Palestine, Anderson County
James 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 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 and Citizens Bank, which would close in the late 1920s, was on a prominent corner of the ground floor. George Macon Shuffer owned a dry good 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 café, 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 and H.D. Patton, as well as dentists Williamson McLellan and H.D. Mitchell, had offices and tended patients at this site. The Missouri 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 plaza's former site became a grocery store and later a bank. Today, it remains a significant part of Palestine's social and economic history. (2004)