How have I missed this? On the 1930 Sanborn fire insurance map of Wilson, tucked behind a duplex at 504 A & B Stantonsburg [now Pender] Street, a small wooden building is marked “Volunteer Fire Dep’t (Colored) 300′ 2 1/2″ hose.”
This was not Ben Mincey‘s backyard. He lived at 712 [formerly 651] Wiggins Street, just visible at the top of the image. Mincey’s brother Jack Mincey, a tobacco factory worker, lived next door at 500 Stantonsburg, but rented his house. The duplex at 504 was also a rental property.
So who maintained this building? It does not appear in the 1922 Sanborn map. Where there others scattered about the East Side? I’ll keep looking for answers.