Jack Hadley
Yards Project
Outgrowing Our Home
A Legacy Preserved. A Future Protected.
After four decades of collecting and preserving African American history, the Jack Hadley Black History Museum has a once-in-a-generation opportunity to establish a permanent home for its collection.
Today, much of that collection is temporarily out of public view. This project will return those stories to the community while creating a permanent home for the collection and preserving important pieces of Thomasville’s African American history.
Beginning with the restoration of the Imperial Hotel and the Hambleton-Williams Shotgun House, Jack Hadley Yards will create a new cultural destination that honors the past while expanding opportunities for education, engagement, and heritage tourism.
Document, preserve, and
educate on African American History and
Culture in Southwest Georgia
and beyond.
Restoring Vital African American Landmarks
The Imperial Hotel and the Hambleton-Williams Shotgun House are two of the most historically significant African American structures remaining in the region, and both are in urgent need of restoration. The acquisition of these properties presents a rare opportunity to preserve these irreplaceable landmarks, return the collection to public view, and secure the Museum’s future.
Once a refuge for Black travelers, the Imperial Hotel will serve as the first chapter of Jack Hadley Yards, helping restore public access to the collection while advancing the Museum’s long-term vision.
Together, these buildings will establish Jack Hadley Yards as a destination where visitors can engage more deeply with the stories, artifacts, and experiences that shape our understanding of African American history.
Greenbook Hotel
Imperial Hotel
Built in 1949, the Imperial Hotel was Thomasville’s only hotel welcoming Black travelers during the era of segregation. Featured in the Negro Motorist Green Book, a guide that identified safe havens for African Americans navigating the Jim Crow South, the hotel served as a lifeline for generations of travelers. Today it stands as one of only three Green Book sites in the region still viable for restoration.
Honoring the Vision of
Mr. Jack Hadley
A Thomasville native born at Pebble Hill Plantation, James ‘Jack’ Hadley spent 28 years overseas serving his country in the U.S. Air Force before returning home to realize his vision. Throughout the past four decades, he has assembled a collection of more than 5,000 artifacts around a simple but profound conviction: that Black Americans have done great things to help build and shape America, and that those stories deserve to be told.
What began in 1979 as a small educational exhibit has grown into a remarkable collection that preserves the stories of African American history and connects them to the broader American story.
The Jack Hadley Yards project honors Mr. Hadley’s legacy and ensures that African American history remains visible, valued, and preserved within the community.
Our New Vision
Making History More Accessible
For nearly 20 years, the Museum welcomed students, families, researchers and other visitors to its Douglass High School location, an ideal backdrop for the collection. As the collection, programming, and audience continued to grow, Museum leaders recognized the opportunity to create a more engaging visitor experience and establish a permanent home capable of supporting the Museum’s mission for generations to come.
