Mrs. Ed. Jones
Known Name(s)
Mrs. Ed. Jones (Primary) Jones' Tourist Home (Secondary)
Address
51 Pearl St. Waterbury, CT (1938, 1939)51 Pearl St. Waterbury, CT (1957)
Establishment Type(s)
Tourist Home
Physical Status
Extant
Detailed History
The Mrs. Ed. Jones Tourist home was listed in The Green Book in the 1938 and 1939 issues and, after a nearly twenty-year hiatus, again in 1957 as Jones' Tourist home. No conclusive information was found on who managed the tourist home, which is a two-story house with cross gable. However, between at least 1938 and 1955, the occupants of the smaller house across the street at 52 Pearl Street were Preston Jones and his family. The African American Jones family was originally from South Carolina, and Preston worked in the brass industry and owned his home. If he also owned 51 Pearl Street, it seems possible that a family member might have helped travelers seeking lodging in the community.
The Pearl Street neighborhood was home to Waterbury's growing African American community, and a natural consequence was that tourist homes and services listed in The Green Book clustered in the area. Over time, nine of the thirteen listings including the Community House, as well as the AME Zion Church, were within a two block radius. Today, the building at 51 Pearl St. is used as a multi-family home.
Sources: Federal census and cds, various dates; ancestry.com
