Asheville African-Americans in the Gilded Age

Jozef LisowskiGilded Asheville Miniterm 2011

Explanation of Project

The Gilded Age, lasting from the 1870s to the 1910s, was a period of prosperity and excess. Robber barons such Cornelius Vanderbilt constructed an empire based on exploitation of the workers and strangleholds on their competition.1 The wealth gained from these practices spread to the whole family. George W. Vanderbilt II, Cornelius Vanderbilt’s grandson, built a summer home, Biltmore, in Asheville, NC, and subsequently brought industry to the city. In addition to the workers hired to construct the house, between 1889 and 1895, innumerous servants were required to run the house. Many of the workers they employed were African-American, who, in addition to working menially, were busy setting up businesses of their own and fighting for more rights. This project will examine the business and personal lives of African- Americans in Gilded Age Asheville, and the intersection between the two.

Significant Pre-Gilded Age Events

• Election of 1868 Riots2 :– Blacks in Asheville traditionally voted Republican– One African-American tried to vote for a Democratic

candidate. – Fight broke out between Blacks, trying to stop voter, and

Whites. – Whites opened fire on Blacks, but no lives lost.

• 1870 Election– 400 Blacks showed up to vote, first African-American

official in area elected. Henry Saxton, policeman, served for several years.

Early Gilded-Age Events

• Newton Shepherd, originally a street sweeper, was elected alderman in 1880. First Black to hold public office in Asheville.3

• African-American businesses started to spring up around Asheville in 1880s. Mainly served domestic/personal service jobs. Many Blacks worked as barbers, hair dressers, janitors, cooks, and other such professions.4

Unknown Asheville African American, turn-of-century.

Noted African-American Businessmen

Issac Dickson (pictured left)• One of the first, and arguably most

prominent African-American businessmen in Asheville 5

• Started career buying 20 lots of land in the Valley and Velvet areas of Asheville; constructed houses to make “Dickson town.” 6

• Rented and sold houses in the neighborhood to African-Americans; set up a grocery and coal & wood yard out of his own house.

Noted African-American Businessmen

Issac Dickson (continued)• Also established “hack service”– provided

transportation to both white and black passengers from the train depot to their destination of choice.

• Served on Buncombe County Board of Education; helped establish first public African-American school in Asheville, cofounded St. Matthias church Episcopal church, the oldest surviving black church in Asheville. 7

Noted African-American Businessmen

B. J. Jackson (right)• One of first black

businessmen operating out of downtown Asheville 8

• Manned vegetable market with his family, operating from the 1880s until 1924.

• Stand was noted for fresh vegetables; provided for hotels, boarding houses, and cafes for more than 25 years.

Noted African-American Businessmen

James Vester Miller• Prominent Asheville

builder, founded Miller Construction Company in 1881. 9

• Constructed the St. Matthias church (pictured left), homes for his family, and other churches and community buildings10

Other Black Figures in Asheville History

• E.H. Lipscome– Founded The Mountain Gleaner, a black Asheville paper with

considerable readership, in 1885. – Widely read outside of state. Opinion was considered by

Washington senators. 11

• James Wilson– African-American; one of Asheville’s first black undertakers. 12

• Noah Murrough– Established first black funeral home in Asheville in 1910. 13

• Dr W.G. Torrence– Founded first black hospital in the city in the 1910s; however,

more of a clinic.

Black Organizations in Asheville14

• Mt Zion Missionary Baptist Church

• Founded 1880 by Rev. Robert Parker. Became integral to Black community under leadership of Rev. Jacob Robert Nelson, after Parker resigned in 1897. Nelson persuaded city officials to allow burial of Blacks in Asheville Cemetery, the main cemetery of Asheville.

Black Organizations in Asheville15

• Schooling• First popular school for black children in Asheville

opened in 1875 by Pease family from New York. Forced to close down, reopened in 1887. By 1888, more than 200 students were enrolled.• First black public school in Asheville opened in 1888

under influence from the school board. Also proves popular. • More public schools soon followed.

Blacks and Biltmore

• Several hundred African-Americans were employed in the construction of the Biltmore16.

• The Biltmore household was also solidly mix-raced, with a significant number of African-American workers.

• Edith Vanderbilt, George Vanderbilt’s wife, founded the School of Domestic Science in 1901, for the purpose of training African-American women in labor and household skills. 17

Analysis

• The most productive period for Asheville Gilded Age Blacks was the 1880s.

• Disenfranchised by turn of 20th century. • Most Black businesses set up during 1880s, prospered.• Figures such as Isaac Dickson and E.H. Lipscome became influential during

era

• By end of 19th century, Blacks focused more on improving their community

• Mt Zion Church prospers by 1890s.• Black hospital constructed early 1900s.• Schooling gains in popularity by early 1890s

• In general the Black community during the Gilded Age strived for strong community, small businesses.

Citations1. Fenn, Katy and Meredith Murphy. “Gilded Asheville Mini-term Introduction”.

NCSSM, Durham, NC. 24 February 2011. Class lecture.2. Sondley, F.A. . History of Buncombe County, North Carolina. Asheville, NC: Advocate Pub. Co., 1930.

Print. 3. Sondley. 4. Tessier, Mitzi. Asheville: A Pictorial History. Virginia Beach, VA: Donning Co., 1982. 59. Print. 5. Davis, Lenwood. The Black Heritage of Western North Carolina. 1st ed. . Asheville, NC: University

Graphics, UNCA, 198-. 1-38. Print. 6. Tessier. 7. "First Negro School Started Year After Citizen." Asheville Citizen-Times 26 Jan 1969, Print. 8. “Black-Owned Businesses Have Long History Here.” Asheville Citizen-Times 22 Aug 1977, Print. 9. “First Negro School.”10. Tessier. 11. Tessier.12. Sondley 13. Tessier.14. Tessier. 15. Tessier16. Curtis, Nancy C. Black heritage sites: an African American odyssey and finder's guide American Library

Association., 1996. 168. Print. 17. Antler Hill display, Biltmore Estate. Print. Pictures collected from East Riverside Photographs, Asheville, NC, D.H. Ramsey Library, Special Collections,

UNC Asheville