An area in the district, just to the south of Spring Garden Road, is known as Schmidtville. This land was purchased by James Pedley in 1781 and was originally outside the Halifax town walls. As the threat of attack from natives diminished, the land was divided into building lots for new housing and new streets laid out including Birmingham Street, Dresden Row, and Rottenburg Street (now Clyde Street). Part of Schmidtville was demolished in the 1950s and replaced with large surface parking lots. These lots are now being redeveloped into mid-size mixed-use developments. The rest of Schmidtville is home to some of the city's oldest houses.