Named for the City of Archer, the school also is the namesake of Brigadier General James J.
Archer, an officer in the Seminole Indian Wars. One of the county’s oldest communities, Archer
sprang to life when General David Yulee (Levy) built a railroad from Fernandina to Cedar Key. It
was first named Deer Hammock, later known as Darden Hammock, and later, Archer. The first
school building, consisting of two rooms, was on the corner of University and East High Streets.
It was later moved to the corner of University and Church Streets. Subsequently, it was
replaced by a four-room building. In 1917, on the same site, a three story building was
completed. In 1936 a one story brick building was built, containing a gymnasium and
auditorium, and in 1945, a lunchroom and kitchen were constructed in the main building.
There is now no high school in the City of Archer. The old Archer Community School, built in
1917, was sold to the City of Archer in 1974. The present Archer Community School was
constructed in 1953, with additions in 1965 and 1970. Archer has the distinction of being
Precinct Two which elected President Rutherford B. Hayes to office in 1876, after considerable
controversy over “ballot stuffing.”