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Published: Monday, September 25, 2006

Street renamed for basket maker

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The historian said the ex-slave was an American success story.

By D.A. WILKINSON

VINDICATOR SALEM BUREAU

SALEM — City council has renamed a street in honor of a poor man who was once a slave.

Water Avenue between the Salem Public Library and the Memorial Building has become Strotter Brown Avenue.

The street runs one block north and south between East State and East Pershing streets.

Dr. James McQuilkin, a retired Salem dentist and president of the Western Columbiana County Historical Society in Homeworth, said he started the project, but that it ultimately involved many other people.

Brown, who was black, was an ex-slave who came to Salem after the Civil War. He's best known for making baskets that are now considered collectibles.

McQuilkin said that as he studied Brown's life, he saw "the values I teach my children."

The amateur historian said Brown was "independent, didn't take charity from anybody, was generous as a friend, led an interesting, resourceful life and was apparently well-liked by the community. He plied his craft as he saw fit, and I thought, 'There's a man who should be honored.'"

McQuilkin said Brown "was not rich in things, but was rich in character."

Came to town after war

A photograph of Brown in front of his home hangs in city hall, as does a drawing of Brown. Information with the photo says that during the Civil War, Brown befriended a Salem soldier and gave him some of his home-grown tobacco.

After the war, the ex-Virginia slave rode into Salem on his white mare, Jenny, looking for his old friend.

Brown was probably illiterate, and so put a notch in the handle of his baskets instead of signing his work. His last name may have come from a plantation owner, which was a common practice.

But Brown had his own life in Salem. He planted vegetables and accepted oats for Jenny in return for his baskets.

McQuilken said: "I think Strotter Brown had a dream, and 90 percent of it came true. How well-liked was he? His shack burned down and friends and neighbors got together and put up another one for him. He's the epitome of the American Dream, and that's as good as it gets."

Brown passed away in 1913 at the Columbiana County Home. He was estimated to be about 100 years old, and had no known family.

Brown's friends bought a marker for him in Hope Cemetery that includes a basket where visitors still leave coins.

Choosing the street

McQuilkin said the first plan was to rename Elm Street on the city's west side, where Brown's shack was located.

But there was a feeling that an effort to recognize Brown should be closer to the center of town.

After looking at Ohio Avenue, which has a number of residents who would have had to change their addresses, McQuilkin said those involved in the project thought of Water Avenue.

People involved in the project said there will be a ceremony at a later date when the Strotter Brown Avenue signs are in place.

wilkinson@vindy.com

Monday, September 25, 2006