The Pierce Street Historic District, a historically black residential neighborhood south of Lynchburg’s central business district, covers about five acres. Following use as a military camp and hospital during the Civil War and Reconstruction, by 1870 the district began developing as a neighborhood when African Americans purchased property to establish homes, businesses, and churches in a small, two-block cloister surrounded mostly by white neighbors. The district gave rise during many generations to notable men and women who earned distinction locally, statewide or nationally in education, literature, aviation, sports, and medicine. The Pierce Street Historic District consists of 26 character-defining contributing resources, mostly houses, and two properties within it—the Anne Spencer House and the Dr. Walter Johnson House and Tennis Court—are individually listed in the state and national registers.