Jefferson Street's Rich History

Jefferson Street's Rich History. Welcome to Kossie Gardner Sr. Park. Native American Roots , Long before the settlement of Nashville, Native Americans had strong ties to this land. Archaeological Investigations have returned varied and numerous prehistoric artifacts from the Middle Woodland Period (200BCE - 500CE) and Mississippian Era (ca. A.D. 900 to 1600). A nearby natural salt deposit called the French Lick drew game animals, making this prime hunting ground. The area likely saw the presence of such tribes as the Shawnee, Cherokee, Choctaw, and Creek, as well as northern tribes. Chickasaws, one of many tribes that attacked the young Cumberland Settlements, later became allies of the new frontier city. , Settlement in North Nashville , This area of Nashville was originally part of a 640-acre land grant from the State of North Carolina to Revolutionary War soldier George Freedland. Freed land was part of the James Robertson Party., a group of early settlers that came to Nashville in 1779. In 1837, former Gallatin Mayor William hadley purchased 178 acres west of here. His daughter Mary, who owned 15 enslaved people by 1860, inherited the estate which after became the location for Hadley Park. "From the Hadley plantation on the west to the Cumberland River on the east, there developed a wide footpath that evolved into a wagon road...this was the antecedent of North Nashville's Jefferson Street," named for U.S. President Thomas Jefferson. , Land in North Nashville was platted beginning in 1858, just a few years before the Civil War. During Union Army occupation several contraband camps developed around Fort Gillem at Jefferson and Salem (18th) streets. After the war Nashville's free Black population, previously concentrated in the area known as Black Bottom near Capitol hill, began migrating to North Nashville and Germantown since "the immigrant community i this area was receptive to a moderate influx of Black citizens." , An Intellectual Thoroughfare , The establishment of Fisk University, Tennessee Agriculture and Industrial State Normal School (now Tennessee State University) and Meharry Medical College triggered explosive growth around Jefferson Street in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. These institutions cemented the thoroughfare as both the intellectual and the commercial heart of Black Nashville. , Originally the Fisk Free Colored School and located near present-day Union Station, Fisk University was established on Jefferson Street in 1886. The move was made possible by the famed Fisk Jubilee Singers. Their international concert tours raised funds that allowed the Institution to purchase 25 acres of the former Fort Gillem site and erect Jubilee Hall. , By 1900, land was being subdivided for development along the Jefferson Street streetcar line. Twelve years later, the public land-grant Tennessee A&I opened at the western terminus of Jefferson Street. After World War One, returning Black veterans expanded the student populations at Fisk and Tennessee A&I, furthering demand for services along the corridor. In 1931, Meharry Medical College relocated from south Nashville and became the third major educational institution to contribute to the area's vibrance. Some of Nashville's oldest Black churches also populated the street, including Mt. Zion Baptist, Pleasant green Baptist and the Jefferson Street Church of Christ. , A Thriving Commercial District , , Retail and service-oriented businesses prospered along Jefferson Street during the Jim Crow Era. By 1940, "a virtually solid lack area north of Charlotte Avenue stretched from the Black business district on Capitol hill westward to Tennessee A&I campus, with Jefferson street as its main artery." After World War II most of Nashville's Black wealthy and middle classes, many of whom fled downtown slums and parts of south Nashville, lived on the Jefferson Street corridor. , Jefferson Street was one of few places in Nashville where African-American entrepreneurs had the opportunity to build successful businesses and where patrons could shop and conduct daily life without confronting discrimination. It was also uniquely diverse, with several Jewish and white merchants operating with integrated staff. , Black Business Owner and Entrepreneur , , Perhaps no one better represents Jefferson Street's entrepreneurial spirit than Kossi Gardner, Sr. Mr. Gardner was a successful funeral home operator and 32nd degree Mason who owned business on Jefferson Street for 64 years. born Carthegerius Cosby, he was an indentured apprentice to the Gardner family and took their surname. he was the youngest funeral director in the city when he opened his first business, Gardner and Co. Gardner established Nashville's first motorized ambulance service in the 1920s., founded the Hills of Calvary Cemetery, established the Gold Coast Black subdivision on Hydes Ferry Pike and owned a farm and dairy business. Gardner exemplifies the hard work, tenacity and keen business sense of those entrepreneurs who made Jefferson Street the heart of Black enterprise in Nashville. , Brown's Hotel and Dinner Club , , The site of Kossi Gardner, Sr. Park was home to one of Jefferson Street's most elite Golden Age businesses. Brown's Hotel and Pharmacy operated here from 1948 to C. 1973. Dr. Jackson H. Brown and his wife Omega operated the pharmacy on the ground floor of the building with hotel rooms upstairs. On the west side of the structure was the upscale Brown's Dinner Club, an elegant restaurant where patrons enjoyed regular Sunday jam sessions. Dr. Brown also owned nearby Cub Baron, which housed a second pharmacy. , Brown's Hotel was featured in many editions of the famous Negro Travelers' Green Book, an essential Jim Crow Era travel guide for African Americans that listed businesses safe for travelers to patronize without fear of prejudice or violence. Guests at Brown's included Louis Armstrong, Jimi Hendrix, Little Richard and others who were not permitted at white-only hotels elsewhere in the city. , The Origins of Music City , , Not only was Jefferson Street Black Nashville's economic and social heart, but music cemented the corridor as a cultural mecca of international significance. Perhaps its best-known early musical ambassadors are Fisk University's Jubilee Singers, who gained fame starting in 1871 and reputedly earned Nashville the nickname "Music City." , "Jeff Street" , , The 1930s witnessed the blossoming of a formal entertainment industry. "Everything from small, intimate, hole-in-the-wall Chicago-style 'speakeasy' to grand nightclubs, supper clubs, dance halls, beer joints, and pool rooms flourished along what became popularly nicknamed 'Jeff Street.'" Venues showcased legendary artists like Duke Ellington, Nat King Cole, B.B. King, Ray Charles, Aretha Franklin, Jimi Hendrix, Little Anthony and the Imperials, Fats Domino, Ike and Tina Turner and Etta James. Jeff Street offered the best R&B, jazz, gospel, ad blues in Nashville and beyond. , Live music flourished through the 1960s. After completing military service at Fort Campbell in 1962, an up-and-coming Jimi Hendrix played a long residency at the Del Morocco with bassist Billy Cox. Hendrix credited Nashville as the place where he learned to play, and he was famously "bested" by bluesman Johnny Jones in a 1963 guitar duel at Club Baron. little Richard frequently played at Club Revillot, a gay dive club at 14th and Jefferson. , The Epicenter of Civil Rights Activism , , During the Civil Rights Era, many activists from the universities on Jefferson Street became inspiring faces of change in the push for desegregation. In 1960, Fisk students Diane Nash, John Lewis, Jim Zwerg and Marion Barry led sit-ins at local segregated lunch counters. That spring, nearly 4,000 activists marched to City Hall via Jefferson Street to confront Mayor ben West after the home of attorney and civil rights advocate Z. Alexander Looby was bombed. The following day Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. spoke at Fisk, praising the local activists. Indeed, they made Nashville the first major southern city to desegregate public facilities. The nation watched as North Nashvillians helped to bring about the biggest social changes of the 20th century and became key leaders in the national civil rights movement. These historic advances were harbingers of other changes to come in North Nashville. , Turbulent Times , , In April 1967, protesters marched down Jefferson Street after speeches by Stockily Carmichael (leader of the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee) at Fisk and Tennessee A and I. Riots, vandalism and arson occurred around the campuses. Dr. martin Luther King, Jr.'s assassination on April 4, 1968 fueled more violence, with 4,000 National Guardsmen sent to quell the unrest. These incidents signaled a shift in Jefferson Street's stability. , Victory over legal segregation meant that "there were no more high school prom night festivities at Brown's Supper Club on Jefferson Street. Instead, Black teenagers planned celebrations at the Holiday Inn. black Americans found their way in the mainstream of life and commerce, and the fabric of the neighborhood suffered as a result." , Interstate 40 Divides the Community , , A permanent blow was dealt when Interstate 40 tore through the heart of North Nashville, isolating neighborhoods, disconnecting streets and causing the demolition of remaining night clubs like the Del Morocco. The initial path plotted for I-40 would have followed Route 70S and the Louisville and Nashville Railroad tracks before heading toward downtown between Broadway and Charlotte Avenue. While this route would have caused minimal destruction, it cut close to Vanderbilt University, Baptist Hospital, Centennial Park and the elite suburb of Belle Meade. Under pressure, the State revised the planned route northward, perpetuating the nationally common practice of routing freeways through economically disadvantaged communities of color. , North Nashville Goes to Court , , In response to the State's decision, a group of businessmen, ministers mfacaulty, residents, and civic and civil rights organizations formed the I-40 Steering Committee in 1967. After their request to delay construction was denied, Z. Alexander Looby and Avon Williams filed suit in district court. They argued that the route was discriminatory and that the State failed to provide adequate notice of public hearings. The court determined that while there had been inadequate notice, there was no proof of deliberate discrimination. In late 1967, the Sixth District Court of Appeals upheld the decision and in early 1968 the Supreme Court refused to hear the case. Construction began later that year. , Interstate 40's impact was staggering, resulting in the demolition of 626 homes and 128 businesses owned primarily by African Americans, including sixteen blocks on Jefferson Street alone. This loss represented 80% of the Black-owned businesses in Nashville State Representative Harold Love lamented. "All we ended up with was a service station and a drive-in market. We fought hard to no avail. The feeling of community was broken." , Jefferson Street Renaissance , , With such a rich history to build on, today Jefferson Street is looking forward. Recent community-based efforts towards a resurgence include the Jefferson Street Sound Museum, the Gateway to Heritage project, events like the Jefferson Street Art Crawl and now Kossi Gardner, Sr. Park. The park is an important symbol of Jefferson Street's future., bringing the community together in a vibrant, new public space. , Metro Water Services, originally acquired this property in order to build a much-needed stormwater storage facility to help address flooding issues. The completed underground reservoir resulted in a blank slate at the street level ready for transformation by Metro Parks. The Metropolitan Development and Housing Agency stepped in, providing funds for the first phase of park development.