Tuesday, May 14, 2013
The city council failed to take up the request by a property owner who had requested that the name of the private road be changed.
The normally mundane task of petitioning a city for the change of a street name that transformed into a divisive debate over history and race in the city of Wildwood has come to a conclusion. A petition to change Old Slave Road to Elijah Madison Lane failed to gain traction at a Wildwood City Council Monday when a motion to begin the process did not received a second. The lack of action formed the end, for now, of a long-running saga that began last fall when a property owner and resident on the private street, Karen Fox, petitioned for the change, originally asking it be renamed Spiceberry Lane. Fox told the council Monday night that the current name is “offensive” and the requested alteration will still reflect the area’s history. She …
Monday, April 22, 2013
The issue now moves to the city council for a final vote May 13.
Residents seeking a change for the private street where they live may not be granted their request after a city commission recommended against renaming Old Slave Road in Wildwood. The matter now moves to the city council for final consideration at its May 13 meeting. According to a report in the St. Louis Suburban Journals, the city’s Administration/Public Works Committee voted 6-1 April 9 in favor of keeping the name. The name dates back to 1979, but the area’s history goes back much father. As previously reported by Patch, it's home to several cemeteries, including unmarked burial sites, which contain the graves of former slaves. It’s also the former home of notable Wildwood resident Elijah Madison, who likely earned his freedom fighting…
Monday, January 21, 2013
First in a series: Did you know a portion of Wildwood is connected to significant Black American history? The road's name lies in its roots. Residents of Spicewood Farms now are petitioning to update the road's name to honor the memory of former slaves.
Monday, Jan. 21, reflects the federal holiday that observes Martin Luther King Jr. Day—a time traditionally focused on encouraging Americans to stand for doing what's inherently right even when it's the unpopular position or decision. The holiday also highlights U.S. history related to Black Americans. Local Black history was just spotlighted earlier this month in Wildwood when city officials hosted a public meeting on Jan. 12 to tour a burial site located on a private residence on Old Slave Road (real street name), off the west side of Wild Horse Creek Road and south of Centaur Road. The burial site is unmarked and has no headstones. Owners of residences along Old Slave Road last fall petitioned Wildwood city staffers to change the …
Rufus Jones
8:03 am on Friday, May 17, 2013
You are correct, however given the fact her name is Helen Madison it could be viewed differently. http://www.stltoday.com/news/local/govt-and-politics/old-slave-road-in-wildwood-keeps-its-name/article_4a57ca80-fe93-5e06-bee8-3ccdc70aa25c.html more ›