A dozen residents provided photographs and participated in oral history interviews as part The Davis Bottom History Preservation Project. These materials have been generously provided for research and educational use. All other uses are strictly prohibited without the expressed, written consent of the donors, interviewees and/or their families.
Our thanks to participating residents for allowing scholars, teachers and students to learn about the history of Davis Bottom from those who know it best. As you will see and hear, residents consistently speak about Davis Bottom as a safe, integrated, and tight-knit community where neighbors looked after one another despite tough economic times.
Figure 1: Kids in Davis Bottom, ca. 1950s. Courtesy, Laffoon Collection, DBHPP.
The production team conducted oral history interviews with 14 residents, former residents and community leaders in 2011 and 2012. These oral history interviews have been compiled into an unedited Oral History DVD, “Davis Bottom: Living Memories” (3 hrs., 39 minutes), which has been provided to participants and local institutions and libraries for research and educational use.
Family photographic collections
Representatives from six Davis Bottom families contributed 101 photographs ranging in dates from the 1910s to 2000s. Residents received digital copies of the photographs on CDs. The production team compiled the collection into a community photo archive, including logs with known names and dates.