Haynes Trinity and the History of the Reverend William Haynes: 1850-1933
The Haynes Trinity Community carries the name of a citizen who met difficult times by accomplishing much for Nashville. Rev. William Haynes was a key figure in developing the school and neighborhoods that bear his name, as well as churches, American Baptist College (ABC), and businesses, including Citizens Bank. Attorney Richard Jackson, vice president of ABC, suggested that only Andrew Jackson exceeds Rev. Haynes in having his name attached to local entities.
Rev. Haynes was born on a plantation near Murfreesboro. His father was the plantation owner and his mother was a slave. His father was involved in his education and moral development and that helped him become “a lawyer, author, preacher, pastor, educator, and a man of high moral character.”[1] His father also deeded him land in the Taylor’s Lane and Whites Creek Road area of rural Davidson County. Rev. Haynes later purchased additional land.
Much of this report is drawn from a well-documented history written by Quinester Knox Calloway, apparently for Haynes School alumni. Calloway graduated from Haynes, later taught there and was an elementary school principal. She wrote:
William Haynes was a man whose vision of “what should be” was far reaching. One of his major accomplishments was being the primary person responsible for the removal of the Roger Williams University (originally known as Walden College) from the Peabody-Vanderbilt area across the river to the present site of the … American Baptist College (and Baptist World Center). This property was originally owned by Rev. Haynes.
A vision for furthering education of the “Negro Children” of eastern Davidson County was the basis for the founding of Haynes School. In 1931, Haynes School opened as an elementary school located on land originally sold to the Davidson County Board of Education for five hundred dollars ($500). In later years, the remainder of tract was donated for a high school and football field.
Reverend Haynes was a realtor who believed that “everybody needs a home of his own.” This belief led him to buy land for selling and developing. Consequently, many areas in the section of the county where he lived carry his name as a part of their history, i.e., Haynes Meade, Haynes Heights, Haynes Manor, Haynes Garden and Haynes Park.
Concerns for conditions that affected (the) race as a whole and particularly those of the educational and religious community led him to be a pioneer in the move to obliterate illiteracy.
Records of Nashville’s black business in the late 1800s and early 1900s often show Rev. Haynes listed as a board member or a founding force.
Rev. Haynes and his first wife had a son and daughter. The daughter died while young; the son became principal of what is now Ford Greene School and followed his father as pastor of Sylvan Street Baptist Church. After his wife’s death Rev. Haynes remarried and the couple raised eleven children, including two who had been orphaned.
He was deeply involved in the Sunday School Publishing Board where he earned the major part of his income, and had a hand in the early stages of several churches, including Roger Heights Baptist Church.
This community can draw on his achievements in moving forward. We would honor him by continuing his commitments to faith, education, entrepreneurship and concern for others.
-Karen (Fitzgerald) Brown Dunlap, Ph.D.
April 8, 2018
[1] Reverend William Haynes 1850 -1933 – Haynes School Alumni …by Quinester Knox Calloway.
http://www.haynesalumni.yolasite.com/resources/Rev%20William%20Haynes.pdf
Haynes Trinity Neigborhood Coalition 