Fayette Street

A-107

Since the late 19th century, Fayette Street has been a gateway to the business, social, and cultural life of African Americans here. Institutions such as Mt. Zion A.M.E. Church (founded in 1870), St. Mary's Hospital (1926–1952), Piedmont Christian Institute (1900–1934), and Imperial Savings and Loan (founded in 1929) were pillars of this community. A part of the street known as Baldwin's Block (1920s–1960s) represented the entrepreneurial spirit of the people. Dr. Dana O. Baldwin and his brothers founded the June German Ball, which was held at a number of venues here. This annual musical and dance festival hosted world-renowned African American musicians that played to regional audiences.

Department of Historic Resources, 2005

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References/Bibliographic Citation:

John Bing, M.D. The Hands, A History of Hospitals in Martinsville and Henry County, VA (Bassett, Va.: Bassett Printing Corporation, 1977); John Bing, M.D. Portraits and Pathology, Portraits of Early Men and Women of Medicine in Henry and adjoining Counties of Southern Virginia, Volume 1, researched and compiled by John Bing, M.D. (undated); Christina S. Draper, A Case Study of the Origin and Development of Piedmont Christian Institute (P.C.I.), 1900-1934, MA thesis, Virginia State University, December 2004; John B. Harris papers, collected at the Bassett Historical Center, Bassett, VA; Arthur Bunyan Caldwell, ed., History of the American Negro, Virginia (Atlanta, Ga.: A. B. Caldwell Publishing Co.,1917); Dedication Program of the Mount Zion A.M.E. Church, published December 8, 1963; Centennial Celebration Grace United Presbyterian Church, published November 1982; Secondary Education in Henry County, Virginia, thesis presented by master of science degree candidate Eugene Carl Hoover, University of Virginia, 1937; Imperial Savings and Loan, http://www.imperialsavings.net/aboutus/aboutus.htm, 27 October 2005; Sanborn fire insurance maps, courtesy of the University of Virginia and © Sanborn Library, 2001; Jeanne Siler, "What is a June German Ball?" (Undated paper Virginia Foundation for the Humanities) Henry County Map Book No. 2, page 23, illustrating property owned by Dr. Dana O. Baldwin.