Young's Hotel
Young’s Hotel was advertised in the Green Book from 1939-1941 and again from 1947-1957. It was listed in the Green Book as “Young’s Hotel.” A street address was not included in the Green Book listing. The hotel was owned by Louis and Laura Young.1
Young’s Hotel and Café was a family business owned by Louis Young and his second wife, Laura Williams Young. The hotel was located on a lot of land on the west side of Fergurson Street (now Ferguson Avenue) and was adjacent to Louis Young’s barber shop. The hotel and café offered “café orders'' to locals and “hotel meals” and lodging to travelers. A traveler in the early 1950s noted that the hotel and café did not have hot water; it had to be boiled and carried to hotel guests in a bucket.2
Louis Young (1878-1955) was born in Halifax County, North Carolina. He and his first wife, Minerva, settled in Littleton, where Louis began his working life as a farmer. He owned an undertaking business, barber shop, and Young’s Hotel and Café at the time of his death.3
Laura Young (1904-1970) was the hotel’s manager. She married Louis in 1930 and appears to have run the hotel until at least 1957. According to Louis Young’s will, Laura was to keep the hotel insured for at least 2 years following his death. Afterwards, Laura was free to sell the hotel and distribute the money to Louis’s children and grandchild. Laura’s occupation was listed as “hotel manager” on her death certificate. It is not clear when or if she ever sold this section of the family’s land, but the hotel was no longer advertised in the Green Book after 1957, two years after Louis Young’s death in 1955.4
Today, there are two abandoned commercial buildings and one abandoned home in the approximate area where the hotel stood, but it is unclear whether these buildings are associated with the Young family’s home or businesses.5
Essay by Brandie K. Ragghianti, 2022
Notes
1. Victor Green, 1939 Green Book, 33; Green, 1940 Green Book, 35; Green, 1941 Green Book, 35; Victor Green, 1947 Green Book, 65; Green, 1948 Green Book, 62; Green, 1949 Green Book, 57; Green, 1950 Green Book, 63; Green, 1951 Green Book, 54; Green, 1952 Green Book, 54; Green, 1953 Green Book, 54; Green, 1954 Green Book, 53; Green, 1955 Green Book, 53; Victor Green, 1956 Green Book, 46; Green, 1957 Green Book, 46.
2. George C. Green to Louis Young, Deed, August 1936, Book 458, p. 175, Index to Deeds and Mortgages, 1934 thru 1975, Halifax County Register of Deeds; Dr. George M. Hill, How Far is Forward (Xlibris Corporation, 2009), pp. 163-165; Louis Young, 1948/1956, Halifax County, North Carolina U.S. Wills and Probates Records, Vol. 15, pp. 28-30, accessed via www.ancestry.com; Business card for Young’s Hotel, accessed from www.ancestry.com.
3. Louis Young, 1948/1956, Halifax County, North Carolina U.S. Wills and Probates Records, Vol. 15, pp. 28-30, accessed via www.ancestry.com; 1920 United States Federal Census, Littleton, Halifax County, NC, digital images s.v. “Louis Young,” accessed from www.ancestry.com; 1930 United States Federal Census, Littleton, Halifax County, NC, digital images s.v. “Louis Young,” accessed from www.ancestry.com; 1940 United States Federal Census, Littleton, Halifax County, NC, digital images s.v. “Louis Young.” accessed from www.ancestry.com; Louis W. Young, digital image s.v. “Lewis W. Houng,” December 17, 1955, Littleton, Halifax County, North Carolina, U.S., Death Certificates, 1909 - 1976, accessed from www.ancestry.com.
4. 1940 United States Federal Census, Littleton, Halifax County, NC, digital images s.v. “Laura Young.” accessed from www.ancestry.com; Laura D. Young, March 29, 1970, Roanoke Rapids, Halifax County, North Carolina, U.S., Death Certificates, 1909-1976, accessed from www.ancestry.com; Louis Young, 1948/1956, Halifax County, North Carolina, U.S. Wills and Probates Records, Vol. 15, pp. 28-30, accessed via www.ancestry.com.
5. 118 State Road 1301, Littleton, NC, 66 State Road 1301, Littleton, NC, Google Maps; “Drawing No. 07519-A,” Survey for El Brio Shores, LLC & Heirs of Lewis Young (aka Heirs of Louis Young), Littleton, Halifax County, March 12, 2019, Halifax County Register of Deeds. Contact the NC AAHC if you have more information related to this Green Book site.
Did you know?
- This entry was included in the Green Book without an address from 1939-1957.