I don't know where in Columbus my family lived when they migrated during the Depression. I'm guessing there was a black quarter then? Or at least a side of town in which African-Americans clustered? The generation that migrated began dying out in the 1970s, and we are not in touch with their remaining descendants.
From what I've come to learn, the African American population generally settled in a few areas.
• The near east side of downtown Columbus, for example the King-Lincoln neighborhood
• And an area directly northwest of downtown once called Flytown (this is where much of the poor lived once arriving from overseas or the deep south)
As was the generally the case in American cities 100 years ago, most lived in squalor with limited means. When interstate expansion and "re-urbanization" occurred in the 40's/50's, these areas were generally mowed down thus displacing most of the population to the east side of the city. The King-Lincoln neighborhood still contains some historic landmarks like the Lincoln Theatre, which was renovated in the last decade.
Around the area that was once Flytown has surged in the last 20 years as one of the cities foremost historic and entertainment areas. The Short North is trendy, and Victorian Village has some of the most beautiful turn-of-the-century homes.
The pocket of the south side of Columbus that I depict in UrbanCurse was settled primarily by Irish, Scottish, Hungarian, Slavs and other eastern European descendants. As generations passed on and suburbs were developed, whites from the south and Appalachia were able to move in seeking the blue collar jobs that were most prevalent in this part of the city. The African American population is basically scattered in this immediate area. Most live on the east side of Parsons Avenue, which runs North/South and (looking at Google maps) visually "runs into" where I-71 curves going from East to North. It's interesting how cities delineate or segregate typically by major routes of transportation. "The wrong side of the tracks", "8 Mile", or in Columbus' case I-71/Parsons Avenue.
