Freedom of Assembly

FREEDOM OF ASSEMBLY. With freedom from slavery came freedom of assembly - particularly to worship, evidenced by the early establishment of the first independent black congregation in 1865. African-American churches, such as Calvary Baptist (1883), were the primary civic and cultural arenas for the black community.

In the 1880-90s, fraternal and social orders extended the black social sphere to this corner of W. Washington Street. The Brothers & Sisters of Love & Charity, a mutual aid society offering life/employment insurance, built their Society Hall. The adjacent Odd Fellows Hall, also two-story, had lower stores that were occupied at times by a grocery, harness shop, carpenter, barber, and multiple restaurants.

These businesses, as well as the nearby blacksmith, served as a commercial hub. A 1904 brick replacement (post-fire) was later sold in halves. The Madison Colored Undertaking Co. (later Mapp Funeral Home) anchored the west end, and the east end housed a myriad of black-owned enterprises, most notably the Brown Stock Co. and Morgan County NAACP offices.

CITY OF MADISON MADISON BICENTENNIAL COMMISSION 1809-2009