PORTSMOUTH – The Black Heritage Trail of New Hampshire is pleased to announce the unveiling of two new historical markers honoring Rock Rest., an historic home in Kittery Point, Maine, that, from the late 1940s through the 1970s, welcomed African-American travelers at a time when many accommodations were closed to them. The Seacoast NAACP Youth Council and the Black Heritage Trail of New Hampshire will be hosting two unveiling ceremonies on Saturday June 4, 2022. The first will be held at the Second Congregational Church in Wallingford Square, Kittery, Maine, beginning at 1PM. Participants will be invited to take a special bus to Rock Rest for the second unveiling immediately after the conclusion of the first event. The celebrations are free and open to the public.

Clayton and Hazel Sinclair formally opened their home as a guest house called “Rock Rest” in 1946. While in operation, the house served as a summertime refuge for Black vacationers in the Seacoast region. Although Maine and New Hampshire did not have “Jim Crow” laws at the time, Rock Rest operated in an era when it was common practice to prohibit Black travelers from staying in hotels, being served in restaurants, or otherwise accessing public accommodations in the Seacoast area.

The commemoration will begin at the Second Congregational Church with openings remarks at 1:00 PM by Rev. Dr. Lillian Buckley, a lifelong Kittery resident and musical artist. Gretchen Sorin, author of Driving While Black: African-American Travel and the Road to Civil Rights will be present via Zoom as a featured guest speaker. Following a program of poetry, speakers, and song provided by local residents, and Seacoast NAACP Youth Council members, the participants will take a short walk to Wallingford Square for the unveiling of the first marker by JerriAnne Boggis, Executive Director of the Black Heritage Trail of New Hampshire.

At the conclusion of the first unveiling, participants will be invited to take a bus to Rock Rest in Kittery Point. There New Hampshire author and historian Valerie Cunningham, Seacoast musician Sharon Partricia Jones, and community leader Kelvin Edwards will give participants the rare opportunity to hear stories about Rock Rest from those who remember it well. JerriAnne Boggis will join with the speakers to unveil the on-site marker at Rock Rest before closing remarks by Rev. Buckley. Bus transportation will be provided.

With this ceremony, we invite the public to come together to honor Rock Rest and the legacy of the Sinclair family in our local and national history. In placing these markers, we memorialize a part of the Seacoast’s shared racial history and help educate future residents and visitors to our region.

The Black Heritage Trail of New Hampshire is an independent 501(c)(3) organization that promotes awareness and appreciation of African American history and life in order to build more inclusive communities today. We work to visibly honor and share a truer, more inclusive history through exhibits, educational programs, curriculum development and tours that can change the way our country understands human dignity when it is free of historical stereotypes. Building on the success of the Portsmouth Black Heritage Trail that started more than two decades ago, the statewide Black Heritage Trail connects the stories of New Hampshire’s African heritage by documenting and making visible many of the historic sites that testify to this rich history. For more information, please call the Black Heritage Trail of New Hampshire at (603) 570-8469; or send an email to info@blackheritagetrailnh.org.

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