An unassuming single-story home, the A. Quinn Jones Museum and Cultural Center’s exterior belies the importance of the man who lived there and opened access to education for African Americans living in Gainesville and across Florida.  

Jones led the way personally, as one of the first students to graduate from Florida Agricultural and Mechanical University (FAMU), and taught other firsts who further cleared the path.  

For Jones, the road path started in Quincy as the son of a farmer and preacher. He finished eighth grade, but the educational system failed to provide further opportunities for African Americans.  

Jones moved to Florida A&M High School to earn a high school diploma and worked on the campus to pay his way.  

“I appreciated the opportunity to work and do something,” Jones said of the experience.  

He then earned his college degree in education before moving to Gadsden County, Marianna and Pensacola to teach. While at Pensacola, Jones was recommended to become the principal of Union Academy in Gainesville. 

Members of the board of trustees for Union Academy were searching for a “red-blooded man” who could lead the school. FAMU President Nathan B. Young put Jones forward as the man for the job.  

Jones moved to Gainesville in 1921, settling at that unassuming, single-story house in the Fifth Avenue neighborhood. Across the street, the red brick Lincoln High School rose to replace Union Academy. Now, that building bears his name as the A. Quinn Jones Center.  

At Union Academy and then Lincoln High, Jones served as a working principal. He managed the school while teaching chemistry, Latin and math. He spearheaded the school’s accreditation to become the second accredited, all-Black high school in Florida. 

The hard work to earn state accreditation paid off. Lincoln High, home of the Terriers, was able to attract skilled teachers, and enrollment ticked upward as students came from surrounding areas. The school had 57 students in 1921, back when Gilchrist County was still a part of Alachua County, and 315 students by 1936. 

Jones had challenges along the way. The school district failed to allocate enough money for the school, so Jones, faculty and students held fundraisers to make the budget work. The school collected dusty attic volumes as part of its book drive to build a library, and teachers did their own landscaping around the building. 

“It seemed that every obstacle represented an invigorating challenge to ‘Prof.’ Jones,” said Dr. Arthur White in his “The History of Lincoln High.” 

Jones led Lincoln High until his retirement in 1957, overseeing the school’s transition to where Lincoln Middle School is now.  

Lincoln High would last another 13 years after Jones. Integration turned the city’s Black high school into a middle school, with students shifting to Gainesville High School and Eastside. 

Jones’s impact continued though. He remained in the community and so did many of his pupils. From the eight-member class of 1925, three students returned to Lincoln High to teach, one became a doctor, one became a nurse, one a sports writer and another a principal.  

Jones lived to see his pupils navigate their own career paths, and he died in 1997 at 104 years old.  

His unassuming home was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 2010, and the city of Gainesville opened the house as a museum and cultural center in 2017.  

Visitors can find permanent displays about Jones and Lincoln High along with rotating exhibits. For hours, visit the city of Gainesville website.