Rogersville

Duane's take

The official marker for Rogersville is the story I'm about to tell you, right here in Walker County. Now, if you want to find Huntsville's oldest African-American neighborhood, you orient yourself between 7th and 10th Streets, between Old Madisonville Road and Avenue N. That piece of ground has a name — Rogersville — and a history worth knowing.

Most of that land originally belonged to Micajah C. Rogers, Huntsville's first mayor. After the Civil War, Rogers began selling it.

Whether he intended it to become an African-American neighborhood, the marker says plainly, is not certain. But what is certain is this: in 1866, Rogers sold at least six tracts of land along what is today 10th Street to former slaves. Six tracts.

The ink was barely dry on a new world, and people were already planting roots in it. Among those new landowners was Joshua Houston — Sam Houston's former body servant. Think on that for a moment.

A man who had been someone's property was now buying his own. And he wasn't alone. The people of Rogersville built homes.

They opened businesses — a wagon yard, a blacksmith, a carpentry shop, barber and beauty shops, cafes, and other stores. Every one of those enterprises was a declaration. The marker puts it plainly: by buying property, building homes, and establishing businesses, residents confirmed their new independence while holding a stake in the community.

Now, no community takes full shape without a place to gather and worship. Churches were central to Rogersville, and the marker notes that they reflected the very freedoms to worship and to gather that had previously been denied to African-Americans. First Baptist Church, established by 'Mother' Sarah Rolling and Rev.

J.J. Rhinehardt, was particularly important in strengthening community identity. Those neighborhood churches also often served as schools, where students and families learned to read and write and continued to gain education.

Then came 1890. Joshua Houston and others faced some challenges — the marker doesn't spell them out, but the word 'prevailed' tells you enough — and they prevailed in constructing a neighborhood school. Houston's son, Samuel Walker Houston, grew up right there in Rogersville.

He became a noted educator and went on to establish the Sam Houston Industrial Training School at Galilee. And then there's Juneteenth. Rogersville became the site for the annual Juneteenth celebration — the major social event for Huntsville's African-American community.

That piece of ground between 7th and 10th Streets held all of it: the commerce, the worship, the learning, the commemorating. The marker closes by noting that Rogersville's establishments have extended economic, educational, and cultural opportunities to all Walker County citizens. A neighborhood built by people who had nothing not long before — and it gave something to everybody.

What the marker says

NOTED FOR BEING HUNTSVILLE'S OLDEST AFRICAN-AMERICAN NEIGHBORHOOD, ROGERSVILLE IS ROUGHLY SITUATED BETWEEN 7TH AND 10TH STREETS AND OLD MADISONVILLE ROAD AND AVENUE N. MICAJAH C. ROGERS, HUNTSVILLE'S FIRST MAYOR, ORIGINALLY OWNED MOST OF THE LAND AND BEGAN SELLING IT AFTER THE CIVIL WAR. ALTHOUGH IT IS NOT CERTAIN WHETHER ROGERSVILLE WAS MEANT TO BE AN AFRICAN-AMERICAN NEIGHBORHOOD, ROGERS SOLD AT LEAST SIX TRACTS OF LAND TO FORMER SLAVES IN 1866 ALONG WHAT IS TODAY 10TH STREET. AMONG THE NEW LANDOWNERS WAS JOSHUA HOUSTON, SAM HOUSTON'S FORMER BODY SERVANT. BY BUYING PROPERTY, BUILDING HOMES, AND ESTABLISHING BUSINESSES, INCLUDING A WAGON YARD, BLACKSMITH, CARPENTRY SHOP, BARBER AND BEAUTY SHOPS, CAFES AND OTHER STORES, RESIDENTS CONFIRMED THEIR NEW INDEPENDENCE WHILE HOLDING A STAKE IN THE COMMUNITY. CHURCHES WERE CENTRAL TO ROGERSVILLE, REFLECTING THE FREEDOMS TO WORSHIP AND TO GATHER PREVIOUSLY DENIED TO AFRICAN-AMERICANS. IN PARTICULAR, FIRST BAPTIST CHURCH, ESTABLISHED BY "MOTHER" SARAH ROLLING AND REV. J.J. RHINEHARDT, STRENGTHENED COMMUNITY IDENTITY. NEIGHBORHOOD CHURCHES ALSO OFTEN SERVED AS SCHOOLS, WHERE STUDENTS AND FAMILIES LEARNED TO READ AND WRITE AND CONTINUED TO GAIN EDUCATION. IN 1890, AFTER FACING SOME CHALLENGES, JOSHUA HOUSTON AND OTHERS PREVAILED IN CONSTRUCTING A NEIGHBORHOOD SCHOOL. HIS SON, NOTED EDUCATOR SAMUEL WALKER HOUSTON, GREW UP HERE AND ESTABLISHED THE SAM HOUSTON INDUSTRIAL TRAINING SCHOOL AT GALILEE. ROGERSVILLE BECAME THE SITE FOR THE ANNUAL JUNETEENTH CELEBRATION, THE MAJOR SOCIAL EVENT FOR HUNTSVILLE'S AFRICAN-AMERICAN COMMUNITY. OVERALL, ROGERSVILLE'S ESTABLISHMENTS HAVE EXTENDED ECONOMIC, EDUCATIONAL, AND CULTURAL OPPORTUNITIES TO ALL WALKER COUNTY CITIZENS.