The Hiram House The preservation of The Hiram House is governed by Project Renew, Inc., a nonprofit 501(c)(3) tax-exempt corporation(pending). The Hiram House, located at 635 W. Hancock Avenue, is a historic preservation project of the First African Methodist Episcopal Church in Athens. It is a significant African American resource because of its association with the evolution of the medical profession in Athens. The residence is located within the Reese Street Historic District, listed in the National Register of Historic Places (November 11, 1987), which recognizes (a) its association with events that have made a significant contribution to the broad patterns of history and (b)of its representation of distinctive building types and period of construction. Under the Athens-Clarke County Historic Preservation Ordinance, the Hiram House met the criterion designation as a landmark because it a) relates with a person of local historic significance and b) continues to contribute to the cultural and historic development of the community. The Hiram House represents the achievements made by Dr. Ida Mae Hiram, the first African-American female dentist in Georgia. Indeed, the house's chain of ownership illustrates not only the remarkable history of a Black female professional but also the larger contributions of African American medical professionals to Athens. Throughout the late-nineteenth and early-twentieth centuries, many African Americans suffered from the detrimental effects of segregation. Primary and secondary educational facilities were sparse, local hospitals refused to serve patients, and many hotels and dining establishments refused to serve African Americans. Jim Crow laws created wholly separate communities of white and black in Athens. Despite segregation, a growing middle class thrived within Athens' Black community. Urban opportunity for some blacks was a way out of the poverty which sharecroppers and tenants in rural regions found impossible to escape. A growing population of urban blacks demanded services which whites were not always willing or able to provide. Black physicians and dentists, who constituted the most highly educated of this professional class, provided urban blacks with medical services in a comfortable community setting that lacked the reminders of Athens' racial divide. (Excerpted from an Athens-Clarke County Historical Preservation Commission report) |
Project Renew, Inc. Board of Directors President Dr. Robert E. Harrison Vice President Mr. Harry Penny Secretary Ms. Barbara Bacon Treasurer Mr. J.T. Jones Members Dr. Margaret Wilder Mr. Lawrence Jenkins Mr. Everett Scotland Agent Ms. Patricia Harrison |
The Hiram House The preservation of The Hiram House is governed by Project Renew, Inc., a nonprofit 501(c)(3) tax-exempt corporation(pending). The Hiram House, located at 635 W. Hancock Avenue, is a historic preservation project of the First African Methodist Episcopal Church in Athens. It is a significant African American resource because of its association with the evolution of the medical profession in Athens. The residence is located within the Reese Street Historic District, listed in the National Register of Historic Places (November 11, 1987), which recognizes (a) its association with events that have made a significant contribution to the broad patterns of history and (b)of its representation of distinctive building types and period of construction. Under the Athens-Clarke County Historic Preservation Ordinance, the Hiram House met the criterion designation as a landmark because it a) relates with a person of local historic significance and b) continues to contribute to the cultural and historic development of the community. The Hiram House represents the achievements made by Dr. Ida Mae Hiram, the first African-American female dentist in Georgia. Indeed, the house's chain of ownership illustrates not only the remarkable history of a Black female professional but also the larger contributions of African American medical professionals to Athens. Throughout the late-nineteenth and early-twentieth centuries, many African Americans suffered from the detrimental effects of segregation. Primary and secondary educational facilities were sparse, local hospitals refused to serve patients, and many hotels and dining establishments refused to serve African Americans. Jim Crow laws created wholly separate communities of white and black in Athens. Despite segregation, a growing middle class thrived within Athens' Black community. Urban opportunity for some blacks was a way out of the poverty which sharecroppers and tenants in rural regions found impossible to escape. A growing population of urban blacks demanded services which whites were not always willing or able to provide. Black physicians and dentists, who constituted the most highly educated of this professional class, provided urban blacks with medical services in a comfortable community setting that lacked the reminders of Athens' racial divide. (Excerpted from an Athens-Clarke County Historical Preservation Commission report) |
