Where the Streets All Have Names: Lamar Street

Originally “L” Street or Fillmore was the 12th street west of Sheridan was renamed after Lucius Q.C. Lamar in 1903 to reflect the new US Senators and Supreme Court Justices alphabet naming system.

Lucius Quintus Cincinnatus Lamar II was an American politician and jurist. Lamar served as a congressman, senator, Secretary of the Interior, and justice of the Supreme Court during his career. Lamar was pro-slavery, proponent of white supremacy and fought against Black Americans receiving their full rights as citizens.

Born in Georgia in 1825, Lamar was educated at Emory College and then the University of Georgia, where he studied law. He then moved to Mississippi and established a law practice, eventually becoming involved in politics as a member of the Democratic Party. Lamar was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives in 1857, where he served until 1860. He was pro-slavery and helped draft Mississippi’s Ordinance of Secession.

During the Civil War, Lamar served in the Confederate Army, rising to the rank of colonel. After the war, he returned to his law practice and was active in the effort to rebuild the South. Lamar also was a professor at the University of Mississippi, but resigned in 1870 because he feared that the university would admit Black students. He also became involved in Mississippi politics, serving again in the House of Representatives in 1873 then as a U.S. Senator from 1877 to 1885.

In 1885, President Grover Cleveland appointed Lamar as Secretary of the Interior. In this role, Lamar was responsible for managing the nation’s natural resources and overseeing the government’s relationship with Native American tribes.

After serving as Secretary of the Interior for two years, Lamar was appointed to the Supreme Court. He was the first Southerner appointed to the court post Civil War, and served on the court until his death in 1893. Lamar was known for his eloquent speeches. He was a proponent of states’ rights and limited government. He was a white supremacist and promoted “the supremacy of the unconquered and unconquerable Saxon race.”