CHANDLER — Southside Village is the first community honored with the title "Historic Conservation District" by the city of Chandler.
Residents Elaine Woods and Peggy Schlesinger didn't know each other before embarking on the mission to secure the designation, but through the love of their community, they're now life-long friends.
"This community is the fabric of which the city of Chandler was made from," Woods said.
Tucked away just southeast of City Hall, the significance of this modest neighborhood to the history of Arizona may not stand out on its own.
"But this community birthed so many firsts," Woods said.
Raul Navarrete became Chandler's first Hispanic mayor elected in 1972.
Coy Payne was elected mayor of Chandler in 1990, becoming the first Black mayor in the history of Arizona.
Professional boxer Zora Folley also claimed Southside Village, and was the first opponent to call Muhammad Ali by his Muslim name before their title fight back in 1967.
"When Zora Foley fought Ali, even though he was knocked out, Chandler was on the map," Woods said.
But the history of Southside Village goes all the way back to 1912 and Dr. Alexander John Chandler. Before founding the city that bears his name, he was a veterinarian who purchased several plots of land. Dr. Chandler was a visionary, planning the town and the San Marco Hotel. But he soon realized farming was big business and cotton was king.
"This area was designated for laborers of this community to service the city of Chandler," Woods said.
Southside Village was formed specifically, in fact, to house the Hispanic and Black cotton workers.
"You had blacks and hispanics and we all lived together," Woods said.
But the sense of community grew out of necessity as segregation was deeply embedded in the surrounding area.
"You had to have entrepreneurs because of the fact people were not allowed to go into other places because of the color of their skin," said Peggy Schlesinger with Chandler4Change.
Blacks couldn't eat in the Chandler restaurants or had pick up their food "around back."
Children in the area were bussed to rural schools in Ocotillo before Winn School was opened in Southside Village. The property is currently home to the Salvation Army.
"It took the village to keep the people safe, nurtured, cared for and on point," Woods said.
The most notable entrepreneur of the time was Woods great grandfather, NJ Harris. Harris worked for Dr. Chandler for a time and was the first Black man to live in the new town.
Harris started a thriving barbecue pit cafe on Saragosa Street, making use of the old Chandler water tower to create a hub for community and culture.
"He opened the barbecue restaurant that served many of the laborers that lived in this area," Woods said.
"That's one of the things that was amazing about this community, is the creativity and innovation that people would offer," Schlesinger added.
Community leaders stepped forward like laundry and food service entrepreneur Lucille Wilson.
"She would cook large pots of beans and fried chicken and make breads and do different things and when parents came to pick their children up they got their food, and their laundry," Woods said of Wilson.
Part of the challenge of the time was securing clean water.
"When they first started the area there was no water," Schlesinger said. "How can you live in the desert without water? You had to buy your water," she said, telling the story of converting irrigation and canal water to home use.
"Finally this wonderful Hispanic man decided that he was going to go to the city and say, if you'll put in and pay for the pipes and whatever else, we'll provide the labor. So that's how this area got clean water."
There was a true closeness to Southside Village. In one instance, Chandler business owners courageously drove members of the Ku Klux Klan out of town who were trying to recruit new members.
"People paid attention to what was important and they helped each other," Schlesinger said.
If the barbecue pit was the heart of Southside, Mt. Olive Missionary Baptist Church was the soul. The church was literally moved from another area of town to where it sits now on Colorado Street. But it's always been the spiritual rock for the people.
"Oh gosh, you just put chills on my body," Woods said reminiscing on the importance of the church.
Combining the organizational efforts of Chandler4change and South Chandler Self Help, it took Woods and Schlesinger two years to help earn the historic designation.
"We actually walked this whole area," Schlesinger said pointing to a map of the village.
The two walked the streets gathering signatures, held events in Harris Park, and made presentations to the Historical Society, before finally getting the unanimous votes from Chandler City Hall.
"When we finally got the word it was like a sigh of relief," Woods said.
"Relieved because this had been a long journey, a long journey," Schlesinger added.
Channeling the ancestors of Southside Village, the women working tirelessly to make the community around them better.
"It celebrates this community," Schlesinger said.
"Without the people of this community, I can't imagine where Chandler would be," Woods said.
