grocery store

Historic Black Business Series, no. 13: Oscar Best’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!

Oscar Best operated a grocery in the Grabneck community, which was comprised largely of his extended family. I don’t know at which corner of Nash Street near Bynum his shop operated, and took liberties to take this photo at the site of a more recent Black-owned business at that intersection, Richie’s Automotive Service Center (now at 735 Goldsboro Street SW).

1908 Hill’s Wilson, N.C., city directory

In the 1880 census of Wilson, Wilson County: farmer Orren Best, 31; wife Hansey, 31; and children James, 9, Oscar, 6, George, 4, Fannie, 2, and Hattie, 3 months.

On 23 December 1896, Oscar Best, 24, married Lizzie Harris, 21, at Thomas D. Johnson‘s house in Wilson. A.M.E. Zion Church Nicholas D. King performed the ceremony in the presence of G.W. Sugg, L.D. Johnson, and S.A. Smith.

In the 1910 census of Wilson, Wilson County: carpenter Orange Best, 67, wife Hansey, 61, children Oscar, 37, a widowed grocer, Roberta, 22, Bethena, 19, Robert, 17, and granddaughter Sarah, 8.

Home Supply Company.

Circa 1908, William McCowan and Samuel H. Vick operated a grocery store at 540 East Nash Street, on the first floor of the Odd Fellows building.

Detail, 1908 Sanborn fire insurance map of Wilson, N.C.

Per the 1908 city directory, the company employed at least one clerk, Elmore Stokes.

Home Supply Company was a short-lived venture between two unlikely partners. Neither McCowan, a brickmason, nor Vick, who had broad entrepreneurial interests, had known experience in the grocery business.

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William McCowan

In the 1870 census of Wilson, Wilson County: washerwoman Anna McGown, 35, and children William, 16, Emma, 15, Bettie, 10, Margaret, 8, Charles, 6, and Samuel, 2.

In the 1880 census of Wilson, Wilson County: brickmason William McCowan, 27; wife Louiza, 25; and daughter Annice, 6.

In the 1900 census of Wilson, Wilson County: bricklayer William McCowan, 47; wife Louise, 39; and boarder Calvin Murray, 14.

In the 1908 Hill’s Wilson, N.C., city directory: McCowan Wm pres Home Supply Co (Inc) h Church nr Pender

In the 1910 census of Wilson, Wilson County: Bill McCowan, 56; wife Louisiana, 45; and lodger Annie Williams, 38.

In the 1922 and 1925 Hill’s Wilson, N.C., city directory: McCowan William (c) brklyer h 513 Church

In the 1928 Hill’s Wilson, N.C., city directory: McCowan William (c, Louisa) brklyer h 513 Church

In the 1930 Hill’s Wilson, N.C., city directory: McCowan J William (c; Louisa) brklyer h 513 Church

William McCowan died 21 February 1940 in Wilson. Per his death certificate, he was 86 years old; was born in Wilson County; lived at 513 Church Street; was the widower of Lou McCowan; worked as a bricklayer; and was buried in Wilson, N.C. [If he, like Vick, were an Odd Fellow, he is likely buried in that cemetery. Otherwise, Vick Cemetery or the newly opened Rest Haven.]

Elmore Stokes

205 South Pender Street.

In the early 1960s, the brick building marked B.P.O. Reindeer Lodge No. 32 at 205 South Pender. The building has been demolished.

As described in the nomination form for the East Wilson Historic District: “#205 [formerly 203 1/2]; ca. 1930; 2 stories; (former) Central Grocery and Market; simple brick commercial building has parapet front and five-bay facade; remodeled recessed entry; upper floor at one time contained Knights of King Solomon civic club; interior has been altered for apartments.”

In April and May 1935, a series of notices appeared in the Wilson Daily Times alerting the public of the court-ordered sale of “the Knights of Solomon building, located on Stantonsburg Street, in the Town of Wilson” on May 18 of that year.

The 1941 Hill’s Wilson, N.C., city directory shows Wade H. Pridgen as the proprietor of a grocery at 203 1/2 Stantonsburg Street, with tobacco worker Eva Pringle as the upstairs tenant.

The 1947 and 1950 Hill’s Wilson, N.C., city directories show Hocutt’s Grocery (William S. and Roland B. Hocutt, proprietors) at 203 1/2 Stantonsburg Street, with Eva Pringle still upstairs.

The 1963 Hill’s Wilson, N.C., city directory shows BPO Reindeer at the address.

By the early 1970s, the first floor of this building housed the East Branch of the Wilson County Public Library, the successor to the Negro Library formerly located two blocks north on Pender Street.

The building was occupied as a lodging house during its final decades before demolition circa 2005.

An even better look at Cockrell’s grocery.

We’ve seen two grainy versions of a photograph of the interior of Cockrell’s Grocery, but here’s the original. Shot circa 1948, the image clearly depicts the Cockrell family and employees, including William White and Billy Strayhorn, and the layout of the store, which operated at the corner of East Green and North Pettigrew Streets. (The building still stands.)

Photo courtesy of J. Robert Boykin III.

The Colored Grocery.

On 27 March 1903, the Colored Grocery Company of Wilson ordered a customized fireproof safe from R.L. Barnes Safe & Lock Company of Richmond, Virginia. Per the terms of the order, Barnes would retain ownership of the safe until the full $70 purchase price was tendered.

What was the Colored Grocery Company? Where was it? Who owned it? Was it “colored” because of its ownership? Its clientele? The contract offers no clue.

Deed book 66, page 373, Wilson County Register of Deeds Office.

Store damaged by fire.

Wilson Daily Times, 30 March 1924.

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Ed Johnson — Edward Johnson died 15 April 1924 (two weeks after his store burned.) Per his death certificate, he was born 12 February 1869 in Durham County, N.C., to Martin Johnson and Francies Burks of Durham County; was married to Rachel Jane Johnson; was a self-employed grocery merchant; and lived at 406 East Hines Street. His wife Rachel Johnson was the daughter of his landlord Lewis Townsend.
Louis Townsend — Lewis W. Townsend and his brother Andrew J. Townsend operated groceries together and separately in the warehouse district southwest of downtown Wilson.

Clipping courtesy of J. Robert Boykin III.

Black businesses, 1913, no. 2: South Spring (now Douglas) Street.

Page 3, Sanborn fire insurance map of Wilson, N.C., 1913.

Cross-referencing the 1912 Hill’s Wilson, N.C., city directory and the 1913 Sanborn fire insurance map of Wilson reveals the specific locations of Black-owned businesses just after the turn of the century.

Above, the west side of the 400 block of South Spring [now Douglas] Street, showing a heavy concentration of small restaurants and groceries. This stretch bordered the American Tobacco (later Liggett & Meyers) tobacco warehouse to the rear and was a block away from Smith’s warehouse, Watson warehouse, Export Leaf warehouse, a larger American Tobacco warehouse, and the Norfolk & Southern cotton loading platform, and these businesses no doubt targeted the swarms of warehouse workers.

Meet Virginia native Jacob Tucker here; Neverson Green here and here; and Nannie Best here.

Agnes Taylor does not appear in Wilson census records, but her full entry in the 1912 city directory shows that she lived at 418 South Spring, just a few lots down from her eating house.

All these buildings have been demolished.

915 East Nash Street.

The one hundred twenty-seventh 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 encompassed 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, this building is: “909-911 [Nash]; ca. 1930; 1; Cain’s Grocery; district’s largest grocery; brick-veneered structure with parapet front.” The correct address for this building is in fact 915 East Nash Street. 909 and 911 are empty lots.

The 1922 Sanborn fire insurance map of the block shows three contiguous wood-framed commercial buildings, two marked as groceries, in the 900 block of Nash Street. The middle building, at 913, appears to be the precursor of the building above.

In the 1928 and 1930 Hill’s Wilson, N.C., directories, 915 East Nash Street is listed as vacant.

As early as July 1936, Gill’s Grocery advertised in the local newspaper:

Wilson Daily Times, 17 July 1936.

In the 1941 Hill’s Wilson, N.C., city directory: Gill’s Grocery (John D Gill) 915-917 E Nash. (On either side, two more groceries, Jesse Verser’s at 913 and Smith’s, owned by Leander and Maggie Smith, at 919-921.)

Gill’s Grocery remained in business at 915 East Nash Street into the 1970s. Cain’s Grocery and other supermarkets succeeded Gill’s into the early 21st century. Most recently, the building has housed a church.

Photo by Lisa Y. Henderson, December 2018.

319 South Pender Street.

The ninetieth 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.

October 2018.

The address of this location was originally 315 Stantonsburg Street, then 319 Stantonsburg Street, and finally 319 South Pender Street.

Sanborn fire insurance map of Wilson, N.C., 1922.

As described in the nomination form for the East Wilson Historic District, this building is: “ca. 1922; 1 story; Harrell’s Grocery; exemplary grocery in district, with parapet front and recessed entry.” In the “Physical Description” section of the for:, “The local grocery is exemplified by “Harrell’s,” a frame structure with a simple parapet front and recessed entry, where a variety of fresh greens are on display.”

Since 1988, the appearance of this “exemplary” building has been much, and unfortunately, altered. The parapet front has been covered with a square facade of siding and, most drastically, the entrance to the store has shifted from the street to the side facing the parking lot. The original entryway is just visible below the store sign.

In the 1941 Hill’s Wilson, N.C., city directories: Dew Geneva (c) beer 315 Stantonsburg h 203 Stantonsburg. (In the 1947 city directory, the address has shifted 319 Stantonsburg.)

In the 1963 city directory, S&D Fish Market (Robt L Crook) 319 Stantonsburg

The store’s ownership continues to turn over regularly. As recently as 2016, Romanian Hero was called Jordan’s.

Photographs by Lisa Y. Henderson.

1114 and 1114 1/2 Carolina Street.

The eighty-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.

October 2018.

As described in the nomination form for the East Wilson Historic District, this building is: “ca. 1950; 1 story; Corner Grocery; concrete-block grocery with parapet front.” The building was classified as “non-contributing,” i.e. lacking historic value per the terms of the historic register. However, there is evidence of a grocery at the corner of Carolina and Carroll Streets as early as 1928.

In the 1928 and 1930 Hill’s Wilson, N.C., city directory, William F. Peacock is listed as the owner of a grocery at 1114 Carolina Street. Peacock, who was white, lived at 706 Academy Street.

Thomas W. Thorne, also white, is listed as owner of the grocery at 1114 Carolina in the 1941 Hill’s Wilson, N.C., city directory. The smaller attached building shown above seems to have been added during the previous decade, and Dublin Hargrove is listed as the proprietor of a fish market at 1114 1/2 Carolina.

In the 1947-48 Hill’s Wilson, N.C., city directory: Winstead Geo (c; Martha) gro 1114 Carolina h 1110. Also, Annie’s Beauty Shop (c; Mrs Annie Aldridge) 1114 1/2 Carolina Street. The store was offered for sale late in 1947.

Wilson Daily Times, 27 November 1947.

Now empty and decaying, this building housed a corner store into the 21st century. This 2015 photograph shows a sign, hand-lettered by Louis S. Thomas, for Gray Boy’s, the last active grocery in the building.