Copyright 2015 Artis D. Jenkins

133 Pages·2015·1.1 MB·English

© Copyright 2015

Artis D. Jenkins
A People’s History of the Hilltop
Private lives made Public

Artis D. Jenkins

A thesis

submitted in partial fulfillment of the

requirements for the degree of

Masters of Arts in Interdisciplinary Studies

University of Washington

2015

Reading Committee:

Lawrence M. Knopp, Chair

Andrew Cho, Reader

Program Authorized to Offer Degree:

Interdisciplinary Arts and Sciences
University of Washington

Abstract

A People’s History of the Hilltop
Private lives made Public

Artis D. Jenkins

Chair of the Supervisory Committee:
Lawrence M. Knopp
Interdisciplinary Arts and Sciences

Tacoma’s Hilltop neighborhood has a history. A rich and colorful history made
significant by the residents who have lived there and made vast contributions to that greater
community. Yet of that documented past, the stories of Black Americans are missing. From the
very beginning my thesis project has been investigating Tacoma’s Hilltop neighborhood and the
history of its Black residents.
What my Master’s Thesis accomplishes is adding Private lives of Black Americans to the
Public history of the Hilltop. My research examines the Hilltop beginning post-World War II to
the present, from the perspective of key informants in conjunction with archival material. This
adds a new viewpoint concerning the history of the neighborhood, by including Black residents,
along with their knowledge of the social, economic, and political events that have helped shape
the neighborhood. At the same time, I contribute to a deeper understanding of the Black
experience in this historic neighborhood.
Table of Contents

Acknowledgements ....................................................................................................................................... ii
Dedication .................................................................................................................................................... iii
Chapter One: The Public History of the Hilltop ............................................................................................. 1
Chapter Two: The Lost, Forgotten, & Unmentionables ................................................................................ 4
I. Background Information ........................................................................................................................ 6
II. Tacoma .................................................................................................................................................. 9
III. Hilltop Specific.................................................................................................................................... 11
Chapter Three: Where Do We Go From Here? ......................................................................................... 155
Criteria of Oral Histories Participants ................................................................................................... 166
Identifying Oral Histories Participants .................................................................................................... 16
Further Research Material ...................................................................................................................... 18
Chapter Four: Not the Hilltop You Remembered ....................................................................................... 18
Chapter Five: Race Does Make A Difference .............................................................................................. 22
Chapter Six: Segregation & the Power of Prayer ........................................................................................ 25
Influential Black Pastors and Churches ................................................................................................... 29
Not the Hilltop You Remembered .......................................................................................................... 32
Chapter Seven: Hilltop Community Life ...................................................................................................... 35
The Notorious Hilltop .............................................................................................................................. 37
Crime and Grime ..................................................................................................................................... 38
Chapter Eight: The Return of the Hilltop .................................................................................................... 43
Chapter Nine: Summary and Conclusion .................................................................................................... 46
Bibliography ................................................................................................................................................ 50
Betty Mewborn Oral History ........................................................................................................ Appendix A
Mary Doss Oral History ................................................................................................................. Appendix B
Sam Daniels Oral History............................................................................................................... Appendix C
Kitty Scott Oral History................................................................................................................. Appendix D

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Acknowledgements

Larry Knopp Ph.D, for taking on the commitment of being my committee chair, proof reading
editing, and a continued source of support and encouragement. Thank you, for your wealth of
knowledge and invaluable help.
Andrew Cho Ph.D, for being my reader, a mentor, a great friend and opening my eyes to the
world around me.
Linda Ishem Ph.D, for asking me to choose a community and beginning this 8 year journey.
Margaret Lundberg, for readings and constructive criticism.
Kari Kennedy, for repeated readings and invaluable knowledge.
Kayla Stewart, for continual support, friendship, and willingness to proofread.
To all my TAIS 505 classmates, thank for all your support and continued help.

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Dedication

To my wife Jessica Jenkins, for always believing in me and pushing me to be successful. To my
parents, Artis B. Jenkins and Brenda Joyce White, for impressing upon me that I could do or
accomplish anything I set my mind to. To my grandparents, Harvey and Dorothy Knight, for
showing me where I came from and what I was always capable of. To my grandmother Helen
Tucker, for showing me that anything in life worth having requires hard work and dedication. To
my God, for strength, wisdom, humility, and your son Jesus Christ.

Thank you
R.I.P Harvey Lee Knight & Helen L Tucker

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Chapter One: The Public History of the Hilltop

Tacoma’s history can be tied to more than one individual, but one of the most influential
individuals and founding father is one Job Carr. Carr, a member of the Union Army came to
Tacoma after the Civil War in December of 1864: “On December 25, 1864, Job Carr arrives at
the future site of Tacoma on Commencement Bay. He will file a 168-acre claim to land at a site
the Nisqually and Puyallup Peoples call Shubahlup or sheltered place. (Williams, 2002 n.p.)
Founded in 1873, Tacoma had already been chosen by Northern Pacific Railroad as a major port.
Northern Pacific Railroad acquired two miles of property along Ruston Way; some 2700 acres of
land south of “Old Town” and the beginning of New Tacoma: “The selection of Tacoma as
Puget Sound’s first terminus (Seattle would eventually secure a railway terminus of its own in
1884) was monumental to the sawmill town who, for the remainder of the 20th century and well
into the 21st, would vigorously strive to retain a competitive edge over her sister city and
northern rival.” (Williams, 2002 n.p) By 1884 Commencement Bay had become a thriving
shipping port with canneries, wharves, ship yards, coal bunkers, saw mills and flour mills. Due to
Hilltop’s close proximity to the Downtown and Commencement Bay waterfront, it became the
city’s first neighborhood and the first immigrant neighborhood, thus making it the oldest
neighborhood in the city. The Hilltop has always been racially diverse, made up of mostly
working class citizens, and it derives its name from its location on a high bluff overlooking
Commencement Bay and the Port of Tacoma.
While there were many different ethnic communities in Tacoma, there were several
groups that were prominent in the area: Native Americans, Irish, Scandinavian, Italians, Chinese,
and Prussians. These groups came for various reasons, from various backgrounds, and from
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geographical locations across the globe. The Chinese had migrated to Seattle as early as the
1860’s. Many came by way of California. Most had been working in the gold mines and came to
mine coal in Seattle and Tacoma: “Many Chinese arrived in the Tacoma area in the 1870s to
become the first non-Indian fishermen in Puget Sound and to build the Northern Pacific Railroad
line from Kalama to Tacoma, which was a terminus for the China trade” (City of Tacoma
Landmarks Preservation Commission, 1997. pg.2) (There also was a substantial Irish population,
many of whom were seeking a new beginning after The Great Potato Famine of 1845. “The Irish
originally came to Tacoma in the 1870s through the 1890s as railroad workers on the Northern
Pacific line. Irish laborers were the mainstay of the construction gangs that did this grueling task.
By the early 1900s, the Irish had established churches and social organizations on the Hilltop that
continue to serve the community today” (Ndebele Wallpainting in Tacoma, n.d. n.p). Tacoma
has always had a culturally rich environment due to the fact it had many jobs in manufacturing,
railroads, and shipping. These were a great lure to international immigrants and domestic
migrants seeking better job opportunities.
As development continued to explode along the city’s waterfront and downtown area, so
did the development inside the Hilltop. Tacoma’s early economic boom era from 1873 to 1890
attracted people from across the country and around the world. Land across the Hilltop was
cleared, houses were made, and services were provided to keep up with the growing number of
new residents moving into the area. Tacoma’s Hilltop neighborhood during its early years
expanded very rapidly. As culturally rich as the neighborhood was, so too were the architectural
structures. The Hilltop’s architectural landscape featured a wide array of apartment complexes,
Victorian built homes, American style Foursquares of the 1900’s, Craftsmans of the 1910’s,
along with Bungalows of the 1920’s. The Office of Historic Preservation for the City of Tacoma
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states: “[Tacoma] has the greatest concentration of properties on the National and Tacoma
registers of Historic Places in the Hilltop” (City of Tacoma Landmarks Preservation
Commission, 1997 pg.2). These factors help Tacoma’s oldest neighborhood define itself in
history and also gives the Hilltop neighborhood a sense of historical value.
As the Hilltop began experiencing an influx of domestic migrants and international
immigrants into the area, most would be directed to Tacoma’s Hilltop area because of its close
proximity to Commencement Bay, shipping docks, manufacturing plants, and the Northern
Pacific Railroad. Along with the influx of people came an influx of social, human, physical, and
environmental forms of capital. Tacoma took steps to deploy this capital so as to deal with the
concerns of a growing population within the Hilltop. Tacoma instituted a set of intricate services
across the neighborhood that would be implemented in efforts to modernize that section of the
city, keep up with the times, and address the growing population.
By the beginning of the Great Depression in 1929, business slowed down the growth
within the Hilltop. The huge influx of international immigrants and domestic migrants into the
area seeking jobs and a place of residence led to a rapidly growing community, but would also
lead to a period of economic instability. The Great Depression put a halt to expanding
businesses, slowed down mill work, shipping ports, and residential living. New immigrants in
the area found themselves in an economic predicament. As fast as the new residents were
moving into the area the jobs were drying up. The United States involvement in World War II
marked the beginning of the end of the depression and the beginning of America’s economic
recovery. After World War II the U.S became an economic world leader. During this time many
younger residents whose parents resided in the Hilltop were fleeing the urban environment for
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