Rock Rest: Black Visitors in Vacationland
[ pictures from exhibit ]
This exhibit was created for the Portsmouth Black Heritage Trail by Rachel Jones Williams, Emily Voss and their classmates in the Cooperstown Graduate Program in museum studies. http://www.oneonta.edu/academics/cgp/
The exhibit was made possible by collaborations with the family of Clayton Sinclair, Jr., Professor emeritus Richard Candee and the Discover Portsmouth Center, and with generous support from the New Hampshire Charitable Foundation, the National Trust for Historic Preservation, the Austin-Lincoln Trust Fund of Portsmouth, and the Seacoast African American Cultural Center. http://www.saacc-nh.org/
The exhibit will be open to the public daily, 10:00 AM to 5:00 PM at the Discover Portsmouth Center, 10 Middle Street at the corner of Islington Street. 603-436-8433. http://www.portsmouthhistory.org/
About Rock Rest
[ picture of inn ]
Built and operated by the Sinclair family from the late 1930s to the late 1970s as a summer guesthouse for African-American tourists, Rock Rest provided a safe haven from the de-facto segregation faced by black travelers on vacation. The core of Rock Rest is an 18 th c. York County cape, rebuilt with new end chimneys and entrance hall, and expanded over the years to accommodate more guests. The property retains its original guesthouse furnishings and extensive documentary materials about guests and business operations, providing a window into the operations of this unique site. Rock Rest was recently added to the National Register of Historic Places.
Maine Preservation - Maine’s Most Endangered Historic Properties 2008
www.mainepreservation.org/Endangered/RockRestMostEndangered2008-MainePreservation.shtml
[ pictures of guests ]
Rock Rest was an inn for African American guests in Kittery Point, Maine. Owned and operated by Clayton and Hazel Sinclair, who gave up their own beds to guests coming to vacation in Maine during the summer months from 1948 to 1976, its story reflects much of the racial history of the 20th century in northern New England, including the pre-Civil Rights era of de facto segregation when racial discrimination pervaded public and private life. It is also the story of a couple’s determination to make a better life for themselves against great odds, by working hard and integrating themselves into the dominant society, yet still speaking out and taking action to end injustice. Clayton and Hazel helped establish the first seacoast branch of the NAACP.
[ images? ]
By the time Pease Air Force Base opened in 1956, bringing a new influx of minority families into the seacoast region, local discriminatory practices in housing and public accommodations had become intolerable. Home owners and real estate agents placed restrictions on properties in certain parts of town, prohibiting Blacks from renting or buying homes in so-called “red lined” neighborhoods. De facto segregation limited access to hotels, upscale restaurants, barbershops, and many other public places that were operated by non-Blacks. Because this was an unwritten practice, unlike in the South where interracial mingling was prohibited by law, African Americans could never be certain whether they would be accepted or rejected when seeking services. Although he gave a command performance for Queen Elizabeth II of England in 1957, when Count Basie (and Duke Ellington and many other celebrity performers) played for white audiences at dance halls in Weirs Beach, York Beach and Old Orchard, he could not find overnight accommodations in white-owned establishments.
Rock Rest - Milne Collections - University of New Hampshire
http://www.library.unh.edu/special/index.php/rock-rest
