Rose Inn
Biography
Mary Rose owned and operated the Rose Inn, which provided guests with a safe environment to rest and recover. The Negro Motorist Green Book, a vital guide for Black travelers that provided safe establishments for "Colored" people to use during the Jim Crow Era. The Green Book annually advertised the Rose Inn as a tavern that welcomed Black tourists between 1939 and 1966. The listing for the Green Book cited their address as 331 N. Main St. Mary Rose died in 1942, and ownership of the Inn was passed to Lucy Jordan in 1944. In 1983, Virginia Military Institute bought property and demolished it in 2018 to build its Corps Physical Training Facility.
Found in 1 Collection or Record:
Photograph of Rose Inn, "colored tourist home"
This file consists of two photocopies of photographs depicting Mary Rose, owner and propreitor, in front of the building and sign for the Rose Inn, which advertised "rooms for colored tourists."