The Turf Club
Known Name(s)
The Turf Club (Primary) Turf Club Inc (Secondary)
Address
2243 Main St. Hartford, CT (1939, 1940, 1941, 1946, 1947, 1948)2243 Main St. Hartford, CT (1949, 1950)
Establishment Type(s)
Tavern
Physical Status
Extant
Detailed History
The Turf Club was listed as both a tavern and nightclub in The Green Book between 1939 and 1949, moving from 1702 Main Street to 2243 Main Street in 1946. Consistently listed in association with the Turf Club was Mrs. Thelma Jackson, who worked as a waitress at the 1702 Main Street location and became the manager of the 2243 Main Street location in 1949. An African American woman from Georgia, Jackson lived in Hartford with her husband and three children, yet another example of African Americans from southern states finding homes and livelihoods in Connecticut's urban centers.
In 1953, four years after the Turf Club stopped appearing in The Green Book, 2243 Main Street became the location of the Carpe Diem Fraternity. Established in 1920 by five Hartford Public High School classmates, the Fraternity has been associated with many of the city's prominent African American men throughout its 75-year history, including Walter "Doc" Hurley, founder of the Doc Hurley Classic high school basketball tournament; John C. Clark, Hartford's first African American city council member; and Boce W. Barlow, Jr., a municipal court judge and state senator.
Listed in the Capen-Clark National Register Historic District
