In the early 1900s, William Harris and his wife, Mamie, raised their six children in the rural Lealman area of the Pinellas Peninsula. Known as Uncle Bill, Harris farmed citrus, later worked in real estate and banking, served as a school trustee for 14 years, and was a Pinellas County Commissioner from 1927 until his death in 1940. Because Lealman was relatively isolated, without a nearby school or good roads, Harris or Mamie traveled by buggy almost 4 miles along dusty roads and paths to take their children to the nearest school. Tired of the long trip, they donated land and money to build a one-room schoolhouse so their children and about a dozen others living on the outskirts of St. Petersburg could attend school nearby. The original school building was built in 1912 with a simple design that included a portico suggesting the Colonial Revival style, and a windmill stood behind it to pump water. As enrollment increased, the school was modernized with flush toilets, a workroom, and a larger blackboard. After World War I, the Florida land boom brought many new residents, and with nearly 40 students crowded into the classroom, a larger school replaced the one-room building in 1923, around the time of major road improvements in Pinellas County. The presence of the school helped attract new settlers to the area. The Lealman community took its name from Harris's grandfather, Elza Beasley Lealman. In the mid 1910s, schoolchildren, including the Harris children, took part in Pig Clubs started by School Superintendent Dixie Hollins to learn how to care for farm animals. In 1987, during Pinellas County's 75th anniversary, the original 1912 school building was reconstructed at Heritage Village.