L.W. Wooten

L.W. Wooten was listed in the Green Book in 1941 as “L.W. Wooten—423 Lindsay Street” under “Tourist Homes” in Greensboro; as “Dixie—423 Lindsay St.” under “Hotels” in 1941 from 1947-1948; as “I.W. Wooten—423 Lindsay St.” under “Tourist Homes” in Greensboro from 1947-1951; as “I.W. Wooten—423 Lindsay St. from 1952-1955; and as “I.W. Wooten—41 Lindsay Street” under “Tourist Homes” from 1952-1955.¹

Leslie W. Wooten owned a tourist home at 423 Lindsay Street. Wooten owned multiple businesses in Greensboro and his sister, Hattie, operated her own hotel [LINK TO LEWIS HOTEL] in Raleigh. Unlike his sister, Wooten does not appear to have managed the hotel; he left that to Janie Hill.²

Janie Hill was first listed at 423 Lindsay Street in 1942, when she lived at 423 ½ Lindsay Street. Although the residence is not listed as offering furnished rooms, criminal complaints against Hill from 1943-1944 indicate that she was renting out rooms. As an example, she was arrested in 1943 for throwing an illegal party for a group of “Chitlin’ Circuit” performers staying at the rooming house.³

Janie Hill was convicted of selling untaxed liquor and operating a “disorderly house” in 1944. She lived elsewhere for a few years; it was common for those who were convicted of operating a disorderly house to be banned from running a hospitality business. 423 Lindsay was vacant in 1945 and Robert I. Smith lived at the home in 1946. It is not clear whether the home continued to offer rooms for rent during this period.⁴

Janie Hill returned to managing 423 Lindsay Street in 1947 and managed the tourist home from 1947-1949. Both Janie Hill and the business stopped appearing in the city directory in 1950. In 1952, the city took out a permit to demolish the tourist home. Janie Hill passed away in 1956.⁵

Leslie Washington Wooten, the tourist home’s owner and namesake, owned many businesses in Greensboro, including an amusement park in East Greensboro, a grocery store, a bar, a service shop, and a grocery store. He was born in Goldsboro, NC in 1902 and served as a Private in the US Army during World War I. Like Janie Hill, Wooten was arrested for operating a house of ill repute in 1943. He was paroled in 1944 and went on to make an unsuccessful run for the Guilford County Board of Commissioners in 1966; the white candidates were listed with their current or former occupation. Despite his many successful business endeavors, Leslie Wooten was not identified by his occupation. He was identified as a “Greensboro Negro.” ⁶

Essay by Brandie K. Ragghianti, 2024

Notes

1. Victor Green, 1941 Green Book, 35;  Victor Green, 1941 Green Book, 35; Green, 1947 Green Book, 64; Green, 1948 Green Book, 62; Victor Green, 1947 Green Book, 64; Green, 1948 Green Book, 62; Green, 1949 Green Book, 56; Green, 1950 Green Book, 62; Green, 1951 Green Book, 53; Victor Green, 1952 Green Book, 53; Green, 1953 Green Book, 53; Green, 1954 Green Book, 53; Green, 1955 Green Book, 53; Victor Green, 1956 Green Book, 46.
2. Hill’s Greensboro City Directory, 1941-1944; “Mrs. Hattie Juanita Wooten Lewis Passes,” The Carolinian, June 23, 1945, 2, accessed April 2, 2019 from Digital NC, http://newspapers.digitalnc.org/lccn/sn80008926/1945-06-23/ed-1/seq-2/.
3.  Hill’s Greensboro City Directory, 1942-1944; “Police Break Up “Chittlin’” Party, Seize Home Brew,” News and Record (Greensboro, NC), October 24, 1943, p. 32, accessed from www.newspapers.com.
4. “City News Briefs,” News and Record (Greensboro, NC), July 17, 1944, p. 5, accessed from www.newspapers.com; Hill’s Greensboro City Directory, 1944-1946. 
5. Hill’s Greensboro City Directory, 1946-1950; “Building Permits,” The Greensboro Record, December 5, 1952, p. 22, accessed from www.newspapers.com; “Mrs. Janie Lee Hill,” January 11, 1956, Greensboro, Guilford County, North Carolina Death Certificates, 1909-1976. 
6.  “Leslie Washington Wooten,” August 2, 1902, Goldsboro, North Carolina, US World War II Draft Cards, Young Men, 1940-1947, accessed from www.ancestry.com; “Wooten Paroled,” News and Record (Greensboro, NC), September 23, 1944, p. 10, accessed from www.newspapers.com;“Leslie Washingtono [sic] Wooten,” August 8, 1973, Greensboro, Guilford, North Carolina, North Carolina, US Death Certificates, 1909-1976, accessed from www.ancestry.com; Leslie W. Wooten, August 2, 1902, US Headstone Applications for Military Veterans, 1925-1970, accessed from www.newspapers.com; Hill’s Greensboro City Directory, 1941-1947; “Wanted: weekly or one night attraction . . .” The Billboard, September 13, 1947, 50, accessed from Google Books; Wilson Davis, “Last GOP Prize at Stake,” The Greensboro Record, May 26, 1966, p, 49, accessed from www.newspapers.com.
7.  “Leslie W. Wooten” (obituary), The News and Record (Greensboro, NC), August 11, 1973, p. 38, accessed from www.newspapers.com.