Mesquite Street Historic District (Addional Documentation)

Property Number: entered by HPD LA Numbers(s): HCPI Number(s): APPLICATION FOR REGISTRATION NEW MEXICO STATE REGISTER OF CULTURAL PROPERTIES Historic Preservation Division Bataan Building 407 Galisteo Street, Suite 236 Santa Fe, New Mexico 87501 (505) 827-6320 Name of Property: Mesquite Street Original Townsite National Register Historic District (Additional Documentation) Location of Property: County: Doña Ana Municipality: Las Cruces Address or Rural Location: 722 N Mesquite Street Congressional District: N/A Vicinity of: N/A Ownership of Property: (Check one or more as appropriate) Private: X State: Federal: Multiple: Not for Publication: Name: Arturo & Marcie Chavez Address: 722 N Mesquite Street Address: Las Cruces Address: New Mexico Accessibility of Property: Open to Not Open the Public: to the Public: X Category of Property: Buildings: X Structure: Site: Object: Collection: Other (Specify): Historic District: X Present Use of Property: (Check one or more as appropriate) Agricultural: Governmental: Museum: Commercial: Grazing: Park: Educational: Industrial: Residential: X Entertainment: Military: Religious: Person Completing Questionnaire: Visible from a Public Thoroughfare: Yes Name: Alice Chavez-Villa Address: 906 Lenox Avenue City: Las Cruces State: New Mexico E-mail: Schoolhouse62@hotmail.com Scientific: Transportation: Work in Progress Other (Specify): The History and Accomplishments of Clara Belle Williams The purpose of this Additional Documentation to the Mesquite Street Original Townsite Historic District is to highlight the achievements in African American education by resident Clara Belle Williams by adding her as a significant person under Criterion B and adding Black Ethnic Heritage as an area of significance under Criterion A Clara Belle Williams, a lifelong educator, taught African American students in Texas, before moving Vado, New Mexico and later Las Cruces She withstood the indignity of racially segregated schools, teaching black students at Philips Chapel Christian Methodist Episcopal Church and Booker T Washington High School, both in Las Cruces Ms Williams became one of the most renowned educators in New Mexico, spending decades teaching reading, writing, and arithmetic to black students in public schools Ms Williams matriculated at New Mexico College of Agriculture of Mechanic Arts, now called New Mexico State University, in the fall 1928 She, unlike her white counterparts seated in the classroom, was required to listen to lectures from the corridor In 1937, at the age of 51, she became the first African American student to obtain a bachelor’s degree in English from New Mexico State University Ms Williams, who was born on October 29, 1885, retired from teaching in 1951, and died on July 3, 1994, at the age of 108 The Williams House is located at 734 Mesquite Street in the Mesquite Street Original Townsite, a State Register Historic District in Las Cruces, Doña Ana County, New Mexico Clara Belle Williams and her husband, Jasper, owned a double lot between Augustine and E Lucero avenues The property contains the Williams bungalow at 734 N Mesquite and a smaller bungalow duplex that was later occupied by the couple’s sons Ms Williams resided at the house from 1933 to 1974 Born on October 29, 1885, in Plum, Texas, Clara Belle Drisdale was born to sharecroppers, Isaac and Malinda Drisdale The Drisdales, who taught themselves to read and write, stirred Clara’s interest in education In 1901, Clara won a four-year scholarship to Prairie View Normal and Industrial College in Prairie View, Texas, now Prairie View A&M University She attended classes in the morning and worked in the school laundry room in the evenings to afford room and board In 1905, she earned a teaching certificate and the role of valedictorian of her graduating class of forty-three students Her first teaching position was in Cameron, Texas, where she had taught thirty-five students grades one to four She also earned extra income by sharing her home economics knowledge with women in the neighborhood In 1909, Ms Williams moved to Austin, Texas, where she taught for two years and then moved back to Prairie View, where she became the head of the domestic art department She began dating Jasper Williams, a courtship that lasted ten years They married in 1917 and moved to El Paso, Texas There, Clara gave birth to three sons: Jasper (born 1919), James, and Charles (both born in 1923) In 1917, Jaspar got a job with the United States Custom Office Two years later, he lost this position and opened a drugstore In 1924, a fire destroyed the Williams’ drugstore, and without insurance the family was nearly bankrupt The family’s finances were further strained when their third son, Charles, was born with a foot ailment, which required casts, a brace, and the constant care of a maid The family moved to Vado, a small, mostly African American community near Las Cruces, New Mexico The Williams’ homesteaded 640 acres of land, planting beans, corn, and cotton and raising livestock Vado also provided an opportunity for Clara to teach The school superintendent of Doña Ana County needed an educator with at least two years of college education, who would be paid $100 each month for nine months The job was a result of statewide legislation in 1924 that permitted school districts and municipalities to establish separate and equal educational facilities for white and Mexican students and for black students The position required a black teacher to teach black students who transferred from city schools to Vado Black students in Las Cruces were forced to attend Lincoln High School, which operated inside the Phillips Chapel Christian Methodist Episcopal Church For the first four months of her new job, Williams taught only her two eldest sons and three boys from another family at Lincoln High School In 1934, the school district constructed Booker T Washington School, a one-room adobe schoolhouse specifically for black students It was initially intended to accommodate as many as thirty students, but the over-crowded conditions resulted in the enrollment of 100 students over the next few years Ms Williams was the first teacher at Booker Authority to add information to a State Register nomination is described under 4.10.18.13 NMAC of the Cultural Properties Act T Washington School She taught elementary students; Jasper Williams served as principal and taught the secondary grades, fifth to eighth In this position Ms Williams faced rejection by some black residents and students because she was black In 1939, she continued to teach at Washington Elementary, grades one to five Ms Williams continued her education, enrolling at New Mexico College of Agriculture of Mechanic Arts, now called New Mexico State University, in the fall 1928 She enrolled in summer courses and taught full-time during the school year Because her professors did not permit her to sit in the same classrooms as her white peers, Williams listened to lectures from the corridor In 1937, she became the first African American student to graduate from the university She obtained a bachelor's degree in English The university did not permit her to attend the graduation ceremony because white students, it is believed, threatened to boycott the ceremony Williams received her diploma from the registrar's office After graduation, Williams enrolled in graduate courses from the university Later, she continued her education through correspondence and extension courses from the University of Chicago In 1961, New Mexico State University recognized the achievements of Ms Williams by naming her outstanding alumnae of the year The university also named one of the streets on the main campus, Williams Avenue In 1980, the university awarded her an honorary Doctor of Laws degree for her “overall service to mankind.” Ms Williams was the first African American to receive this honor Later, the university declared February 13, 2005, as Clara Belle Williams Day and renamed the English building, Clara Belle Williams Hall Her memory continues to be honored by the university, which offers scholarships in her name to African American students In 1966, she was honored with Outstanding Mother and Businesswoman Award from the Fine Arts Guild in Chicago 1n April 1969, Clara was elevated by the New Mexico Education Association into the Hall of Fame In 1977, Ms Williams was a nominee by the Southwest District Hall of Fame Committee, where she was inducted into the National Education Association of New Mexico Southwest District Hall of Fame Ms Williams retired from teaching in 1951 after forty years in the classroom, twenty-seven of those in New Mexico and seventeen years at Washington Elementary Ms Williams died on July 3, 1998 The honors and awards attest to her positive effect on lives of black students On her retirement, Ms Williams said: “There is no alternative to optimism The only choice we have is to prepare ourselves so we can go as far as possible Otherwise, we will have betrayed the precious breath thee Lord has given us.” APPLICATION FOR REGISTRATION NEW MEXICO STATE REGISTER OF CULTURAL PROPERTIES FORM A Revised 05/18/07 CONTINUATION SHEET Clara Belle Williams, n.d New Mexico College of Agriculture & Mechanic Arts, where Williams enrolled in summer courses, graduating with a bachelor’s degree in English in 1937 APPLICATION FOR REGISTRATION NEW MEXICO STATE REGISTER OF CULTURAL PROPERTIES FORM A Revised 05/18/07 CONTINUATION SHEET Clara B Williams (seller), Warrently Deed, Las Cruces, Dona Ana County, April 27, 1974 APPLICATION FOR REGISTRATION NEW MEXICO STATE REGISTER OF CULTURAL PROPERTIES FORM A Revised 05/18/07 CONTINUATION SHEET 722 N Mesquite Street (left) and 734 N Mesquite Street (right), Clara Belle Williams’ House APPLICATION FOR REGISTRATION NEW MEXICO STATE REGISTER OF CULTURAL PROPERTIES FORM A Revised 05/18/07 CONTINUATION SHEET Person Completing Questionnaire: Name: Alice Chavez-Villa Address: 906 Lenox Avenue City: Las Cruces State: New Mexico E-mail: Schoolhouse62@hotmail.com Bibliography Las Cruces Sun News, New Mexico State University, Library Archives and Special Collections, Las Cruces, New Mexico ... at the age of 108 The Williams House is located at 734 Mesquite Street in the Mesquite Street Original Townsite, a State Register Historic District in Las Cruces, Doña Ana County, New Mexico Clara... of Clara Belle Williams The purpose of this Additional Documentation to the Mesquite Street Original Townsite Historic District is to highlight the achievements in African American education by... REGISTER OF CULTURAL PROPERTIES FORM A Revised 05/18/07 CONTINUATION SHEET 722 N Mesquite Street (left) and 734 N Mesquite Street (right), Clara Belle Williams’ House APPLICATION FOR REGISTRATION NEW