Rhone Hotel

The Rhone Hotel was listed in every issue of the Green Book. It was listed as “Rhone—42 Queen St.” in the “Hotels” section for New Bern from 1938-1941 and 1947-1955; as “Rhone Hotel—42 Queen St.” in New Bern from 1956-1957 and 1959-1961; and as “Rhone Hotel—512 Queen Street” in New Bern from 1962-1967.¹

The Rhone Hotel was established in 1925 by the Rhone sisters (Caroline Rhone Smith, 1872-1962; Charlotte S. Rhone, 1874-1965; Henrietta Rhone Jones, 1888-1964; and Amy Rhone, 1891-1965). The sisters built the hotel following the fire of 1922, which destroyed many African American homes and businesses in the city of New Bern. The hotel opened in 1923. The Rhone Hotel was within walking distance of the local train station and was meant to attract visitors to the area.²

Henrietta operated an eating house at 42 Queen Street prior to the fire; her sisters all lived in the home with her. Henrietta was the main proprietress of the hotel until she married in 1936. Charlotte Rhone, the first African American registered nurse in North Carolina and the first African American social worker in Craven County, became the hotel’s main proprietress and operated it until 1955. Caroline “Carrie” Rhone also married; Amy remained at 42 Queen Street with Charlotte. Henrietta returned to live with her sisters after separating from her husband in the 1940s.³

The Rhone Hotel was the only hotel for African Americans in Charlotte from the 1920s through the 1950s. It was a two-story brick building with rooms for rent on the first floor and living quarters for the Rhone sisters on the second floor. According to Charlotte Rhone’s great-niece, Annie Day Donaldson, many of the travelers who stayed at the hotel worked as chauffeurs. The hotel’s address later changed to 512 Queen Street.
The Rhone sisters all passed away between 1962-1965. Today, their hotel at 512 Queen Street is an apartment building.⁴

Essay by Brandie K. Ragghianti, 2022

Notes

1. Victor Green, 1939 Green Book, 33; Green, 1940 Green Book, 36; Green, 1941 Green Book, 36; Green, 1947 Green Book, 65; Green, 1948 Green Book, 63; Green, 1949 Green Book, 57. 

2. Caroline Marie Smith, 1872-1962, Greenwood Cemetery, New Bern, Craven County, North Carolina, U.S. Find a Grave Index, 1600s-Current, accessed from www.ancestry.com; Charlotte Rhone, June 3, 1965, New Bern, Craven County, North Carolina, U.S. Death Certificates, 1909-1976, accessed from www.ancestry.com; Etta Rhone Jones, March 29, 1964, New Bern, Craven County, North Carolina, U.S. Death Certificates, 1909-1976; Amy C. Rhone, January 3, 1965, New Bern, Craven County, North Carolina, U.S. Death Certificates, 1909-1976, accessed from www.ancestry.com; Bill Hand, “The historical Green Book Project will emphasize the book’s stamp on North Carolina life,” Sun Journal (New Bern), February 16, 2019, https://www.newbernsj.com/news/20190216/historical-green-book-project-w…; Thomas W. Hanchett and M. Ruth Little, The History and Architecture of Long Wharf and Greater Duffyfield: African American Neighborhoods in New Bern, North Carolina (City of New Bern Historic Preservation Commission: New Bern, NC, 1994), 80.

3. Hill Directory Company’s New Bern, N.C. City Directory 1920-21, Vol. VII (Hill Directory Company Inc.: Richmond, VA, 1920), 222; Hill Directory Company’s New Bern, N.C. City Directory 1926 (Hill Directory Company, Inc.: Richmond, VA, 1926), 194; Baldwin’s 1937 New Bern City Directory (Baldwin Directory Company, Inc.: Charleston, SC, 1937), 86, 179, 253, 311; Etta Rhone and Edward H. Jones, 1936, New Jersey, U.S. Marriage Index, 1901-2016, accessed from www.ancestry.com; Mrs. Carrie Smith (obituary), Asbury Park Press (Asbury Park, NJ), December 31, 1962, 2, accessed from www.newspapers.com; 1950 United States Federal Census, New Bern, Craven County, North Carolina, digital image s.v. “Charlotte Rhone,” “Amy Rhone,” and “Etta Jones,” accessed from www.ancestry.com. 

Did you know?

• This entry was listed in various ways in different Green Book editions: 
  • 1938-1941, 1947-1955: Listed as “Rhone--42 Queen St.” under the “Hotels” category in New Bern.
  • 1956-1957, 1959-1961:Listed as “Rhone Hotel---42 Queen St.” in New Bern.
  • 1962-1967: Listed as “Rhone Hotel---512 Queen Street” in New Bern.
  • This entry was listed for the state of North Carolina in every digitally available edition of the Green Book from 1938-1967.