The Sugar Hill that still survives

[thelakelander]

Largely razed as a result of mid-20th century discriminatory practices, Sugar Hill was Jim Crow era Black Jacksonville's version of middle class inner city living.

Read More: https://www.thejaxsonmag.com/article/the-sugar-hill-that-still-survives/

[Wacca Pilatka]

Thanks for posting this, Lake.  We really need a new version of Jacksonville's Architectural Heritage that covers the many North/Northwest and Eastside buildings that were omitted from the original.

[jaxlongtimer]

Lake, great article.  I enjoy reading the history associated with the original residents of these homes.

What I also find impressive is the quality and size of the homes that many of these people in front line jobs were able to possess, even with the societal obstacles they were confronted with.  It doesn't seem like many people doing these jobs today can afford the same living standards.  Did these owners participate with sweat equity in building these homes?  I imagine many living in these areas were the same skilled laborers who built the homes in the white communities so maybe they utilized such skills for their own benefit and enjoyment?  Were they able to get any type of financing?  Answers to these questions might give us more insight into their life experiences.

It's also appears the neighborhoods of the past were more mixed in terms of the economic status of their residents.  Seems, today, that neighborhoods are more homogeneous in this regard.

[thelakelander]

^Yes, in the past, if you were Black you were restricted in where you could like. So the older neighborhoods in NW Jax and the Eastside are very mixed use, in terms of housing styles, housing types, commercial and industrial uses because they were areas where residents lived out their entire life cycles.