Visitors will learn about the development of one of Asheville's historical Black business districts, neighborhood, and the man behind it, Mr. Isaac Dickson. The area stretching from Eagle and Market streets into the present-day East End/Valley Street neighborhood was known as "Dickson Town."
Isaac Dickson [17]
After the end of the Civil War, Black people began establishing enterprises in Asheville. Isaac Dickson’s investments sparked a thriving business district and neighborhood that stretched from Eagle and Market streets into the present-day East End-Valley Street neighborhood.
Mr. Dickson, a formerly enslaved man, bought property to the south of this site. He operated businesses including a coal and kindling company and a grocery on Valley Street. Mr. Dickson rented several homes on his property to other Black residents. This area became known as Dickson Town. Just across present-day Charlotte Street lies East End, Asheville’s first established Black neighborhood. An elementary school is named in honor of Mr. Dickson, who died in 1919.
