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Farming For A Better Future, page 254
were recorded to be east of the railroad which cuts through the town. They were mostly concentrated in the southeast quarter of the town labeled “South Side.” Although this was technically in the city limits, it was arguably rural as there were no street names and many of the families lived and worked on farms. The segregation of Hartselle in 1940 was so pronounced that only one household of color lived on the west side of the railroad tracks. While there were few rural farming families living outside of Hartselle that year, there were enough to interpret a contrast to the city limits. Outside of town, there were six families of color living on the east side, but 18 families on the west side. These families were mostly to the northwest of Hartselle in the proximity of Flint, a large concentration of African American farmers and landowners.
The town of Harvest in Madison County is another example of the rural/urban divide, which might lead to the false conclusion that there is no community of color in Harvest. The census district of Cluttsville, which contains Harvest, had 486 households in 1940; 41% of which were households of color. However, the entire town of Harvest was enumerated separately and contained only white households. The area around Harvest has been home to a substantial population of farming families of color for over a century, but they all live in the rural expanse beyond the town proper. The dispersed nature of the households of color may give the false illusion that there is no close community. Yet, genealogy and oral history have led to a deeper understanding of the connections between families and friends in the area of Harvest.
Plenty of communities, towns, and cities in North Alabama exhibit spatial segregation by investigating historical records or conducting oral histories. In 1940, the African American community of Athens in Limestone County was primarily in the southwest portion of the city and its census district. This area, west of the railroad tracks and south of Highway 72, contained Trinity High School on Browns Ferry Road. Browns Ferry Road led directly into Slough district, which had a large population of African Americans including 44 farming landowners. Additionally, the district of Greenbrier in Limestone County had the majority of African American households to the south of the railroad and east of Beaver Creek; Leighton in Colbert County had the most African American
(Left) Excerpt from Morgan County Land Books, 1928-1937. Jake Johnson's Land in Cedar Lake, Note the Small "Col" next to His Name Indicating He is a Person of Color. (Morgan County Archives, Decatur, Alabama) (Bottom) Excerpt from Morgan County Lot Book, 19321935. Entry for Will Martin of Cedar Lake, Note the Small "Col" Next to His Name Indicating He is a Person of Color. (Morgan County Archives, Decatur, Alabama) (Below) Excerpt from Morgan County Land Books, 1928-1937. A List of Names for Parcels of Land in Cedar Lake, Note the Small "Col" Next to Some Names Indicating Those Who are People of Color. (Morgan County Archives, Decatur, Alabama) - (4782)