Newtown Alive earns state recognition

Vickie Oldham and the rest of the team behind Newtown Alive began researching and consolidating the history of Newtown in 2015 with a simple directive.

They created a 365-page research report using 22 oral history interviews from Newtown residents, collected primary and secondary source historical documents and created an inventory of Newtown’s historic structures.

Since then, Oldham and her team have added historic markers, organized a trolley tour of the neighborhood and written a book, "Newtown Alive: Courage, Dignity, Determination," based off the original report. Their efforts have not gone unnoticed.

Newtown Alive received a Historic Preservation Award on March 19 from the Florida Trust for Historic Preservation in the preservation education and media category.

“I am ecstatic, because our heads have been down,” Oldham said. “It has felt like a mouse on a treadmill on steroids.”

Oldham said the accolade is affirming, but there isn’t much time to dwell on the success. She and her team are exploring restoring some of Newtown’s historic structures and partnering with Sarasota County Schools to lead trolley tours throughout the neighborhood.

Although there is work to be done, Oldham remains motivated, inspired by Newtown’s collective story.

“The research was so fragmented in all sorts of places. When it’s fragmented like that ... you don’t get to see the power of the people that lived in Overtown and Newtown. Their strength is diluted.” Oldham said. “When you put it all together, you see a really, really powerful story of courage dignity and determination.”