Biddleville is the oldest surviving predominantly

African-American neighborhood African-American neighborhoods or black neighborhoods are types of ethnic enclaves found in many cities in the United States. Generally, an African American neighborhood is one where the majority of the people who live there are African American ...

Charlotte Charlotte ( ) is the most populous city in the U.S. state of North Carolina. Located in the Piedmont region, it is the county seat of Mecklenburg County. The population was 874,579 at the 2020 census, making Charlotte the 16th-most populo ...

North Carolina North Carolina () is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States. The state is the 28th largest and 9th-most populous of the United States. It is bordered by Virginia to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the east, Georgia and ...

. It is located one mile west of Uptown and Interstate 77 along Beatties Ford Road. Biddleville is home to Johnson C. Smith University, a

historically black college Historically black colleges and universities (HBCUs) are institutions of higher education in the United States that were established before the Civil Rights Act of 1964 with the intention of primarily serving the African-American community. M ...

originally called the Henry J. Biddle Memorial Institute, that was formed shortly after the

Civil War A civil war or intrastate war is a war between organized groups within the same state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies ...

to educate aspiring black preachers and teachers. In 1876 it was renamed Biddle University.Biddleville-Five Points Neighborhood Guide
Biddleville arose as a supporting community of the Institute and was distinctly separate from Charlotte until it was annexed by the city in 1907. In 1908, the Biddle University Quintet was formed to tour and raise funds in emulation of the

Fisk Jubilee Singers The Fisk Jubilee Singers are an African-American '' a cappella'' ensemble, consisting of students at Fisk University. The first group was organized in 1871 to tour and raise funds for college. Their early repertoire consisted mostly of traditio ...

. In 1920 they recorded four spiritual sides for

Pathé Records Pathé Records was an international record company and label and producer of phonographs, based in France, and active from the 1890s through the 1930s. Early years The Pathé record business was founded by brothers Charles and Émile Pathé ...

. In 1938 they replaced the Golden Gate Jubilee Quartet as regular performers on the Charlotte WBT radio station. From 1926 to 1929 the Biddleville Quintette recorded extensively for Paramount Records. It is not known whether the two groups are the same, or even connected.

Subdivisions

Biddleville has three subdivisions: Roslyn Heights, Smallwood, and Western Heights.

References

External links

* Neighborhoods in Charlotte, North Carolina Annexed places in North Carolina {{MecklenburgCountyNC-geo-stub