to PLEASE take the time and attend This meeting in support. Sign up to speak on our behalf if you are comfortable doing that. We need you.
The reason why this is so important is because on Monday September 8th, the Lake County Housing and Community Services Director called us to a meeting, during which we were told in not so many words, that if we couldn't show her in one months time that we have enough funding to complete the project fully, that our Community Development Block Grant funding which we have yet to use a dime of, would be revoked! This was restated directly to the Board of County Commissioners by the Lake County Attorney, in slightly different wording, during the September 9th Board of Commissioners meeting.
On September 23rd, our Community Club Board of Directors will be taking turns speaking to the board telling them the hardships that requirements placed on the project which make no sense at all, have added several HUNDRED-THOUSAND dollars to the cost of the project.
We will also be presenting that the restoration of the School and community center construction are joined at the hip. We can't have a restored Historic School which will have no rest-rooms, open to the public, which means it can not even be used as a community Center again.
So we will be asking the BCC to invest in this project, as they are allowed to by law as this is a public use facility, and to provide the remaining funding that will be needed to complete this amazing project that will help this community, and Lake County itself.
Please come to the meeting to support this project