Self-Guided Tour of African American History
This self-guided driving tour of Athens African-American History begins on UGA North Campus, travels through downtown Athens, and ends at Chestnut Grove School on Epps Bridge Road. Most of the sites are within walking and biking distance from each other. Since some sites are spread throughout Athens, it’s best to drive to Hot Corner, the historic Reese and Hancock neighborhoods, and the Gospel Pilgrim Cemetery.
1. Holmes-Hunter Academic Building, 1903
UGA North Campus
On January 6, 1961, Charlayne Hunter and Hamilon Holmes became the first Black students admitted to the University of Georgia. On Historic North Campus, the college’s academic building was rededicated as the Holmes-Hunter Academic Building in 2001 honoring these students. It was in this building that Hunter and Holmes registered for classes, striking a blow against segregated public education in Georgia.
2. Reese-Hancock Historic District
After the Civil War, African-American families settled into under-utilized areas near Downtown Athens. The Reese-Hancock Historic District is a locally designated historic district that dates as far back as the 1860s. It plays an important role in Athens Black educational, professional and religious history. Doctors, dentists and educators lived in this community along with tradesmen and laborers. Here, two of Athens’ earliest Black schools were established– the Knox Institute and Athens High and Industrial School– as well as Hill First Baptist Church. Some of the prominent Black Athenians who lived in this community include: Dr. W.H. Harris, Dr. Donarell Green, Dr. Charles Haynes and Drs. Ida Mae and Lace Hiram.
3. Knox Institute
Corner of Reese and Pope Streets (Demolished)
The Knox Institute, a prestigious private institute which offered academic and industrial instruction, was founded in 1868 by the Freedmen’s Bureau. This was Athens’ first Black school, and it was named for Major John J. Knox, a white Freedmen's Bureau agent who had been assigned the duty of directing the Reconstruction program in Athens. The school was primarily funded by the American Missionary Association, and it closed in 1928 due to financial difficulties which prompted the AMA to cut off funding. Historically, the Knox campus straddled the intersection of Pope and Reese streets and included a girl’s dormitory, a boy’s dormitory, a principal’s office and a building named Carnegie Hall, the construction of which was funded by philanthropist Andrew Carnegie in 1912. Prior to the construction of the Knox Institute campus, this was the location of the University of Georgia’s first botanical garden, founded in 1833 by Malthus Ward– the college’s first professor of natural history.
4. Hill First Baptist Church, 1867
205 N. Pope St.
Hill First Baptist Church’s history began with a group of white parishioners and the people they enslaved worshiping together at the local Presbyterian Church building. They later held services in what was described as a “plain house” at the northwest corner of the College campus, near present day Broad and Lumpkin street intersection. Those who were enslaved were given the autonomy to preach to fellow slaves in services separate from their enslavers. In 1857, the African-American members of this church, Athens Baptist, expressed desire to form their own congregation and worship in their own chapel. The two churches continued to share their land and their name until 1867, at which time Hill First Baptist Church was built at the intersection of Pope and Reese streets and their congregation officially separated from Athens Baptist Church. The church was named after Reverend Floyd Hill, who was their first minister. The neighboring Knox Institute used the Church for graduation ceremonies. Hill First Baptist was visited by Martin Luther King Jr. and Sr., and was a central meeting place for the Southern Christian Leadership Conference during the Civil Rights Movement.
5. Harris House
446 Reese Street
Dr. William H. Harris was one of Athens’ most prominent early Black physicians. He was a principal organizer and largest stockholder in E.D. Harris Drug Company, the first Black-owned drug store in Athens which at one time was located on the ground floor of the Morton Building, on the corner of Washington and Hull streets. Harris was a co-founder of the Georgia State Medical Association of Colored Physicians, Dentists and Druggists and was active in the Republican party.
6. Athens High and Industrial School, 1913
496 Reese Street
The Athens Board of Education adopted plans to construct a Black public school on Reese Street in 1913. It was a modern, well-equipped, steam heated, frame building. Professor S.F. Harris was the first principal, and classes were held for both elementary and secondary grades. By 1916, it became Georgia’s only Black public high school and its name changed to Athens High and Industrial School. In 1922 the school was among the first to be accredited by the state. It continued to prosper and moved in 1955 to a new building on Dearing Street. The school was renamed Burney-Harris High School in 1964.
7. Hiram House
635 West Hancock Avenue
The Hiram House was the residence of Drs. Ida Mae and Lace Hiram, who ran a dentistry practice on the ground floor of the Morton Building at the corner of Washington and Hull streets. Mrs. Hiram was the first Black woman to pass the Georgia Dental Board exam and obtain a license to practice dentistry. At that time, she and her husband were two of only seven licensed Black dentists in the state of Georgia. Occasionally, they saw patients here at their home. She lived in this house from 1918 until her death in 1979, and there are many Black Athens residents still live today who saw her for their dental needs. The house was purchased by the First African Methodist Episcopal Church in 1985. Through “Project Renew,” a non-profit established by the Church, the house has been renovated for affordable housing.
8. Old Commercial Center
Hancock and Pope Intersection
The Reese-Hancock District was a full-fledged community. Along with its schools and its church, there were several Black-owned and operated commercial businesses near the intersection of Pope Street and Hancock Avenue, including a hotel, a cafe, a laundry and a pool hall. One original building remains, as well as parts of the foundation of another. Modern housing has been constructed on the former sites of other commercial buildings that once stood between Hill First Baptist Church and the intersection of Pope and Hancock.
9. Susan Building, 1946
1127 West Hancock Avenue
The Susan Medical Center was Athens first African-American Maternity Hospital. Dr. Andrew Jones founded the center in 1946 and it served the Black community until the mid-1960s. The center was named for Jones’ mother. He erected the building with charitable donations from local Blacks and white supporters and from “Athens clubs” founded by former Black Athenians in large Northern metropolitan areas. Dr. Donnarell Green, the son of a local physician and midwife, purchased the building in 1954. The building now houses the law firm of Green & Green, both descendants of Dr. Green. Michael Thurmond, Georgia Labor Commissioner and the first African-American elected to the Georgia General Assembly from Clarke County since reconstruction, previously practiced law in the Susan Building.
10. West Hancock Historic District
This area between Milledge Avenue and the Athens city limits became a Black settlement around the early 20th century. 1,136 of the city’s 6,300 Black residents lived in this area in 1913. Many of the Black residents here owned their own homes and worked nearby. Many women were cooks or washers for white families living in the nearby neighborhoods. Some of the prominent Black Athenians who lived in this district were Dr. T.J. Elder, an educator, and Dr. Andrew Jones, a medical doctor.
11. Clarke Central High School
350 S. Milledge Ave.
In 1970, the all-white Athens High School integrated with the all-Black Burney-Harris High School to form Clarke Central High School. This is referenced in a book entitled “A Story Untold,” authored by local Black historian Michael Thurmond, in which he states, “The doors of the county’s public schools swung open at the beginning of the 1970 fall term amid the fears of some and the hopes of others. After eighty-four years of racial separation, the two systems were totally merged, and a new day dawned for public education in Clarke County, Georgia.”
12. Baxter Street School, 1886
Corner of Baxter & Pope (Demolished)
Athens’ earliest public schools opened their doors in 1886. The Board of Education had erected two, two-story, ten-room brick buildings, one for each race, and thus the Baxter Street School became Athens’ first public school for Black students. In 1893, the school was remodeled for use by white students, at which time the Black students were relocated to two six-room school buildings on the east and west sides of Athens.
13. Hot Corner
Corner of Washington and Hull Streets
The “Hot Corner” is an important element of Athens history dating back to the early 20th century when it began as a center of Black entrepreneurship and entertainment, coinciding with the construction of the First AME Church nearby on the corner of Dougherty and Hull streets. At one time, the Morton Building– along with the now-demolished Samaritan Building and Union Hall– formed the core of this Black business district. Built in 1910 by Monroe Bowers “Pink” Morton, the Morton Building at the corner of Washington and Hull streets is made up of a theatre on the upper floors and space for Black businesses on the ground floor. The theatre is recognized as one of the first, and the oldest, Black built, owned and operated Vaudeville theatres in the United States. Among the Black businesses on the ground floor were the E.D. Harris Drug Company, Athens’ first black-owned drug store, the practice of Dr. Blanche Thompson, Athens’ first Black female physician, and the dentistry practice of Drs. Ida Mae and Lace Hiram, two of Georgia’s earliest licensed Black dentists. Ida Mae was the first Black woman to pass the Georgia Dental Board exam and obtain her license to practice. Many Black-owned businesses also resided across the intersection, on Hull Street between Washington and Dougherty streets. Early on, this strip held the offices of the Athens Republique, an Black newspaper that was printed in the early 1900s. Later, this strip became home to businesses like Brown’s Barber Shop, Wilson’s His and Hers Styling Shop and Wilson’s Soul Food.
14. Wilson’s His and Hers Styling Shop
343 Hull Street
This building used to house “The Athens Republique,” an independent black newspaper. The editor was Julian Brown, a licensed notary public. The paper’s content was dedicated to “the religious, the educational, and the industrial development of the colored race.” The Athens Republique was first published in November of 1919 and continued to serve the community until the mid- 1920s. Elizabeth and M.C. Wilson, who also own the soul food restaurant next door, own today’s salon. It is one of the few blackowned businesses still in operation on Hot Corner.
15. Morton Theatre, 1910
195 West Washington Street
Monroe Bowers “Pink” Morton was born into slavery, to a white father and an enslaved Black mother. By 1914, Morton owned 25-30 buildings in Athens. Among them was the Morton Building, home to the Morton Theatre, a recognized as one of the first, and the oldest, Black-built, owned and operated Vaudeville theatres in the United States. The theatre boasts 350 seats and a unique array of architectural elements inside. It is one of only four of its kind listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Bessie Smith, Louis Armstrong and Cab Calloway are among the artists who have performed here.
16. Clayton Street Morton Building, 1907
146 E. Clayton Street
Built and owned by Monroe Bowers “Pink” Morton, this is one of the only buildings in Downtown Athens with a marble facade. Dating back to 1907, this building was home to the “Progressive Era,” the third-oldest Black-owned newspaper in Athens.
17. First AME Church, 1916
521 North Hull Street
Originally known as Pierce’s Chapel, First African Methodist Episcopal Church was organized in 1866 by Henry McNeal Turner, who was the first Black chaplain in the US Army. Pierce’s Chapel members were descendants of enslaved persons brought to North Georgia from Virginia and Maryland circa 1830 for the labor-intensive plantation system. There are two stories about where their services originally took place: in a blacksmith’s shop, and in a simple wooden chapel given by the white members of the Methodist Church when their congregation outgrew it, at which time it was relocated to the intersection of Hancock Avenue and Foundry Street. The congregation may have held services here informally between the donation of the chapel in 1852 and the arrival of Henry McNeal Turner in 1866. The present-day chapel on Hull Street was designed and constructed in 1916 by architect Louis Persley and builder Richard Walker, both from Macon, Georgia. In April of 1920, Persley became the first Black architect to be registered with the Georgia State Board of Architects.
18. Gospel Pilgrim Cemetery, 1882
530 Fourth Street
Gospel Pilgrim Cemetery was established in 1882 by the Gospel Pilgrim Society, a fraternal organization, to furnish respectable funerals and burial places for Athens-area Black families. Popular in the 19th century, such societies offset funeral costs and ensured a funeral procession for proper burials for members. The cemetery illustrates a Reconstruction-era departure in the Black community from burial sites associated with specific churches. Gospel Pilgrim also contains fine examples of African-American funerary art. Approximately 3,500 individuals are buried here. Among them are notable historical figures such as Madison Davis, Monroe Bowers “Pink” Morton, Harriet Powers and Alfred Richardson.
19. Triangle Plaza
The Triangle Plaza lies between the Athens Perimeter and the North Oconee River, a predominantly African-American part of the city centered around a handful of businesses at the corner of Vine Street and Nellie B Avenue. With the assistance of the East Athens Development Corporation, the area has seen an extensive revitalization in recent years.
20. Weaver D’s
1016 East Broad Street
Weaver D’s is owned and operated by Dexter Weaver, who has been serving up soul food to the grateful citizens of Athens since 1986. He is also the author of the book, “Automatic, Y’all: Weaver D’s Guide to the Soul.” With the 1992 release of R.E.M.’s album, “Automatic for the People,” the world became familiar with Dexter Weaver’s motto which inspired the album’s title. As customers walk through the door of his restaurant, Weaver greets them with, “Automatic!”
21. Chestnut Grove School, 1887
610 Epp Bridge Parkway
The Chestnut Grove School was established in 1887 to meet the educational aspirations of Black children. It was built and equipped by local Black farmers, and the land it sits on was donated by a Black farmer named Floyd Kenny, who could not read or write. On July 30, 1896 the school was purchased by the Clarke County Board of Education for $100.00 and continued to operate until 1950. In 1956, the Board of Education sold the building and land to Chestnut Grove Baptist Church for $500.00. The schoolhouse was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1984.