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Site of
Mcknight plaza
LAMES B. MCKNIGHT MOVED TO ANDERSON COUNTY IN 1848. IN 1876 AND 1879,
/HE BOUGHT LAND AT THIS SITE FROM J.H. MEAD. HERE, HE OPERATED A
SADDLERY AND FARRIER BUSINESS. McKNIGHT DIED IN 1907, AND IN 1910, THE
PROPERTY WAS SOLD TO THE FARMERS AND CITIZENS BANK, WHICH HAD BEEN
ESTABLISHED BY AFRICAN AMERICAN BUSINESSMEN IN 1906. THE BLOCK OF
/ ..STRUCTURES HERE BECAME KNOWN AS McKNIGHT PLAZA.
[ ' BETWEEN 1910 AND 1945, McKNIGHT PLAZA HOUSED NUMEROUS BUSINESSES
AND OFFICES OWNED BY AFRICAN AMERICAN MERCHANTS, DOCTORS AND
DENTISTS. THE FARMERS ANDQTIZENS BANK, WHICH WOULD CLOSE IN THE LATE
1920s, WAS ON A PROMINENT CORNER OF THE GROUND FLOOR. GEORGE MACON
SHUFFER OWNED A DRY GOODS STORE. DR. H.V. HURD, A DENTIST, AND DR. j.H.
DODD OWNED A DRUGSTORE AND SODA FOUNTAIN; DODD'S WIFE OPERATED A
MILLINERY SHOP. OTHER BUSINESSES INCLUDED J.B, BLAKE'S CAB COMPANY,
JOHN TATUM'S CAF£, H.G. NEELY'S ACCOUNTING AND INSURANCE OFFICE, THE
FUNERAL HOME OF AL DAVIS AND I.V. BLAND, JOHN HUNTER'S BARBERSHOP, AND
NOAH WILLIAMS' CLEANING AND PRESSING SHOP. DOCTORS W.R. ROBERTS, R.E
HOLLAND, H.D. PATTON, AS WELL AS DENTISTS WILLIAMSON McCLELLAN AND H.D.
MITCHELL, HAD OFFICES AND TENDED PATIENTS AT THIS SITE. THE MISSOURI
1 PACIFIC COLORED BOOSTER CLUB, A PRIVATE SOCIAL ORGANIZATION LOCATED
HERE, SPONSORED LOCAL EVENTS AND DANCES.
FOR 35 YEARS, McKNIGHT PLAZA SERVED AS A COMMERCIAL CENTER FOR
PALESTINE'S AFRICAN AMERICAN COMMUNITY, REPRESENTING LOCAL
ENTREPRENEURSHIP AND ENTERPRISE. COMMONLY REFERRED TO AS "ON THE
SQUARE," THE PLAZA WAS ONCE A BUSTLING SHOPPING AND OFFICE CENTER.
FOLLOWING THE BUILDING'S DEMOLITION IN 1945, THE SITE BECAME A GROCERY
STORE AND LATER A BANK. TODAY, IT REMAINS A SIGNIFICANT PART OF
PALESTINE'S SOCIAL AND ECONOMIC HISTORY.
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