Photo Provided by South Pittsburg Public Works
JARRETT GOODMAN
Staff Writer
The historic town of South Pittsburg has placed banners commemorating African American citizens who have played integral roles in the communities’ history down Cedar Avenue.
Approved by members of South Pittsburg’s city board, the banners are a first for the community to have and presented by the South Pittsburg Historic Preservation Society for the celebration of Black History Month. Carolyn Millhiser, secretary for the South Pittsburg Historic Preservation Society, explained that the idea to introduce the banners to South Pittsburg was brought up by Commissioner Beth Duggar who, while attending a meeting in Gallatin, Tennessee, noticed banners being displayed in preparation and commemoration for Black History Month. She reached out for more information about the banners and shared the information with Millhiser and others of the historic society which then culminated and inspired them to do the same as a means of honoring the black residents who have played significant roles in shaping the town into what it is today.
“She was over there at a meeting with a co-op and saw the banners and brought the information back and we thought, ‘well, we have banners so why don’t we do something for Black History Month,’ noted Millhiser. Numerous figures from throughout the community’s history are recognized for this year’s observance, with 16 public figures being commemorated for their work and services to the town through the many decades of history, such as Brown McReynolds who founded McReynolds High School, the first African American high school in Marion County and Merzeller Burnett who served as principal of the school for 25 years. Other public figures who have received banners of their own include Alberta Council, Lorraine and Monroe Powers, John Jordan, Jim Wigfall, Ollie Pounds, Hiram Moore, Chris Patton, Gladys Wooten, Charles Wilkerson, Margaret McCain, Ed Reynolds and Dr. William Astrapp, Hollis Wooten will also be recognized with a banner for his academic and career achievements, graduating from the University of Tennessee in Chattanooga at 36 years old and becoming an electrical engineer while also going on to work at the U.S. Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge National Laboratory in Oak Ridge, Tennessee.
“His parents died when he was young. He was working at the hospital trying to go to college and it’s just a story that a lot of people in this town don’t know about,” noted Millhiser. This is the first year the banners will be honoring these residents who shaped the community’s history. Mrs. Millhiser stated that the South Pittsburg Historic Preservation Society will continue to raise these banners each year for Black History Month as they look forward to adding more banners for additional public figures to be recognized in the coming years.
The following historical information was provided by the SPHPS:
William James Astrapp – Physician
11/11/1882 – 1/10/1944
1906-1907 student Meharry College (Nashville phone book)
1930 – 136 Cedar Avenue
1935 – He built the two-story brick building at 136 Cedar – The first floor had the pharmaceutical department (drug store), office, waiting room, sanitarium, and two business apartments. On the second floor was a private four-room apartment, living quarters for the doctor, two baths, four other large rooms, and a hall. (Today site of SP Board of Water Works and Marion County Natural Gas System office)
Mentor to Hiram Beene Moore
Merzeller Moore Burnett – Educator
1/1/1902 – 8/24/1999
Lane College, Jackson, TN, 1928 Cum Laude, BA degree in Math and Languages
Principal McReynolds High School 25 years
Member – MC Mental Health Board, Community Service League, SP Housing Authority
James Alberta Council – Educator
7/11/1916- 6/1/2010
Morristown College, Tennessee State University, New York University
English Teacher McReynolds School & South Pittsburg High School
Vice-President, Tennessee NAACP
John Jordan – Businessman
4/26/1903 – 4/9/1978
O.K. Cleaners 2nd Street
- built by McReynolds students with Trades Teacher Walter Watson, Jr.
- cleaners, laundromat, and beauty parlor
South Pittsburg Housing Authority
South Pittsburg Commissioner of Health and Recreation
Margaret Hale McCain – Educator
2/14/1931 – 3/26/2010
McReynolds High School Graduate
BA Xavier University, New Orleans; Master’s Columbia University
Teacher, McReynolds School and South Pittsburg Elementary School
Brown Douglas McReynolds -Hotel Porter
1/17/1882 -?
Porter – Lancaster Hotel, Jasper TN
Chair, committee to establish an African American high school in Marion County
Hiram Beene Moore – Physician
1/1/1914 – 8/9/2005
McReynolds High School Graduate
Tennessee State University, Meharry Medical School
Medical Office at 206 Elm Avenue
South Pittsburg Housing Authority
National Medical Association “General Practitioner of the Year” 1964
Lodge Manufacturing Company Board of Directors
Chris Patton – Custodian
1/17/1911 – 3/9/2007
World War II veteran
South Pittsburg Post Office employee
Treasurer, Cumberland Lodge No. 90 F&A.M.
Ollie Lewis Pounds – Minister
2/28/1908 – 10/4/1989
McReynolds High School Graduate
Penn Dixie Cement Company employee
Mount Bethlehem Missionary Baptist Church Minister 31 years
South Pittsburg Housing Authority
Frances Lorraine Pearson Powers – EYES
8/30/1927 – 10/5/2020
First African American Female Police Officer
South Pittsburg Elementary School Teacher Assistant
E.Y. E. S. (Educating Youth Ensures Success) founder (19-year program)
Monroe Powers, Jr. – Community Advocate
8/17/1926 – 2/25/2021
1944 – 1946 U S Army Air Corp.
Tennessee Valley Authority employee 38 years
NAACP South Pittsburg- Marion County President 12 years
South Pittsburg City Commissioner
Commander, American Legion Post 62
Charles Edward Reynolds – Commissioner
8/8/1932 – 12/15/2020
South Pittsburg City Commissioner 1988-2012
Lodge Manufacturing Company employee
So. Pittsburg Board of Water Works & Sewers and Marion Natural Gas Board 1994-2020
Chairman 2009 – 2020
James Lebron Wigfall – City Commissioner 2020 –
10/4/1950 – 3/29/2020
1969 Running Back SPHS State Championship Football Team
American Legion Marion Post 62 Sergeant-at-arms
Founder of Friends of the Legion for Legion Hall restoration project
Tennessee Valley Authority employee as electrician
South Pittsburg City Commissioner
Charles A. Wilkerson – Funeral Director
9/7/1877 – 3/4/1952
1900 & 1910 US Census – Coal Miner in Whitwell Area
1930 Census – Funeral Director /Undertaker
Gupton- Jones School of Anatomy and Embalming Graduate
Note -On June 8, 1920, the Gupton-Jones School of Embalming was founded by L. A. Gupton in Nashville, Tennessee, to teach the art and science of funeral directing and embalming. In the beginning, the school had two faculty members to teach the young men and women in the South the courses in mortuary science. Over these many years, the faculty and facilities have increased. The old “castle style” home of the Upton Jones College on West End Avenue in Nashville was a landmark well known to many.
First African American licensed mortician in Marion County
First African American on a federal jury in Marion County (obituary)
Undertaker 40+ years (obituary)
Gladys Streeter Wooten – Historian
3/20/1932 – 11/23/2022
McReynolds High School graduate
Tennessee Valley Authority employee
Mt. Bethlehem Missionary Baptist Church Sunday School Superintendent
Historian
Hollis Darwin Wooten – Electrical Engineer
9/29/1939 – 11/12/2021
McReynolds High School graduate
Parents deaths – Lila Mae in 1955 and Lawson in 1964
South Pittsburg Municipal Hospital employee; Stove Manufacturers Scholarship with the assistance of Dr. James Havron
BS Electrical Engineering, University of Tennessee, Chattanooga age 35 in 1975
Senior Engineer, Oak Ridge National Laboratory 1987 until retirement in 2005
