Haskins, Ovan
(born: 1895 - died: 1986)In 1948, Ovan Haskins purchased land on Newtown Pike in Lexington, KY for the development of the city's first African American subdivision. Approved in 1949, the subdivision was financed with private capital.
The construction of homes began in 1950 on a single street named Haskins Drive (a dead-end street) with 26 homes planned; all but four of the 55'x95' lots had been sold by August 1950.
A picture of one of the newly constructed homes on Haskins Drive is available on p. 74 in Lexington, Kentucky, by G. Smith. The Ovan Haskins Oral History interview is available at the UK Libraries' Special Collections Research Center as part of the Blacks in Lexington Oral History Project.
Ovan Haskins, born in Lexington, was an insurance supervisor/manager and real estate broker. As a member of the Blue Grass Athletic Club, he helped found the Lexington Hustlers baseball team. He also helped found the Second Street YMCA in Lexington and served with the Lexington Human Rights Commission.
For more see J. Hewlett, "Former developer Ovan Haskins dies," Lexington Herald-Leader, 7/23/1986, p. B11; "New subdivision for Negroes," Herald-Leader, 5/13/1951, p. 47; and the following articles from the Lexington Leader: "Haskins subdivision groundbreaking," 5/19/1950, p. 25; "Construction started in Haskins addition," 8/07/1950, p. 14; and "Negro subdivision off Newtown Pike begins," 8/22/1950, p. 13.
