Green's Funeral Home and Ambulance Service

National Register Listing
Street Address:
433 Ward St., Lake City (Florence County)

NRHP Nomination

Record Number:
S10817721030
Description and Narrative:
Green’s Funeral Home and Ambulance Service is locally significant under Commerce, Social History, and Ethnic Heritage: Black as the earliest extant Black funeral home in Lake City during the Jim Crow era. Green’s business opened in another building (not extant) in 1931 as the first Black-owned funeral home in Lake City, and it moved to the nominated building upon its 1938 completion. It remained there until 1950, when the business relocated to Church Street. The period of significance covers the funeral home’s operation at 433 Ward St. from 1938 to 1950. Operated by owner Luther M. Green and his brother Abram Green, the funeral home was part of a parallel economy that existed for white and Black citizens in an era of legal and cultural segregation. Like many other southern Black funeral directors, Green also held broader civic importance for Lake City’s Black community, becoming a leader in the state’s Progressive Democratic Party and championing the civil rights of local African Americans in this period. The funeral home is therefore also locally significant under Social History: Civil Rights, and Ethnic Heritage: Black as the extant property best associated with Luther M. Green during his political activism in the 1940s. Listed in the National Register January 28, 2025.
Period of Significance:
1938 – 1950
Level of Significance:
Local
Area of Significance:
Ethnic Heritage: Black;Commerce;Social History;Politics/Government
National Register Determination:
listed
Date of Certification:
January 28 2025

Related places
Florence County
Lake City