History of Fayettevilles historic Black neighborhood and its next steps [Video]

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. (KNWA/KFTA) — NWA Black Heritage has taken the forefront in wanting to get Spout Spring recognized as a historic district.

While there’s opposition to the cause, the City of Fayetteville has entered a contract with Post Oak, a historic preservation consulting company, to provide a historical context statement about the buildings and area boundaries of Spout Spring — a neighborhood that is currently proposed as running from Lafayette Street down to 15th Street — that could be deemed either a local or national historic district.

“It will help us have a much better understanding of the history and the patterns and forces that shape the neighborhood that we know today,” Britin Bostick, Fayetteville’s long-range planning coordinator, said.

Fayetteville resident campaigns against historic district idea

As for the history, patterns and forces Bostick is mentioning, Spout Spring has its roots in slavery, according to NWA Black Heritage co-founder and president Sharon Killian.

“Senator David Walker — …