Pleasant Hill Historic District (Macon, Georgia) Explained

Pleasant Hill Historic District
Added:May 22, 1996
Refnum:86001130
Location:Roughly bounded by Sheridan Ave. and Schofield St., Madison, Jefferson and Ferguson, and Galliard Sts.
Macon, Georgia, U.S.
Architecture:Mixed styles

The Pleasant Hill Historic District is a historic neighborhood in Macon, Georgia, and has been known as an African American community.[1] It is bound by Madison Street, north of Vineville Avenue, east of Rogers Avenue, and south of Neal Avenue.

The Pleasant Hill Historic District is listed on the National Register of Historic Places since May 22, 1996.[2] [3] It overlaps with part of the Macon Historic District, which is also listed on the National Register of Historic Places.[4] [5]

History

The neighborhood is historically an African American community and was home to prominent members of that community. The area is bisected by I-75, an interstate. Many of the houses and buildings were created between 1870 and 1936. The area features Queen Anne style, Neoclassical style, and Craftsman style cottages, as well as “shotgun” style houses.

Notable buildings in the district include Linwood Cemetery established in 1894, the L. H. Williams Elementary School, and St. Peter Claver Catholic Church. The Booker T. Washington Center is a community center in Pleasant Hill.[6]

Beda-Etta College was located in the neighborhood between 1921 and 1955.[7] The Vanishing Georgia collection at the Georgia Archives have a 1924 photograph of a May Day celebration at a playground in Pleasant Hill.[8]

Notable residents

U.S. Congressman Jefferson F. Long was from Pleasant Hill,[9] and the Jefferson Long Park was established in the area to honor him.[10]

Little Richard grew up on the edge of the area.[11] Other residents of the area who gained prominence included William P. Randall; visual artist, Henry W. Lucas; musical artist, Rev. Pearly Brown; entertainer, Lena Horne; and educator, Dr. Robert Williams.

Architect Louis Persley is buried at Linwood Cemetery in Pleasant Hill.[12]

Notes and References

  1. Book: African American Historic Places . 1995-07-13 . John Wiley & Sons . National Register of Historic Places . 978-0-471-14345-1 . 172 . en.
  2. Web site: May 22, 1996 . [{{NRHP url|id=86001130}} National Register of Historic Places Inventory/Nomination: Pleasant Hill Historic District ]. January 11, 2023 . National Park Service. With
  3. Web site: Pleasant Hill Historic District . NPGallery Digital Asset Management System.
  4. Web site: Macon's Historic Districts — Historic Macon Foundation. Historic Macon Foundation.
  5. Web site: June 27, 1995 . [{{NRHP url|id=95000233}} National Register of Historic Places Inventory/Nomination: Macon Historic District (Boundary Increase) ]. January 11, 2023 . National Park Service. With
  6. Web site: Macon's Historic Pleasant Hill Community Center Reopens After Nearly 5 Years. Jenna. Eason. Georgia Public Broadcasting.
  7. Web site: African American Heritage in Macon, GA . Maconga.org.
  8. Web site: Macon, 1924. May Day celebration at Pleasant Hill playground, one of two African-American playgrounds in African-American neighborhood. . Vanishing Georgia, Georgia Archives, University System of Georgia.
  9. Book: S, Jeanne Herring Ed. Macon, Georgia. September 18, 2012. Arcadia Publishing. 9781439627709. Google Books.
  10. Web site: Black History Month: Jefferson Long, Georgia's first black congressman, was from Macon. February 10, 2020. WMAZ.
  11. Web site: Allman-Badwin . Lysa . 2015-04-23 . More to Macon than meets the eye . 2023-01-12 . New York Amsterdam News . en-US.
  12. Web site: A Macon street bears his name, but you don't know his story. Historic Macon Foundation.