HOUGH
The Phoenix of Cleveland The story of the birth, downfall, and rebirth of the Hough neighborhood of Cleveland. // Dwayne Castleberry & Chau Tang
H
ough, one of Cleveland’s oldest
The neighborhood took an ugly turn
ed guns at the crowd, inciting a historic
neighborhoods was settled in
as white citizens pulled their resources.
1799 by Oliver and Eliza Hough.
Businesses left and racial violence plagued
The city became a hub for the
Hough. In 1966, the United States Commis-
the neighborhood’s buildings. After police
wealthiest citizens in Northeast Ohio and
sion of Civil Rights publicly declared that
set up a post in the E. 73 area, the gunfights
was incorporated into the City of Cleveland
Hough was plagued with racism and police
began. Citizens destroyed police cars and
in 1873. The Hough neighborhood is located
brutality. The unemployment rate for Black
seized a fire truck. The uprising was only
within the blocks of E. 55 and E. 105, be-
males in Cleveland reached 68 percent.
quelled by a midnight thunderstorm, which
tween Euclid Avenue and Superior Avenue.
Many expected that racial tensions would
forced protesters inside. The Ohio National
lead to something worse.
guard was called in for the first time to stop
houses and top-rated private schools, including the Laurel School for girls. The beauty of Hough was compared to the fancy streets of France. The neighborhood was known as “Little Hollywood” and was a key section of Euclid’s “Millionaires Row,” which used to be home to some of the nation’s most influential people. It was considered to be the “Showplace of America” by Baedecker’s Travel Guide. The Fall of Little Hollywood In 1910, Cleveland was the sixth largest city in the nation and much of the population was centralized in the Hough area. As the population grew, the infrastructured of Hough was not maintained. Buildings became overcrowded by European immigrants who had lower incomes and couldn’t maintain the lavish buildings. The Great
“
Black citizens unleashed their pain on
a civil uprising caused by racism. In the end, around 50 people were injured and four
Businesses left and racial violence plagued Hough.
“
It was initially populated with extravagant
uprising.
The Hough Uprising
were killed. All of the victims were Black including Benoris Toney, who was shot by a white mob that was later captured and arrested by police but soonafter released. The heavy rains of Cleveland ensued, keeping people inside. The National Guard proceeded to withdraw in the weeks following July 26. Mayor Richard Locher blamed the incident on Black Nationalism and Communism but Major General Erwin C. Hostetler of the National Guard said that “there [was] nothing to substantiate [Locher’s] statement.” According to WKYC, Cleveland residents Bennie Jean Johnson and Elaine Jones lived in Hough as teenagers when the uprising happened. Johnson remembers the anxiety of traveling with the threat of
Depression of the 1930s devastated the
The uprising began at the Seventy-Niners
being shot. Both women still remember the
neighborhood as European immigrants
Café, owned by the Feigenbaum brothers.
“dark days and long nights” as frustrated
fled the neighborhood and displaced Af-
It took place from July 18 to July 23, 1966.
citizens rebelled against the city. Johnson
rican Americans moved in. Urban renewal
The Feigenbaum’s were witnessed arguing
remembers when the army trucks arrived
and freeway construction in the 1950s
with several Black patrons the day of the
and people realized it was time to get inside
helped gentrify the Central neighborhood to
riot including a man whom they refused to
of their houses. During an intense encoun-
the west, forcing Blacks to flee to aban-
give water to. The restaurant owners put
ter, Johnson’s hearing-impaired 5-year-old
doned neighborhoods. The Black population
up a sign reading “No water for niggers”
brother randomly ran down a street until
of Hough rose greatly from 14 percent in
on the front door. An angry crowd gathered
a police officer secured him. Bennie recalls
1950 to 75 percent in 1960.
in front of the store. The brothers point-
the officer being intent on helping them.
13 VINDICATOR | FEBRUARY 2017