The Sawdust Hill Community is Born

The Sawdust Hill Community is Born. . As the Northern Ohio Cooperage and Lumber Company expanded, so did the need for housing and services for its workers. Out of this came the Sawdust Hill community. At its peak, over 60 structures, including shotgun-style houses, a Baptist church, a company store, two boarding houses (one black, one white), and this schoolhouse, were within walking distance of the sawmill. People here pulled together, creating loyalty to each other and their community., The mill community was primarily African-American and produced a vibrant culture that sustained residents through hard times. The Shady Grove Missionary Baptist Church aided its members during crisis and provided spiritual support., The community and the church together provided self-respect and esteem for people whom rarely received support from the larger society. The schoolhouse gave parents hope for their children's future through education., [Captions (Clockwise from top right)] , . Sawdust Hill residents outside the Coldren Commissary Store, 1937. , . Baptism in the St. Francis River. , . A young mother and her child at a Southern Tenant Farmers Union Rally in Sawdust Hill, 1937. , Photographs on this panel were taken in the late 1930s by Works Progress Administration photographer Louise Boyle. They are used courtesy of Elizabeth Payne and the Kheel Center, Catherwood Library, Cornell University