Throwback Thursday: Saving the Southern Queen part 1

In this very special and unusual two-part Throwback Thursday series, we visit the history of the
Southern Queen Hotel, in Downtown Bowling Green’s Shake Rag area. This historic
district was once home to a bustling African American neighborhood. Between the Civil War
Reconstruction era and before desegregation in the mid-1960s,  this black community had its
own schools, businesses, and neighborhood activities around the Second and Third Street areas.

On the corner of Second and State streets, the Southern Queen Hotel was home to the Moses and
Williams families and a community gathering place. Listed in The Green Book, first published
in 1937 and the travel guide for Black travelers in the early 20th century, the Southern
Queen was the crown jewel of Shake Rag. But, after Delores Moses passed away, the last of the
family members living in Bowling Green, the house sat vacant for almost 20 years. Nature
certainly did its damage over the decades, and the City of Bowling Green spent a couple years
trying to buy the Southern Queen from its owners living across the country – with the intent to
stabilize it, so it wouldn’t fall in on itself, and to find the right developer to restore the property
to breathe more life into the Shake Rag district. The African American Museum, Kentucky
Museum, and Shake Rag community leaders have all helped in the Southern Queen conversations.

The City found a lot of memories within those walls. It was like a time capsule. What could be
saved, has been. I have personally been archiving and inventorying  these items. The City found
documents, photos, books, albums, artifacts and more – items that reflect Shake Rag – the
Black history in our community, the segregation era, civil rights history, and the overall Bowling
Green experience from the perspective of a thriving Black community. Items that otherwise would
have been lost to time.

Next week, in part two of this Southern Queen series, the public gets its first real look at some
of the most significant Southern Queen-specific finds. We also share more about the future of
the property, and what the City has in store for restoration plans and neighborhood
revitalization.