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CLOCKWISE FROM THIS PAGE , LEFT : George T . Downing , center , pictured with his family ; Blanche Forrester Walton fishing off Ledge Road near the Cliff Walk , c . 1915 ; Newport ’ s Barclay family children photographed at Easton ’ s Beach Studio , c . 1913 ; gathering at the Cliff Walk , c . 1915 ; Dr . M . Alonzo Van Horne , the state ’ s first African heritage dentist , pictured on his bike , c . 1913 ; the executive board of the Women ’ s League Newport , including Mary H . Dickerson , top row , center .
BEYOND the MANSIONS
For Newport ’ s African heritage families , the Gided Age gave rise to a thriving entrepreneur community .
THOUGH BELLEVUE AVENUE TENDS TO GET THE ATTENTION ( AND THE TOURISTS ), NEWPORT IN THE GILDED AGE was far more than mansions and parties . Among the city ’ s entrepreneur class , business owners of color played a prominent role , using the era ’ s prosperity to elevate their neighborhoods and social status . Keith Stokes , a historian and consultant who holds titles with several local organizations , has spent much of his career researching the stories of these former residents . For Stokes , it ’ s more than a hobby : A tenth-generation Newporter , he counts Gilded Age business owners among his ancestors .
“ When people think about Black history in America , they tend to think of the American South . They think of the Civil War , or they think of the Civil Rights era of the 1960s and Martin Luther King and Malcolm X . But in fact , the first emancipation , the first Black institutions are right here in New England ,” he says .
After the Civil War , African heritage families began moving into Newport in larger numbers to take advantage of the city ’ s growing economic opportunities . Previously a major seaport , Newport was experiencing a renaissance as a playground of the nouveau riche , and business owners jumped at the chance to benefit from this new money-spending class . African heritage residents became successful entrepreneurs in industries like catering , dressmaking and delivery services , often counting the wealthiest families among their best customers .
With their newfound capital , business owners invested back into their communities . The Jim Crow laws of the South were echoed in
GEORGE T . DOWNING
George T . Downing was one of the earliest hospitality entrepreneurs to move into Newport during the Gilded period . The son of a successful New York oyster house owner , he came to Newport in 1845 and established the Sea
Girt House hotel . He went on to run successful catering companies in several cities and was instrumental in bringing African heritage families to Newport from the South . “ Downing becomes this pipeline . And in fact , a lot
of old African heritage families in Newport trace their heritage to Culpeper County , Virginia ,” Stokes says . Downing was also instrumental in the founding of the Colored National Labor Union . Downing Block on Bellevue Avenue is named for him .
MARY H . DICKERSON
Mary Dickerson was more than a dressmaker . In addition to running a “ Fashionable Dressmaking Establishment ” on Bellevue Avenue servicing the needs of summer residents , she belonged to several women ’ s groups and was a founding member of the National
the North by discriminatory traditions , but Newport ’ s African heritage people came together to further their own communities through business development and by creating opportunities for social and recreational gatherings , the legacy of which are still felt today .
“ They took their wealth and their financial security and they put that back into their communities through organizations and institutions ,” Stokes says .
Through their 1696 Heritage Group , Stokes and his wife , Theresa Guzman Stokes , have identified the places where residents of color lived and worked during the Gilded Age . While there was no one “ little Harlem ,” peopled tended to cluster close to where they worked and worshipped . These neighborhoods included Top of the Hill off Bellevue Avenue , Historic Hill , West Broadway , the Point and along Levin Street and Bath Road . Today , many of those houses remain , the history of their residents recorded in stories and photographs .
Association of Colored Women ’ s Clubs . She owned more than ten properties on Aquidneck Island , and in 1899 , formed her own child care company as an extension of the Women ’ s League Newport to meet the needs of residents of color . “ She knew African heritage working women needed a place to place their kids safely ,” Stokes says .
REV . MAHLON VAN HORNE
The Rev . Mahlon Van Horne ( Stokes ’ greatgreat-uncle ) came to Newport from Princeton , New Jersey , in 1868 to serve as pastor at the
PHOTOGRAPHY ( THIS SPREAD ): COURTESY OF RHODE ISLAND BLACK HERITAGE SOCIETY AND THE STOKES FAMILY COLLECTION ; THE LIBRARY OF CONGRESS ( MARY DICKERSON AND THE WOMEN ’ S LEAGUE NEWPORT ).
56 RHODE ISLAND MONTHLY l JUNE 2023