800 Bridge Avenue
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Last updated on November 21, 2024
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North Park Pool opened in the 1960s at the segregated North Park near Port Republic Road. The local black community in the Port Republic Historic District were frequent visitors of the pool and the park. The park hosted events such as beauty contests and baseball games, swimming lessons, basketball games, and more. In the 1980s, the pool needed repairs that were never seen through, and the pool closed in 1985 and replaced with a playground despite opposition from some community members. The city expanded the War Memorial pool used by white residents at the War Memorial Park, which was then integrated.
Waynesboro's Port Republic Road Historic District was formed after the Civil War when freed enslaved persons set about establishing their own communities. African-American residents constructed several buildings in the neighborhood, the first being a church. Individuals were drawn to the area for employment at the railroads, mill, tanyard, and copper shop, which all employed black people. By the 1880s, African Americans owned and occupied properties along Arch Street and the 300 block of West Main Street, directly across the railroad tracks from the Port Republic Road neighborhood. The community would include Alpha Street, Beta Street, Elkton Avenue, Fairview Avenue, Fontaine Street, Riverside Drive, Shiloh Avenue, and Smith Street. By 1885, the community had land donated by Joshua and Nancy Hill for use as a cemetery. The land became Fairview Cemetery and is still in use today. A schoolhouse was built in Waynesboro in 1871. In the 1910s, the African American community began to push for improved school facilities. A group of parents joined to raise money, and additional funding was donated by the Rosenwald Fund, a philanthropic organization headed by Julius Rosenwald and Booker T. Washington that assisted in the construction of black schools throughout the South. A new school building called the Rosenwald School was built in 1924.
A 1926 tax rate directory documented a broom factory, two restaurants, a barber shop and beauty parlor, a dance hall, a pool room, and a general store. The Tarry’s Hotel opened in 1940 and was listed in The Negro Travelers’ Green Book. A 1951 city directory listed “the Casa Blanca Restaurant, the Dew Drop Inn, the Ideal Barber Shop, and the Harry Brown and Monroe pool halls. These black-owned businesses provided additional employment opportunities. Despite segregationally injustices, the tight-knit neighborhood continued to grow and exist as a thriving, independent community through the first half of the twentieth century. Unfortunately, the community experienced a decline in residents in the second half of the twentieth century, with most businesses closing or moving. Today, the neighborhood exists as a residential area. The former Rosenwald School building remains and has become a community center. The historic neighborhood was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2022.
Waynesboro's Port Republic Road Historic District was formed after the Civil War when freed enslaved persons set about establishing their own communities. African-American residents constructed several buildings in the neighborhood, the first being a church. Individuals were drawn to the area for employment at the railroads, mill, tanyard, and copper shop, which all employed black people. By the 1880s, African Americans owned and occupied properties along Arch Street and the 300 block of West Main Street, directly across the railroad tracks from the Port Republic Road neighborhood. The community would include Alpha Street, Beta Street, Elkton Avenue, Fairview Avenue, Fontaine Street, Riverside Drive, Shiloh Avenue, and Smith Street. By 1885, the community had land donated by Joshua and Nancy Hill for use as a cemetery. The land became Fairview Cemetery and is still in use today. A schoolhouse was built in Waynesboro in 1871. In the 1910s, the African American community began to push for improved school facilities. A group of parents joined to raise money, and additional funding was donated by the Rosenwald Fund, a philanthropic organization headed by Julius Rosenwald and Booker T. Washington that assisted in the construction of black schools throughout the South. A new school building called the Rosenwald School was built in 1924.
A 1926 tax rate directory documented a broom factory, two restaurants, a barber shop and beauty parlor, a dance hall, a pool room, and a general store. The Tarry’s Hotel opened in 1940 and was listed in The Negro Travelers’ Green Book. A 1951 city directory listed “the Casa Blanca Restaurant, the Dew Drop Inn, the Ideal Barber Shop, and the Harry Brown and Monroe pool halls. These black-owned businesses provided additional employment opportunities. Despite segregationally injustices, the tight-knit neighborhood continued to grow and exist as a thriving, independent community through the first half of the twentieth century. Unfortunately, the community experienced a decline in residents in the second half of the twentieth century, with most businesses closing or moving. Today, the neighborhood exists as a residential area. The former Rosenwald School building remains and has become a community center. The historic neighborhood was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2022.
