Brooklyn Esso Service Station

Brooklyn Esso Service Station appeared in the Green Book from 1948 – 1955. It was located at 1219 N. 4th Street in Wilmington, North Carolina. It was listed in the Green Book as “Brooklyn Esso--4th & Taylor St.” under “Service Stations” and “Brooklyn--4th & Taylor Sts.” under “Service Stations.” The shop was owned at various times by William James Parker, John B. Vereen, and Alfred Foy. The Green Book – era owners were connected in other ways. Parker and Vereen were both employed at the Cape Fear Hotel, a whites-only hotel in Wilmington, while Vereen and Foy both resided at Taylor Homes, a public housing complex in the same neighborhood as the gas station.¹

Brooklyn Esso Service Station was a Black-owned filling station located near Taylor Homes in Wilmington’s Brooklyn neighborhood. 1219 N. 4th Street was a private residence until it became a gas station in the mid-1930’s. The gas station’s ownership changed frequently over the years, and the filling station became Brooklyn Esso Service Station some time before 1947. In 1947, the service station was owned by William James Parker and John B. Vereen.²

William Parker and John Vereen were both employees at the whites-only Cape Fear Hotel on Chestnut Street—jobs they continued to hold after they gained ownership of the Brooklyn Esso Service Station. In 1947, Parker also resided at the service station, moving to 919 Red Cross Street with his wife, Mabel, around 1948. Vereen lived in nearby Taylor Homes with his wife, Hazel.³

After William Parker’s death in 1951, Alfred Foy, who also resided in Taylor Homes, became the owner of the service station. The service station continued to be advertised in the Green Book until 1955, and the station was again under new ownership by 1956.⁴

Essay by Brandie K. Ragghianti, 2019

Notes

1. Victor Green, 1948 Green Book, 63; Victor Green, 1949 Green Book, 58; Green, 1950 Green Book, 64; Green, 1951 Green Book, 55; Green, 1952 Green Book, 55; Green, 1953 Green Book, 55; Green, 1954 Green Book, 54; Green, 1955 Green Book, 54; Sam Scott, “Saying Goodbye,” Star News (Wilmington, NC), November 23, 2003, accessed from https://www.starnewsonline.com/article/NC/20031123/News/605096354/WM.
2. Hill’s 1934 Wilmington (New Hanover County, NC) City Directory, Hill Directory Company, Inc.: Richmond, VA, street directory p. 516, city directory p. 159; Hill’s 1938 Wilmington (New Hanover County, NC) City Directory, Hill Directory Company, Inc.: Richmond, VA, street directory p. 577; Hill’s 1940 Wilmington (New Hanover County, NC) City Directory, Hill Directory Company, Inc.: Richmond, VA, classified directory, p. 639; Hill’s 1942 Wilmington (New Hanover County, NC) City Directory, Hill Directory Company, Inc.: Richmond, VA, street directory p. 1028; Hill’s 1943 Wilmington (New Hanover County, NC) City Directory, Hill Directory Company, Inc.: Richmond, VA, street directory p. 90; Hill’s 1947 Wilmington (New Hanover County, NC) City Directory, Hill Directory Company, Inc.: Richmond, VA, street directory pp. 244, 317.
3. Hill’s 1947 Wilmington (New Hanover County, NC) City Directory, Hill Directory Company, Inc.: Richmond, VA, street directory pp. 244, 317; Hill’s 1948-1949 Wilmington (New Hanover County, NC) City Directory, Hill Directory Company, Inc.: Richmond, VA, street directory pp. 238, 310; “Johnnie B. Vereen,” Wilmington, New Hanover County, NC, U.S. WWII Draft Cards Young Men, 1940-1947, accessed from www.ancestry.com; “William James Parker,” Wilmington, New Hanover County, NC, U.S. WWII Draft Cards Young Men, 1940-1947, accessed from www.ancestry.com; William James Parker, November 2, 1951, Wilmington, New Hanover County, North Carolina Death Certificates, 1909-1976, North Carolina State Archives; Raleigh, North Carolina, accessed from www.ancestry.com.
4. Hill’s 1952 Wilmington (New Hanover County, NC) City Directory, Hill Directory Company, Inc.: Richmond, VA, street directory, street directory p. 268; Hill’s 1956 Wilmington (New Hanover County, NC) City Directory, Hill Directory Company, Inc.: Richmond, VA, street directory p. 255. The owner of the service station between 1953 and 1955 is not currently known due to a gap in available city directories. Please contact the NC African American Heritage Commission if you are able to share this information.