Photographs

1306 East Nash Street.

The two hundred-eleventh in a series of posts highlighting buildings in East Wilson Historic District, a national historic district located at Wilson, North Carolina. As originally approved, the district encompasses 858 contributing buildings and two contributing structures in a historically African-American section of Wilson. (A significant number have since been lost.) The district was developed between about 1890 to 1940 and includes notable examples of Queen Anne, Bungalow/American Craftsman, and Shotgun-style architecture. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1988.

As described in the nomination form for the East Wilson Historic District: “ca. 1913; 1 story; Clarence Best house; L-plan cottage with intact turned-post porch and balustrade; Best was a marble worker and operated monument works.”

The house apparently was unnumbered until the 1930s, when it was assigned 1302, then, around 1942, 1306.

In the 1930 census of Wilson, Wilson County: on East Nash Street, marble works polisher Clearance Best, 37, wife Geneva, 37, and son Clearance, 11.

In the 1940 census of Wilson, Wilson County: marble dresser Clarence Best, 46, wife Geneva, 46, and son Clarence H. Best, 21, tobacco stemmer, plus nephew Frank Brake, 14.

In the 1941 Hill’s Wilson, N.C., city directory: Best Clarence B (c; Geneva) hlpr Wilson Marble & Granite Co h 1302 E Nash

In 1943, Clarence Herman Best registered for the World War II draft. He reported his home address as 1306 East Nash Street, Wilson; his date of birth as 3 October 1918; and his closest relative as Clarence Benjamin Best, his father. His employer was Johnson C. Smith University, Charlotte, North Carolina.

Wilson Daily Times, 30 November 1946.

Wilson Daily Times, 22 August 1947.

In the 1947 Hill’s Wilson, N.C., city directory: Best Clarence B (c; Eva; East Nash Street Monument Co) h 1302 E Nash

Wilson Daily Times, 5 April 1948.

Wilson Daily Times, 10 September 1949.

In the 1950 census of Wilson, Wilson County: at 1306 East Nash, monument plant proprietor Clarence Best, 56; wife Geneva, 56; and lodger George Williams, 38, hotel bellhop.

Wilson Daily Times, 20 November 1980.

Photo by Lisa Y. Henderson.

Samuel H. Vick, as imagined.

I am ambivalent about using artificial intelligence to restore photographs. Or, more specifically, I’m concerned about manipulated photographs supplanting original images and further blurring the line between reality and misinformation. However, the allure of AI-enhanced images is strong, as I often contend with blurry, poorly lit photographs in unnatural sepia or black-and-white tones. Photographs whose condition sometimes exacerbates the distance between us and our ancestors.

I have been experimenting with ChatGPT lately, feeding it queries and images to be restored and colorized. The results are somewhat haphazard, with many images weird and off-putting. Other times, the images are breathtakingly sharp and … alive. Black Wide-Awake exists to resurrect forgotten lives, and I believe these images are valuable to help us connect with the men and women we read about in these posts. From time to time, I’ll share the better ones here, clearly marked as AI-generated.

——

Samuel H. Vick (1861-1947), Renaissance man.

611 and 613 East Nash Street.

The two hundred-tenth in a series of posts highlighting buildings in East Wilson Historic District, a national historic district located in Wilson, North Carolina. As originally approved, the district encompasses 858 contributing buildings and two contributing structures in a historically African-American section of Wilson. (A significant number have since been lost.) The district was developed between about 1890 to 1940 and includes notable examples of Queen Anne, Bungalow/American Craftsman, and Shotgun-style architecture. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1988.

In the nomination form for the East Wilson Historic District, described 611 and 613 East Nash as: “ca. 1908; shotgun with double-pile main block and kitchen wing.” They were built as rental housing, and occupants changed regularly. Both houses, and a third shotgun at 615, have been demolished.

Until about 1921, the houses were numbered 612 and 614. In the 1920 census of Wilson, Wilson County: at 612, Amos Johnson, 26, wagon factory laborer; wife Alice, 24; and daughter Elnora, 4.

The 1922 Sanborn fire insurance map of Wilson shows houses crowding the north side of the 600 block of East Nash Street. All are gone.

In Hill’s 1928 Wilson, N.C., city directory:

In Hill’s 1930 Wilson, N.C., city directory:

Wilson Daily Times, 23 August 1939.

Approximate location of 611 and 613 East Nash Street today, via Google Maps.

N.87-12-919-921, E. Nash, N. Side, 400 Block, 601-619 E. Nash Street, East Wilson Historic District, Wilson, Wilson County, Survey and National Register Branch, State Historic Preservation Office, Department of Natural and Cultural Resources, Division of Archives and Records, Raleigh.

622 East Nash Street.

The two hundred-ninth in a series of posts highlighting buildings in East Wilson Historic District, a national historic district located in Wilson, North Carolina. As originally approved, the district encompasses 858 contributing buildings and two contributing structures in a historically African-American section of Wilson. (A significant number have since been lost.) The district was developed between about 1890 to 1940 and includes notable examples of Queen Anne, Bungalow/American Craftsman, and Shotgun-style architecture. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1988.

As described in the nomination form for the East Wilson Historic District: “ca. 1922; 1 story; Dickerson Grocery; parapet-roofed grocery with one-bay facade and metal veneer.” The building has been demolished.

The building appears in the 1922 Sanborn fire insurance map with a shed extension that had been demolished long before the photo above was taken in 1987. It was not assigned a street number.

There is no listing for the location in the 1928 or 1930 Hill’s city directories of Wilson.

However, in the 1941 Hill’s city directory of Wilson: Jackson Jos S (c; Annie H) fruits 614 E Nash h 618 E Green

And in the 1947 Hill’s city directory of Wilson: Stevens & Ricks Gro (c; David L Stevens J L Ricks) gros 620 E Nash

The two-story brick Knights of Solomon building is visible at rear.

The last owner of the grocery, Margaret H. Dickerson, died in 2002.

Wilson Daily Times, 21 February 2002.

N.87-12-1030-1033, Dickerson Grocery, 622 E. Nash Street, East Wilson Historic District, Wilson, Wilson County, Survey and National Register Branch, State Historic Preservation Office, Department of Natural and Cultural Resources, Division of Archives and Records, Raleigh.

John and Ida Clark, as imagined.

I am ambivalent about using artificial intelligence to restore photographs. Or, more specifically, I’m concerned about manipulated photographs supplanting original images and further blurring the line between reality and misinformation. However, the allure of AI-enhanced images is strong, as I often contend with blurry, poorly lit photographs in unnatural sepia or black-and-white tones. Photographs whose condition sometimes exacerbates the distance between us and our ancestors.

I have been experimenting with ChatGPT lately, feeding it queries and images to be restored and colorized. The results are somewhat haphazard, with many images weird and off-putting. Other times, the images are breathtakingly sharp and … alive. Black Wide-Awake exists to resurrect forgotten lives, and I believe these images are valuable to help us connect with the men and women we read about in these posts. From time to time, I’ll share the better ones here, clearly marked as AI-generated.

——

John H. Clark (1863-1949), mail carrier and Episcopal lay leader, and Ida R. Crenshaw Clark (1863-1942), teacher.

1100 East Nash Street, revisited.

Known as the Sallie Barbour house, 1100 East Nash Street was demolished in the early 2000s.

Houses, 700-1497 E. Nash Street, East Wilson Historic District, Wilson, Wilson County, Survey and National Register Branch, State Historic Preservation Office, Department of Natural and Cultural Resources, Division of Archives and Records, Raleigh.