It was too much to resist. During a business trip to Memphis Tenn, Isaac McLemore could help but notice there was a street name McLemore, a town name Bartlett and not too far away a museum with his brother’s name. The McLemore House in Franklin Tenn. located on the corner of 11th Ave N and Glass St in a subdivision call “Hard Bargain”. Named such because ex-slave Harvey McLemore had to drive a “hard bargain” to get the property.
According to the official site, http://www.carnton.org/mclemore.htm,
Ex-slave Harvey McLemore purchased four lots in Hard Bargain in 1880. He built one of the first residential dwelling in the subdivision. The home served as a model of community development in Hard Bargain, the first subdivision of its kind in Franklin–a black middle class neighborhood of teachers, carpenters, masons and farmers.
During an age where very few homes purchased by former slaves remain in existence, it is quite remarkable that the McLemore House is still standing. Also remarkable is the fact that from 1880 until 1997, a member of the McLemore family maintained ownership of the homestead.
After surviving 117 years and at least seven generations of the McLemore family, the house was sold in 1997.
Isaac McLemore is currently the Master Distributor of TamPogo. www.tampogo.com/isaac
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- The McLemore House
