Historic Palestine

first person to introduce St. Augustine grass in
the Palestine area. He voluntarily maintained
the Memorial Cemetery and served on the City
of Palestine Cemetery Board. In Memorial
Cemetery, Russell Road is named in his honor.
E L E C T E D
O F F I C I A L S
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Above: M. L. Cary, Sr.
COURTESY OF JUNE MCCOY.
Below: Hugh Russell, the retaining
wall he helped build at North Church
and Poplar Streets, and Memorial
Cemetery’s Russell Road.
COURTESY OF JUNE MCCOY.
In 1973, Rodney Howard, Frank J. Robinson
and Timothy S. Smith brought a class
action suit against the Anderson County
Commissioner’s Court to protest the
gerrymandering of precinct lines, which diluted
black voting strength. The case was won at the
Fifth Circuit and in Federal Court in 1974. The
three men filed a second lawsuit in 1976 and
were successful in creating single-member
districts for Palestine City Council elections. As
a result, the first African Americans were elected
to county and city office.
City of Palestine councilmembers have
included W. C. Lee; Roosevelt Linicomn, Sr.,
Willie Myers; Arthur Sherrod; Edward McCoy,
Jr.; Jimmie L. Cummings, Sr.; James Simpson,
Eddie Holland; Betty Nickerson; Patricia Davis;
Vernon Denmon, Jr.; and Vickey Chivers. In
October 1996, Sheyi Ipaye became the first
African American appointed as the city manager
of Palestine.
Precinct 2 Constables have included
Herman Bell, André Ingram, and Fannie
Hutchison, the only black female constable and
sheriff’s deputy, and the first black female jailer
in Anderson County.
Precinct 2 Commissioners have included
Reginald O. Browne, Sr.; Rodney Howard;
Arthur Sherrod; Darrell Emanuel; and Rashad
Q. Mims, I.
Precinct 2 Justices of the Peace have included
O’Neal Hunt, Versalean Logans, and Carl Davis.
The first elected African-American treasurer
of Anderson County was Sharon Cook Peterson,
4 4 ✦ H I S T O R I C P A L E S T I N E