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Orange Mound, Memphis
Orange Mound is a neighborhood in southeastern Memphis, Tennessee. It was the first US neighborhood to be built by African Americans. [citation needed]
Built on the grounds of the former Deaderick plantation, the Orange Mound subdivision was developed for African Americans in the 1890s to provide affordable land and residences for the less wealthy.
Orange Mound is bounded by Semmes St. to the east, (bordering the University of Memphis district) and by Lamar and Kimball Avenues to the south. The Southern Avenue & IC Railroad tracks that cross in front of the Mid-South Coliseum form the northern & western borders while separating it from the Belt Line and Midtown. The streets outlining the plantation that originally existed on that ground were Goodwyn St on the east, Park Ave on the south and Airways at the southwest.
The neighborhood has a population of approximately 14,400, of which 95 percent are of African-American heritage.
Orange Mound stands on the site of the former John Deaderick plantation. Between 1825 and 1830, Deaderick (whose family donated the land in Nashville on which the Tennessee State Capitol was built) purchased 5,000 acres (20 km2) of land (from Airways to Semmes) and built a stately house there (at what is now the east side of Airways, between Carnes and Spottswood). In 1890, a developer named Elzey Eugene Meachem purchased land from the Deaderick family and began developing a subdivision for African-Americans, selling lots for less than $100. In the 1890s, a typical Orange Mound house was a small, narrow "shotgun"-style house. A tradition says the name comes from mock-orange trees or shrubs on the grounds of the old homeplace.[citation needed]
In 1919, The City of Memphis annexed the community.
In the 1970s, Orange Mound was billed as "the largest concentration of blacks in the United States except for Harlem in New York City." The neighborhood provided a refuge for black people moving to the city for the first time from rural areas. Although the streets of the early Orange Mound were unpaved, it was a vibrant community in which a mix of residences, businesses, churches, and cultural centers flourished. During the era of desegregation, Orange Mound entered a period of decline as younger residents began to move away.
Drugs and alcohol had been an issue for many years. Once crack entered the scene, the community was destroyed with violence and drug dealing. Drug use devastated poor and middle-class families. Since the 1990s, Orange Mound has improved considerably as crime has decreased due to the revitalization of the community.
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Orange Mound, Memphis
Orange Mound is a neighborhood in southeastern Memphis, Tennessee. It was the first US neighborhood to be built by African Americans. [citation needed]
Built on the grounds of the former Deaderick plantation, the Orange Mound subdivision was developed for African Americans in the 1890s to provide affordable land and residences for the less wealthy.
Orange Mound is bounded by Semmes St. to the east, (bordering the University of Memphis district) and by Lamar and Kimball Avenues to the south. The Southern Avenue & IC Railroad tracks that cross in front of the Mid-South Coliseum form the northern & western borders while separating it from the Belt Line and Midtown. The streets outlining the plantation that originally existed on that ground were Goodwyn St on the east, Park Ave on the south and Airways at the southwest.
The neighborhood has a population of approximately 14,400, of which 95 percent are of African-American heritage.
Orange Mound stands on the site of the former John Deaderick plantation. Between 1825 and 1830, Deaderick (whose family donated the land in Nashville on which the Tennessee State Capitol was built) purchased 5,000 acres (20 km2) of land (from Airways to Semmes) and built a stately house there (at what is now the east side of Airways, between Carnes and Spottswood). In 1890, a developer named Elzey Eugene Meachem purchased land from the Deaderick family and began developing a subdivision for African-Americans, selling lots for less than $100. In the 1890s, a typical Orange Mound house was a small, narrow "shotgun"-style house. A tradition says the name comes from mock-orange trees or shrubs on the grounds of the old homeplace.[citation needed]
In 1919, The City of Memphis annexed the community.
In the 1970s, Orange Mound was billed as "the largest concentration of blacks in the United States except for Harlem in New York City." The neighborhood provided a refuge for black people moving to the city for the first time from rural areas. Although the streets of the early Orange Mound were unpaved, it was a vibrant community in which a mix of residences, businesses, churches, and cultural centers flourished. During the era of desegregation, Orange Mound entered a period of decline as younger residents began to move away.
Drugs and alcohol had been an issue for many years. Once crack entered the scene, the community was destroyed with violence and drug dealing. Drug use devastated poor and middle-class families. Since the 1990s, Orange Mound has improved considerably as crime has decreased due to the revitalization of the community.