Vice and Flowers: The Black Hills 1890–1906

by Matthew Daley

In 1906, the Grand Rapids Press ran a story entitled “Where Vice Dwelt Peaceful” about the transformation of the Black Hills from a center of vice to a growing neighborhood of homes. “The Hills were a regular breeding ground for crime. Many a lad started on a career there that landed him in prison” recalled Detective Joseph Smith of the GRPD on the area’s colorful past.

The Black Hills, named for the black oaks that grew along its slopes, is a rock outcropping lying between the Grand River and the steep ridge to the east where Grandville Avenue runs.

Between the two extends Godfrey Avenue that would become one of the principle sites production in the Furniture City. Along Market Avenue to the north ran the Michigan Central Railroad’s tracks and paralleling Godfrey were the tracks of the Pere Marquette that both helped to enhance its industrial future.

However, during the 1890s, the sparse development meant that the Black Hills were a wooded patch of high ground that afforded both access to the railroads and the ability to watch for any intruders. According to Detective Smith, a gang of local criminals inhabited the area after having been pushed away from Island Field and then the area at Market and Wealthy. Combining with those rogues riding the rails, they would commit petty and major crimes throughout the area. Returning with their ill-gotten gains, they would drink and revel in peace among the woods safe from prying eyes.

At the same time, the economic depression following the Panic of 1893 pushed thousands of men to follow the rails in search of work and opportunities. Throughout the nation, countless “hobo” camps sprang up near railroad lines in towns large and small. While lumped together, the term hobo meant a traveling worker, unlike “tramps” or “bums” who worked only sporadically. Such fine distinctions were lost on the public who lumped them together. Newspapers, including in Grand Rapids, ran stories on towns living in fear of the “tramp menace,” of hundreds of men descending upon their communities. Few of these ever took place, but the existence of camps in isolated areas near railroads troubled the same local authorities who also provided little in public relief. Police frequently broke up these camps, including a 1900 raid in the Black Hills that the Press reported officers as having “disturbed the domesticity of six disciples of wanderlust.”

The years after 1900 saw the expansion of industry along Godfrey Avenue and the growing demand for housing brought development to the Black Hills. Logging started in 1902 and by 1910 had removed the oaks that gave the area its name. So too had departed the gangs and hoboes from the area as streets and lots were platted for the homes to come. So great was the change the Press ran a notice on April 20, 1904 that families should come to pick wildflowers that now grew on the hillsides where once the trees had whispered. No longer quite as isolated, the Press could boast in 1908 that “The Black Hills have become civilized.”

“Vice and Flowers: The Black Hills 1890–1906” presented by Matthew Daley, GRHS Board Member, and Professor of History, GVSU. Thursday, September 10, 2020, 7:00 p.m. Virtual Program on Zoom and YouTube.