Created By: Preservation Forsyth
Winston-Salem's streetcar began to run regularly in 1890, soon traveling south along Main Street where a branch turned to the west on Cascade Avenue, continuing all the way to the park. (The car then reversed back to Main Street, continued south before turning east onto Sprague Street, then proceeded through the adjoining Sunnyside neighborhood to Nissen Park, since demolished). The streetcar was the major means of transportation, so property along or near the line was more expensive and fashionable. (Nothing on Ludlow's plat identifies Cascade Avenue as the choice street in the suburb, in fact, its lot sizes and layout are similar to those of other streets. The only difference is the checkered line labeled “Winston-Salem Electric Railway.")
{In January 1891, the WS Electric Company and the WS Street Railway Company were consolidated under the name Winston-Salem Railway and Electric Company. By 1901, the Winston-Salem Railway and Electric Company was owned by Fries Manufacturing & Power Company. The streetcar system was purchased from Henry E. Fries in 1913 by Southern Public Utilities Company (SPU), a branch of Southern Power Company, which later became Duke Power Company.}
On October 16, 1890, just three months after the opening of the streetcars, the Winston-Salem Land & Investment Co. was incorporated. Among the fourteen incorporators were Henry E. Fries, A. H. Eller, and Henry Bahnson. Only two and a half weeks later, the next listing in the deed book is the Winston Development Company. These companies were followed by others that invested in the Washington Park neighborhood including: the Inside Land Co. (1894); the Inside Land and Improvement Co. (1904); and the Southside Land and Investment Company (1901).
Individuals were also actively engaged in real estate transactions during these years of rapid expansion. The Fogle family alone has twenty pages in the Grantor Index from 1849 to 1927, with each line representing a single transaction. The Fogles sold a number of parcels here in the 1890s to purchasers that included Southside Land & Investment Co.; Winston-Salem Land & Investment Co.; Inside Land Co.; Winston Development Co.; and individuals.
The developers of Washington Park were among the local entrepreneurs who became wealthy during this period, and much of that wealth was poured into grand houses. Winston-Salem has, in fact, had three areas known as Millionaire's Row. The first, during the 1880/90s, was Fifth Street in Winston, later replaced by a second in the West End suburb. The title passed during the 1910/20s to Cascade Avenue here in Washington Park.
Many prominent families opted to move to Washington Park from Salem, central Winston, and the West End neighborhood. As a result, large parcels on the south side of Cascade Avenue (which continue through the block to Banner Avenue) contain some of the city's largest and most architecturally significant pre-WWII houses. Buyers would simply purchase several lots, combining them into an individually created parcel. Thus, houses built on the first three blocks of Cascade have much larger lots than elsewhere in the district.
Many of Washington Park’s prominent buyers and architects are covered on this tour, however, several builders lived in Washington Park and developed lots there as well. Stamey C. Ripple was a contractor who also owned a real estate agency and a number of houses in the neighborhood. L. C. Kimel and M. C. Hodgins were contractors for quite a few houses in the neighborhood while William F. Miller, vice-president of Fogle Brothers Lumber Company, built speculative houses near his own on Park Boulevard, some with his son, architect William E. Miller. From the records, it seems clear that several real estate companies operating in Washington Park had their own contracting firms.
The development of Washington Park was aimed at a white, middle- to upper-middle class clientele. Only Rawson Street and the 100 block of Acadia appear to have been a black “pocket” neighborhood. These houses were working-class dwellings that housed tobacco and furniture workers as well as maids, cooks, chauffeurs, and gardeners for nearby wealthy white families. For example, Odell King, who lived on Rawson Street, was chauffeur and gardener to the Craiges on Cascade Avenue.
Many of the black families here were related, and an impressive number owned their houses. Shelton Penn bought land on Rawson Street as early as the 1890s; his son James V. Penn built a house there by 1915, and other family members built nearby. Sadly, many of the original structures on Rawson Street have since been demolished.
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