UP FROM SLAVERY

Alonzo Franklin Herndon                                     

When we think of the history of African Americans liviging in Atlanta, we think of their schools and businesses. When we mention "Black Business", we are reminded of Auburn Avenue, "The Sweet Street Of Pride". And usually one of the first successs stories to come to mind is the one about Alonzo Herndon.

Alonzo Franklin Herndon was born a slave in Social Circle,  Walton County, Georgia in 1858; the son of a mulatto slave mother named Sophonie and a European slave-owner father. In
his youth, Herndon was a field laborer.

At age 13 his father offered him a job as a farmhand. Alonzo peddled peanuts and candies on the side to make extra money.

Alonzo Herndon receive one year of European formal education. At age 20 Herndon began working partime at hair cutting while working as a farm laborer in Senoia, Georgia.

He later became a wealthy barber, owning several barber businesses in sucession. He was only able to rent property from other people during this period. The last barber shop was a barber palace a place at 66 Peachtree. By the turn of the century, he was the wealthiest African American in Atlanta.

Herndon's wealth also derived from extensive real estate holdings in the city of Atlanta.

In 1905 Herndon founded the Atlanta Mutual Insurance Association; which was a collection of various benevolent and protective associations. Atlanta Mutual became Atlanta Life Insurance, the largest Black-owned stockholder insurance company in America today. www.atlantalife.net/

The Alonzo Herndon Family                             

Alonzo his first wife Adrianne McNeil and their son Norris Bumstead Herndon.

Herndon House


This is the home that Alonzo Herndon and his family lived in. Herndon had it built in  1910. Herndon's first wife, Adrianne, died from Addison's disease the first week after the house was completed.

Guided tours are conducted hourly from 10:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m., Tuesday through Saturday. Group tours must be scheduled in advance. Donations requested. Herndon Home is located at: The Herndon Home, 587 University Place, NW
Atlanta, GA  30314, Phone: 1-(404)581-9813 and e-mail is: info@theherndonhome.org

 

Herndon Hall

This photograph was taken just as you enter the front portion of the Herndon Home. Among one of the unique achievements of the Herndon family is the construction of the house. I remember the guide telling me, when I visited Herndon Home during the 1990's, that the house was designed by Alonzo and Adrienne, apparently without the aid of an architect, and was built, for the most part, by African-American contractors.

The house contains original furnishings and those acquired later in the century by Norris, who traveled in Europe collecting decorative arts for what he envisioned as a museum in honor of his parents.

The son Norris B. Herndon lived in the house until his death in 1977.

 

Herndon Tonsorial Palace

In 1896, the beautiful Markham Hotel burned down, leaving Herndon to open a temporary shop, and search for better quarters. In 1902, at 66 Peachtree Street,   Atlanta, Georgia, he opened the barber palace of his dreams.

The Herndon Tonsorial Palace was a barber palace center. This was the high point in Herndon's first business. It served Eropeans only. Segregation laws prevented serving Africans and Europeans as clients in the same facilities. With twenty-five chairs, crystal chandeliers, and marble floors, the parlor extended a full block from Peachtree to Broad Street and was one of the most elegant barber palaces in the country.

Atlanta Mutual Insurance Association

The Atlanta Mutual Insurance Association was founded in 1905. Picture depicts a company staff meeting held in their first office on Auburn Avenue.

For the most part, European banks and loan companies did not loan African Americans money to start their businesses in those days. African Americans had to form clubs and organizations to raise money to build large investment companies.

Atlanta Mutual Leadership Club

This photograph depicts a group of Atlanta Mutual Stockholders.

 

 

 

Atlanta Life Insurance Company

The Atlanta Life Insurance Company was in this building from the 1920's until the 1980's.
Branch Office Of Atlanta Life

This photos was taken in front of Alanta Insurance Company's many branch offices.

 

 


Herndon Building

The Herndon Building, built on Auburn Avenue by Alonzo Herndon in 1924, housed  African American organizations and businesses such as The Savoy Hotel, which opened in 1937.