Podcast recommendation, no. 2: Archive Atlanta.

I resisted podcasts for an unreasonably long time, as I better absorb information by reading rather than hearing. A few years ago though, when my father’s illness necessitated more frequent seven-hour drives between Wilson and Atlanta, I got with the times with the help of Victoria Lamos’ Archive Atlanta. (Which is — for my money — the gold standard in local history podcasts.)

A recent episode about Blandtown, a historic African-American community in what is now Atlanta, encapsulated everything there is to love about Archive Atlanta and made me wish I had the time, resources, and know-how to produce a Black Wide-Awake podcast. Maybe in time….

Anyway, nothing to do with Wilson, but I highly recommend this “weekly history podcast about the people, places, and events that shaped the city of Atlanta.” Find it wherever you listed to podcasts.

The obituary of Catherine Campbell.

Wilson Daily Times, 6 March 1948.

Catherine Campbell died 1 March 1948 at Mercy Hospital, Wilson. Per her death certificate, she was born 31 July 1922 in Wilson, N.C., to Leroy Dudley and Rachel Wingate; was married to Luther Campbell; lived at 622 Murray; and was buried in Rest Haven Cemetery.

Lane Street Project: Vick Cemetery, one year later.

A year has passed since I broke the news that at least 4,224 of our kinfolk are buried in Vick Cemetery. What has the City done since then to address and redress the continuing harm done to the dead and their families?

Essentially, nothing.

City Manager Grant Goings never introduced the plan he claimed he would reveal in August 2023. City Council member Gillettia Morgan, who lives in eyeshot of the cemetery, is still apparently moving “behind the scenes” (slowly, and in circle?) A meeting with Mayor Carlton Stevens in September to discuss next steps for Vick seemed productive, but it’s been crickets ever since. As far as I can tell, Vick Cemetery has not been on Council’s agenda since August.

Wilson put every single incumbent back into their seat in November. Demand more and better for your vote. JUSTICE FOR VICK CEMETERY.

WE WILL NEVER FORGET.

Historic Black Business Series, no. 18: Neverson Green’s Grocery.

The 500 block of East Nash Street is justly remembered as the 20th century epicenter of Wilson’s African-American-owned businesses. However, in the late 1800s and early 1900s, Black entrepreneurs and tradespeople also operated across the tracks. As Wilson’s downtown experiences a resurgence, let’s rediscover and celebrate these pioneering men and women.

Check in each Sunday for the latest in the Historic Black Business Series!

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Neverson Green owned a series of grocery stores in the 400 block of South Spring [now Douglas] Street in the early 20th century. We know he was in business as early as 1906, when he paid $57.50 for a computing scale, but the earliest address for which we have evidence is 410, a location taken over for Agnes Taylor‘s eating house.

On 24 December 1906, Neverson Green agreed to purchase a #10 Computing Scale from The J.H. Parker Co. of Richmond, Virginia, for $57.50 payable in installments. Deed Book 72, page 205.

Neverson Green’s first name was occasionally mistaken as “Nelson.” 1908 Hill’s Wilson, N.C., city directory.

In 1909, Green’s grocery was burgled by the son of a rival grocery storeowner, Jacob Tucker.

City directories appear to show Green’s grocery store sliding up and down South Spring every year, which doesn’t seem probable. In 1912 and 1916, he is at 412 South Spring. In 1920, at 424. In 1922, he’s at 420, but in 1924, he’s back at 424. In 1925 and 1928, he’s at 400 South Spring.

Detail from 1922 Sanborn fire insurance map of Wilson.

Remnants of the old Norfolk Southern tracks, seen in the map above, are still visible in the asphalt of Douglas Street. They offer a glimpse of the chaotic landscape of early 20th-century downtown Wilson.

In the 1920 census of Wilson, Wilson County: grocery merchant Neverson Green, 58, grocery merchant; wife Isabella, 54; daughters Lula, 21, Bessie, 16, and Eva, 12; and roomer Willie Ward, 19.

In the 1930 census of Wilson, Wilson County: grocery store merchant Nelson Green, 72; wife Isabella, 65; daughters Lula, 30, and Eva, 23; and grandchildren Lila R. Barnes, 12, and Lissa Strickland, 12.

In the 1930 Hill’s Wilson, N.C., city directory: Green Nelson (c; Isabella) gro 400 Spring h 502 S Lodge