The following are short descriptions of the places which have contributed to the shaping of African American history. These encyclopedia entries serve as a starting point for much more inclusive descriptions and discussions that appear in other sources. For additional information please consult the print or website sources cited in the entry.
Fifth Ward is one of the six political districts created in Houston, Texas in the mid-nineteenth century. It was established in 1866. Over the years it has produced notable cultural and political figures. Located northeast of downtown, Fifth Ward lies north of the Buffalo Bayou, … Read MoreFifth Ward, Houston, Texas (1866- )
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Black Loggers Near Maxville, Oregon (Image Courtesy of Maxville Heritage Center) Maxville, in Wallowa County, in northeastern Oregon, was home to African American loggers in the early years of the 20th Century. Maxville had a population of about 400 residents, 40 to 60 of them … Read MoreMaxville, Oregon (1923-1945)
Carr’s Beach, at one time one of the leading beaches for east coast African Americans, was affectionately called, “The Beach.” Although “The Beach” no longer exists as a vacation getaway spot, Carr’s Beach and its neighboring Sparrow’s Beach were two of the major Chesapeake Bay … Read MoreCarr and Sparrow’s Beach, Annapolis, Maryland (1926-1974)
Concrete forms for outdoor prayer pavilion at Gulfside Assembly in Waveland, Mississippi (Image Courtesy Mike DuBose) Gulfside Assembly was a segregated resort in Waveland, Mississippi, along the Mississippi Gulf Coast. Unique among 20th century black resorts, it was created as a religious retreat owned by … Read MoreGulfside Assembly (1923- )
“Image Ownership: Robm154 (CC BY-SA 3.0)” Rock Rest was a resort near Kittery Point, Maine, that was open to African Americans during much of the 20th Century. Clayton Sinclair and his wife, Hazel, purchased a house on the small cape off Maine Route 103 in … Read MoreRock Rest (1938-1976)
Houston Negro Hospital, 2010 “Image Ownership: Ed Uthman” The Houston Negro Hospital was created in 1926 when the earlier black Union-Jeramiah Hospital was no longer capable of accommodating the rapidly growing black population of Houston, Texas. African American community leaders began a campaign to garner … Read MoreThe Houston Negro Hospital-Riverside General Hospital (1926- )
Atlantic Beach, South Carolina was one of the last all-black resorts to be developed along the Atlantic Coast. Formed two years after the 1964 Civil Rights Act opened beach resorts to all visitors regardless of race, Atlantic Beach never had the opportunity afforded older black … Read MoreAtlantic Beach, South Carolina (1966- )
Lyles Station, Indiana, is a community of African Americans located about five miles west of Princeton, Indiana, in Gibson County. It flourished from about 1880 to 1913, when it boasted an independent, self-sustaining community of about 800 black residents. The roots of Lyles Station began … Read MoreLyles Station, Indiana (ca. 1840- )
Restored Historic Bell Family Home, The Settlement “Image Ownership: Public Domain” The Settlement in current-day Texas City, Texas, was an independent community of African Americans established after the end of the Civil War. The community was located on three hundred and twenty acres in Galveston … Read MoreThe Settlement (Galveston County, Texas) (1867-1953)
