453 N Pima
Mesa, AZ 85201, USA

Dr. Lucius Charles Alston House

Dr. Lucius Charles Alston House
By Salt River Stories Team, Tom Black & Stephen G. Williams

Dr. Lucius Charles Alston was born September 2, 1892 in Louisburg, North Carolina. After Dr. Alston graduated from the University of West Tennessee with a medical degree in 1918, overcoming rampant discrimination and the white-supremacist norms of the Jim Crow South. In the early twentieth century, only about 1 percent of all physicians were African-American.

Dr. Alston also served in World War I in the 802nd pioneer infantry overseas. When Alston returned from Europe, he married Velma Young, a nurse. In 1929 the couple moved to Mesa, Arizona settling in a small African-American community located in the Washington-Escobedo neighborhood, northwest of the city proper.

In Mesa, Alston found a community segregated by race and class, a Formally written into many of the region’s housing covenants and urban planning practices, discrimination pushed non-whites to the margins of society. In response, non-white communities built their own institutions. In Mesa, for example, African-Americans had their own shops, stores, and churches. As the first African American doctor in Mesa, Alston served a broad community, and did not discriminate. He treated African Americans, Mexican Americans, and Native Americans, as well as white patients, especially those who could not afford care elsewhere. At the time, Mesa, was approximately 27 percent white and 3 percent African-American.

Alston died on September 16, 1958 in Los Angeles, California. Although he died in California, his grave is here in Mesa because of the many contributions he made to this city.

As its listing on the National Register of Historic Places explains, the home itself is an excellent example of a 1920s Late Craftsman Style Bungalow, a style characterized by its high-pitched gables that run parallel to the front and sides of the house, and “its large, deep, front porch supported on stucco and concrete columns with an arch that extends the entire width of the porch.” The second story addition was added during the 1940s.

Over the years, the house fell into disrepair and was slated for demolition until the City of Mesa acquired it in a land swap. Grants and donations paid for the restoration, completed in 2007, and the house opened in 2008 as the Alston House Peace and Justice Center. It is the headquarters of the Mesa Association of Hispanic Citizens and the Mesa Martin Luther King Celebration Committee.

C-SPAN Cities Tour - Mesa: Segregation and the Alston House (VIDEO)

Visit the Alston House Built in the 1920's, it was the home and office of Dr. Lucius Alston, the first African-American doctor to practice in Mesa. During an era of segregation, Dr. Alston and his wife, Velma, a nurse, treated members of the African-American, Hispanic, and American Indian communities. See the home and hear his story.

A Future for Alston House

A Future for Alston House

In 1959, a year after Lucius Charles Alston passed away, his property was divided between his wife Velma and his son Lucius Jr. Velma passed away in December 1979. After the death of Velma, Lueius Jr. inherited the two lots, 29 and 30, that have come to be known as the Alston House. He officially took ownership of the property on July 19, 1982. He passed away on December 18, 1988. For the period of time between 1988 and 2001, it is not known who had control of the property. It is assumed that Vivian Clark, the daughter of Lucius Alston Jr., was maintaining it. Official documents show that in March 2001, Vivian Clark became the estate’s “domiciliary foreign personal representative” (Proof of Authority 2001, page 2). On April 25, 2001, Vivian Clark transferred the Alston House deed including lots 29 and 30 of block 106, to East Valley Habitat for Humanity, Incorporated.

City of Mesa Acquires the Property

After receiving the home. East Valley Habitat for Humanity had intended to rehabilitate the house and use it as an office. However, East Valley Habitat for Humanity merged with Valley of the Sun Habitat for Humanity, thus negating the need for more office space.

As a result, the City of Mesa and Habitat for Humanity, Valley of the Sun, entered into a landmark deal to trade properties. On December 19, 2005, the Mesa City Council voted four to three in favor of trading properties with Habitat for Humanity. On April 25, 2007, six years after Vivian Clark donated the house to Habitat for Humanity, the City of Mesa, and Habitat for Humanity traded pieces of land. The City of Mesa acquired lots 29 and 30 of block 106 on Pima Street. This included the lot with the Alston House. Habitat for Humanity acquired Lot 69, Block 110 at Tuskegee Place, and Lot 97 of Alma Estates Unit Two. All properties included in the land swap were located in Mesa, Arizona.

In 2007, the City of Mesa received a Heritage Fund Grant through the Arizona State Parks to restore the property. The home restoration was completed in March 2010.

Utilization of the Alston House

The Alston House will be utilized as an office headquarters for two locals. Mesa-based, nonprofit organizations: the Mesa Association of Hispanic Citizens (MAHC) and the Dr. Martin Luther King (MLK), Jr. Celebration Committee.

The goal of the nonprofit partnership is to “rehabilitate the Alston House so that it serves as a physical location for both nonprofits, enhances the surrounding community by returning the property to productive use and as a local neighborhood center, and expands the capacity of both organizations to meet their missions and serve the community” (Memorandum of Understanding). Both parties will be equally responsible for raising the funds needed for future maintenance while they develop their own programs and determine how their space will be used.

The Mesa Association of Hispanic Citizens and Dr. Martin Luther King (MLK) Jr. Celebration Committee signed a lease agreement to utilize the Alston House for the nonprofit organizations for three years. Upon completion of the three-year term, they may renew the lease for additional one-year terms. The Alston House is approved for use as office space, a meeting center, and a neighborhood center.

History of Mesa’s First Black Doctor

Lucius Charles Alston was born September 2, 1892, in Louisburg, North Carolina. He was the son of William H. Alston, born approximately 1870, of Halifax, South Carolina. William H. Alston was one of 11 children. William married a woman from North Carolina.

In 1900, the William Alston Family appears in the census in Goldmine, North Carolina. William H. was 31 years old and his wife was 29 years old. Lucius was one of two children, but the only one living in 1900.

The 1900 U.S. census has an incorrect birth date listed for Lucius; he would have been 8, not 9, at the time of the census. Fifteen-year-old Edmond Alston, a cousin, also lived with the William Alston family in Goldmine, North Carolina.

In 1910, the Alston family appears again in the U.S. census fr-om Goldmine, North Carolina. However, William H. Alston, 41 years old, is married to his second wife, Alice. She is 24 years old, only five years older than the 19-year-old Lucius. From the census, we know that both Lucius and his father worked on a
farm.

In 1918, Lucius C. Alston graduated from the University of West Tennessee with a medical degree. At this time, it was very difficult for a black man to go to medical school, and this was a substantial accomplishment.

The University of West Tennessee, founded by Dr. Miles Lynk, was in operation from 1904-1923 and closed due to a lack of adequate funding.

In World War I, Lucius Alston served as Private First Class in the Army’s 802"^ Pioneer Infantry, which was organized at Camp Sherman in Ohio (July 1918). In August of the same year, Alston and the entire black 802nd infantry were deployed overseas, most likely to France, serving as support staff. The unit served with the First Army from September to November 1918; in July 1919, they returned to the United States and were demobilized at Camp Gordon in Georgia.

Dr. Alston married Velma Yotmg, a nurse. Together they had one child. Oddly, the Alston family did not appear in the 1920 census. However, it is known they were in Colorado during 1920; Lucius Charles Alston Jr. was born July 14, 1920, in Colorado. The Alston family moved to Mesa, Arizona in 1929, and they
appeared in the 1930 U.S. census.

Veora Johnson remembers Velma Alston as being “nice, prestigious,” and Gladys Boston refers to her as being “very fair-skinned” and not having to work in the cotton fields. There are very few personal references to Dr. Alston as a man; most people remember him only as a doctor.

In 1930, The Alston House was valued at $1500. When compared to the other homes in the area, this house was one of the most expensive and one of the nicest homes in the Washington Park neighborhood.

The Alstons lived a quiet and comfortable life in Mesa, Arizona. They attended Calvary Church. Lucius Alston Jr. was a member of the local Boy Scout Troop 66 with his close friend Walter Venerable. The Alstons attended local performances at the school and church. In such a small neighborhood, everyone knew each other and socialized together.

Walter Venerable recalls swimming in the canal that ran along the north side of Washington Park with Lucius Alston Jr. because they were not allowed to swim in the pool at Rendezvous Park. The trees shaded the canal and people called it the beach.

Initially, upon moving to Mesa, Dr. Alston practiced medicine from his home on Pima Street. According to Veora Johnson’s oral history, “his business was open to all people.” He refused no patient and would take many alternative forms of payment. At first, he had his office in his home where he would see his patients. Many people from Mesa remember being seen by Dr. Alston in that front room.

In 1941, Dr. Alston had moved his practice to an office located at 9 S. McDonald Street. He is listed as a physician and a surgeon in the Telephone Directory of Phoenix and Vicinity in October 1941 (page 79) and in the Mesa City Directory in 1948-1949 (Mesa City Directory, 2).

Then, by June of 1949, Dr. Alston’s practice had moved to 18 E. 4th Street, according to the Directory Phoenix and Vicinity. Again in 1952, Dr. Alston’s practice is listed as being located at 18 E. 4th Street (Mesa City Directory, 55).

Walter Venerable tells an interesting anecdote in his oral history. When he was young, he could lie in his bedroom, look out the door, and see the back door of Dr. Alston’s practice. He would see white people line up to see the doctor in the middle of the night because they knew he was the best doctor in town. They were too ashamed of what someone might think of them seeing a black doctor. Mr. Venerable also tells the story of a white coworker who said, “I have instructed my wife if I ever come down with pneumonia, there’s only
one doctor in town that I want her to take me to.” He was referring to Dr. Alston.

The black community was very tight-knit. Angie Booker lived next door to the Alston family. In her oral history, she recalls that Dr. Alston “was a very nice neighbor, a very nice person.” When she was 12, she had a bad case of pneumonia. Dr. Alston came to her home to treat her.

Being the only doctor in a very small community, the Alston Family was well known. However, they had a tendency to be quiet people who kept to themselves. Angie Booker recalls very little about them on a personal level, but she does remember they attended the Calvary Church like herself Gladys Boston does not remember Dr. Alston being involved in any social organizations but does recall him standing outside of a church, looking in the door but not going inside.

In the poor black community, the Alston family lived a more comfortable life than most. They had a nice, well-kept house and many luxury items. Louetta Freeman remembers that Dr. Alston and her father were the first two in the community to own telephones. They would allow people to come to their houses to make phones calls. The Alston Family and Walter Venerable’s family were the first in the neighborhood to own a radio.

In 1947, Velma Alston had a sister living in Mississippi. She was married to Dr. George, head of La Borian hospital in Mound Bayou, Mississippi. They visited Arizona in August 1947 on their way to Los Angeles for a medical convention.

Dr. Alston passed away in Los Angeles, California, on September 16, 1958. His funeral was held at 2 p.m. on Saturday, September 20, 1958, in Mesa, Arizona. Dr. Alston was survived by his wife Velma and son Lucius Jr.

Dr. Alston greatly impacted the black community in Mesa. Many of the people he treated still tell stories of the doctor. He delivered many babies, including Phillip Wayne Mandley, whom he later diagnosed with polio and admitted to the Crippled Children’s Hospital in Phoenix. Ruby Goodson, who still lives in Mesa, suffers from chronic nosebleeds that are caused by a blood disorder. She recalls Dr. Alston treating them while he was alive. Dr. Alston treated Gladys Boston for a stomach condition that was exacerbated by eating salty, canned food. Although now recovered, Gladys still tells her son Bruce, “Dr. Alston always said don’t eat anything from a can.”

After Dr. Alston passed away, Velma continued to live in the house on Pima Street for several years. As a child, Cozetta Blake recalls visiting the Alston House to play Velma’s piano. Dr. Alston had passed away and Velma lived alone. She would allow Cozetta to come to play her upright piano that sat on the south side of the east wall in the living room. Cozetta went on to take piano lessons from Ms. Copper, another woman in the community, but she credits her lifelong love of music to Mrs. Alston and her piano.

Velma Alston moved to live with her son in Los Angeles, California. After her departure from Mesa, Ms. Veora Johnson managed the Alstons’ property. Veora was a prominent member of the black community in Mesa and served as the principal of Irving Elementary. Velma Alston passed away in December 1979 in Los Angeles, California.

Lucius Alston Jr. and Walter Venerable were childhood friends. He recalls Lucius Jr. was living in Los Angeles and working for the post office. He had one daughter but never married. Lucius Jr. passed away on December 18, 1988, in Los Angeles, California.