DUANE
Duane's take
Here's my telling of what the official marker has to say about this place — and it's a story worth slowing down for. It starts with a man named James B. McKnight, who came to Anderson County in 1848.
By 1876 and again in 1879, he bought land right here at this site from a man named J.H. Mead. On that ground, McKnight ran a saddlery and farrier business — horses shod, leather worked, the steady rhythm of a trade that kept a town moving.
He died in 1907, and three years later, in 1910, the property changed hands. The buyer was the Farmers and Citizens Bank. Now here's where the story turns.
The Farmers and Citizens Bank had been established in 1906 by African American businessmen. And when they took ownership of this block in 1910, something remarkable began to take shape. The block became known as McKnight Plaza.
And for thirty-five years — between 1910 and 1945 — this place was alive. Let me paint you a picture of what was happening on this square. George Macon Shuffer had a dry goods store.
Dr. H.V. Hurd set up his dental practice here.
Dr. J.H. Dodd ran a drugstore and soda fountain, and if you needed a new hat, Dodd's wife was operating a millinery shop right alongside him.
You needed a cab, J.B. Blake had you covered. Hungry?
John Tatum's café. Need your books kept or your property insured? H.G.
Neely's accounting and insurance office. Al Davis and I.V. Bland ran a funeral home.
John Hunter kept a barbershop. Noah Williams ran a cleaning and pressing shop. And if you needed medical care, Doctors W.R.
Roberts, R.E. Holland, and H.D. Patton all had offices and tended patients right here.
Dentists Williamson McLellan and H.D. Mitchell did the same. And up on that prominent ground-floor corner, the Farmers and Citizens Bank anchored the whole enterprise — until it closed in the late 1920s.
There was even a social life woven into these walls. The Missouri Pacific Colored Booster Club, a private social organization, was located here and sponsored local events and dances. This wasn't just commerce — it was community.
People called it "on the square," and that phrase carried real weight. For Palestine's African American community, McKnight Plaza was the commercial center — the place where you did business, saw your doctor, got a haircut, grabbed a soda, and danced on a Saturday night. Thirty-five years of local entrepreneurship and enterprise, built on this one block.
Then, in 1945, the building was demolished. The site became a grocery store, and later a bank. The skyline changed.
The names on the doors changed. But Palestine remembers. This ground, right here, is still considered a significant part of the city's social and economic history — because for thirty-five years, it was the square where a community built something entirely their own.
What the marker says
James B. McKnight moved to Anderson County in 1848. In 1876 and 1879, he bought land at this site from J.H. Mead. Here, he operated a saddlery and farrier business. McKnight died in 1907, and in 1910, the property was sold to the Farmers and Citizens Bank, which had been established by African American businessmen in 1906. The block here became known as McKnight Plaza. Between 1910 and 1945, McKnight Plaza housed numerous businesses and offices owned by African American merchants, doctors and dentists. The Farmers and Citizens Bank, which would close in the late 1920s, was on a prominent corner of the ground floor. George Macon Shuffer owned a dry good store. Dr. H.V. Hurd, a dentist, and Dr. J.H. Dodd owned a drugstore and soda fountain; Dodd's wife operated a millinery shop. Other businesses included J.B. Blake's cab company, John Tatum's café, H.G. Neely's accounting and insurance office, the funeral home of Al Davis and I.V. Bland, John Hunter's barbershop, and Noah Williams' cleaning and pressing shop. Doctors W.R. Roberts, R.E. Holland and H.D. Patton, as well as dentists Williamson McLellan and H.D. Mitchell, had offices and tended patients at this site. The Missouri Pacific Colored Booster Club, a private social organization located here, sponsored local events and dances. For 35 years, McKnight Plaza served as a commercial center for Palestine's African American community, representing local entrepreneurship and enterprise. Commonly referred to as "on the square," the plaza was once a bustling shopping and office center. Following the building's demolition in 1945, the plaza's former site became a grocery store and later a bank. Today, it remains a significant part of Palestine's social and economic history. (2004)