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Background
The history of the Hampton Heights neighborhood in Spartanburg, SC, reflects the story of inner-city neighborhoods throughout the United States.
Hampton Heights was founded in the 1880's and '90's on a tract of farmland about a mile south of the center of Spartanburg. The first residents were upper middle-class business and professional people who built large Victorian homes, including a number in the style that became known as Queen Anne. In the early decades of the twentieth century, these Victorian houses gave way to an explosion of Arts and Crafts bungalows. This was a comfortable neighborhood filled with children who played ball in the empty lots and skated up and down sidewalks lined with oak trees.
Fast forward to the late twentieth century. Hampton Heights, now considered an inner-city neighborhood, was struggling with blight and neglect. Then in the early 1980's, refusing to accept pronouncements that the neighborhood was dead, a new generation of homeowners joined with long-time residents to begin the process of renewal.
The twenty-first century Hampton Heights is a wonderfully diverse and lively neighborhood with a core of strong minded residents who love their homes and who have worked hard to preserve the spirit of this exciting community—and whose children skate up and down the tree lined sidewalks.
The Web Site
This web site is intended to share the buildings and history of Hampton Heights with the larger community. The photographs and text are drawn from a large and growing database of materials. At present, only a small fraction of that repository of information has been included on the web site. However, over the next months, additional photos and information will be entered, and inactive buttons will be activated.
Viewers are encouraged to participate in the development of the site. If you have relevant information, photos, corrections, comments, requests, complaints, please convey them by using the e-mail button on the side bar.
Instructions
A brief summary of the information in the database has been entered on most buildings. For the fullest text, see the houses/buildings on West Hampton Avenue, Hampton Drive, South Hampton Drive, South Spring Street, and Peronneau Street. There is a great deal of information in the database on early residents of the neighborhood. This material will be added to the web site in the future, so visit the site often for updates !
November 2003
Vivian Boyd Fisher
Vivian Boyd Fisher
Resident of Hampton Heights since 1979
