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 Site of McKnight Plaza
N 31° 45.727 W 095° 37.840
15R E 250841 N 3517081
Texas Historical Marker behind the bank building at 100 Ave A in Palestine, noting this as the former location of the bustling McKnight Plaza, with a fairly nice list of all the businesses that operated here.
Waymark Code: WM149BK
Location: Texas, United States
Date Posted: 05/23/2021
Views: 1
Note the door plate from Mr. McKnight's old store at the base of the historical marker.
Marker Number: 12954
Marker Text:
James B. McKnight moved to Anderson County in 1848. In 1876 and 1879, he bought land at this site from J.H. Mead. Here, he operated a saddlery and farrier business. McKnight died in 1907, and in 1910, the property was sold to the Farmers and Citizens Bank, which had been established by African American businessmen in 1906. The block here became known as McKnight Plaza.
Between 1910 and 1945, McKnight Plaza housed numerous businesses and offices owned by African American merchants, doctors and dentists. The Farmers and Citizens Bank, which would close in the late 1920s, was on a prominent corner of the ground floor. George Macon Shuffer owned a dry goods store. Dr. H.V. Hurd, a dentist, and Dr. J.H. Dodd owned a drugstore and soda fountain; Dodd's wife operated a millinery shop. Other businesses included J.B. Blake's cab company, John Tatum's café, H.G. Neely's accounting and insurance office, the funeral home of Al Davis and I.V. Bland, John Hunter's barbershop, and Noah Williams' cleaning and pressing shop. Doctors W.R. Roberts, R.E. Holland and H.D. Patton, as well as dentists Williamson McLellan and H.D. Mitchell, had offices and tended patients at this site. The Missouri Pacific Colored Booster Club, a private social organization located here, sponsored local events and dances.
For 35 years, McKnight Plaza served as a commercial center for Palestine's African American community, representing local entrepreneurship and enterprise. Commonly referred to as "on the square," the plaza was once a bustling shopping and office center. Following the building's demolition in 1945, the plaza's former site became a grocery store and later a bank. Today, it remains a significant part of Palestine's social and economic history. (2004)
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