Bibb County GaArchives Photo Tombstone.....Douglas, Charles H. ************************************************ Copyright. All rights reserved. http://www.usgwarchives.net/copyright.htm http://www.usgwarchives.net/ga/gafiles.htm ************************************************ File contributed for use in USGenWeb Archives by: James W. Allen jallen46@cox.net July 3, 2005, 2:04 pm Cemetery: Linwood Cemetery Name: Charles H. Douglas Date Of Photograph: June 25, 2005 Photo can be seen at: http://www.usgwarchives.net/ga/bibb/photos/tombstones/linwood/douglas6353ph.jpg Image file size: 85.2 Kb Charles Henry Douglas b: 17 February 1870 d: 30 April 1940 Additional Comments: Charles Henry Douglas was born to former slaves Charles Henry and Carrie Douglas on February 17, 1870. Charles' life started off humbly. He and his family lived in a one room house built by his father about two miles from Macon, Georgia in the Unionville Section. Douglas attended a rural school during his early years while working to help support his family. He did many menial chores and finally secured a job driving a Doctor in is carriage for $6.00 a month. His humble earnings became even more valuable when within the next ten years, both of his parents died. He had the sole responsibility to take care of his two sisters. After the two sisters were married, Charles left Macon in of hopes of finding more profitable work. He later returned in 1898. He returned with twenty-four dollars. He and a local businessman entered into a partnership in a Bicycle Repair and Renting business. This did well until the automobile craze hit. He sold out his part and went into the Hotel and Real Estate business in which he prospered. He worked as the Director of the Georgia Loan and Savings Company from 1901 to 1905 and it was here that he met his future wife Fannie, an assistant cashier at the company. From 1904 to 1906 Charles theater business career began by leasing and operating the Ocmulgee Park Theater. He sold his lease and purchased his first building at 361 Broadway, the Colonial Hotel. The hotel was a three- story pressed brick building right in the heart of the business district of Broadway. At the time it was the only piece of property owned by an African- American on that street and was the only hotel for blacks. Douglas acquired the property adjacent to the Colonial Hotel in 1911 which, with renovations, became the Douglass Theatre. Macon had four theaters which featured movies for a nickel or nichelodeons, but they were available for whites only. The Douglas Hotel and Theatre soon became the center for black entertainment. The new Douglass Theatre was constructed at 363 Broadway in 1921 due to the huge success of the business. Entertainers who performed at the Douglass included: Ida Cox, Bessie Smith, Ma Rainey, Butterbeans and Susie and later in the 40's were Duke Ellington and Cab Calloway. In the 1960's Little Richard, Otis Redding and James Brown performed at the theatre. The Douglas Theatre closed its doors in 1973, but was considered a landmark and the City of Macon purchased the property in 1978. After much renovation it reopened in 1997 and is the premier historical black landmark. Charles H. Douglas was a major early contributor to the headway that blacks made in the City of Macon, Georgia. *These words are from the "Climbing the Hill" booklet done by Mercer University students and this particular section about Charles Douglas was contributed by Elizabeth Carson. File at: http://files.usgwarchives.net/ga/bibb/photos/tombstones/linwood/douglas6353ph.txt This file has been created by a form at http://www.poppet.org/gafiles/ File size: 3.8 Kb