Florida man, 109, battles state order to move from home to make way for highway

Jet, March 4, 1996

Despite $1.9 million being deposited into a bank for him by the Transportation Department and despite a new house that would allow easier accessibility for his wheelchair, 109-year-old Julius James says, "I'm not going anyplace," when it comes to leaving the house and parting with some of the 60-acre farm he's lived on for more than 100 years.

The Ocala, FL, man recently was ordered by a judge to relocate to a new house in order to make way for a highway interchange that will use over 21 acres of James' land that the state has owned since September 1995.

James inherited the plain, clap-board house from his grandparents who were freed slaves. They purchased the property three years after the Civil War ended in 1868.

"I'm just sad," said the former okra farmer, who was the oldest male in attendance at the historic Million Man March that took place in October 1995.

At JET press time, an appeals court overruled the lower-court judge's decision to make James move allowing him to remain in his home "for now."