The following are short descriptions of the places which have contributed to the shaping of African American history. These encyclopedia entries serve as a starting point for much more inclusive descriptions and discussions that appear in other sources. For additional information please consult the print or website sources cited in the entry.
The “Saltwater Railroad” refers to the coastal waterway followed by many enslaved people escaping from the Southern slave states into the British-controlled Bahamas. The saltwater railroad served a similar function as the Underground Railroad, a land pathway, that allowed enslaved people to flee to northern … Read MoreThe Saltwater Railroad (1821-1861)
The West End of Louisville, Kentucky emerged as a predominantly black neighborhood in the city during the 1830s when free blacks began buying property west of 9th Street. The area, however, was not entirely black as African Americans lived alongside Jewish, German, and Irish immigrants, … Read MoreThe West End of Louisville (ca. 1835- )
African Americans began a migration up the island of Manhattan in the early 1800s. Starting in Five Points, which is now New York City’s Chinatown, they moved in succession to Washington Street on the Lower West Side, then the Tenderloin in the West 20s and … Read MoreSan Juan Hill, New York City (ca. 1895-1940)
Black Bottom was a neighborhood near what is now downtown Nashville where African Americans once resided. The area got its name from the periodic floods of the Cumberland River that left muddy residue on the streets. Black Bottom came into existence around 1832 as a … Read MoreBlack Bottom (Nashville) (1832-1950)
In 1908 four black men formed the California Colony and Home Promoting Association. The Association purchased 20 acres along the Santa Fe rail line from the Pacific Farming Company, at a railway stop called Solita. They divided this land into individual parcels to form the … Read MoreAllensworth, California
In 1837, Houston, Texas was incorporated and divided into four wards. The Southeast ward was named Third Ward and over time this area became an important center of African American-owned businesses and a hub for black culture. Third Ward originally comprised the area east of … Read MoreThird Ward, Houston, Texas (1837- )
Fourth Ward is the oldest established African American neighborhood in Houston, Texas. It was created in 1839 by the city of Houston as one its six political districts. Fourth Ward is located directly west of downtown Houston and in 1866, it was the site of … Read MoreFourth Ward, Houston, Texas (1839- )
Empire, Wyoming was an African American community founded in 1908 by Charles and Rosetta Speese along with three of Charles’ brothers—John, Joseph and Radford—and their families. John’s brother-in-law, Baseman Taylor, and relative, Otis Taylor, also joined the settlement. The families migrated from Nebraska. With the … Read MoreEmpire, Wyoming (1908-1930)
The town of Pinhook, Missouri was founded in 1927, by a group of black sharecroppers from the surrounding area. The town, about ten miles west of the main channel of the Mississippi River, took its name for a nearby ridge that resembled the tip of a pinhook. These new … Read MorePinhook, Missouri (1927-2011)
Located in the Sandhills of Cherry County, Nebraska, the settlement of DeWitty was established in 1908 by black homesteaders who constructed housing made of stacked sod. These settlers farmed some of the least hospitable land in the state. The families were spurred to the area by the 1904 … Read MoreDeWitty/Audacious, Nebraska (1908- )
