Once upon a time, back yards in East Wilson were dotted with outbuildings — auto garages, sheds, chicken coops, outdoor toilets, and other small structures. The whitewashed brick shed above, now standing in a side yard on East Green Street, may once have been used as a root cellar.(Note the diagonal wedge of brick on the shed’s gable end, indicating a re-purposing of the original structure that required partial reconstruction.]

At the rear of Noah J. Tate’s house at 307 North Pender — two adjoining sheds, an auto garage, and an open-sided car port. Detail of 1922 Wilson, N.C., Sanborn fire insurance map.

Sheds and garages behind the houses of Hardy Tate (611), Della Hines Barnes (613), William Hines (615), and Walter Hines (617). Detail of 1922 Wilson, N.C., Sanborn map.

Sheds in backyards in the 400 block of North Vick Street. Detail of 1922 Wilson, N.C., Sanborn map.

The sheds and chicken coops behind these houses on East Green Street are believed to have belonged to Samuel and Annie Vick at 622. Detail of 1922 Wilson, N.C., Sanborn fire insurance map.

Photo by Lisa Y. Henderson, June 2021.