Community Story
Rock Rest Tourist Home
Welcome to Rock Rest
This rock sat at the entrance to the Rock Rest house.
Rock Rest house
Clayton and Hazel Sinclair opened Rock Rest in 1938 for African Americans staying or working near Kittery Point, Maine. After buying the building, the couple spent two years renovating it.
At its height, Rock Rest accommodated 16 summer guests. It was not listed in the Green Book , but the Sinclairs had customers throughout the summer due to word-of-mouth referrals. The Sinclairs operated Rock Rest for nearly 40 years. As Black travelers began to gain access to other vacation options, the Sinclairs’ business slowly dwindled. Rock Rest closed for good in 1976.
Owners Clayton and Hazel Sinclair
Clayton Sinclair, co-owner of Rock Rest
Hazel Colbert Sinclair, co-owner of Rock Rest
Clayton Sinclair was born in Wardsboro, North Carolina, and Hazel Colbert Sinclair was a Baltimore, Maryland, native. Clayton Sinclair came to New Hampshire to work as a chauffeur and met Hazel while she was working as a maid. After they married, the Sinclairs were founding members of the New Hampshire NAACP.
.
Dining at Rock Rest
Group of women seated around the Rock Rest dinner table, 1980
China dinner plates from the Rock Rest Tourist Home
Rock Rest boarders received breakfast and dinner during their stay. Hazel Sinclair was famous for her cooking, particularly her clam pie, potato pancakes, caramel ice cream, and fudge.
Relaxing at Rock Rest
Guests could relax outside, walk along beaches, play games, or visit nearby towns.
Rock Rest was an oasis, a break from the hostility, the indignities and downright hostility experienced by Blacks who had the means to travel in America.
Bob Sheppard, Kittery Resident, 2022
Related Stories
Crossing the Color Line to Freedom
William and Ellen Craft devised an ingenious plan to escape slavery that took them across race, gender, and class lines.
An African American Venturer
"Free" Frank McWorter, founded New Philadelphia, Illinois, the first known town to be founded and platted by an African American.
Land as Legacy
African Americans who inherited land from their ancestors are fighting to keep their land and family legacies.