Civil Rights Historic Survey, Planning, Research, Documentation, and Preservation Project, Montgomery, Alabama Submitted to: Department of Planning City of Montgomery 25 Washington Avenue, 3rd Floor Montgomery, Alabama 36104 PaleoWest Technical Report No. 20-218 April 20, 2020 850.296.3669 | paleowest.com | 916 E. Park Avenue | Tallahassee, Florida 32301 CIVIL RIGHTS HISTORIC SURVEY, PLANNING, RESEARCH, DOCUMENTATION, AND PRESERVATION PROJECT, MONTGOMERY, ALABAMA Prepared by: Benjamin DiBiase, M.A. Sunshine Thomas, Ph.D., RPA Kevin Gidusko, M.A., RPA Helen Juergens, M.Arch, M.A., RPA Julie Duggins, M.A., RPA Submitted by: Julie Duggins, M.A., RPA Prepared for: Department of Planning City of Montgomery 25 Washington Avenue, 3rd Floor Montgomery, Alabama 36104 PaleoWest Technical Report No. 20-218 PaleoWest Project No. 19-092 NPS Grant No. P18AP00114 PaleoWest Archaeology 916 E. Park Avenue Tallahassee, Florida 32301 April 20, 2020 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY PaleoWest conducted a historic buildings survey on behalf of the City of Montgomery to document buildings in three neighborhoods that were important places in the Civil Rights Movement. The project was undertaken to fulfill the City of Montgomery’s National Park Service grant P18AP00114. The project was partially funded by the African American Civil Rights program of the Historic Preservation Fund, National Park Service, Department of the Interior. Any opinions, findings, and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this material do not necessarily reflect the views of the Department of the Interior. The survey encompassed approximately 947.8 acres in Montgomery, Alabama. The project is located in Township 16 North Range 17 East, Township 16 North Range 18 East on the Montgomery North and Montgomery S topographic quadrangle. The purpose of PaleoWest’s survey was to complete an architectural survey of historic African American resources, research, and documentation. Work was conducted in the neighborhoods of Centennial Hill, King Hill, and West Montgomery and assessed the significance of properties with respect to the National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) criteria in 36 CFR 60, National Historic Preservation Act of 1966, as amended. The survey was completed in accordance with federal and state regulations and undertaken to comply with the Alabama Historical Commission’s Architectural Survey Guidelines. As a result of the historic buildings survey, PaleoWest documented 2,255 extant buildings and 100 demolished buildings. Contextual research focused on the communities’ history, organization, and participation in the Civil Rights Movement in Montgomery, Alabama, and the impact these collective actions had on national awareness and change of practices that discriminated against African Americans. The surveyed buildings included eight previously listed in the Alabama Register of Landmarks and Heritage (ARLH) or the National Register of Historic Places (NRHP), 824 are newly recorded resources recommended for listing in the ARLH. Eight hundred and twenty- eight buildings are considered contributing resources for historic districts that preserve the built character of the Civil Rights era in Montgomery, Alabama. iii TABLE OF CONTENTS Survey Purpose and Methods ...................................................................................................... 1 Survey Results ................................................................................................................................ 3 Environmental Context ............................................................................................................. 4 Character of the Built Environment ......................................................................................... 5 Building Types and Styles Recorded ........................................................................................ 6 Significance of Surveyed Area .................................................................................................... 10 Early Montgomery History ...................................................................................................... 11 Enslavement in Montgomery and Southern Alabama ......................................................... 13 Reconstruction and Post-Reconstruction in Montgomery ................................................... 14 The Establishment of African American Communities in Montgomery ............................. 18 Centennial Hill ...................................................................................................................... 22 King Hill ................................................................................................................................. 25 West Montgomery ............................................................................................................... 34 City of St. Jude ...................................................................................................................... 40 The Civil Rights Movement in Montgomery .......................................................................... 41 1955–56 Montgomery Bus Boycott .................................................................................... 42 The 1965 Selma to Montgomery March ............................................................................ 49 Contemporary History (1970s–Present) ............................................................................ 52 Inventory of Recorded Buildings ................................................................................................ 53 National Register Eligible Resources ........................................................................................ 457 Recommendations .................................................................................................................... 457 Bibliographic References .......................................................................................................... 459 LIST OF FIGURES Figure 1. Neighborhoods of the general project area. ............................................................... 2 Figure 2. Two-room Victorian-style homes in Centennial Hill. ................................................... 7 Figure 3. Examples of homes recorded in the survey. ............................................................... 8 Figure 4. Examples of twentieth-century style homes recorded in the survey. ....................... 9 Figure 5. Example of Ranch home recorded in the survey ........................................................ 9 Figure 6. Example of a building in excellent condition but subject to character- altering maintenance. ............................................................................................................................... 10 Figure 7. “Street Corner, Montgomery, Alabama” by Marion Post Wolcott ............................ 16 Figure 8. 1933 HOLC map of Montgomery ................................................................................ 18 Figure 9. Surveyed buildings constructed by 1870. .................................................................. 20 Figure 10. Surveyed buildings constructed by 1900. ................................................................ 21 Figure 11. Parcels surveyed in the Centennial Hill Neighborhood. ......................................... 23 Figure 12. Excerpt from 1962 Green Book, listing available hotels for African Americans ... 25 Figure 13. 1927 Map of Montgomery showing the King Hill neighborhood northwest of Upper Wetumpka Road (Office of the City Engineer 1927). ................................................................ 27 Figure 14. Surveyed buildings constructed by 1930. ................................................................ 28 iv Figure 15. Parcels surveyed in the King Hill neighborhood. .................................................... 29 Figure 16. Portion of map drawn by Fletcher Hale showing approximate locations of north Montgomery settlements ........................................................................................................... 30 Figure 17. Portion of HOLC mapping and housing report for North Montgomery ............... 31 Figure 18. Left: Portion of 1958 USGS 7.5’ Quadrangle map for North Montgomery, showing King Hill neighborhood. .............................................................................................................. 32 Figure 19. Undated map of North Montgomery neighborhoods. ........................................... 33 Figure 20. Parcels surveyed in the West Montgomery neighborhood. ................................... 35 Figure 21. Hale map showing South Montgomery and Boguhoma Branch/Grenetta Ditch flowing through it (Hale 1960). ................................................................................................... 36 Figure 22. 1867 Map of John Goldthwaite Estate ...................................................................... 37 Figure 23. Hale Map of South Montgomery, 1842–1950, ......................................................... 38 Figure 24. Portion of 1910 City Map showing survey area of West Montgomery. ................. 39 Figure 25. People polling voters in West Montgomery on the corner of Malvern Street ...... 40 Figure 26. Example of African American-owned business ....................................................... 40 Figure 27. Surveyed buildings constructed by 1950. ................................................................ 43 Figure 28. Excerpt