BY DONNA SWICEGOOD
The Statesville City Council unanimously gave its approval to a plan to submit the Garfield/Green Street Historic District National Registry nomination to the N.C. Register Advisory Committee.
The vote came at a special meeting on Wednesday.
The nomination has been three years in the making and involved a local committee that did the initial groundwork.
Consultants Nick Linville and Susan Mayer presented a report to the City Council on the process of gathering data and some of the buildings and features that make the Garfield/Green Street area one that deserves this designation.
Linville said the area holds special significance to the Black community
The nomination, which was recently completed, shows the district is one of the first Black neighborhoods in Statesville. The 95-acre district, Linville said, includes the sites of schools, churches, businesses and residences that hold special significance to the Black community. Another historically significant area, he said, is the Green Street Cemetery.
In an extensive report, Linville and Susan Mayer conducted field work to support the nomination.
“We walked every street in the district,” Linville said.
They took pictures, talked with residents, researched deeds and historic records and relied on records from the Iredell County Public Library in compiling the nomination.
Mayer said there are 285 parcels in the district. As part of the process, she said, they found several important buildings and sites that are historically significant.
Some of those she highlighted were the cemetery, Mt. Pleasant AME Zion Church, Scotts Chapel United Methodist Church, First Baptist Church on Garfield Street, Calvary Presbyterian Church, Garfield Park, Peterson and Mangum Mortuary, Rutledge and Bigham Mortuary, Rankin Barber Shop, Gillespie’s Rest Home and several homes with historic significance.
Linville explained that the plan to obtain a national designation rather than a local one. That, he said, will mean no restrictions or requirements will be placed on structures in the district. Under a local designation, such restrictions could be enacted, he said.
Speakers at the public hearing voiced their overwhelming desire to see the area receive the designation.
Carolyn Thompson and Vivian Williams both told council that the designation will be a history lesson for future generations.
Williams spoke about attending meetings during the civil rights movement era at First Baptist Church on Garfield Street.
“I remember as a 13-year-old teenager going to First Baptist Church and singing those songs,” she said.
Williams said they went to the jail and sang songs outside to those arrested for sitting at the lunch counter at Woolworth’s.
Seifullah El-Amin also recalled the segregation days in Statesville. He talked about the presence of separate bathrooms and water fountains. This designation will preserve some of the Black history in the community, he said.
Marva McKinnon, who served on the committee, said this will be a living history for her grandchildren.
Councilwoman Lisa Pearson, who also served on the committee, made the motion to approve the nomination and the motion passed unanimously.
Those gathered in the city council chambers applauded the decision.
The application for the historic designation will be reviewed by the National Park Service.