1904 Patton Avenue

Built in 1952-53 for Hubert and Henrietta Norris, educators at Johnson C. Smith University.

Hubert W. Norris was a longtime professor at JCSU. The 1953 edition of the Golden Bull, JCSU’s yearbook, listed him as Assistant Professor of Economics and Political Science. He received his B.A. degree from Clark University, the noted black college in Atlanta. Its 1934 yearbook listed Hubert Webster Norris of Atlanta on its senior class Honor Roll and also serving as an instructor. The 1936 yearbook of its sister school, Atlanta University, showed him earning a Masters in Economics with the thesis “The Theory of College Accounting and Criteria for an Efficient Accounting System for a Private College.”

His wife Henrietta Traywick Norris also taught at Johnson C. Smith University for decades, offering instruction in early childhood education to a generation of prospective elementary school teachers. A native of Hedland, Alabama, she herself had graduated from Jackson State College in Jackson, Mississippi. Like many of her neighbors, she was an active member of Memorial Presbyterian Church. She belonged to Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority and to the Literary Art Club, where she served as president.

A note about addresses: City directories first showed Hubert and Henrietta Norris first living in this block of Patton Avenue in 1953.

• The address given in the 1953 directory was 1908 Patton. They may have actually lived there, but it seems more likely that this house was renumbered about 1959, when the directories show them living at 1904.
• A building permit exists for “1912 Patton Avenue,” issued to “W.H. Norris” in February of 1952. It seems likely that this was for the house that is now numbered 1904.