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Community Story

Rock Rest Tourist Home

  • Family
  • Segregation & Community Building, 1890-1945
Color photograph of wooden house with American flag flying out front.

Welcome to Rock Rest

This rock sat at the entrance to the Rock Rest house.

Rock Rest house

Clayton and Hazel Sinclair opened Rock Rest in 1938 for African Americans staying or working near Kittery Point, Maine. After buying the building, the couple spent two years renovating it.

At its height, Rock Rest accommodated 16 summer guests. It was not listed in the Green Book , but the Sinclairs had customers throughout the summer due to word-of-mouth referrals. The Sinclairs operated Rock Rest for nearly 40 years. As Black travelers began to gain access to other vacation options, the Sinclairs’ business slowly dwindled. Rock Rest closed for good in 1976.

This rock sat at the entrance to the Rock Rest house.

Rock Rest house

Owners Clayton and Hazel Sinclair

Clayton Sinclair, co-owner of Rock Rest

Hazel Colbert Sinclair, co-owner of Rock Rest

Clayton Sinclair was born in Wardsboro, North Carolina, and Hazel Colbert Sinclair was a Baltimore, Maryland, native. Clayton Sinclair came to New Hampshire to work as a chauffeur and met Hazel while she was working as a maid. After they married, the Sinclairs were founding members of the New Hampshire NAACP.

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Clayton Sinclair, co-owner of Rock Rest

Hazel Colbert Sinclair, co-owner of Rock Rest

Rock Rest Amenities

Interior of the home

Kitchen

Wicker armchair from Rock Rest

Rocking chair

Dining at Rock Rest

Group of women seated around the Rock Rest dinner table, 1980

Rock Rest boarders received breakfast and dinner during their stay. Hazel Sinclair was famous for her cooking, particularly her clam pie, potato pancakes, caramel ice cream, and fudge.

Group of women seated around the Rock Rest dinner table, 1980

Relaxing at Rock Rest

Guests could relax outside, walk along beaches, play games, or visit nearby towns.

Six people socializing on the lawn of the Rock Rest Tourist Home

Croquet game set balls

Croquet game set mallets

Rock Rest vacationers gathering outside

Rock Rest was an oasis, a break from the hostility, the indignities and downright hostility experienced by Blacks who had the means to travel in America.

Bob Sheppard, Kittery Resident, 2022

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