Ruth's Beauty Shop

Ruth’s Beauty Parlor was listed in the Green Book from 1950 - 1953 as “Ruth’s — 500 Wilmington Rd.” under “Beauty Parlors" in Fayetteville.¹

Ruth’s Beauty Shop (also Ruth’s Salon) was located at 500 Old Wilmington Road in Fayetteville. The shop was established around 1950 and was part of a larger complex of businesses owned by Freddie and Ruth Washington. In addition to the beauty parlor, the couple’s businesses included Ruth’s Place (a grocery store) and Ruth’s Apartments. Freddie and Ruth lived in one of the apartments and rented out three additional apartments. (One of their tenants, James W. Burney, owned the business previously located at 500 Old Wilmington Road – Burney Smoke Shop.)²

Ruth Bertha and Fred Henry Washington lived in Brooklyn, New York before relocating to Ruth’s home state of North Carolina in the 1940s. Fred worked for the armed forces.³

Ruth’s Salon was open from around 1950 until at least 1963. By 1962, Ruth’s Place and Ruth’s Apartments were no longer listed in the city directory and only Ruth’s Salon and the Washington’s private residence remained.⁴

Essay by Brandie K. Ragghianti, 2022

Notes

1. Victor Green, 1950 Green Book, 62; Green, 1951 Green Book, 53; Green, 1952 Green Book, 53; Green, 1953 Green Book, 53.
2. Hill’s 1948-1949 Fayetteville City Directory, 781 (alphabetical listing), 89 (street listing); Hill’s 1951 Fayetteville City Directory, 471 (alphabetical listing), 111 (street listing); Hill’s 1953 Fayetteville City Directory, 398, 473 (alphabetical listing), 99 (street listing).
3. Fred Henry Washington, May 6, 1921, Brooklyn, New York, US World War II Draft Cards Young Men, 1940 - 1947, accessed from www.ancestry.com; 1950 United States Federal Census, 500 Washington Street, Fayetteville, Cumberland County, North Carolina, digital image s.v. “Ruth Washington,” accessed from www.ancestry.com.
4. Hill’s 1962 Fayetteville City Directory, 441 (alphabetical listing); Hill’s 1963 Fayetteville City Directory,163 (street listing).