The Golden Age of Black Business in Montevallo
One of the Black business districts in central Alabama that flourished during the so-called golden age of Black business was on Selma Road, leading out of town. Most of the various businesses and entertainment places, if not all, were rented from a well-to-do African American couple from Marion (AL), Hampton D. Lee (1898-1971 ), and his wife Exie Patrick Lee (1902-1996). After WWI (in which he served), Hampton opened a funeral home in Marion that offered "prompt and efficient service"; before long he was wheeling and dealing in properties across central Alabama. Rev. Albert L. Jones remembered him as "really smart," a "wheeler-dealer" with good hair. He does not know how Lee came into his property or wealth but thinks he had a white father. It was the Lees who in 1948 sold the state of Alabama the tract of 15 acres along Selma Road (for $3750) that became Prentice High School and is now the site of Montevallo Middle School and George Dailey Park. Dailey was our first African American city council member.
The Lee Funeral Home in Montevallo offered an ambulance service, a notary public, and a burial association. It was operating by the early 1940s. A number of names have been linked With its daily operations: John Smith, Walter Taylor, Sam Cunningham, and Mr. Foster. Other businesses along Selma Road included an Owl filling station (run by Andy Smelley and Ms. Heard); a cleaners operated by Hobie Harris; a pool hall (for men and boys only).
A barbershop was owned and operated by Tom Billingsley and an additional barber, Tommy Patrick of Wilton. Rev Jones recalls working as a teenager in its shoeshine stand. A boot shine cost 25#: a shoeshine 15#. He got to keep a nickel for each, plus tips. There was also a taxi service (since few blacks owned cars) that advertised itself with a phone number on the side of the vehicle. The taximan may have been the same John Smith who drove the ambulance for Lee Funeral Home.
Blues Musician, Piano C. Red
Coleman's Cafe, operated by Mable and Walter Coleman, sold soul food on one side and maintained a dance floor on the other. It came under new management in the 70s, bought by Sam Lilly, who renamed it The Superfly. It is said that the Sensation Heartbeats" played at Coleman's and other local areas. The members included Sam Cunningham (atto sax), Chuck Chism (guitar), deceased drummers James Trenholm and Larry Deviner, and several other band members who have passed away. There was another dance joint up the street called Slim's Place (owned by Tellie Cunningham), at the site of the present Good Shepherd funeral home. Tellie was Earl and Sam Cunningham's uncle.
Some of the history of Black business districts lives in the minds, memories, and photographs of people still living. Let us hear from you. The golden age of Black business in Montevallo should not be forgotten. Search your, attics, garages, and cupboards for drawings, pictures, and memorabilia of any sort. Let us build the African American Heritage Trail together!