The Community, Churches, and Schools of the Hadley Township Neighborhood

The Community, Churches, and Schools of the Hadley Township Neighborhood. . By the late 1800s, many local large landowners began subdividing their property for residential developments. Property formerly part of the Charles and Mary Rannells Home Farm was purchased by Evens Howard Firebrick Company along with adjacent property in Brentwood to construct a factory and assemble a workforce to excavate clay in the soil and manufacture firebricks. , Without public transportation close enough to get workers to the plant, Evens Howard needed a place for workers to live. The strict segregation of housing in both St. Louis City and County presented an obstacle, but Evens Howard had the power and connections to get county officials to approve development of an African-American community. Rudimentary structures known as "two by twos" housed workers who could live in them rent-free. Once the first families settled in the area, others followed and an African-American neighborhood flourished. During the Great Depression, Evens Howard sold the workers' houses to the people living in them and to others as a cost-cutting measure. Eventually, the company was sold and the plant facility became known as General Refractories., Segregation and lack of public transit forced African-American families in Richmond Heights to be self-sufficient. They grew fruits and vegetables in small plots near their homes and, as a community in larger undeveloped tracts, most also raised chickens, had cows and horses, and hunted. A large garden was located near the Evens Howard plant in Brentwood. African Americans from both areas tended gardens there. Next to this was a baseball field and adjacent picnic area used on weekends by families, but claimed by neighborhood children on weekdays. According to local oral history, some players from the Negro Leagues occasionally played with other men on the ball field. , Public transportation developed slowly, so neighbors walked, shared rides with those who owned cars, or relied on car services. One of these car services, provided by Brenson Lewis, would drive residents around their community and connect them to public transportation for 5 cents., Richmond Heights slowly opened to commercial development in the 1920s. Once possible, the local African-American community established various businesses: Will Chaney's BBQ and Store on Hanley Road, Crenshaws on Dale Avenue Leon Burke's service station at Hanley Road and Dale Avenue (later owned by John Wortham), a confectionary on Hanley Road, Herbert Cole, Sr.'s general contracting company and pest control service, and Taylor Confectionary at Bredell Avenue and West Bruno Avenue. From this community also came many notable residents: physicians, dentists, educators, social workers, musicians, vocalists, a filmmaker, a Tuskegee Airman, Pullman Porters, and many entrepreneurs. , Engagement in civic life led to the formation of social service organizations. One early group known as The Negro Libertarian League owned property on Hanley Road close to Elinor Avenue. It was maintained by the Marcus Garvey Group of Mohammedans and was rented to other groups such as The Pink Tea Ladies who hosted political meetings and cotillions there., Civic-mindedness could take the form of organized opposition as it did in 1945 when a bond issue proposal to develop a park was defeated through the efforts of Pastor James Fiddmont of Mount Zion Missionary Baptist Church and local resident Mrs. Mildred Rusan. African-American and white voters joined to defeat this proposal which would have taken all of the houses owned by African-American familes on Argus, Banneker, Dumas, Laclede Station Road, and Dale Avenue. This plaque commemorates the citizens of Hadley Township Neighborhood past and present and their many contributions., Churches, Religion has historically been important to African Americans. Early members of the community congregated in homes to pray (Mount Zion Missionary Baptist Church and Church of the Living God) and set up tents for church revivals (Church of the Living God and The Church of God). The desire for church buildings in the community motivated each group to raise money for constructing their own churches. , The first African-American congregation in Richmond Heights was Mount Zion Missionary Baptist Church formed in 1910, followed by The Church of the Living God in 1912, First Church of God in 1927, St. Mark's United Methodist Church in 1928, and Church of the Lord Jesus Christ in the 1920s. Sheik Ahmad Din, Professor Paul N. Johnson, was the first Moslem minister in St. Louis. He founded four Moslem missions by 1927, one in Richmond Heights on Elinor Avenue., Schools: A Timeline of African-American Education in Richmond Heights, 1840 - White students living in the Maplewood and Richmond Heights area attended Washington Institute elementary school. , 1846 - Missouri law prohibited the education of African American students., 1863 - Following President Lincoln's Emancipation Proclamation, the Freedman's Relief Society opened the first school for African-American students in St. Louis., 1865 - The Board of Education of Colored Schools was established and created five schools in St. Louis for 1500 students. , 1875 - Sumner High School opened for African-American students living in the city; students from the county could attend at their own expense., 1877 - After St. Louis City and County separated, James Sutton donated land and Valley School was built for white students., 1890 - Stowe Teachers College was established to train African-American teachers., 1898 - In Plessy v. Ferguson the U.S. Supreme Court held segregated educational constitutional. , 1909 - Before 1909, African-American children who lived in the area walked to Clayton to attend Crispus Attucks School for Colored Children. In 1909, parents of nine African-American children used Missouri law to press the school board for a school. A church on Dale Avenue was rented and principal Ezra Turner and teacher Harvey J. Simms were hired to educate students in grade 1-8 at the Lincoln School. , 1916 - A $100,000 bond authorized improvements in the district, including the purchase of land at 8023 Dale Avenue for a two-room school for African-American students., 1920s - Three separate bond issues totaling $550,000 provided funds to rent two buildings on Dale to accommodate more African-American students. Later, a second and third unit were attached to Lincoln School as well as a new furnace and stoker, two classrooms, a basement playroom, and a restroom. These same bond issue funds paid for construction of a high school for white students complete with a track, athletic equipment, and a field house., 1932 - A $152,000 bond issue enabled the district to purchase land at 7917 Thomas Place for a new school with four classrooms and a utility room. In 1933, New Lincoln School opened for grades 5-8; grades 1-4 remained at Old Lincoln School. Enrollment at both schools totaled 203 students. , 1939 - Enrollment at the two Lincoln Schools peaked at 254 students., 1951 - The School District of Maplewood was officially changed to the School District of Maplewood-Richmond Heights (MRH). , 1953 - A $1,800,000 bond funded an addition to New Lincoln School as well as other district improvements. , 1954 - The U.S. Supreme Court in Brown v. Board of Education, Topeka, Kansas reversed Plessy holding that racially segregated education is inherently unequal. MRH High School integrated in 1955; Lyndover Junior High in 1956. Before this decision, Missouri state law required the Maplewood-Richmond Heights School District to furnish transportation and tuition to Douglass High School in North Webster Groves, Missouri or pay tuition for resident African-American students who attended city high schools or Hadley Technical School. , 1955 - Old Lincoln School closed and all elementary students moved to New Lincoln School. , 1962 - African-American kindergarten and first grade students transferred to West Richmond School on Boland Avenue; grades 2-6 in 1964. New Lincoln School was leased to Special School District until 1988 when it was vacated., 1998 - Richmond Terrace assisted living community operated by Lutheran Senior Services opened on the grounds of the former New Lincoln School. The former school is still being used as part of the community.