THE WEEKLY CHALLENGER
I AM: The Story of the Gas Plant Neighborhood By Gwendolyn Reese, The Weekly Challenger
The area known as the Gas Plant neighborhood was the second African-American neighborhood formed in St. Petersburg between 1890-1900. Originally known as “Cooper’s Quarters,” the area was owned by Leon Cooper, a white business merchant. It ran along Ninth Street South and south of First Avenue South. Like the earlier neighborhood of Pepper Town, formed between 1888-1889
along Ninth Street between Third and Fourth Avenues South, Cooper’s Quarters was also settled by the influx of African Americans coming to the area to complete the Orange Belt Railway. Along with Methodist Town and an area referred to as Goose Pond, these two neighborhoods were the only places Black people could call home in the city.
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As the population of Cooper’s Quarters grew, the neighborhood expanded and became known as the Gas Plant neighborhood. This was because of the natural gas cylinders that dominated the skyline. The neighborhood was home to many people, me included, who still have pleasant memories of growing up there. The communal fish fries on Friday, crab boils on Saturday and bar-
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