Lost: South Nashville

Neighborhood History Uncovered in Quarantine

Ever since we all began to splinter into isolation because of the coronavirus pandemic, just about every first Saturday members and friends of AAHGS Nashville have been gathering around our computer screens for our monthly meeting, looking into our collective past.

The August meeting focused on destruction of African American neighborhoods to make way for interstate highway systems, and similar projects given “right of eminent domain.” AAHGS Nashville member Deborah Washington was so moved by the discussion, she dug into her family archives to find photographs and recall memories of what it was like growing up in her South Nashville neighborhood. What she misses most is the bond shared with neighbors. “All the neighbors on the block knew each other,” she said. “We were like one, big, happy family.” The following is her story.

My Home

by Deborah Washington

About 12 years after the photo above was taken, in February of 1968, my family moved from 1004 11^th Avenue South.  Our house and my aunt’s house on Grand Avenue were the only 2 houses still standing in the neighborhood.  Because of urban renewal, we had to move from our home.  We did not want to move.  We were happy there.  Some during that time and a lot of people today do not understand this.  They do not understand that you do not need material things to be happy.  The neighborhood consisted of mostly rentals.  There were a few people who owned their home.  Those houses were the nicer houses in the neighborhood.  I lived on the portion of 11^th Avenue that was in between Grand Avenue and Archer Street. 

Our house consisted of three rooms and a kitchen.  The rooms were called the “front room”, the “middle room” and the “back room”.  All 3 of those rooms were bedrooms.  On the section of 11^th Avenue that I lived, there was no indoor plumbing in any of the houses.  We had a hydrant outside for water and we had an outhouse.  Inside the house we used chamber pots (the proper name but, we called them something else).  We had a water bucket with a dipper that we would fill and use for drinking water.  We had tin wash tubs, foot tubs and wash pans.  Heat was provided by a coal stove and a fireplace.  I can remember in the kitchen having a coal stove for cooking.  It had four areas for the pots and pans.  I also remember having an actual ice box.  Blocks of ice were bought to put in it to keep food cold.  Fortunately, in my earlier years, we obtained an electric stove and an electric refrigerator which we continued to call an ice box.  Mom would wash clothes in the wash tub with a washing board.  Someone gave her an old washing machine with a wringer that you had to operate manually.  She used it, but would still wash some things using the wash tub and washing board.

The Neighborhood

There were a lot of grocery stores in the neighborhood.  We did our main grocery shopping at Cut-Rate Bi-Rite on the corner of Overton Street and South Street and at H.G. Hills grocery store located on 16^th Avenue South and Villa Place.  There was also a Bi-Rite on the corner of 12^th Avenue and Hawkins called Rays Bi-Rite (I think that is the name).  There was a grocery store on the corner of 12^th Ave So and Grand Avenue that we called Pat O’Connor.  Not sure if that was the actual name of the store, but it was the name of the owner.  There was a grocery store on the corner of 12^th Avenue South and Edgehill.  There was also a grocery store on the corner of 12^th Avenue South and Horton.  There were smaller stores that we went to that were not as big as the grocery stores.  Hicks Grocery Store was on South Street where 11^th Avenue ended, but 11^th Avenue did continue about a 4^th of a block down.  Mr. Billy Martin’s grocery store located on the corner of 10^th Avenue South and Overton Street.  Mr. Billy Martin would let families get food on account.  My grandmother would send me to his store with a list and no money.  He would gather the items, bag them and send me on my way.  A newer store, Service Drive-In was built when I was around 11 or 12.  There were probably other stores, but these are the ones I knew about.  After the urban renewal, until recently, there were no grocery stores in the neighborhood.  With the development of the Gulch, there are now some stores nearby in the Gulch area.

There were two pharmacies that we went to.  The pharmacies were named after the pharmacist.  One was Clemmon’s Pharmacy located on 12^th Avenue South in front of Carter-Lawrence School and Neely’s Pharmacy located on the corner of 12^th and Hawkins across from the Ray’s Bi-Rite store.  I liked going to Neely’s Pharmacy because of the big rack of comic books.  I loved comic books and bought all my comic books at this pharmacy.  We loved to go to Mr. Clemmon’s Pharmacy because he had a soda fountain and he served ice cream and other soda fountain treats.  He also had a wide selection of candy in a display case.

There were some retail stores.  Schulman’s on the corner of 8^th Avenue South and South Street, sold clothing, shoes and other items.  Mandell’s on 12^th Avenue South, sold clothing and other items.  Wynn’s was a hardware store located on the corner of 12^th Avenue South and Grand Avenue.  We purchased our wash and foot tubs, and wash pans there; our water buckets and dippers, our stove pipes; chamber pots when we could afford one, etc.  

The schools in the neighborhood were Carter-Lawrence Elementary School and Rose Park Jr. High School.  We went to Cameron High School which was in a different part of south Nashville.  Prior to Rose Park being built, children living in the Edgehill area went to Cameron starting in grade 7.  After Rose Park was built, the children in the Edgehill area went to Cameron in the 10^th grade.  At one time children on my part of South Nashville had to walk to Cameron High School when they entered the 7^th grade.  By the time I went to Cameron, buses were provided.

Other business in the area were Deford Bailey’s shoeshine shop, Mr. Carruthers’ shoe repair shop, a pool hall, a laundry mat (we called it a wishy washer).  There were also beer joints on 12^th Avenue South and South Street.  There were also several beauty salons.  I remember a barber shop on the corner of 12^th Avenue South and Grand.  There were probably others, but that is the one I remember.

Many churches were in the area and some are still there.  My church, Greater Bethel AME on South Street, New Hope on Hawkins Street, Kayne Avenue on 12^th Avenue South (not original location).  There are many other churches that I have not named.

Patton Brothers Funeral home is still located in its same location on South Street.

Miscellaneous Remembrances’

A rock quarry existed where Rose Park is now.  In September, every night when the State Fair was going on, people would gather on the street at the fence of the quarry and watch the fireworks that were set off every night.  The quarry was scary.  I was still a young child when it was filled in and there were tales that mothers would throw their babies in the quarry.  I think we were told this to keep us from acting bad.  I was glad when the quarry was filled.

On the corner of 12^th Avenue South and Edgehill, there was a park called Edgehill Park.  When we had recess in school, the teachers would take us across the street to play in the park.  It was lots of fun.  When they filled in the quarry to make Rose Park, they took the land Edgehill Park was on and built the senior citizen high rise.

Jersey Farms milk company was located on South Street.  There was always a school trip to Jersey Farms and after the tour of the building, we were given a carton of chocolate milk.

Where Did They Go?

As people moved, where they went depended on whether they owned their home.  Renters were mainly moved to one of the housing projects.  Most of my friends’ families were moved to JC Napier and University Court.  A few went to Settle Court (the official name was something else).  My best friend and her family moved to Cumberland View projects.  My mother and aunt did not want to leave our part of south Nashville, so we waited, hoping to get into Edgehill projects.  My family did get into Edgehill projects, but my aunt’s family had to go to JC Napier projects.  When they built the newer projects on Edgehill next to the senior citizens homes, my aunt moved from JC Napier into them.  A lot of people who owned their homes bought homes further out 10^th Ave, 11^th Ave, 12^th Avenue South.  They bought homes on Lawrence Ave, Douglas Ave, Gilmore Ave, Kirkwood, Waldkirch, Halcyon, etc.  I know of one family that bought a house in Northwest Nashville on Drakes Branch Road.

Even though we did not want to move, the houses needed to be torn down.  The rental houses were in bad shape.  The landlords did not maintain the properties.  In addition, in 1968 in the city of Nashville in my neighborhood, many of the houses had no indoor plumbing.  When we moved, we were told that when the new houses were built, the people that had been relocated would get first choice of the houses.  In 1972, we moved from Edgehill Projects to 1017 Southside Court.  My mother and aunt were given the opportunity to be among the first to choose a house to purchase.  The tree that was in the front yard of our old house was now in the backyard of our new house.  They got as close as they could to the spot that the old house was located.

The Neighborhood Today

Regentrification has gone through and changed the neighborhood again.  My mother moved from 1017 Southside Court in 2016 after living there for 46 years.  Many of the houses on the street had been sold to developers and were being torn down and replaced with expensive housing.  Two residences were put on the lot where my mother’s house once stood.  The area from 8^th Avenue South to 12^th Avenue South and from Archer Street to South Street is almost complete.  There are only a few of the original houses from the urban renewal left.  The houses were replaced by housing $700,000 and up.  What was once a neighborhood with affordable housing is now a neighborhood for the rich.

I can tell a lot more about life in the neighborhood but, I am keeping this short.  I would like to mention that all the kids in the neighborhood played together in the street.  We had fun.  When we talk today, we reminisce about the good old days.