Nelson Court

Nelson Court

Image Credit:
Above: Cecil Dewey Nelson in World War I Uniform, c. 1919, Courtesy of Estelle L. Merrifield Collection, Urbana, Illinois │Below: Experience Champaign-Urbana (Marcus Flinn)

Part of the Martin Luther King Jr. Subdivision in Champaign, Nelson Court is named after Cecil Dewey Nelson (1898-1971), a charter and lifetime member of the William F. Earnest American Legion Post 559 where he served as its Commander. He also served as a Legion officer at both the state and national levels. A decorated sergeant in the all-Black 370th Infantry Regiment in World War 1, Mr. Nelson was a recipient of the French Croix de Guerre for bravery in battle and a Purple Heart.