St. CLOUD, Fla. – St. Cloud is set to change the name of a subdivision historically referred to as the “Colored Quarter,” 115 years after it was first recorded.
Founded in 1909 as a retirement community for Civil War Union veterans, St. Cloud was a long way away from equality despite its earliest settlers’ fight to end slavery.
In January, the city denounced its past status as a “sundown town,” or a place where people of color were not welcomed after dark.
“Of course, that’s not who the city of St. Cloud is anymore,” St. Cloud Director of Communications Maryemma Bachelder said.
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The subdivision in question, located between Narcoossee Road and Pine Lane and from U.S. 192 to 10th Street, was officially named “The Seminole Land and Investment Co. Plat of Colored Quarter” on Oct. 8, 1910. Now, 115 years and one day later, the city will officially remove and replace the word “colored” with “east.”
“Back in July, council member Jennifer Paul, who was elected last November, brought up during her time at the end of a council meeting that some residents had expressed to her an interest in having over-100-year-old language from a plat in St. Cloud be updated. It was originally plotted as ‘colored quarter,’” Bachelder explained.
The council determined that the word “colored” constitutes an ethnic or racial slur and believes the best thing to do is change the name to reflect modern values.
“This is 2025. It was time to update that,” Bachelder said. “So, council is taking some very public stands not to erase the history, but to denounce that piece of the city’s history and to move forward and ensure that all of our residents, visitors, and business owners feel welcome here in the city of St. Cloud.”
The city council approved the ordinance on Thursday to remove the label of “colored quarters.”
The president of the Osceola County NAACP, Nina Hill, spoke with News 6 and expressed pride in the decision.
“I’m so proud of St. Cloud moving toward making changes to make the community feel more inclusive and to make sure the community sees that the city is trying to make sure that all residents are included,” Hill said. “My heart feels elated. I’m just so proud of the growth. In every city, we will have areas that are still lingering in the aftermath of the Jim Crow era. I’m a product of the Jim Crow era, so I know what that’s like, so to see it evolving makes me proud.”