Jordan's Enterprises

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Known Name(s)

Jordan's Enterprises

Address

14th & Kirby Streets West Point, VA

Establishment Type(s)

Tourist Home, Garage, Service Station

Physical Status

Unknown

Description

The existing commercial building, which is probably Jordan's Enterprises, is a one-story, concrete block structure with a brick facade and a flat roof. According to a previous survey documented in VCRIS, 325-5004, this building was constructed in 1949 and formerly housed businesses including White's Barber Shop. It is currently abandonded. Description courtesy Fairfield Foundation.

Detailed History

A 1962 Green Book ad lists Jordan's Enterprises as a service station, garage, and tourist home. Based on oral histories and the multi-purpose use of the site, it is probably (but not definitely) the vacant Wholesale Tires building at 301 14th Street and the house behind it on Kirby Street. These two buildings have also been identified as White's Restaurant and Barber Shop, listed in the Green Book in 1961. 

From Fairfield Foundation’s “Hidden Civil Rights Landmarks in Rural Eastern Virginia: A Preliminary Study,” to Virginia Humanities, March 2020: “This business, according to the GB, was located at the corner of 14th and Kirby Streets in West Point. Based on our survey, the building is either no longer extant and was located in a currently open lot, or it was housed within a standing commercial building at 301 14th Street. For purposes of this project, the commercial building was documented. It is a one-story, concrete block structure with a brick façade and a flat roof. According to previous survey documented in VCRIS, this building was constructed in 1949 and formerly houses businesses including White’s Barber Shop. It is currently abandoned. The VCRIS entry 325-5004 was updated with new information pertaining to this project.”
 

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