Heritage Stories | Urbana's Black Herit

Stories of Our Black Heritage

Tyeal Howell

Feb 14, 20222 min read

Happy 100th Birthday to Walter Murphy and his Legacy

One hundred years ago, on February 14, 1922, Walter Murphy was born in Kentucky. It was there he would begin his illustrious and famous...

Tyeal Howell

Feb 6, 20222 min read

The Legacy of Mary Ann and Benjamin Dickerson

Mary Ann Dickerson passed away quietly at the home of her son at 228 South Kenton Street in Urbana in 1910. It is believed she had...

Tyeal Howell

Feb 4, 20222 min read

Windsor Avenue named after Windsor Hawkins

Born in Maryland around 1819, the story of Windsor Hawkins is still being pieced together. But one thing is certain, Windsor Hawkins left...

Tyeal Howell

Feb 2, 20222 min read

Charles Jones Sr one of the first people of color elected to public office in the Urbana, Ohio

This grand home located at 126 East Reynolds Street in Urbana was built in 1907-08. This Free Classic Queen Anne styled residence is...

Tyeal Howell

Feb 1, 20224 min read

Urbana Birthed the First African American to serve on the Ohio Supreme Court: Robert Morton Duncan

Robert Morton Duncan, a pioneering Ohio jurist who was the first African American to serve on the Ohio Supreme Court and who later...

Tyeal Howell

Jan 21, 20222 min read

The Legacy of Hill Street: David Leander “Bus” Hill

When Bus Hill retired from the Urbana Police Force after 42 years of service, he did so as an icon of the city. Hill Street is named in...

Tyeal Howell

Jan 21, 20221 min read

Martha "Mattie" Cunningham

Martha "Mattie" Cunningham was born in 1878 in Indiana. Her father had a successful clay tile business in northeastern part of that...

Tyeal Howell

Jan 21, 20221 min read

Mark Clifton Robison (Robinson)

December 7, 1941, "Pearl Harbor Day". The date in which President Franklin Roosevelt said, "would live in infamy". Over 80 years ago,...