Farish Street Neighborhood Historic District

Farish Street Neighborhood Historic District is a historic district and neighborhood in Jackson, Mississippi, known as a hub for Black-owned businesses up until the 1970s. Named after a family that lived and had businesses on that street for four generations,[2] the street became a flourishing business area after the imposition of legal segregation under Jim Crow.

Farish Street Neighborhood Historic District
Farish Street Neighborhood Historic District is located in Mississippi
Farish Street Neighborhood Historic District
Location in Mississippi
LocationRoughly bounded by Amite, Mill, Fortification and Lamar Sts., Jackson, Mississippi
Coordinates32°18′14″N 90°11′19″W / 32.30389°N 90.18861°W / 32.30389; -90.18861
Area125 acres (51 ha)
Architectural styleBungalow/craftsman, Art Deco, Queen Anne
NRHP reference No.80002245[1]
Added to NRHPMarch 13, 1980

History edit

By 1908 one third of the area of Jackson was black-owned, one third of the houses where blacks lived were black-owned, and half of black families owned their own homes.[3] Sidney Dillon Redmond (1871–1948) reportedly owned some 300 rental homes in the Farish Street Neighborhood Historic District in Jackson.[4] In 1915 the Farish Street neighborhood was well known as a progressive area in Jackson; and Farish Street was home to Trumpet Records, Ace Records, and Speir Phonograph Company.[5] Jackson State University, a historically Black university, was located at the corner of Farish and Griffith for about a year until it moved to its new location.[2]

The Farish Street neighborhood was added as a historic district to the National Register of Historic Places in 1980.[1][6] The neighborhood is historically significant as an economically independent black community, and as of 1980 was the largest such community in Mississippi. Most of the properties in the district were built between 1890 and 1930.[3]

A plan to renovate shotgun style homes for low income housing was initiated during the 1990s.[7]

References edit

  1. ^ a b "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. July 9, 2010.
  2. ^ a b "Farish Street Historical District, Jackson, MS". www.city-data.com. Retrieved February 19, 2015.
  3. ^ a b Adele Cramer (May 17, 1979). "National Register of Historic Places Inventory—Nomination Form: Farish Street Neighborhood Historic District" (PDF). National Park Service. Retrieved February 23, 2015. Photos
  4. ^ Smith, Quentin (February 17, 2023). "Unsung Hero: Honoring the life and legacy of Dr. Sidney Dillon Redmond, believed to be richest man in MS at time of his death". WLBT. Retrieved March 2, 2024.
  5. ^ Gage, Justin; Gage, Melissa (2009). Explorer's Guide Memphis & the Delta Blues Trail. The Countryman Press. p. 265. ISBN 978-1-58157-923-9.
  6. ^ "Farish Street Neighborhood Historic District". African American Historic Places. New York: Wiley. 1996. p. 305. ISBN 0-471-14345-6.
  7. ^ Economic Development in the Mississippi Delta: Hearing Before a Subcommittee of the Committee on Appropriations, United States Senate, One Hundred Sixth Congress, Second Session, Special Hearing. U.S. Government Printing Office. January 22, 2024. ISBN 978-0-16-064700-0.