The History

HISTORICAL OVERVIEW

Union Heights was the former site of the Allen Farm and Belmont Plantation

Union Heights was established 1910

The Union Heights community was developed as a residentiail community surrounded by industrial companies

The first north area jail was built in 1924 at 2228 Meeting Street Road. The structure is still standing in a resident’s backyard.

1993, Union Heights was designated as an Enterprise Community. The community was annexed into the City of North Charleston in 1997.

DEMOGRAPHICS

The statistics presented are on the composition of total population, race, age, household and the labor force.

Union Heights’ population decreased 3.1% between 1970 and 1980 and decreased another 48.2% between 1980 and 1990.

The racial composition of Union heights is 99% black and 1% white.

25% of Union Heights total population is under 18 years of age.

The under 18 years of age group declined by 76.8% between 1980 and 1990.

The 65 and over age group increased by 70% between 1980 and 1990.

Slightly more than 60% of the residents are employed in either service (20%) or labor (41%) occupations.

The unemployment rate in Union Heights was 7.1% for males and 22.7% for females in 1990.

RECOMMENDATIONS

Community residents are in need of job training and employment opportunities.

Homeownership programs are needed to attract starter families.

LAND USE

Nearly 64% of Union Heights’ land is zoned residential.

28% of the land is vacant.

Union Heights and Howard Heights History

Union heights is one of the earliest predominantly African American communities from slavery time in Charleston County, SC, that still exists today. It was fully incorporated as part of the city of North Charleston in 1997; this place began in 1672 with England’s grants to Lords and 1 or 2 servants. Once the site of Belmont Plantation (Pinckney Woods) was acquired in 1700s by Chief Justice Charles Pinckney, later became known as Horlbeck’s Woods or Hall Back’s Bottom.

Belmont Plantation was the Pinckney’s country residence and Mrs. Pinckney experimented with growing silk by planting mulberry trees and importing silk worm eggs. In 1789, Mrs. Pinckney reported in a letter to Mrs. Ravenel “The enemy was at Belmont and destroyed everything in the house but took none of the Negroes” the enemy being the British soldiers.

Once characterized as soggy and swampy land deemed valueless many African Americans acquired lots dating back to the late 1800s. The Civil War had ended and they were free people, free to own land. Our ancestors saw the promise of a new day, a new life so they took what was called valueless and made it valuable.

In 1919, the Union Heights subdivision was created. Named for the Union stop on the railroad, it reached a peak of activities in the 1960s when disintegration destroyed most of the businesses.

According to the Late Rev. Robert Singleton, the early community consisted of ten homes scattered about the area. Foot paths weaving among homes took residents to and from Meeting St. and Spruill Ave. There was no electricity. The only water spigot was owned by Ed Dunsford, a grocer, who charged .25 cents for water. A few residents had water pumps.

Union heights developed with the growth of the Navy Yard, in addition to mills and plant. The majority of the lots were purchased in the 30s to the early 60s. Some of the families that bought land prior to 1930s were Singletons, Green, Milligan, Frayer, Manigault, Young, Fraiser, Taylor, Alston, Snipe, Williams, Clark, DeSussure, Dunsford, Bowman, Gibbs, Johnson, Pringle, Gantt, Fulford, Wilson, Grant, Prator, Hamilton, Seymoure, McColl, Weston, Wallace, Larry and Frierson. In spite of their merger beginnings our ancestors thrived. The community was a self-sufficient, independent majority African American area with a few white residents/owners. Doctors, lawyers, teachers, entrepreneurs, preachers, entertainers, skilled craftsmen and laborers made Union Heights their home.

Beauty/barber shops, restaurants, funeral home, motels, fish market, Movie Theater, dry cleaners, mom-and-pop shops, ice cream parlor, car garage, drug store, night clubs, music school and pre-school programs flourished in Union Heights.

Many young people studied music at Mrs. Viola Nesbitt Piano Studio located on Beech Ave.

According to Claude Smith, Jr., the Midway Theater which was located at Spruill and Echo Ave. was for African Americans, and the cost of admission was .10 cents for children and .25 cents for adults.

There were two night clubs: The Little Brown Jug (for Whites) and Club Baron (for Blacks).

There was at least one mom-and-pop grocery store on most streets.

The oldest business in the area is Quick Service Barber Shop, owned and operated by the Swint family since being established in the late 40s, is located on Forrest Ave.

Starting in the late 20s to the early 50s there were several options for schooling; most students walked to Four Mile Elementary School or attended Daniel Jenkins Elementary. A few attended a school operated by Mrs. Edmonds or the day school at Mount Olive; both were located on Union Heights. In order to receive a high school education many children attended one of the schools located downtown Charleston: Avery Normal School, Immaculate Conception (ICS) and Burke. However, parents had to pay tuition to send their children to Avery or ICS.

Several churches were the cornerstone of the community: Bethel Reformed Episcopal, Canaan Missionary Baptist, Calvary African Methodist Episcopal, Mt. Zion First Baptist Holiness, Francis Brown United Methodist and St. James Reformed Methodist United Episcopal, these churches started prior to 1930. Mount Olive Baptist organized in the late 1800s is the oldest church on Union Heights.

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Howard Heights

Howard Heights had a residency of approximately 50 families. The track was an extension of the streets crossing Spruill Avenue from Windsor Place. Those streets ran east-west and are from the South Boxwood to the North Hampton in radius. The boundaries are west, Spruill, south, east of the Seaboard Railroad and north Hampton Avenue.

Formerly a part of the then all white Windsor community. Howard Heights, a much smaller African American community developed in 1943 along with the employment boom at the Navy Yard. Dr. J. Hoffman, a prominent African American doctor named the community in honor of Howard University. The late Rev. Samuel Martin, Sr. one of the founding members of Mt. Olive Baptist Church was instrumental in the development of Howard Heights.

Some of the families that acquired land in 1940s were, the Paynes, Robertson, Browns, Wilson, Calhoun, McCray, Martin, Washington, Hoffman, Jackson, Murray, Clark, Thompson, Gibbs, Sheppard and Nelson.

Howard Heights thrived on its own with several businesses—the Duck Inn, River Grocery Store, Spruill Ave. Fish Market, Mrs. Payne’s Beauty Shop, Mrs. Jackson Barber Shop, Mrs. Thompson’s grocery store and a Wood Yard.

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As the character of the period dictated, the neighborhoods of Union Heights and Howard Heights were distinctly separated from the neighborhood of Windsor Place. Physically, the division of the Union Heights and Windsor Place neighborhoods were clearly denoted by a huge ditch (See 1927 USGS map, Map M-3, the ditch is denoted by the horizontal line located between Elmwood and Arbutus Avenue) The separation of Howard Heights was distinguished by 6th Avenue (Spruill Avenue).

Union Heights and Howard Height were founded as residential communities on soggy and swampy land deemed valueless, for the black employees of the companies surrounding the community. Separated by a deep ditch was the adjacent community of Windsor Place. A neighborhood for primarily white shipyard workers. Homes within the sub-neighborhoods of Union Heights and Howard Heights are believed to be built from the scrap pieces of lumber, according to one historian. This would account for the irregular lengths of boards visible on many of the homes currently existing in Union Heights.

Oral History as told by life-long residents

As is common to most black communities, their history is primarily an oral recantation of memories and stories. Only a small portion of noted social events or concerns were documented in writing. Thus, the majority of the history in this plan was obtained from conversations with second and third generation residents born and raised in Union Heights.

Born and raised in Union Heights, Reverend Robert Singleton is the son of one of Union Heights’ first families and also the only remaining original founder. In 1910, his father built their home at 49 Groveland Street. However, the original house burnt down in 1945. Presently, Mr. Singleton resides at 1989 Groveland, just a few doors away from his birth place. The lots were typically 30 by 100 feet in size and primarily acquired through a realtor named Belinger or Prescott. By 1947, the land was subdivided into 25 by 50 lot size. Each parcel was measured by placing one foot in front of another. The main realtor at this time was Yasket. Originally nickname “Hall Back Bottom,” this community was surrounded by Pringle Fertilizer Plant, Virginia Chemical Company, Tuxberry Lumber Mill and Mercantile Store and McAlloy Steel Plant.

Community Composition

According to Reverend Singleton, Union Heights was not a mill town. The community consisted of ten homes scattered about the area. Foot paths weaving among homes took residents to and from Meeting Street and Spruill Avenue. A trolley ran along Old Meeting Street which carried people downtown for farther into the north area. The fare that time was .3 cents. There was on electricity. Bathrooms were outdoors and move from one spot to another.

Union Heights and the community of Howard Heights developed with the growth of the Navy Yard. At the beginning of World War II, people came from everywhere and assembled any form of housing just to be close to the Navy Yard. One well-known housing development was called the Big Sixteen. This building consisted of 16 rooms. Purchased by Suburban Funeral Home, the build was located on the present site of the funeral home.

People of Union Heights

A community advocate, Mr. William Clark use to walk the “Height” and discipline children. Also a community advocate, Mr. Roscoe Mitchell has dedicated a life time to supporting the revitalization of Union Heights. Since the early seventies, Mr. Mitchell was been the catalyst for improvement. Residents think of him as the “unofficial mayor” of Union Heights. He and his wife also won and operate a community store and restaurant.

Several other notable people grew up in Union Heights: Minor Crosby, who along with his two brothers owned and operated an automobile garage; William Woodard, an English teacher; and host of others; doctors, lawyers and politicians.

Community Development

The streets in Union Heights were paved in the late 1940s except for Adams Street which was first paved in the early seventies. The first house received indoor plumbing in 1949. The first automobile was owned by Reverend Ceasar Canty, pastor of St. James RMUE. It was a brand new T-Model Ford which he kept for many years.

Built in 1924, the first north area jail is located at 2228 Meeting Street Road between Irving and Hugo. Judge Burton was the presiding administrator and held court in his house. The structure still exists. The first policeman was Billy Costa, who drove a motorcycle with a side car. A fire station was located at the corner on Kingsworth and Meeting Street Road. The staff consisted of black and white volunteers and Mrs. Freddie Whaley Sr. was the first black volunteer fireman. (Courtesy of Ruth Cupp, historian)

Commercial Composition

The first wood yard and grocery store was owned by Edward Singleton and employed seven persons. Mr. Singleton worked as a contracted hauler for Virginia Chemical delivering wood to residents on the Battery. An ice cream parlor was also located in the community on Delaware and Meeting Street. “The Blue House” was the neighborhood seafood store.

The CSX railroad stop called Union was the namesake of Union Heights. It operated the “Bullweevil” which pulled into the navy yard every day at 3 p.m. promptly. It traveled between Virginia and Savannah, GA.

Late Twentieth Century

The three sub-neighborhoods, Windsor Place, Howard Heights and Union Heights were not considered to be one cohesive community, until 1972. In that year, under pressure from housing and community leaders, the County of Charleston sought to initiate a pilot project to rehabilitate the declining neighborhood of Union Heights. Windsor Place and Howard Heights were included due to its close proximity, racial composition and declining residential conditions.