Norman Film Studios

Norman Film Studios

The studio complex, originally developed in 1915 by the Eagle Film Company on the site of a cigar factory, served as the headquarters of the Norman Film Manufacturing Company from 1922 to 1928.

At its height, the Norman Film Manufacturing Company was one of the most prominent independent makers of race films in the country, with a national distribution network.

"Race films" was a colloquial term to describe movies specifically made for African American audiences. Some of the more notable Norman films shot at the studio include Regeneration, A Debtor to the Law, and The Flying Ace.

The studio created a stir in the early 1920s by hiring the legendary rodeo performer Bill Pickett to star in two all-black feature length westerns, which were filmed in Oklahoma.

The Norman Film Studios is the last complex from the silent film era located in Jacksonville and is one of the few preserved race film studios in the country.

The Norman Film Studios, now a museum, were placed on the National Register of Historic Places on October 31, 2016.