How Did Black Landowners Create Recreation Grounds?

Land made leisure possible—and complicated

Under segregation, Black travelers were excluded from many beaches, hotels, clubs, campgrounds and public facilities. Recreation grounds offered rest and sociability, but they also supported enterprise, property ownership and community institutions. A resort landscape might contain a beach, dance hall, guesthouse, cottages, churches, shops and undeveloped lots held by different owners.

That mixed pattern means “Black-owned resort” can oversimplify. One company might acquire and subdivide land; Black families might buy lots; independent entrepreneurs might operate hotels or clubs; and a municipality might control roads or shoreline. Ownership changed over decades. A defensible page identifies the legal entity, property and date behind each claim.

The National Park Service's African American Outdoor Recreation theme study places these landscapes in a national history of Black leisure, mobility and exclusion. It also demonstrates their variety: rural retreats, urban parks, summer colonies, beaches and mountain resorts did not share a single business model.

American Beach shows deliberate land development

American Beach on Amelia Island, Florida, was founded in 1935 under the leadership of Abraham Lincoln Lewis, president of the Afro-American Life Insurance Company. NPS accounts explain that Lewis acquired and divided land to create shoreline recreation for company employees and the wider Black public. Guesthouses, motels, restaurants, nightclubs and summer homes followed.

The landscape was both commercial and residential. That distinction remains essential. A museum or outdoor exhibit may invite visitors, while nearby houses and private parcels do not. The beach itself, street access, parking and dune protection are governed by current authorities, not by the site's historic reputation.

MaVynee Betsch, Lewis's great-granddaughter, became a prominent advocate for preserving American Beach and its natural and cultural history. Her work helps travelers see preservation as community action rather than an automatic consequence of landmark recognition. The NPS visitor page directs the public to the A.L. Lewis Museum and outdoor interpretation; present hours and entry conditions must still be confirmed.

Other resorts reveal different ownership patterns

Idlewild, Michigan, became a major Black resort community after development began in 1912. The initial resort company was established by White developers, while African American buyers, business owners, performers and vacationers built the community's national importance. Calling Idlewild simply “founded by Black landowners” would erase that distinction; calling it only a White development would erase Black property, enterprise and cultural creation.

In Colorado's Lincoln Hills, Black families purchased mountain property and developed a rare Western recreation community. Winks Panorama, built and operated by Obrey Wendell “Wink” Hamlet, served Black travelers excluded from many accommodations. NPS documentation identifies it as a historic African American resort. Current ownership and access must be sourced separately from historic designation.

These examples show why a traveler should follow deeds, plats and business records. Founding, ownership, operation, patronage and cultural identity can belong to different people at different times.

Read the recreation landscape parcel by parcel

Start with a historic plat. Identify lots, common grounds, shore access, roads and commercial blocks. City directories, advertisements and Green Book listings can locate businesses, while deeds and tax records establish ownership. Oral histories explain seasonal life, informal gathering places and the experience of arriving.

Compare the plat with current maps. Shore erosion, dunes, highway projects, redevelopment and parcel consolidation can change the relationship between road and water. A historic hotel name on a map does not prove that the building survives. A replacement structure may occupy the same lot, while an original cottage may have moved.

Natural features are cultural evidence too. A lake, beach or mountain view helped define the experience, but the landscape was maintained through labor: cooks, cleaners, musicians, builders, lifeguards, groundskeepers and transport workers. An elevated itinerary credits that workforce rather than presenting leisure as effortless.

Plan a visit through public anchors

Begin at a museum, official exhibit, archive or scheduled community program. Use public roads and marked beach or park access. Do not enter porches, yards, closed clubs or vacant structures. Historic-district status does not create a right to inspect interiors.

Check seasonal operations, parking, accessibility, weather and shoreline rules. In a living community, keep group size modest and avoid blocking streets for photographs. Buy from active businesses when they publicly welcome visitors, but do not assume a current business is historically continuous merely because it uses a legacy name.

If no visitor center exists, prepare with NPS documentation and local archives, then view the landscape from lawful public space. Some of the richest evidence may be a plat, advertisement or oral history rather than a surviving entertainment building.