The past, present and future of “Hard Bargain” Tennessee
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The past, present and future of “Hard Bargain” Tennessee
Almost 150 years ago, a formerly enslaved man named Harvey McLemore worked out a deal with the man who used to own him. With a few hundred dollars, plus “sweat equity,” he purchased four plots of Tennessee land and built a house.
Eventually, he subdivided that land and used it to help other formerly enslaved people become property owners too.
The community they built was called “Hard Bargain” and was composed of farmers, brick masons, carpenters and other working-class people.
“It is still a thriving moderate-income or middle-income, family neighborhood,” said Derrick L. Solomon, executive director of the Hard Bargain Association which seeks to preserve the historic neighborhood. “You also have fifth, sixth, sometimes seventh-generation families that have lived here and still are here.”
William County historian Rick Warwick says the “Hard Bargain” name pre-dates Harvey McLemore and most likely referenced a difficult trade made in a previous sale. However, McLemore’s bargain with his former owner certainly helped the name stick.
“During that time period, just to be an African-American person [owning] your own land would be very difficult,” said Solomon. “He brought in other sharecroppers, subdivided the plots and basically helped those families get generational wealth.”
The house that Harvey McLemore built was home to his descendants until 1997, when it was sold to the Heritage Foundation of Williamson County through a partnership with Habitat for Humanity.
In recent years, as housing costs increase, the neighborhood has been threatened by gentrification. Through home renovations, affordable housing development and other community projects, the Hard Bargain Association (HBA) attempts to make it easier for local families to stay.
“It’s very vital to keep this community intact,” Solomon said. “Our mission is to preserve the hardworking neighborhood.”
Solomon is not from Hard Bargain originally, but his wife Marquita’s family is. Her grandfather, Rev. Denny Denson, was one of the founders of the HBA, which helped Derrick and Marquita purchase a home in Hard Bargain in 2012.
They hope their son, Darius, will inherit it someday. “Hopefully, he will pass that same generational wealth on,” Solomon said.
Harvey McLemore’s house was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1999. Today, it’s a museum.
Solomon said seeing that house today makes him think about what Harvey McLemore did to pave the way for families like his.
“If he didn’t go to his ex-slave owner at that time to make this ultimate sacrifice, I would never have had the opportunity to purchase a home,” he said. “The McLemore house is the past, present and the future of Hard Bargain.”
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