The edges of Wilson’s downtown warehouse and industrial district were once shot through with tiny alleys lined with duplexes built to house workers and their families. Most that remain have been paved and renamed as “Lane.” In what was once the mill village of Wilson Cotton Mills, however, a couple of dirt tracks remain as Cedar Street and Holly Street. These houses, which have been converted to single-family, were occupied by white families only, but offer a glimpse of what would have been a familiar streetscape to African-Americans living in similar alleys nearby.
Cedar Street, formerly Factory Alley.
Holly Street, formerly Jones Street Alley.
Detail from 1922 Sanborn fire insurance map of Wilson. South Factory Street is now Layton Avenue. Lodge Street Alley (Warehouse Alley) is now Wayne Street. At (A), the house visible above on Cedar Street/Factory Alley. At (B), the house on Holly Street/Jones Street Alley.
Photos by Lisa Y. Henderson, March 2025.
My mom , Cora R. Green Wellington, now 97 yrs. old, was raised as a child , after her dad died, on Oil Mill Alley with her Mom , Lottie McPhail Cohen, and my Mom’s grandmother, Catherine McPhail . These women are from whence I have come.
…by the way, my Mom had 4 other siblings who also lived at the same time in this 3 room ( TOTAL rooms) “shotgun” style dwelling.
I’m so happy that GOD IS A KEEPER and always has the last say so in all affairs!!
Our conclusion is not always how the story started.