An 84-year-old Beaufort park with deep personal meaning for many Black residents has a fresh look following a $1 million refurbishment.
Washington Street Park was once the only park in the state’s second-oldest city where Black residents could gather to play and socialize. South Carolina parks didn’t open to everybody until after Jim Crow laws were dismantled in the mid- to late-1960s.
The city embarked on improving the park in 2022. Improvements, which were completed in April, include restrooms, a half-court basketball court, playground equipment, 30-by-60-foot pavilion and storm drainage improvements. There’s also a new public marker explaining the park’s historical significance in the community.
It’s important to remember the past, Fred Washington Jr. said Wednesday morning when residents gathered to mark the completion of major improvements and for the unveiling of the historic marker.
“History is bound to be repeated,” said Washington, “if we are not on our guard.”
The historic marker notes a local group of Black leaders, known as the Beaufort County Negro Recreational Association, acquired the one-acre plot in 1942 for a “recreational center for negro citizens.” Eventually, the park was named for nearby Washington Street.
Over the years, Washington Street Park became an important local gathering spot and the site of athletic contests, religious services and other events.
“I don’t know if I came very day,” Carl Jones said, “but I came pretty regular.”
Jones and Charles Henderson remember seeing Silas Green From New Orleans perform at the park. Green was the central character in the popular African-American traveling variety show.
“This was our entertainment,” Henderson said. “This is where we communicated with everybody. When they talk about a village — this was the village.”
The new marker explaining the small park’s important history is one of 25 put up recently across the state noting important contributions of Black South Carolinians. The markers have been funded by the South Carolina African-American Heritage Commission, a state group working to preserve and promote Black history.
“What’s wonderful about this is its history — and it’s still active and relevant in the community today,” said Vivian Glover, the commission’s chairwoman, who attended Wednesday’s ceremony at the Beaufort park.
When it opened in 1942, Washington Street Park was the only public playground in Beaufort open to African Americans. Playground equipment was installed with support from the Beaufort City Council in 1945 and 1946.
“We grew up in this park,” said Vernell Jones. “We are the originals.”
“It was the only place we had to go,” added her friend, Shirley Stokes.
Both women grew up on Washington Street. “It’s beautiful,” Jones said of the improvements.
“They really made this park shine,” said Nate Farrow, the city’s public works director.
Descendants of the original families who founded the park make up a nonprofit that still owns it. The city manages the park for the nonprofit; on Wednesday, Washington presented a $30 check to Mayor Phil Cromer — $1 a year for the next 30 years — for continued maintenance.
Speaking to the crowd, Washington recognized all the residents who grew up in the Old Commons and Northwest Quadrant neighborhoods and frequented the park — and the people who had the foresight to create it.
“This is for everyone,” Washington told the crowd, “but remember the initial purpose was to serve the underserved Negro children of Beaufort County.”
Karl Puckett
The Island Packet
Karl Puckett covers the city of Beaufort, town of Port Royal and other communities north of the Broad River for The Beaufort Gazette and Island Packet. The Minnesota native also has worked at newspapers in his home state, Alaska, Wisconsin and Montana.
