Carson's Service Station
Carson’s Service Station in Statesville, NC was advertised in the Green Book from 1961-1967. It was listed as “Roosevelt Carsons, Prop., Carson’s Service Station, Atlantic Gas and Oil, Oil Changes, Lubrication, Located on Highways 21, 70, and 64, 636 S. Center Street, Statesville, NC” in 1961 and as “Carson’s Service Station—636 S. Center Street, Stop in for the best in general auto service.” from 1962-1967.1
Roosevelt Carson was born in North Carolina around 1906 and was raised in the Eagle Mills community in Iredell County. He married Catherine Elizabeth Morrison in 1926 and worked at a filling station in Statesville as the couple started their family. The couple had five children.2
Roosevelt Carson’s service station operated at 632 S. Center Street as early as 1940. The station moved to 636 Center Street, the location listed in the Green Book, in the late 1950s.3
Elizabeth Morrison Carson died in 1967; Roosevelt Carson passed away the next year.4
Essay by Brandie K. Ragghianti, 2022
Notes
1. Victor Green, 1961 Green Book, 70; Victor Green, 1962 Green Book, 75; Green, 1963-1964 Green Book, 58; Green, 1966-1967 Green Book, 58.
2. 1910 United States Federal Census, Eagle Mills, Iredell County, North Carolina, digital image s.v. “Roosevelt Carson,” accessed from www.ancestry.com; 1920 United States Federal Census, Eagles Mills, Iredell County, North Carolina, digital image s.v. “Rosa Carson,” accessed from www.ancestry.com; Roosevelt Carson and Elizabeth Morrison, October 30 1926, Iredell County, North Carolina, U.S. Marriage Records, 1741-2011, accessed from www.ancestry.com; 1930 United States Federal Census, Statesville, Iredell County, North Carolina, digital image s.v. “Rosevelt Carson,” accessed from www.ancestry.com.
3. Roosevelt Carson, September 12, 1905, Statesville, Iredell County, North Carolina, U.S. World War II Draft Cards Young Men, 1940-1947, accessed from www.ancestry.com; Miller’s Statesville, NC City Directory, 1944-1945, 134 (alphabetical directory); Miller’s Statesville, NC City Directory, 1946-1947, 137, 277 (alphabetical directory); Miller’s Statesville, NC City Directory, 1948-1949, 138 (alphabetical directory); Miller’s Statesville, NC City Directory, 1952-1953, 140, (alphabetical directory); Miller’s Statesville, NC City Directory, 1954-1955, 140, (alphabetical directory); Miller’s Statesville, NC City Directory, 1956-1957, 143, (alphabetical directory); Miller’s Statesville, NC City Directory, 1958-1959, 144, (alphabetical directory), 471, (street directory); Miller’s Statesville, NC City Directory, 1960-1961, 148, (alphabetical directory); 1950 United States Federal Census, Statesville, Iredell County, North Carolina, digital image s.v. “Roosevelt Carson,” accessed from www.ancestry.com.
4. Catherine E. Carson, May 26, 1967, Statesville, Iredell County, North Carolina, U.S. Death Certificates, 1909-1976, accessed from www.ancestry.com; Roosevelt Carson, September 29, 1968, Statesville, Iredell County, North Carolina, U.S. Death Certificates, 1909-1976, accessed from www.ancestry.com.
Did you know?
- Entry listed in multiple ways in various Green Book editions:
- 1961: Listed with an advertisement: “Roosevelt Carons, Prop., Carson’s Service Station, Atlantic Gas and Oil, Oil Changes, Lubrication, Located on Highways 21, 70, and 64, 636 S. Center Street, Statesville, NC.”
- 1962-1967: Listed as “Carson’s Service Station---636 S. Center Street, Stop in for the best in general auto service” on two lines, bold, and bigger font.
