Asheville slave owner names Patton, Merrimon, others could be stripped from streets

ASHEVILLE – As part of national and local soul searching over treatment of Black residents the city is looking at recommendations to remove the names of slave owners and others associated with discrimination from some major streets and at least one park 

Names flagged for potential renaming by city staff city’s are: Woodfin Street, Woodfin Place, McDowell Street, Patton Avenue, Baird Street, Merrimon Avenue and Davidson Drive, according to information provided by the city to the Citizen Times Aug. 4. Staff also raised the possibility of renaming Charlotte Street.

James Patton served on Asheville’s governing body in 1841 and proposed the city’s main east-west thoroughfare that now bears his name, UNC’s Documenting the American South says.

A downtown parade honoring Co. Fredering W. Galbraith Jr., national commander of the American Legion, moves west on Patton Avenue in 1920.

 (Photo: Citizen Times file photo)

Patton Avenue, downtown Asheville, is slick with snow and ice on Nov. 25, 1950.

 (Photo: Asheville Citizen Times)

But according to the inventory of road names by city staff, he also owned “at least 12 enslaved persons in 1814 and at least 35 enslaved persons in 1841.” 

Augustus Summerfield Merrimon was a Democratic US senator who defended voter intimidation and atrocities against Blacks during 1876 South Carolina elections that ended Reconstruction and restored white supremacists to power. The street named after him is Asheville’s main boulevard running north and south from downtown.

The overpass at Merrimon Avenue, Broadway and Lexington Avenue, the largest part of the Crosstown Expressway, was almost complete when this photo was made in January 1960.

 (Photo: Malcolm Gamble/Asheville Citizen Times) Street names called for by Black AVL Demands

The recommendations came after protests spurred by the May 25 death of George Floyd at the hands of Minneapolis police. During protests in Asheville the group Black AVL Demands called for “streets named after former slave owners” to be replaced with names of “historic local black leaders.”

City Manager Debra Campbell asked the Asheville and Buncombe County African American Heritage Commission to recommend the removal and replacement of names, she told the City Council July 14.

“Another one of our 30-day efforts is to work with the community on the renaming of streets. Again, these are all underway,” said Campbell, Asheville’s first Black city manager.

Buy Photo

Asheville city manager Debra Campbell listens during a vigil in downtown Asheville on June 4, 2020 in response to the May 25 death of George Floyd at the hands of Minneapolis police. Protesters abided by the emergency city curfew of 8 p.m. and left without police intervention.

 (Photo: ANGELI WRIGHT/ASHEVILLE CITIZEN TIMES)

At the same July meeting Councilwoman Julie Mayfield asked about the potential renaming of parks, including the popular triangular Pritchard Park at the convergence of Patton, College Street and Haywood Street.

“We got an email maybe earlier this week or last week related to Prichard Park

and who Mr. Pritchard was,” said Mayfield, the Democratic candidate for NC Senate District 49.

Campbell responded that she also got the email and staff members looking into it and “would definitely be addressing it.”

Mayfield and Campbell did not give details about the email. According to NCpedia, Jeter C. Prichard was a Republican US senator from Madison County who helped distance the party from Black voters, eventually opposing the idea of African American office holders.

Costs to businesses

The city is now waiting for a report on the commission’s progress on potential name changes, city spokeswoman Polly McDaniel told the Citizen Times Aug. 4.

“Next steps include developing a public engagement strategy that educates and empowers the community to participate in the process of renaming streets,” McDaniel said. “We anticipate more information on the engagement process will be available later this month.”

One pitfall could be the difficulty for businesses that would have to change signs and other materials. Woodfin Place, named after Nicholas Washington Woodfin who owned 122 slaves, is one of the smallest streets on the list. But it has 104 businesses, according to the presentation by Development Services Director Ben Woody.

One of the challenges of any street renaming Woody said is “financial costs to affected property owners, particularly businesses.”

Joel Burgess has lived in WNC for more than 20 years, covering politics, government and other news. He’s written award-winning stories on topics ranging from gerrymandering to police use of force. Please help support this type of journalism with a subscription to the Citizen Times.

Read or Share this story: https://www.citizen-times.com/story/news/local/2020/08/09/asheville-slave-owner-names-patton-merrimon-could-stripped-streets/3324389001/