City Directories and History: 1981 – King’s
This Sanborn Map shows this location as a hardware store and bowling alley in 1912. The area may have developed as early as 1905.
King Jewelers at 139 S. Congress was started by Bert King and his wife Betty in the 1950’s. The original location of the King’s business is now the mini-park which was constructed in the 1980’s. In the
Nineteenth Century W. R. Doty had an extensive dry goods and livery business in this block which burned March 1, 1887 and destroyed most of the block including the second home of Saint John’s Episcopal Church which was behind the Economy Drug building. After this fire Saint John’s congregation built its current building on the corner of Liberty and Garden Streets. On the west side of this 100 block also stood the late Nineteenth Century woodworking shop of John McCreight whose skilled woodwork graces many houses built at this time. Another black citizen, Matilda Roseborough, operated a food shop specializing in corned beef and ginger bread in the same vicinity. Her reputation for good food survives her. In the early twentieth Century several black citizens operated other business on the site of the former Saint John’s sanctuary. Among them was the portrait photography studio of Mr. Bums and a seamstress shop operated by a lady remembered as “Miss Eva.” Joe Young also ran a fish restaurant here. A Mr. Gibson ran a small candy and grocery for a time in the early 1930’s. [Courtesy of J.M. Lyles]
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Pelham Lyles says
I wonder if the mention of John McCreight above was meant to be John Smart, the black carpenter who did much work around town, including work on the present St. John’s Episcopal Church on Garden St. Please correct me if I am wrong!