The Callaham-Hicks Funeral Home began as the John-Nina Hospital in 1913. Started by Nina Littlejohn, it was the first licensed hospital for Black residents in Spartanburg. It continued to serve the community until 1932, when the Spartanburg General Hospital opened up a wing in the hospital to provide care to Black patients during segregation.

M. S. Callaham purchased the hospital from the Littlejohns and opened a funeral home. At the time, Dean Street and the surrounding streets were the center of a Black middle-class neighborhood. Doctors, business leaders, and educators called the neighborhood home.