Union Academy was founded for the education of African Americans and named for the Union Academy, the fourth school founded in Florida for African Americans by the Freedmens Bureau in Gainesville.
James E. Stephens became a teacher at the school in 1937 and became principal the following year, a position he kept for more than three decades.
In 1965, Polk County adopted a plan that allowed students some choice of where to attend.
In 1957, coached by Forrest McKennie, Union won the FIAA basketball state championship with a 23-0 record.
[8] McKennie also coached Union to state championships in football in 1954, 1958, 1960, and 1963,[8] including a perfect record in 1954.
[9] The school also won the FIAA track title in 1967 and the FHSAA class B state championship in 1969.