2014 Patton Avenue

This is among the oldest houses in McCrorey Heights, though it has been much changed over the years. When the city directory first listed houses on Patton Avenue in 1931, one of the five dwellings was occupied by Hazel Stewart, a plasterer, and his wife Eunice. The house number was 2019. Starting in 1942 Hazel and Eunice Stewart were shown at 2014; perhaps they moved across the street, but more likely the house was renumbered. Beginning in 1952 the resident at 2014 is listed as David H. (Hazel?) Stewart. That is likely the same person, since in the 1960s the directories listed him as owning David’s Plaster Contractors. He continued to reside at 2014 Patton Avenue into the 1970s.

Throughout the twentieth century in the South, African Americans dominated many of the building trades including plastering. This dated back to slavery times when highly skilled African Americans handled many “artisan” tasks ranging from gardening to building construction. In McCrorey Heights, half a dozen such building tradesmen erected homes for themselves.