Share This Post

Business / Main Slider

Woodlawn Historic District: A Tapestry of African-American Legacy in Natchez

Spread the love

Introduction

Tucked in northern Natchez, Mississippi lies the Woodlawn Historic District—a 97-acre, 360-contributing-building neighborhood that stands as a powerful emblem of African-American resilience, community development, and architectural heritage from Reconstruction through World War II. Recognized on the National Register of Historic Places in 1995, Woodlawn’s story spans emancipation, education, civil rights, and artistry—all woven into the very fabric of its streets.WikipediaLiving Places

A Post-War Subdivision of Promise

What once was the Woodlawn estate of the Beaumont family was subdivided in 1867 into building lots purchased by newly freed African-Americans. This subdivision, bounded by North Union Street, Bishop Street, Martin Luther King Jr. Road, and Woodlawn Street, marked a transformative shift—from plantation to neighborhood—signifying ownership, freedom, and communal growth.SAH ARCHIPEDIAWikipedia

Developers, along with agencies like the Freedmen’s Bureau and the Colored Building and Loan Association, facilitated land acquisition and home construction, sowing the seeds of a vibrant, self-sustained, and enduring African-American community.SAH ARCHIPEDIAubir.buffalo.edu

Richard Wright Grandmothers Home

Most of the contributing buildings in the Woodlawn Historic District were built between about 1890 and 1940. The architectural styles represented in the Woodlawn Historic District are ItalianateQueen AnneColonial Revival, and Craftsman Bungalow. The Italianate style appears only as details on vernacular galleried cottages with side-gable or hipped roofs. These details include bracketed chamfered posts with dropped capitals and doorway and window surrounds that are shouldered and peaked. Three examples of vernacular houses with Italianate details are 19 Bishop Street, 21 Bishop Street, and 1 Garden Street.

The Queen Anne style appears as details on vernacular houses and as complete statements on Queen Anne house forms. The style appears only as details on vernacular galleried cottages and on shotgun houses, a house form that first appeared in the neighborhood during the Queen Anne period. These Queen Anne details include brackets, turned posts, and entrance doors with glazed upper panels. Examples of vernacular Queen Anne houses include 43 Beaumont Street, 18 and 20 Elm Street, 838 Martin Luther King Jr. Road, 11 Prentiss Street, and 914 North Union Street. The Queen Anne style is well represented in the Woodlawn Historic District by a large number of vernacular, L-shaped houses with cross-gable roofs or projecting wings with gabled roofs. Often these houses also feature gable ends with decorative shingles and louvered vents in addition to Queen Anne-style porch detailing and entrance doors with glazed upper panels. Examples include 24 Beaumont Street, 11 Claiborne Street, 14 Claiborne Street, and 1004 North Union Street. The most outstanding example of the Queen Anne style is located at 907 North Union Street. This small cottage exhibits a large number of stylistic details characteristic of the Queen Anne style and derives additional significance from its remarkable integrity.

Discover Woodlawn Historic District in Natchez, MS—a community born from Reconstruction, honoring African-American history, vernacular architecture, and literary legacy. Learn about Richard Wright’s roots and education milestones.

Booker T. Washington at Natchez College

Stories Woven in Place

Several individuals and legacy sites lend poignant depth to the district:

  • Richard Wright, famed author of Native Son and Black Boy, spent part of his childhood at his grandparents’ home at 20 Woodlawn Avenue. His experiences in this neighborhood shaped his literary vision.WikipediaSAH ARCHIPEDIAVisit Natchez
  • A house belonging to Aaron Jackson, a former slave turned Union Army enlistee, still stands with descendants holding original documents like deeds and pension records.ubir.buffalo.edu
  • Streets such as Lincoln, Grant, Parker, Bishop, Buckner, and Woodlawn preserve the neighborhood’s layered history—from honoring Union heroes to referencing original estates and institutions.SAH ARCHIPEDIALiving Places

Woodlawn’s Lasting Significance

Woodlawn Historic District is not only one of Natchez’s most important African-American neighborhoods; it’s among Mississippi’s richest repositories of vernacular architecture and cultural perseverance. The district’s integrity, throughout reconstruction, desegregation, and change, attests to the strength of community.ubir.buffalo.eduLiving Places

Its inclusion in the National Register in 1995 formalized recognition of both its architectural merit and its heartfelt historical narrative.Wikipedia


Your Donation keep this site alive

Share This Post

24 Comments

  1. obviously like your web-site however you need to take a look at the spelling on several of your posts.
    Several of them are rife with spelling problems and I to find
    it very troublesome to tell the truth however I’ll surely come again again.

  2. Hello, I enjoy reading through your post. I wanted to write a little comment to support you.

  3. Wow, amazing weblog format! How lengthy have you been blogging for?
    you make running a blog glance easy. The full look of your site is magnificent, as smartly as the content!

  4. This design is spectacular! You most certainly
    know how to keep a reader amused. Between your wit and your videos, I
    was almost moved to start my own blog (well, almost…HaHa!) Excellent job.
    I really loved what you had to say, and more than that, how you presented
    it. Too cool!

  5. Excellent article. I absolutely appreciate this site. Keep writing!

  6. Howdy! This article couldn’t be written any better!
    Looking at this post reminds me of my previous roommate!

    He constantly kept talking about this. I’ll send this information to him.
    Fairly certain he will have a good read. Many thanks for
    sharing!

  7. This is a really good tip especially to those new to the blogosphere.
    Brief but very precise info… Thank you for sharing
    this one. A must read article!

  8. Undeniably imagine that that you said. Your favourite reason seemed
    to be at the web the simplest thing to take into account of.
    I say to you, I certainly get irked at the same time as people
    think about worries that they plainly don’t understand about.
    You managed to hit the nail upon the top and also defined out the entire thing with no need side effect , other
    folks could take a signal. Will probably be back to get more.

    Thanks

  9. 멋진 퀘스트네요. 그 후에 무슨 일이 있었나요?
    잘 지내세요!

    Your style is really unique in comparison to other
    folks I have read stuff from. Many thanks for posting when you have the opportunity, Guess I’ll just book mark
    this page.

    This is absolutely a fantastic blog! Your posts are so well-written and engaging.
    I’ve bookmarked it and will definitely be back for more. Any tips
    on how to make my own blog as captivating as yours?

    Cheers!

    the festival for food lovers를 검색하다가 이 웹사이트를 발견했는데, 정말 대박이에요!
    내용이 유익하고, 디자인이 깔끔합니다.
    뉴스레터 구독 기능이 있으면 좋을 것 같아요.

    멋진 작업 계속해 주세요!

  10. I must thank you for the efforts you’ve put in writing this blog.
    I really hope to view the same high-grade content by you later on as well.
    In truth, your creative writing abilities has motivated me to get my
    very own site now 😉

  11. Great article! That is the type of info that are meant to be shared across
    the net. Disgrace on Google for no longer positioning this put up upper!
    Come on over and discuss with my site . Thank you =)

  12. With havin so much content and articles do
    you ever run into any problems of plagorism or copyright infringement?
    My site has a lot of completely unique content I’ve either written myself
    or outsourced but it seems a lot of it is popping it up all over the web without my permission. Do you
    know any methods to help protect against content from being ripped off?
    I’d genuinely appreciate it.

  13. Exceptional post however I wass wanting to know if you could write a litte more
    on this topic? I’d be very grateful iff yoou could elaborate a littlke bit further.
    Thank you!

    Here is my website طرز تهیه سوپ بعد از عمل اسلیو

  14. Fabulous, whqt a website it is! This webpage presents useful
    information to us, keep itt up.

    Also visit my blog post علت درد سمت چپ شکم بعد از عمل اسلیو

  15. Hi, I do think this is an excellent blog. I stumbledupon it ;
    ) I will come back yet again since I saved as a favorite it.
    Money and freedkm is the greatest way too change, may you be rich and
    continue to help other people.

    My blog post; طرز تهیه سوپ بعد از عمل اسلیو

  16. I am really pleased to glance at this wbpage posts which carries plenty of
    helpful facts, thanks forr providinng these data.

    Also visit my blog post – عمل اسلیو معده با بیمه نیروهای مسلح نی نی سایت

  17. Hello colleagues, fastidious piece of writing and nice arguments commented at this place, I am truly enjoying by these.

  18. Hi there it’s me, I am also visiting this site regularly, this web site is actually
    nice and the users are genuinely sharing nice
    thoughts.

    Check out my page … تزریق سرم در منزل شمال تهران

  19. Very nice post. I just stumbled upon your weblog and wished to say that I’ve really enjoyed browsing your blog posts.
    After all I’ll be subscribing to your rss feed
    and I hope you write again soon!

    Here is my webpage :: اجاره دستگاه بای پپ bmc

  20. This post is genuinely a nice one it helps new net people,
    who are wishing in favor of blogging.

    Visit my website – اجاره دستگاه ساکشن خلط گلو

  21. An impressive share! I’ve just forwarded this onto a colleague who had been conducting a
    little homework on this. And he actually ordered me
    breakfast because I discovered it for him… lol.
    So let me reword this…. Thanks for the meal!!

    But yeah, thanks for spending time to discuss this subject
    here on your blog.

    Also visit my site; تزریق سرم در منزل شرق تهران

  22. Excellent weblog here! Also your site so much up fast!
    What host are you the usage of? Can I get your affiliate hyperlink to your host?
    I desire my website loaded up as fast as yours lol

    my blog post :: قیمت دستگاه مانیتورینگ علائم حیاتی

  23. With havin so much written content do you ever run into any problems of plagorism or copyright violation? My site has a lot of exclusive content I’ve either created myself or outsourced but it seems a lot of it is popping
    it up all over the web without my permission. Do you know any techniques to
    help reduce content from being stolen? I’d genuinely appreciate it.

    My blog post; تزریق سرم در منزل غرب تهران

  24. I’ve been surfing on-line greater than 3 hours nowadays, yet
    I never discovered any interesting article like yours. It’s beautiful worth enough for me.
    In my view, if all web owners and bloggers made excellent content
    as you probably did, the internet will probably be a lot
    more helpful than ever before.

    Also visit my blog … تزریق سرم در منزل

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

You may use these HTML tags and attributes: <a href="" title=""> <abbr title=""> <acronym title=""> <b> <blockquote cite=""> <cite> <code> <del datetime=""> <em> <i> <q cite=""> <s> <strike> <strong>

Skip to toolbar