Gunntown

Text

Winn Gunn, an ardent abolitionist who lived at 340 East Third Street, bought a 14-acre tract of land between Deweese and Race streets after the Civil War. There he developed Gunntown, a community of small shotgun houses built on narrow lots, primarily for freed, rural slaves who flocked to town looking for employment.

Gunn helped found the Gunn A.M.E. Chapel, a Black church at 346 Deweese Street. A short length of Gunn Street remains today, starting behind the Lyric Theatre. Deweese and Race Streets are shown under the "R" and "D" of "Ward 3" in the Sanborn Fire Insurance Map from 1886 displayed with this pin. Although the structures themselves are not shown, you can see the organization of the streets while the East End was growing.