VOICES OF
The Moody Bridge through the years, spanning more than water in Flagler County.
by Trish Le Net
“
...
I
remember very vividly that there was a sign on the Flagler Beach Bridge that said,‘ No Blacks after sundown.’”— Ralph Abraham, Flagler Beach
The Moody Bridge is only a few hundred yards long. Drivers cross it in less than a minute, rarely giving it a second thought. But for generations of Flagler County residents, that short span marked a boundary far greater than water. It divided communities, shaped lives, and determined where some people felt welcome— and where others did not. Today, the bridge has become the inspiration for Both Sides of the Bridge, an oral history project preserving memories of a chapter of Flagler County’ s past that has too often gone untold.
Visit a local museum and you’ ll find stories of pioneers, railroads, farming and the county’ s early development. Yet one important part of that history has remained largely absent: the lives and contributions of Black families in Flagler County.“... This is supposed to be the history of what
From Both Sides
happened in Flagler County, but it’ s like there’ s no history of Black people.”— Annie Johnson, Bunnell
Although they helped build the community, worked its farms and businesses, raised generations of families, and shaped Flagler County’ s cultural life, their stories have too often gone undocumented in public collections. Instead, they survived in family memories, churches and conversations passed from one generation to the next.
Recognizing that many of those memories could soon be lost, Seeking Insights for Solutions( SIS) Inc., a volunteer-led nonprofit, launched Both Sides of the Bridge in partnership with the Flagler County Historical Society and the Flagler Beach Museum. Since 2023, the project co-chairs, Jackie Rector and Cynthia Dodzik and their committee have invited longtime residents to share what life was really like growing up on opposite sides of the Moody Bridge.
Their stories paint a picture that is both deeply personal and unmistakably American.
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