Harriett Cornwell Tourist Home

Front inscription

This home’s first owner was John R. Cornwell, an African American business man and civic leader who owned a successful barber shop on Main St. After his death, Cornwell’s wife Hattie and daughters Geneva Scott and Harriett Cornwell lived here. From the 1940s until after the Civil Rights Act of 1964 they ran the house as a “tourist home” for black travelers. Harriett also taught at Waverly Elementary School.

Reverse inscription

During the Jim Crow era, segregation gave African American travelers very few choices for restaurants or lodging. Many chose to stay in a network of private houses located across the South and nation. These tourist homes often relied on word-of-mouth, but many were also listed in guides such as The Negro Travelers’ Green Book. This house was listed in the National Register of Historic Places in 2007.