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Elon student presents Petersburg neighborhood business history to Burlington commission
Summary
Marshall Sears, a student working with Elon University faculty, presented research on the Petersburg/Maple Avenue neighborhood's African American entrepreneurial history, documenting businesses such as the Rockefeller Motel and urging oral histories and mapping to preserve local memory after recent demolitions.
Marshall Sears, a student researcher supervised by Dr. Amanda Kleintop at Elon University, presented a research update on the Petersburg (Maple Avenue) neighborhood at the Burlington Historic Preservation Commission's May meeting.
Sears outlined his goals and methodology, saying he used city directories, newspapers and archival documents recovered from a local neighbor's —shoe box— of materials. He described the Rockefeller Motel as historically significant but noted it was demolished about a week after he began research. "Yes, this is a pretty historically significant space," Sears said, adding the motel had served both white and African American patrons during and after the Jim Crow era.
Sears highlighted business leaders who used entrepreneurial platforms to advance civic aims, citing MacBride (Mac) Thompson's multiple enterprises (grocery, motel, bail bonds, funeral home) and John S. Batador's Rocklyn Palace dance hall, which Sears said hosted major African American performers. He argued that Petersburg business owners used commercial success to expand civic participation and provide venues for arts and education.
Local commissioner and community member Eisley told Sears she has family connections to the neighborhood and offered contact information for descendants who could contribute oral histories. "Most of the seniors that were living up until the last maybe couple of years have passed on," Eisley said, and she urged collection of memories and documents while people are still able to share them.
Commissioners encouraged Sears to map business locations and incorporate oral histories into a walking tour; planning staff offered potential GIS and IT support for a public-facing interactive map. Sears proposed next steps including more oral-history interviews, a local documents harvest to catalog artifacts, and mapping surviving building locations for preservation planning.
Sears' presentation prompted a discussion about surviving properties and the potential to incorporate the research into Burlington's historic inventory and community outreach work. The commission thanked Sears and invited further collaboration.
