Darnell-Cookman School of The Medical Arts - History

History

The Reverend S. B. Darnell was a Methodist minister who moved to Jacksonville to serve as pastor of Ebenezer Methodist-Episcopal Church. In the late 1800s, he founded the Cookman Institute which was located at Beaver and Hogan Streets. It was the first institution of higher education for African-Americans in the state of Florida specializing in the religious and academic preparation of teachers. Under the leadership of Reverend Darnell, the school served thousands of young black men and women until it was destroyed in the Great Jacksonville Fire of 1901. The school relocated when rebuilt in order to move from the center of town. The Reverend Alfred Cookman, a friend of Reverend Darnell’s, helped raise money to rebuild the school. After rebuilding, the enrollment was about two hundred and fifty. The Cookman Institute for Boys had classes in all the elementary grades and in the four high school grades. There were special courses in normal training, music, domestic science, public speaking, printing, business, and agriculture. In 1923 the Cookman Institute merged with the Daytona Normal and Industrial Institute forming what would later become Bethune-Cookman College. The Cookman Institute facility was later purchased by the Duval County School System. Eartha White, a well known Jacksonville activist, suggested naming the Jacksonville school to honor both Reverend S. B. Darnell and Reverend Alfred Cookman. In the succeeding years, the school served as a neighborhood middle school, an alternative school, and as a school for young women.

Today the school has an enrollment of approximately 1,100 students in grades 6-12 with an instructional staff of over 65. The school's colors are navy blue and gold and the school mascot is a Viking. Darnell-Cookman Middle/High School is an "A" school in the State of Florida's school grading system and a National Blue Ribbon School as designated by the USDOE.