HISTORY OF SUMMERHILL
HISTORY OF SUMMERHILL
Hell Raisers of Summer Hill by Tim Arkansas
Civil War Era - World War II
Summerhill, established in 1865 by William Jennings, was initially a post-civil war neighborhood divided into two sections along Capital Avenue: the actual Summerhill community on the east side and then the Southside along the south and west ends of the neighborhood. The east side Summerhill was comprised of predominately African American residents, while the Southside had mostly white, Jewish residents.
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Throughout the late nineteenth century, Summerhill was considered the most prosperous African American neighborhood in Atlanta.
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The neighborhood excelled in education, founding E.P. Johnson Elementary School, the only public school for African American children in Atlanta, as well as prospering in other economic ventures.
The distinct neighborhood division of Summerhill and Southside is highlighted by the yellow and purple zones, respectively.
The neighborhood excelled in education, founding E.P. Johnson Elementary School, the only public school for African American children in Atlanta, as well as prospering in other economic ventures. Until the beginning of World War II, Summerhill was an affluent neighborhood, with both Summerhill and Southside zoned as retail districts, allowing the community to flourish financially. Residents had access to a multitude of bakeries, grocers, pharmacies, barbers, general appliance stores, and even a movie theater, making the future of the Summerhill community look extremely promising.
Pictured on the left is the E.P. Johnson Elementary School, which was originally built in 1867 with help from the Freedman's Bureau. It was eventually destroyed in the 1970s for construction of apartment complexes.
However, the end of World War II brought massive change to the neighborhood, erasing the social and economic progress the African American communities had made in Summerhill.
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As Atlanta grew as an urban hub, integration of the automobile and search of more modern housing motivated wealthier members of Summerhill to migrate to more affluent parts on the outer edge of the city.
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Coupled with an already prominent fear of mixed-race neighborhoods, this began to reverse Summerhill’s progress. With the Southside experiencing white flight, African Americans began to occupy the previously white and now vacant homes. White business owners began to see an opportunity for profit in Summerhill, and as a result, many new white-owned shops and businesses were opened around the Summerhill neighborhood.
A white owned grocery store within Summerhill.
Post World War II
Civil Rights Movement
Pictured above is the urban renewal plan for the development of Summerhill.
It didn’t take long for the federal and state governments to exert its dominance through President Eisenhower’s The Federal-Aid Highway Act of 1956. Considering Atlanta was originally a major train hub, it was one of the most heavily affected cities by this act since it provided the optimal place for the largest interstate intersection in the south. While new interstates, such as Highway 85, brought some of the largest economic progress the United States had ever seen, urban neighborhoods such as Summerhill were forced to be razed.
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Residents of this southeast neighborhood were forced out of their homes by way of eminent domain.
Families who did not have enough funds to relocate to another neighborhood were given vouchers to move into public housing. In addition to families, businesses formerly located where the interstate had been built were forced out of the city. Out of the 75 businesses that were relocated, only half were able to resume operations in another location. As a result of Highway 85, the identity of the community of Summerhill was fractured.
This was one of the many sparks of looming racial tension in Summerhill.
During the year of 1966, Ivan Allen’s master plan to bring major league sports to Atlanta came to life. Allen had long awaited the arrival of the major sports scene to Atlanta, more specifically baseball. The success of the Chicago Cubs, New York Yankees, and the Los Angeles Dodgers sparked ambition in him. Allen managed to coerce the Milwaukee Braves into moving their franchise to Atlanta by promising a new stadium for the city: Atlanta Stadium. This stadium would be built right next to the largest interchange in the Southeast, right in the neighborhood of Summerhill.
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This stadium caused further displacement of families, businesses and community centers for Summerhill. Atlanta Stadium was considered the last straw for most residents of Summerhill, as their outcries against this forced relocation and new found poverty were simply ignored to further Mayor Allen’s community and economic approval.
