Griggs Business and Practical College began as a private home for Joseph Minter and Elizabeth Gregory in 1858. Mrs. Gregory stayed in the brick Italianate home until her death in 1920.
In 1949, Reverend S. A. Owens and C. J. Gaston purchased the home to serve as the permanent home of the Griggs Business and Practical College. The school began five years earlier in Emma Griggs’s home. It was one of three Black colleges in Memphis. Griggs taught the “practical arts” of sewing, cooking, and other domestic activities. Griggs passed away before the school opened in its Vance Avenue location.
Fortunately, the school thrived until the 1970s and the decision was made to close it.
The school was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2023.
Advertisement in The Commercial Appeal in the September 7, 1952 edition
After the Civil War, freedmen formed communities all around the South. Near Murfreesboro, Tennessee, the Cemetery community received its name because of its location next to Stones River National Cemetery. Retired members of the United States Colored Troops chose to live in the area alongside newly freed men and women after the federal government decided to build one of the national cemeteries in this area, which would provide jobs for those who helped create and maintain the cemetery.
Founded in 1874, the Cemetery School educated local schoolchildren until 1962. The first school was used until 1945 when the new building seen above was built. The Cemetery School was put on the National Register of Historic Places in 2022.
Alex Haley was born in Ithaca, New York, in 1921. Very early, he moved with his family to his maternal grandparents’ house in Henning, Tennessee. This 1918 American Craftsman served as a home base for the family for the next five years. It is also where Haley would hear the stories of his ancestors and other relatives. These stories inspired him to write Roots
The home was initially known as the WE Palmer because his grandfather was a successful businessman in town, and he built the home. The home was fully restored, and the furniture used by the family is in the house. The house was put in the National Re
Built in 1883, the Cumberland Presbyterian Church is in the picturesque town of Bell Buckle, Tennessee. The Gothic Revival church is now abandoned. It is a contributing property to the Bell Buckle Historic District.
The congregation of Bethsalem Presbyterian Church began in 1816. In 1890, the congregation built this new church in Wartrace. It is now known as the Bethsalem Community Chapel and can be rented out for events. It’s a contributing building to the Wartrace Historic District.
Mount Ararat Cemetery was the first burial ground for Black citizens in Nashville, Tennessee. Opened in April 1869, the property was purchased for $5,000 by the Colored Sons of Relief Number One and the Colored Benevolent Society.
Over 15,000 burials are in the cemetery. Many of these are unmarked, but some markers showcase the wealth and prominence of some of the individuals.
Matilda Mulligan, d. 1883Dr. Robert Boyd (1855-1912) was a doctor educated at Meharry Medical College. He became a prominent citizen in Nashville and was considered an accomplished physician when he died. Lucia Harris (1837-1909) and Sarah Jones (1857-1888)The Nelson Merry Memorial Association erected the marker of Rev. Nelson Merry (1824-1884), founder of First Colored Baptist Church on Spruce Street, now known as First Baptist Street Capitol Hill.The sculpture of Rev. Merry on his obelisk makes it the most prominent marker in the cemetery. If you look closely on the right, you can see the outline of a cicada. Photographing the cemetery with thousands of flying cicadas was challenging.The vernacular marker of Jennetta HomanThe Victorian-influenced marker of Cora Haynes (1867-1889)May 17, 1929 announcement in the Nashville Banner
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