Historic Black Business Enterprises
Ed. Note: An earlier version of this piece launched the series Untold Stories of Black Montevallo. You can learn more about the series and read other stories here .
The Montevallo Historic Preservation Commission is working to create a first-rate Montevallo African American Heritage Trail. In the coming months, we will use this space to share some of our discoveries.
B. L. “Booker” Lester, educational activist, principal of Aldrich Grammar School, and editor of The Alabama Time-Piece, c. 1900. Born Benjamin, he renamed himself “Booker” in homage to renowned Tuskegee educator Booker T. Washington.
Montevallo, Alabama along with the nearby coal mining village of Aldrich is a little-known piece of the history of Black entrepreneurship in the South.
We begin at the end of the 19th century in Aldrich, home to a weekly Black-edited newspaper that ran for a number of years beginning in 1895. The Alabama Time-Piece was edited by B. L. (“Booker") Lester, who served also as principal of the Aldrich grammar school where the 7th-grade course of study included "Negro History."
Advertisements from the 1898 Time-Piece seen below give glimpses of the history of Black entrepreneurship in central Alabama at the turn of the century.
“Call on him if you want to practice race pride.”
Richard D. Taylor
Entrepreneur Richard D. Taylor, born into slavery in 1855, owned his own home by at least 1900 . One of his neighbors was H. C. Reynolds. His store, located just behind the post office, offered confectionery, cakes, and candles as well as “FRESH GROCERIES." His appeal to his readers is imbued with the spirit of Black entrepreneurship: "Call on him if you want to practice race pride, and also get the most for your money."
Another businessman was Robert B. Evans who may also have worked as a coal miner. He points with pride to "the only first-class Colored Barber Shop" on the east side of town. He urges: "While in the city call on him and be treated right."
J.S Prentice & Son
Of unusual interest were notices placed in the Time-Piece by a man still revered in local circles, Rev. Joseph S. Prentice (1857-1944), for whom the beloved Prentice High School was named. Prentice was an acclaimed Baptist preacher and widely respected community leader. The Bibb County Baptist Association installed a monument in his honor in 1945, which can be seen in the Montevallo City Cemetery (or on Findagrave.com).
“There are but few people who know / That our prices are so low.” This home-grown promotional verse appeared in the Time-Piece in 1898.
Not only did Prentice pastor three churches in Bibb Co in 1898 and help establish our own Shiloh Baptist here in Montevallo. He also ventured into the grocery business. On May 5 he wrote to the editor of the Time-Piece: "Rev. Prentice & Sons have opened a Grocery Store on his lot, near the Time-Piece office, for the accommodation of all, with SPECIAL prices to Church Sabbath Schools and Secret Societies.” He signs off: "Don't forget to bring your pocketbook."
J. S. Prentice and son Frank Herman Prentice, ca. 1916
Eldest son Frank Herman Prentice (1889-1971) went on to pastor a large Baptist church in Los Angeles, Mount Zion Missionary Baptist. This strikingly sharp photo was printed on the front of a postcard that found its way into the Robert Langmuir African American Photograph Collection in the Rose Manuscript, Archives and Rare Books Library, Emory University. It appears here with permission.
The weekly Alabama Time-Piece shone a light on Black business enterprises in the area.
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!