Finding information about the remarkable array of businesses that existed in the neighborhood has proved challenging. The neighborhood boasted multiple grocery stores, cafes, car garages, manufacturing companies, a liquor store and at least one notable juke joint! In many ways, residents developed ways to remain as self-sustaining as possible, especially during Jim Crow and segregation, but even after as Spartanburg desegregated. It was sometimes the case that the businesses that serviced the neighborhood were informal, which makes locating information about them harder. This section is very much a work in progress.

 

Some establishments in the neighborhood are well known. Social life for youth often revolved around the TK Gregg Recreation Center and the Cumming Street School centered the community’s education. The pre-K and kindergarten program developed by residents, called The Kiddie College and modeled after Wofford College’s liberal arts curriculum, prepared young students well for entrance into Cumming Street School.