“A Community Remembered” marker to commemorate the thriving, successful Black community in Clayton between the 1880s and 1960s was unveiled April 3 by representatives of the City of Clayton and Clayton Community Foundation. The marker is located at 7700 Carondelet Ave.
Clayton Mayor Michelle Harris says the marker honors Clayton's vibrant Black community whose contributions enriched the city's cultural and economic fabric. "From homeowners to educators, laborers and city workers, these early residents played pivotal roles in shaping Clayton's history, establishing churches, businesses, and fostering community spirit. Yet, their legacy was overshadowed by challenges like housing discrimination and rezoning, leading to displacement and the erasure of their history," she adds.
The historic neighborhood was bounded by Hanley Road and Brentwood Boulevard, and even more densely populated between Hanley and Bemiston Avenue on Carondelet and Bonhomme avenues, according to city records.
In a 2017 documentary film directed by Clayton High School and Washington University grad Emma Riley, "Displaced & Erased,” she showed the first postmaster of Clayton was Black and that the city had a previous African-American school called Attucks Elementary.
"The marker stands as a symbol of our joint commitment to preserving all parts of Clayton’s history," says Mayor Harris. "It honors the resilience and contributions of our early Black community, shaping the city we know today. Through the hard work and efforts of the Mayor's Commemorative Landscape Task Force and the support of the Clayton Community Foundation, we're ensuring the stories of our diverse community are preserved and celebrated."
Donna Rogers-Beard, a former AP World History teacher with the Clayton School District for 20 years, says at its height, this community was home to more than 300 people. She’s researched the area since 1991, combing through newspaper archives and conducting oral histories after learning about the Attucks School at the Clayton School District’s 100th-anniversary party.
"It was Doris Graham who gave my first insight into the community's history. She was born on the site of the now-Meridian Inn on Bonhomme. I began researching census records and interviewing people until I had a more complete story of residents from Old Town Clayton," Donna explains.
After Donna created a presentation for teachers and students, Clayton Historical Society members invited her to share her research.
Donna also researched Clayton's first Black postmaster, Richard Hudlin Sr. The History Museum staff published her 10-page article about him and 'Old Town Clayton' for the group's spring 2023 Gateway Magazine.
"I've been fortunate to witness the former residents and their descendants celebrate a commemoration of their beloved community on three occasions," she adds. "They know they cannot go back to when they lived and thrived in a place so close-knit that almost everyone was related by blood or marriage to their neighbors. And most went to the same church, which was within walking distance. But they appreciate being acknowledged as part of Clayton's history."
One of the people Donna interviewed was Derek Novel. He also was asked to speak at the unveiling of the marker. He says his paternal grandparents owned a few parcels in Clayton.
"Before my birth, my family moved into one of those properties in the late 1940s. They rented the home at 121 S. Hanley. Years later, Grandpa informed them by letter in 1956 he had sold 'our home' for the location of a Cadillac dealership," Derek states. "We moved into a house up the street on Bonhomme until Pop received a letter requiring us to vacate that residence by the end of January 1958. It was torn down and added to parcels that eventually became the 7777 Building."
Derek says his father found a hilly, forested lot at the end of what is Colorado Avenue. "Unable to afford a home in Clayton, my parents bought and cleared that lot to have a home built upon it. That's where the family of Bertrand and Emma Novel lived from 1959 to the early 1970s. My sister attended Meramec, Bellevue, Wydown schools, and graduated exactly 60 years ago as the only African-American in the class of 1964 of Clayton High School, and I was the only one in the class of 1969."
Adrian Rice's mother, Sharon McKinney Rice, aunts and grandparents lived in a house located where Le Méridien St. Louis Clayton stands now. He and Derek are cousins. Adrian, too, met Donna along the way, and he also shared remarks at the marker unveiling regarding decades-old stories his family had passed down.
"My mom and aunts attended Attucks school, and we have old report cards of theirs. I attended the marker ceremony during 2023 that commemorated the school," says Adrian. "My aunt, JoAnne McKinney Henderson, was also the first African-American female to graduate from Clayton High School in 1956."
Adrian adds, "Mom says she had a fairly idyllic childhood growing up in Clayton. They had fun, and enjoyed many adventures playing in what is now the commercial district but was then a tight-knit residential area."
Life has a funny way of criss-crossing. Adrian says his grandmother saved the life of a child in Clayton when the young boy was inside a car careening toward Brentwood Boulevard. "She jumped into the car, as it was heading into traffic, and steered it to safety or somehow stopped it," he explains, but little did Adrian know how this happening would come into his personal world.
After relocating to Los Angeles, Adrian says he randomly met a young woman with St. Louis connections. "It turns out that her family knew mine. She invited me to attend a family reunion with her relatives in LA. They asked about my family, and when an older man heard my grandmother's name, he lit up, saying he knew her and that she saved his life. He began to tell the same story about a near car accident. I exclaimed: You are THE boy!' And he was."
In another mystery solved, Adrian says The First Baptist Church of Clayton was once located at 216 S. Brentwood Blvd., (facing Shaw Park) and Bonhomme Avenue with membership up to 600 parishioners. On Sept. 29, 1961, the final service was held at First Baptist Church of Clayton. The congregation moved to 2801 Union in the City of St. Louis. The church was renamed Clayton Missionary Baptist. This was where Adrian's family attended church. "As a child, I did not know or understand the history of how or why the African-American community disappeared in Clayton or why our church was named for Clayton but resided now in St Louis City."
Life also came full circle for Adrian regarding Clayton. After moving back to St. Louis during 2020 after being gone for about 15 years, he works at the marketing agency BI WORLDWIDE, located at none other than 8000 Maryland Ave. in Clayton.
"From homeowners to educators and city workers, these early residents played pivotal roles in shaping Clayton's history."