Conant Gardens

01 / The story of this place

Make time for these

Conant Gardens takes its name from Shubael Conant, a 19th-century abolitionist who founded Detroit's Anti-Slavery Society in 1837 and once owned the land. Left largely undeveloped through the auto boom of the 1920s, the area lacked the racially restrictive deed covenants common elsewhere in Detroit, and around 1928 African American families barred from other neighborhoods began buying lots and building homes here. By 1950 Conant Gardens had become the most prosperous of Detroit's Black neighborhoods, known for its detached houses, large lawns and tree-lined streets, and for a highly educated, professional community. Jazz pianist Tommy Flanagan was born and raised here in the 1930s and 1940s, one of many musicians who came out of the neighborhood's tight-knit households. Much of the area is now recognized as the Conant Gardens Historic District.

1. Named for abolitionist Shubael Conant, who once owned the land
2. Settled by Black families from 1928 on, free of racial deed restrictions
3. Detroit's most prosperous Black neighborhood by 1950
4. Jazz pianist Tommy Flanagan was born and raised here
5. Recognized today as the Conant Gardens Historic District