Biddleville is recognized as Charlotte’s oldest surviving African American neighborhood, established in the late 1800s around the newly founded Biddle Institute, now Johnson C. Smith University. It became a cornerstone of Black community and educational life.

The neighborhood retains historic homes, churches such as Gethsemane AME Zion and the 1873 Biddleville Cemetery. It is best explored via the Historic West End walking route connecting the JCSU campus.