WS Chronicle

Clark S. Brown & Sons Funeral Home last remaining business of Black Wall Street era 

Long before there was a Bailey Park or Innovation Quarter, the area of downtown Winston-Salem surrounding the old R.J. Reynolds Tobacco manufacturing facilities and Bailey Power Plant was known as Depot Street, a hub for Black business and entrepreneurship.  

In the late-19th century tobacco was king in the towns of Winston and Salem and Blacks from across the state were relocating here to work in factories owned by the R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Company. Intrigued by the opportunity of making more money doing less strenuous work, between 1880 and 1890 more than 3,000 Black families moved to the area, an increase of 216%.  

Because they didn’t have much after relocating, many of the families settled in the neighborhoods near the factory. An 1880 federal census reported that nearly 80% of tobacco workers in Winston lived in the area bordered by Main St., Seventh St., Depot St. (now Patterson Ave.), and Belews Creek St.  

As the neighborhood continued to grow, so did the ambitions of those who lived there. Because the neighborhood was essentially cut off from the rest of the city and there was no access to public services due to segregation, Depot Street emerged as the city’s very own Black Wall Street.  

Working in the factories during the day allowed many in the neighborhood to support their families and fund their own businesses. At its height, in addition to single family homes and multifamily developments, the Depot Street neighborhood was home to Black doctors, real estate offices, grocery stores, drugstores, barbershops, beauty salons, funeral homes, movie theaters, social clubs, restaurants, schools, churches and more.  

The Depot Street neighborhood was also home to the YMCA, Safe Bus Company, La Mae Beauty College, Naomi McLean’s Stenographic School, and N.C. Mutual Life Insurance Company. Several businesses in the neighborhood including The Belmont Hotel, Lincoln Hotel, Model Pharmacy, Club 709, Sam Harris Taxi, and Reliable Taxi, were all listed in The Green Book, an annual guidebook for Black travelers listing welcoming restaurants and safe lodgings for Black travelers throughout the South.  

During a panel discussion in 2017, Barbara Morris, who lived on Belews Creek St., said they never had to leave the neighborhood to get the things they needed. “We never had to really come off of Belews for anything, we had it all right there,” she said. 

By 1958, all the homes and businesses in the Depot Street neighborhood and surrounding neighborhoods were being torn down to make way for the construction of U.S. 52 and Business 40. 

To honor the legacy of Depot Street and revitalize the area, in 1998 the Goler Community Development Corporation was formed. The CDC was started by Goler A.M.E. Zion Church and has played a major role in several projects in the downtown area over the years, including Gallery Lofts, Goler Manor senior apartments, and 757 North apartments.  

Lafayette Jones, one of the co-founders of Goler CDC and board chair of the Victory Masonic Mutal Credit Union, said it was the CDC that sparked the redevelopment of downtown Winston-Salem. Jones said the legacy of Depot Street and initiatives like the Goler CDC shows that Winston-Salem was built on the backs of the Black community.  

“If you really look at the development of the city, you’ll see all this land was abandoned. The Goler CDC was able to buy 15 acres of land downtown for $600,000 and with no skills other than our marketing and business savvy we were able to develop that into a 15-acre tract of multi-billion-dollar mixed use space,” Jones continued. “Black people have been a part of the evolution and development of this city right at Peter Oliver and before we just haven’t been given the credit.”  

In 2020, local artist Leo Rucker paid homage to Depot Street with a mural on 7th Street between Research Pkwy and Vine St. The mural, Depot Street Renaissance, features more than two dozen people or buildings that reflect the rich history of the neighborhood.  

Rucker said when Innovation Quarter reached out to him, they told him they wanted him to represent the Black Lives Matter movement and Black History. Initially, Rucker said he thought about using well-known figures like Martin Luther King and others, but he decided instead to honor the rich history of Black people right here in Winston-Salem.  

The only remaining business from the Depot Street era is just a short walk up the street from Rucker’s mural, Clark S. Brown & Sons Funeral Home. Established in Virginia in 1928, the family-owned business relocated here in 1933. The business was first located on 7th Street when they merged with another funeral home in the area. In 1935, Clark S. Brown Sr. purchased the business outright and Brown Funeral Directors was established. In 1949, the business was incorporated, and the name was changed to its current name, Clark S. Brown & Sons Funeral Home. A few years later they moved to their current location on N. Patterson Avenue.  

Clark S. Brown Sr. ran the funeral home until his death at age 90 in 2001. Clark S. Brown Jr. ran the business after his father’s death and today, Carla Brown Rumph, the founder’s granddaughter, runs the business. The funeral home remains a pillar in the Black community. Brown-Rumph said although a lot of hard work goes into running the business, it’s been fulfilling to continue the legacy started by her grandfather.  

“This was a thriving Black community years ago and we’re still serving that community today,” she said. “It’s been very rewarding to do this work.  It’s hard and I don’t get a lot of time off, but I know why my grandfather worked every day until he died, because he built it. He would come home and talk about the families that he served like they were people that we knew and as a kid I didn’t understand it, but I do understand it now.”  

The next time you’re in Bailey Park or enjoying your favorite restaurant or bar on Patterson Ave. and Innovation Quarter, remember this history of Depot Street.