Preview
Creation Date
4-10-2001
Description
A Kentucky Historical Society Highway Marker was unveiled Tuesday on Western Kentucky University's campus to remember the black community that once thrived in the area near University Boulevard and Big Red Way.
Jonesville was "our strip of heaven," former resident Bobby W. Austin said in dedicating the marker.
"In our hearts we will carry always the love, the dedication, the patience and the goodwill of the citizens of Jonesville," Austin said.
Austin, a WKU alumnus and president of Village Foundatino, also paid tribute to Jonesville historian Maxine Ray, a WKU graduate student, for her diligence in making Tuesday's ceremony a reality and in keeping the community's history alive.
The text on one side of the Jonesville historical marker reads: "This African American community was founded after the Civil War. It was bordered by Dogwood Drive, Russellville Road and the railroad tracks.
The community grew to include several hundred residents, an elementary school, businesses, and two churches. Frame and hand-hewn stone houses lined the streets of Jonesville."
The other side reads: "The lives of most residents of this close African American community revolved around church, school and family activities.
In the late 1950s Jonesville was one of two areas in Bowling Green designated for urban renewal. By 1968 the state had acquired the land and sold it to the university."
Western used the 30-plus acres to build Diddle Arena, Smith Stadium and other facilities.
Photo caption: Maxine Ray talks about her time growing up in Jonesville.
Keywords
Jonesville, Western Kentucky University