Mims Family

Twenty years ago, the Mims family were threatened with foreclosure by lenders. Legal aid worked with the family and the loan servicing company to find solutions and save the property, keeping it in the Mims family’s hands. The historic homes are the oldest continuously black-owned homes in Eugene: they were originally purchased in the late 40s when C.B. Mims’ sympathetic employer, a local hotel proprietor, helped the family circumvent the laws that forbade African-Americans from owning property within Eugene’s city limits. Over the years, the homes were a place of refuge for countless African-American residents and travelers—including celebrated performers like Ella Fitzgerald and Louis Armstrong—who were unable to procure lodging due to Eugene’s exclusionary practices. Earlier this year, a monument honoring the Mims family was erected on the property, which can be viewed at 330 and 334/336 High Street.

Scroll to Top