Tales of Tinbridge Hill

Aubrey "Chub" Barbour is affectionately known as the mayor of Tinbridge Hill. Born and raised on the hill, Barbour, 73, has dedicated his life to improving his community, spearheading anti-drug marches in the 1990s, helping craft a neighborhood revitalization plan and organizing countless programs for youth and seniors at the local community center, which Barbour oversaw for more than four decades before retiring last year.

Evelyn Thompson's childhood days on Tinbridge Hill were filled with games of jacks and dominos, tending to the needs of her five pet chickens and lending her mother a helping hand with the family's washing and cooking. Thompson, now 79, still lives just around the corner from the house where she was born in 1931. "I was born on Tinbridge Hill," she said, "and I've never left since."

More than half a century ago, Mary Patrick and her husband opened the Midget Market, a diminutive neighborhood store dreamed up by Patrick's husband in order to give the children of Tinbridge Hill a place to shop. Patrick, now 84, ran the store for a decade. Her husband has since passed away and the market is long since closed. But Patrick still resides on Tinbridge Hill.

About this project

Tinbridge Hill is an overlooked neighborhood along the 5th Street corridor. It has an illustrious past and a core group of people who have lived their entire lives in its limits. Some of Tinbridge Hill's most interesting history lies with them. Click on the photographs above to hear three residents recount their experiences in the neighborhood.