CALLAHAN NEIGHBORHOOD IN THE
PARRAMORE DISTRICT OF ORLANDO
Listed below is information as to how the African American community came into existence in Orlando and evolved into Parramore with separate neighborhoods such as the Callahan Neighborhood specifically. Although I discovered a few discrepancies among the sources (dates, timelines, names), I generally found most of the information to be similar. Therefore, I believe it apropos to provide the information from the various sources. Furthermore, I contend any discrepancies about the history are the result of lack of opportunities for African Americans to access the resources to document their OWN stories as a result of slavery, Jim Crow Laws, and ongoing racism which unfortunately continues today. Click on the links below to read the summaries from various references of the history of Callahan and Parramore. (Editorial Introduction, Pam Woodley)
Parramore/Callahan History (Source: Orange County History Center’s Resources; provided by Lesleyanne Drake, Curator of Collections and Melissa S. Procko, Research Librarian)
According to the Orange County History Center, the histories of Parramore and Callahan are very intertwined. All of their sources refer to a Rev. Andrew Hooper that platted a portion of the area in 1886 and built cottages sometime in the 1880s, but the plat and deeds from the Orange County Comptroller’s office list his name as Andrew Hopper. (A reasonable explanation is either the sources made an error in spelling; or the Comptroller’s office spelled it differently or that officeobtained the correct spelling from the individual when the deed was executed. (Editorial by Pam Woodley)
Callahan, Holden-Parramore, and Lake Dot Historic and Architectural Survey, November 1988; pg. 12)
The Callahan Neighborhood is bounded by Federal Street on the north; North Parramore, Chatham and North Division Avenues on the east; Grove Park Drive and West Washington Street on the south; and North Orange Blossom Trail and the S.A.L Railroad right-of-way on the west.
The eastern portion of the neighborhood was platted in the 1910s. The eastern portion of the neighborhood was originally White median income, but by the 1920s was primarily occupied by Blacks. (Callahan, Holden-Parramore, and Lake Dot Historic and Architectural Survey, November 1988; pg. 12)
“......the first Black development in the survey area was located on the site of what today is the Callahan Center. This area was platted by James Parramore in the 1880s and replatted in 1886 by Rev. Andrew Hooper. Hooper built a group of small cottages, known as Hooper Quarters, north of West Central Boulevard to house Black servants. The Black area grew and became known as Black bottom*. It later became known as Pepperhill and today it is known as the Callahan Neighborhood......” (Callahan, Holden-Parramore, and Lake Dot Historic and Architectural Survey, November 1988; pg. 8) (*Note: For those of us who actually grew up in the 1930s-50s on the northside of Central Blvd., the entire area was not referred to as Black bottom. Perhaps that was the case in the 1800s or early 1900s, but not in our lifetime. For those of us who were born and lived in Parramore in the 30s-50s north of the railroad tracks, it was common knowledge that Black bottom was south of the railroad tracks and confined to the areas of Hills Place on the westside (formerly referred to as Hills Alley), Lee Ave (formerly street) on the eastside, Robinson on the northside; and the backside of Washington on the southside. The streets made up a square area that dipped and would fill up with water during storms and rescuers would use boats to get people out safely. The residents on the northside of the tracks did not have this experience. Editorial, Pam Woodley)
The Florida Historical Quarterly; Volume 82, Winter 2004, Number 3
Throughout American history, blacks have lived and worked in a white world that hesitated to recognize their humanity, surviving unspeakable hardships and oppression by creating within the “quarters” allotted to them distinct communities that enabled them to treat the work world as a “secondary environment.” In these communities, historian John Blassingame argued, African American culture developed: The social organization of the quarters was the slave’s primary environment which gave him his ethical rules and fostered cooperation, mutual assistance and black solidarity.” Historian Leon Litwack traced that same phenomenon through the years of Jim Crow segregation in the South. Citing “extraordinary resourcefulness.” Litwack described a separate African American world, complete with schools, churches, businesses and associations. “This interior life, largely unknown and incomprehensible to “whites.” Litwack explained “permitted black Southerners to survive and endure.” (pg. 291)
In Orange County, Florida, white employers established early African American settlements to provide separate but nearby housing for black domestic help and grove labors....... (pg. 292)
A similar pattern arose near Orlando. Around 1880, Sam Jones’ family set up housekeeping on the southeast side of the small town, near a large sinkhole north of the Greenwood Cemetery. Named Jonestown, for its first residents the settlement Greenwood cemetery. Other African American families followed, including several former slaves. Named Jonestown, for its first residents the, settlement provided household labor for white families throughout the city. In 1880s, James Parramore platted an area on the west side of Orlando, across the newly built railroad tracks from the downtown business district. This development was of particular interest to Rev. Andrew Hooper and his neighbors who employed black maids, cooks, and gardeners from Jonestown every day. By 1886, Hooper built a number of small cottages to house domestics closer to the large Central Avenue homes of their employers, thus sparing them the long and tiring walk from Jonestown. Yet, residential segregation restricted black housing to the least desirable places, usually poorly drained and unimproved, as the names of the settlements suggest. Hooper Quarters, The Sands, and Black Bottom eventually consolidated as Pepperhill. Renamed Callahan in 1947, the neighborhood sometimes included the Richardson Quarters and Holden Heights. The whole area later became known as Parramore or Parramore/Callahan. (pg. 293)
Parramore/Callahan History (Source: Leroy Argrett, Jr., A History of the Black Community of Orlando, Florida, Published 1991)
The author, LeRoy Argrett, Jr., is a native Floridian born in Orlando. He graduated from Jones High School in the class of 1963. He attended Tennessee state University in Nashville, Tennessee, and received a B.A. degree in history in 1968. He received an M.Ed. degree in Administration and Supervision in 1976 from Rollins College in Winter Park.
Mr. Argrett stated in his book: Since there have been few records discovered which contain the names of slaves in Orlando during the reconstruction era, it is difficult to pinpoint the actual existence of any organized black community in Orlando prior to 1868. However, black people were here. Considering conditions during the time of reconstruction and after, and with the emergence of the “solid South” which resulted in disenfranchisement, blacks were considered to be of little importance except to be used as a part of the labor force. (pg.17)
......No records have yet been found which predate the existence of an organized black community in Orlando prior to 1868. Evidence of blacks living in the area is mentioned in Orlando’s history. Vivid descriptions of the work done by blacks during the period can be found in the works of William Wallace Harney and Eldon H. Gore, who document the existence of blacks during the years of reconstruction from 1868 to the incorporation of the city in 1875. What is mentioned of blacks during this time (labor status) does not hold any important historical value as an organized community. What is considered an organized community with historical value is the development of the community economically, educationally, politically and socially. (pg. 18)
One of the earliest black communities in Orlando was formed in the 1880s in the southeast part of town. This community was first known as Burnett Town. Later it was called Jonestown. The later site of the early community was known as Reeves Terrace, which has now become a lake. (pgs. 18-19) On August 14, 1884, the Orange County Reporter listed the total population of Orlando as 1,666. Of this total, there were 280 black males and 224 black females. Early records found show these black pioneers as some early settlers of Jonestown during the 1890s. (pg. 19)
By the 1880s, many more settlers moved into Jonestown. Not only did the Jonestown population grow, but the west part of Orlando, which is now Parramore, Terry, West Church, and South streets, became the boundaries of a black community which formed west of Orange Avenue from the center of town. The formation of housing units in this community for blacks had its origin in 1882 when George Macy built a blacksmith shop in the vicinity of what is now Hughey ad South streets. He also built houses for blacks in that area. One of the first developments in that area was on west Central avenue. Whildom Whildin was the builder. Reverend Andrew Hooper built a number of small cottages north of Central avenue because it was too far to walk from Jonestown to west central for servants. These were known as the Hooper Quarters. From this beginning grew what became the Negro Section, with its homes, stores, churches and schools.” (pg. 21)
By 1890, the Black community of west Orlando was well on its way to becoming the permanent black community of the City. The community consisted of early pioneers who developed homes and businesses. These blacks, according to W. R. O’Neal played a large factor in Orlando’s history during this early period. (pg.21)
Parramore/Callahan History (Source: Crossing Division Street; An Oral History of the African- American Community in Orlando, Originally published 2002, Benjamin D. Brotemarkle)
According to the book Crossing Division During Reconstruction, an African-American community was established in Orlando. The black community and white community appeared simultaneously. A small settlement of African-Americans homes was constructed by white builder James Magruder in the southeast section of downtown Orlando near the intersection of South Street and Bumby Avenue. The concentration of black homes quickly moved to the area west of downtown Orlando. An 1880 A.V. Patrick Map of Orlando, signed by Samuel A. Robinson, shows the addition of a four-block square that included South Street Church, Pine Street and Central Street, which made up a predominately black neighborhood west of downtown. An 1884 map published by Tax Assessor Arthur Butt showed the business section of Orlando and indicated business establishments in the heart of the African-American community. (Crossing Division Street; pg. 9).
......Black people were actually the first non-indigenous people to live in the area that would become Orlando. (pg. 24) While Europeans established settlements elsewhere in Florida beginning in the 1800s. During that period, runaway slaves would find sanctuary with the Indians living in the area. Slave owners from Georgia who would come to Central Florida in search of their lost property encountered resistance from the Native Americans who protected escaped blacks who were granted sanctuary with them. Although the Native Americans did not always treat black people as equals, they lived together peacefully, with the former slaves serving as workers, favored dependents and advisors. (pg. 24)
......Orlando officially became a city when the residents voted to establish a municipality in 1875. As the city continued to grow, so did the black section of the city. Briefly known as Burnett town, the area west of Division Street was called Jonestown by the 1880s. (pg. 26) ...... Originally, including some homes near the intersection of South Street and Bumby Avenue, eventually Jonestown was roughly bounded by the streets now called Parramore (four blocks west of Division). West Church to the north, and South Street, two blocks to the south. (Crossing Division Street; pg. 26)
In 1882, a white businessman name George E. Macy opened a blacksmith and wheelright shop near what is now Hughey Avenue and South Street, east of Division Street. Macy hired black workers to construct light, one-horse wagons with wide wheels designed for Central Florida’s sandy roads. The business also produced very large log carts drawn by as many as six yolks of oxen. Macy operated a grist mill for grinding corn, a cotton gin, and rice mill. To accommodate his workers, Macy hired Whildin to build houses for blacks in Jonestown. (Crossing Division Street; pgs. 26-27)
The Copeland and Starbird Mill was an Orlando sawmill operating in the 1880s and 1890s one block north of Jonestown, west of Division. Street. Black employees helped to manufacture paneling wainscoting, moldings and fancy trimmings for the fanciest homes and buildings being constructed in the City. In 1886, Reverend Andrew Hooper extended the African-American community by constructing homes for black servants two blocks north of Jonestown on West Central Blvd. The small cottages were known as Hooper Quarters. As more homes were constructed in the same area, the neighborhood became known as Black Bottom. Later called Pepperhill, that portion of Orlando’s African-American community is now referred to as the Callahan neighborhood. Many of the Black community’s more prominent citizens lived in what was known as the Holden neighborhood, constructed in the 1880s on the blocks just south of Jonestown. By 1890, James B. Magruder expanded Jonestown further westward by building more than forty homes in the black neighborhood. (Crossing Division Street; pg. 27)
Orlando A Centennial History, Vol 1
The City of Orlando that is known today as the “Action Center of Florida,” had its beginnings in a pine and lake-studded wilderness broken only by dim trails hard trodden by the moccasin feet of a few roving tribes of Seminoles. (Volume 1, Preface)
At mid-century the territory that was to become the future metropolis of Orlando was still a wilderness where one could ride all day without a soul to be seen. Cartographers and surveyors