Black Heritage Trail
Columbus’ black heritage trail is a walking tour that explores the history of land usage by blacks in Columbus, Indiana. Guided tours are available. The brochure can be used as a self-guided tour. The only building available is Second Baptist Church. Special group tours can be arranged in advance by request.
Red dots indicate the locations of businesses in Columbus that were owned by Blacks in the late 1880s to early 1900s.
Frederick Douglass Speech
401–409 Washington Street
Former Crump Opera House
January 1873
Crump’s Opera House, once the largest and most modern meeting venue in Columbus, occupied the entire second floor of this building—then markedly different in appearance from today. In the late 19th century, it served as a prominent cultural hub, drawing nationally known performers and influential speakers. On January 6, 1873, Frederick Douglass, widely regarded as the greatest Black orator of his time, delivered a lecture titled Anti-Slavery and the Future of Our Country Based on Equality of Races, marking a significant moment in the city’s civic and intellectual life.
Goins Hotel
415 ½ Fourth Street
Business Owners: Elmer And Lydia Goins
Est. 1928
From 1928 to 1946, Elmer and Lydia Goins operated the 23-room Goins Hotel—a boarding house that served as a key stop for Black travelers during segregation. The building had originally been an addition to the Griffith Building, which was razed in 1924. Lydia passed away in 1945, and Elmer remained until the hotel closed the following year. The structure was demolished in 1955 to make way for a bank drive-up window. In 2023, the site was transformed into A Carousel for Columbus, an outdoor gathering space created by Exhibit Columbus.
Yellow Front
512 Washington Street
Business Owner: Elmer Goins
Est. 1928
Elmer Goins worked as a shoe shiner for 53 years, including 25 at the Yellow Front Store on Washington Street. He estimated that he had shined over one million pairs of shoes during his career, including those of notable figures such as William Jennings Bryan and President William McKinley. His business came to a close in 1953 when the Yellow Front Store relocated and shifted from shoe repair to sporting goods. The original storefront was later razed to make way for the new Irwin Union Bank building.
Noah Roberts Barbershop
522 Washington Street
Business Owner: Noah Roberts
Est. 1915
Little is known about Noah Roberts beyond his age and professional life. He arrived in Columbus around 1915 at age 56 and worked as a barber for the next 31 years, operating from three different locations. His first shop, from 1915 to 1918, was at 532 Washington Street in the same wood-frame building first occupied by the Imes & Washington Barbershop. From 1919 to 1924, he worked in the Fehring Building at 522 Washington Street. His final location, from 1924 to 1946, was in the Bossmeier Building at 318 Sixth Street. Only the Fehring Building remains today.
Annex Barber And Beauty Shop
617 Washington Street
Business Owner: Grant Smith
Est. 1908
The Annex Barber and Beauty Shop was one of nine shops owned and operated by Grant Smith during his lifetime. It operated downtown from 1934 to 1944, and again from 1947 to 1961, alongside a shop in his home on 10th Street—spanning a total of 24 years. His son, Eugene, worked with him until his untimely death in 1955, while his daughter-in-law, Madeline, ran the beauty shop. Smith is remembered for accommodating both Black and white clientele—shining shoes for white customers during the day and for Black customers after hours.
Imes And Washington Barbershop
526 Washington Street
Business Owners: Harry Imes And James Washington
Est. 1899
James Washington, believed to be the first Black barber in Columbus, arrived in 1894 or 1895. In 1899, he partnered with fellow barber Harry Imes, who was also active in the community. Both men were respected for their work and involvement in the AME Church and Sunday school. Their partnership lasted until Imes’ death in 1907 at age 49; his obituary described him as “one of the best known colored men in this city.” That same year, the shop relocated to a temporary wood building at 532 Washington Street. Washington left Columbus in 1917 and continued barbering in Indianapolis until his death in 1941.
Hammond Café
621–625 Washington Street
Business Owner: Elijah Hammond
Est. 1903
The original Hammonds Café opened in 1903 in the Duffy Building at 625 Washington Street. It expanded in 1905, taking over an adjacent space and changing its address to 621 Washington. That same year, a ticket office for the interurban, operated by Mrs. Hammond, was added and remained until 1907. The café closed in 1906 when Elijah Hammond assumed management of the Bissell Hotel Dining Room. In 1908, the Hammonds opened a second café at 544 Washington Street, operating it until 1910. Both locations were popular gathering spots, and patrons fondly recalled holiday meals served “the Hammond way.”
Art Beauty Shop
621–625 Washington Street
Business Owner: Elijah Hammond
Est. 1903
The Art Beauty Shop was among the first beauty salons in Columbus and offered one of the widest ranges of services for its time. A newspaper advertisement once proclaimed, “The social season is here. Now is the time Milady wishes to look her best... We do manicuring, massaging, hair-dressing, shampooing, and children’s hair-bobbing.” Cora Stewart established the shop after marrying E. Emmet Stewart and managed it while he attended college. She sold the business in 1921 before relocating to Chicago, where her husband found employment. The Art Beauty Shop remained in operation under new ownership for two more years.
Postal Shining Parlor
647 Washington Street
Business Owner: Wayne Handley
Est. 1913
The Postal Shining Parlor operated from 1916 to 1924 in a small room attached to a house on the south side of Seventh Street, directly across from the then-new Post Office. Managed by Wayne Handley, the parlor served customers for eight years before both it and the adjoining structure were razed in 1924. The site was cleared to make way for the Charlotte Building, completed in 1925, and it remains there today.
Little Harlem
302 8th Street
Business Owner: Albert Philips
Est. 1942
Little Harlem operated from 1942 to 1954, serving as a vibrant gathering place for Black residents and Black soldiers stationed at Camp Atterbury during an era of segregation, when they were excluded from white establishments in Columbus. In 1954—the same year Camp Atterbury closed—the business was sold and renamed the Plantation Bar, which remained open until 1979. Both establishments were classified as restaurants by the liquor board. In 2011, the site was recognized in Landmark Indiana’s survey, African American Sites of Indiana, as one of only four listed locations in Bartholomew County.
