Downtown Tour
Downtown TourThis route loops through downtown Eugene, starting with Alton Baker Park, where Lane County’s first African-American community once stood, moving on to several stops in the city center, including Rosa Parks Plaza at Lane Transit District’s downtown station and ending with the Eugene Depot.It describes what it was like for a Black person to live and work in Eugene in the early 1900s through the 1940s when Oregon exclusion laws prohibited Black people from living in the state. It also shares the remarkable, inspiring stories of those who stayed.
Ferry Street Community
Ferry Street Community“No free Negro, or Mulatto, not residing in this state at the time of the adoption of this constitution, shall come, reside, or be within this state, or hold any real estate, or make any contracts, or maintain any suit therein; and the Legislative Assembly shall provide by penal laws, for the removal, by public officers, of all such Negroes, and Mulattos, and for their effectual exclusion from the state, and for the punishment of persons who shall bring them into the state, or employ, or harbor them.”— Oregon Constitution, 1857. The clause was repealed in 1926, but the language remained until it was removed in 2001. Oregon is the only state to be admitted into the Union with an exclusion law based on race.In the mid 1940s, Oregon’s booming timber and shipyard industries drew African Americans leaving the South as part of the Great Migration to cities in the North, Midwest and West.Black people couldn’t find housing in Eugene because of widespread deed restrictions against selling homes or renting to them, so in the early 1940s they created the area’s first African-American community on the north bank of the Willamette River, just outside of the city limits. The small community was called “Across the River” or “Across the Bridge” by some and known as “Tent City” by others.A 2016 article in the The Register-Guard described it as follows:“White people called it Tent City. To the black families who lived there in dirt-floor shacks, it was just known as ‘Across the Bridge.’ Willie Mims says. ‘Anybody asked, we would say: We live across the bridge.’They drew water from the Willamette, cooked food on an open fire and erected a small chapel with a canvas roof.A late 1940s tally of Tent City counted 22 families living there and a total of 101 people, 65 of them black, the remainder poor whites.”Families such as the Mims, the Reynolds, the Nettles, the Johnsons, the Stubbs, the Henrys and many others founded a community that they, as African Americans, could call home. But as the region grew, more land was sought to expand the Ferry Street Bridge, and in 1949, Lane County issued notices to Ferry Street residents to vacate in six months.On August 24, 1949, a bulldozer flattened homes and the church. The destruction continued beyond the area outlined in the notice. According to eye-witness accounts, some families were prepared, while others were not and did not have enough time to grab their belongings before fleeing their homes. Families were forced to relocate to Eugene’s outskirts in present day Glenwood, High Street (at the base of Skinner Butte) and West 11th Avenue near Bailey Hill Road. Alton Baker Park exists now where this community once stood. Although the buildings were destroyed or moved, and the residents were displaced, this location continues to be remembered as the home of Eugene’s first Black community.Efforts are underway to honor and remember the Ferry Street Community. In February of 2021, Lane County’s Board of County Commissioners voted in favor of publicly acknowledging its role in the destruction of the county’s first Black community and agreed to contribute funds for a memorial.“The Lane County Board of County Commissioners requests that the Public Works Department work with the City of Eugene to memorialize Lane County’s first Black Community and recognize the injustice inflicted by Lane County to begin a process of reconciliation with our past and to actively acknowledge and address the remnants of Lane County’s historical legacy.” – Lane County Board of County Commissioners Meeting, Board Resolution, adopted February 2, 2021
Get warmed up!
Warm UpIn the grass next to the bike path, get ready for your walk, run or ride with a few stretches. This stretching routine can be used before and after your journey.
Wiley Griffon Placard
Wiley Griffon PlacardDedicated on February 17, 2017, this placard commemorates the remarkable life of Wiley Griffon, one of Eugene’s first African-American residents.The placard, a collaboration between Eugene Water and Electric Board and the Eugene/Springfield NAACP, was made possible through generous contributions of community members and organizations, including the Lane County History Museum.The placard reads: Wiley Griffon, among Eugene’s earliest African-American residents, migrated from Texas in 1891. In 1909 Griffon purchased a small home near 4th Avenue and Mill Street, about 100 yards west of the current marker’s location.Despite an exclusion clause in Oregon's constitution that made it illegal for African Americans to settle in the state, Wiley Griffon was a well-known and popular resident. He became a driver for Eugene's first streetcar system - a mule-powered trolley car that rumbled up Willamette Street, carrying passengers from the Southern Pacific depot to 11th Avenue, and east to the University of Oregon. Local children saved their pennies to buy a nickel ride on Griffon's trolley, and he often rewarded them with an easy smile, hard candy, stories and an occasional free ride home. The mule car line never thrived, and by the turn of the century it died out entirely.Griffon took a series of jobs following the end of the trolley line, including janitor at the university dorm, restaurant worker, and waiter on a railroad dining car. At the time of his death in 1913, at age 46, Griffon was working as a porter at the Elks Club. The location of his grave in Eugene's Masonic cemetery, and the fact that the Elks Club paid for his funeral, indicate the great respect this African-American pioneer earned during his 22 years in a nearly all-white community.
Mims Historic Houses
Mims Historic HousesC.B. and Annie Mims came to Eugene in the mid 1940s. Due to exclusionary laws, the Mims were not legally able to purchase land. However, they were able to purchase the property we now know as the Mims House with the assistance of a sympathetic employer.Some of their story is told on the plaque in front of these historic houses on High Street. The Mims House at 330 High Street is now home to the Eugene/Springfield chapter of the NAACP.“In 1942, the Mims moved from Texas to Vancouver, Wash., to work in the World War II shipyards. After the war, C.B., a skilled millwright, moved his family to Eugene to work in the booming lumber industry but instead found deep-rooted racism. In the 1940s and beyond, early exclusionary laws established a practice that prohibited most African Americans from residing within the Eugene City Limits. As a result, the Mims Family became squatters among a collection of makeshift dwellings on EWEB’s flood prone wood lot across the Ferry Street Bridge, known as ‘Tent City’ and referred to previously as the Ferry Street Community.C.B. became a busboy at the Osborn Hotel. In 1948, under the name of his sympathetic employer Joe E. Earley Sr. (Osborn Hotel Owner), the Mims purchased the High Street property. The Mims houses became both home and boarding houses for African Americans seeking to settle or passing through Eugene; other accommodations were invariably “white-only”. This pertained to both famous and non-famous Blacks, and many University of Oregon students. The houses were dilapidated when purchased, and traditional financing for home improvement was not an option for Blacks. Fortunately, in 1980, historical preservation funds enabled the Mims to restore both houses, which are now listed on the National Register of Historic Places.”Architectural Information330 High St.: Gothic revival-style architecture, built about 1867. It is believed to be the second oldest house in Eugene.336/334 High St.: Vernacular gothic style, built about 1870. It is the oldest historical house in Eugene standing on its original site.
Free Speech Plaza
Wayne Morse Free Speech PlazaAs you pass by this building and plaza, consider how state and local laws affected Black people who wanted to settle here.Drawn to Eugene to work for the railroad or timber industry, to farm Willamette Valley’s fertile soils or to attend the University of Oregon, Black people faced the challenges of finding a place to spend the night and ultimately to live.Oregon’s exclusion law prohibiting Blacks from being in the state, owning property and making contracts became moot with the passage of the 14th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution. However, the language wasn’t repealed until 1926 and real estate covenants calling for white-only ownership lasted until 1988 and the state constitution retained some racist terms until 2002.Architectural InformationDeNorval Unthank Jr., the first Black graduate from the University of Oregon School of Architecture (1951), contributed to the design of the Lane County Courthouse building.Sources: · Oregon Encyclopedia: a project of the Oregon Historical Society: https://www.oregonencyclopedia.org/articles/exclusion_laws/#.YCMVrmhKhPY· The Register-Guard, A legacy of perseverance, Jan. 30, 2011 http://special.registerguard.com/csp/cms/sites/web/news/sevendays/25812273-35/oregon-black-history-african-county.cspWayne MorseServing 24 years in the US Senate, from 1945-1969, Morse famously opposed the 1957 Civil rights act, describing it as an “unconscionable compromise.” Morse can be remembered as a principled senator who believed it was his responsibility to "seek to translate into legislation values that promote the welfare of people."
Rosa Parks Plaza
Rosa Parks PlazaOn Martin Luther King Jr. Day, Jan. 19, 2009, a statue of Rosa Parks was unveiled as Lane Transit District’s Eugene Station Plaza was renamed Rosa Parks Plaza. The statue depicts Parks sitting on a bus seat, symbolizing her famous act of civil disobedience.On Dec. 1, 1955, Parks refused to give up her bus seat to a white passenger. This act, followed by her arrest for violating Alabama’s segregation laws, led to the Montgomery Bus Boycott and, a year later, to the U.S. Supreme Court decision that bus segregation is unconstitutional under the Equal Protection Clause of the 14th Amendment.Racial injustice in transportation and city planning In July 2020, the City of Eugene Transportation Planning Team began publishing a series of “Anti-Racism Topic of the Month” articles. The planning team acknowledges the need to “build a deeper understanding and awareness of the history of racism in transportation planning—both on a national scale and within our local community.” These articles can be viewed at the links below: https://www.eugene-or.gov/4623/Anti-Racism-Topic-of-the-Month
Eugene Depot
Eugene DepotEugene’s railway system, launched in 1911, was a job engine that provided opportunities for Blacks and other racial minorities.A predecessor to the electric railway system was a mule-drawn streetcar. In 1891, the Eugene City Council contracted with Henry Holden, of Fort Worth, Texas, to begin building a streetcar service.One of Eugene’s few African Americans, Wiley Griffon, accompanied Holden to work on the railroad. Griffon’s route as a streetcar driver ran down Willamette Street and, in 2019, a mural was painted in his honor at one of the old streetcar stops between 20th and 21st avenues in south Eugene.African American, Chinese, Hawaiian and Irish men, along with a few women, laid track for the street railway. Often separated by race, they were referred to as “gandys” because they performed synchronized dances and songs while they worked, attracting onlookers.The Eugene and College Hill Street Railway transported about 1,200 passengers in a circuit. After 12 years of operation, the electric streetcar was discontinued in 1927. The rise of automobiles led to a drop in ridership and a loss of city funding. As in most cities, this changed the way people interacted with one another and also widened the gaps of race and class. After the streetcar system was discontinued, a series of commercial bus companies emerged. Lane Transit District was founded in 1970, creating the public transportation system in use today.Sources:· Minor, R. (97403). An Archaeological Assessment of Eugene Street Railway Remains on Willamette Street, Eugene, Lane County, Oregon (Vol. 384, pp. 2-20, Rep. No. 384). Eugene, Oregon: Heritage Research Associates. Retrieved January 29, 2021, from https://www.eugene-or.gov/DocumentCenter/View/24804/Eugene-Street-Railway-Heritage-Report.· Brown, J. (2007, July 13). Gandy Dancer Work Song Tradition. Retrieved January 30, 2021, from http://encyclopediaofalabama.org/article/h-1220
Downtown Tour Complete
Before you're done, take time to reflect.
