State Thomas, now part of pricey Uptown, was once ‘the heart and soul of Black Dallas’
During Black History Month, we are featuring the neighborhoods that have helped shape African American life in the city.
Historic homes in the State Thomas Historic District at State Street and Routh Street in Dallas.(Ben Torres / Special Contributor)
Touted by real estate agents as an upscale neighborhood offering old-world charm, it’s difficult to imagine that the State Thomas Historic District, lying just south of West Village in trendy, pricey Uptown, was once a rural Freedman’s Town.
“It was the heart and soul of Black Dallas for a while,” said Marsha Prior, a historic preservation planner for the city of Dallas who has published several research articles on the area. “We blinked and it became Uptown.”