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The Jan. 18 death of Irma Augusta, the last of the “Freedom Home sisters,” gave birth to the idea of creating a historical district honoring a group of homes on Stanton Street, which served as a springboard for impoverished Southern African-Americans to start a new life.  

The 95-year-old Augusta was the niece of Joseph Quezaire, a railway Pullman porter, who along with a group of other porters, purchased modest middle-class homes in the 2800 block of Stanton Street in the late ‘20s, ‘30s and ‘40s. 

The porters, many of them from Plantation Country, Louisiana, then opened their homes to relatives living under oppressive conditions in the South. 

“These porters shared their homes with unfortunate relatives constrained in poverty, segregation and misery down south,” said Edward Gibson, a relative if Augusta. “These places of refuge are what I call the Freedom Homes, where the porters’ relatives found hope of a new and better life.” 

There is little documented history available of African-American homeownership in Berkeley. The Berkeley Historical Society, the Berkeley Public Library and the Berkeley Architectural Historical Society have no records about when African- Americans purchased their first homes in the city. There is also very little information about the Pullman Porters, who among the first African Americans to move to California from the south in the 1920s. 

“This is very important information and as a community we have to do what we can to document it,” said Jackie Stewart, the correspondent secretary for the African American Genealogical Society “The sad thing is that we are losing a tremendous amount of historical information with each older person who passes away.”  

Augusta’s mother, Annie Quezaire Mathieu, whose parents were slaves, was among the first Quezaires to move to Stanton Street from Donaldsonville, La. in 1941. Augusta was the last to move to Berkeley in 1957 after the death of her husband in 1955. There were five Quezaire relatives who moved to the Stanton Street home in the hopes of escaping the oppressive poverty of Louisiana. 

According to Gibson, who is married to Augusta’s niece, there were at least five other homes on the same block that were purchased by Pullman porters, who in turn brought their family members to Berkeley. He said porters began purchasing homes as early as 1927. 

“It was not unusual for African Americans to cluster together in small communities like that,” Stewart said. “Clustering together provided a communal feeling. And once one family purchased a home, they were often followed by other family and community members.” 

Gibson said the homes in 2800 Stanton Street hold a worthy place in history. He is planning to begin the process to have the homes or possibly the entire block landmarked.  

“These were very important homes to these families, they allowed them to change their futures in a very significant way,” he said. “That’s why I think it’s important for the city to recognize this area.” 

Chair of the Social Science Department at Vista College Chuck Wollenberg agreed.  

“Before the Second World War there were very few places where African Americans and Asian Americans could buy homes in the Bay Area. In Berkeley it was south of Dwight Way and West of Grove Street (now Martin Luther King Jr. Way).” he said. “I think some sort of historical recognition of this area makes a lot of sense.” 

Gibson, a retired naval officer who lives in Oregon, has contacted the Berkeley Architectural Historical Association and said he expects to submit the Stanton Street homes for consideration as a city a landmark in the coming weeks. 

BAHA Executive Director Anthony Bruce said that once the application is initiated, the homes could become landmarked within a few months. 

“Homes can be either architecturally or socially significant to be landmarked,” he said. “Mr. Gibson will have to demonstrate the historical significance in written form, which will be considered by the Landmarks Preservation Commission.”