Gastonia’s black community has always centered around the Highland area. Starting in 1900, black families moved into town to work as domestic laborers and in construction, trucking, and lumber mills. The economic center of the community was called the Square, located between Walnut Ave and Page Ave at the end of North York Street. Since black entrepreneurs didn’t the same access to capital as white business owners, Nathaniel Barber, James Biggers, and Howard Glenn founded Excelsior Credit Union. The credit union was key to the growth of the Highland community, as an ad celebrating the fifth anniversary of its state charter shows. In 1947, the credit union had $118,000 in assets ($1.3 million in 2018 dollars).

Costner Funeral Home and Lightner Taxi are the only businesses that I’m aware of that still exist.

The credit union operated well into the 70s. By then, many middle class black families had started moving elsewhere in Gastonia. Highland was comprised of mostly rental housing and lower income families. By the 80s, the community was infamous for its high crime rate. In the early 90s, the county razed the area that was once the Square and built a complex for the courthouse and county jail.

A historically black-owned credit union returned to Highland in 2010. First Legacy Community Credit Union was founded in 1941 by the teachers of Second Ward High School in Charlotte. The Gastonia branch, built between York St and 321 near the site of Highland High School, struggles with profitability. In 2018, the long time CEO was charged with 13 counts of theft and embezzlement.

As a child of the 90s, it’s hard for me to imagine the busy center of commerce that Highland once was. All local banks (First Union, Wachovia, and BB&T) begin lending to entrepreneurs regardless of race in the 60s, but research shows that black business owners are still more likely to be discouraged from applying for small business loans. If Excelsior existed today, would Highland still be the center of black excellence in Gastonia?

Small Business Saturday is the weekend after Thanksgiving. There are over 1200 minority-owned small businesses in Gastonia. While I was unable to find a reliable list, there are a number of Facebook groups and pages supporting the local business community in Gastonia.

Update: In 2019, First Legacy Credit Union installed a virtual teller machine to replace the staff at the Gastonia branch. In 2020, the credit union merged with Self-Help Credit Union.