The Georgia Trust for Historic Preservation’s 2023 list of Places in Peril includes The Dudley Motel, Cafe and Service Station in Dublin, GA.
Thursday, November 17, 2022, Dublin, Georgia: The Dudley Motel, Cafe and Service Station, located on East Jackson Street in Dublin, GA, has been selected as one of the 2023 Places in Peril by The Georgia Trust for Historic Preservation with the intention of preserving the property and the history. The Dudley Motel, Cafe and Service Station served African American travelers, including Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., during the Civil Rights era.
The Dudley Motel was opened in 1958 by local African American businessman Herbert “Hub” Dudley as an addition to his service station and cafe which accommodated Black travelers. The property is located on US Highway 80 which was a major route through Georgia at the time. The property was listed in African American travel guides such as the Green Book. Hub Dudley owned several businesses in Laurens County to meet the needs of the Black community.
“We, the Dudley/Pearson family, are so pleased that these properties were selected. We hope to preserve this site as a symbol of service, as a service for our community” said Hub Dudley grandson, Carl Pearson.
The Georgia Trust’s Places in Peril program identifies historic sites under potential threat with the goal of providing access to preservation tools, financial resources and partnerships. In 2019, The Georgia Department of Economic Development’s Tourism Product Development Team Report identified The Dudley Motel as a place of historical significance, and suggested pursuing its listing in the National Register of Historic Places.
Visit Dublin GA applied to have The Dudley Motel listed on the National Trust for Historic Preservation’s 11 Most Endangered Historic Places in 2021. As part of the application process, Visit Dublin GA partnered with the Pearson family (descendants of Hub Dudley) to create the hubdudley.org website and also with Betta Focus Photography to create a four part Hub Dudley video series which is available on the Visit Dublin GA Youtube channel.
While The Dudley Motel was not chosen for the National Trust’s endangered list, it did catch the attention of the Georgia Trust of Historic Preservation. On Wednesday, November 16th, 2022, The Georgia Trust announced its list of 10 Places in Peril that it will focus on in 2023 which includes The Dudley Motel. Learn more about Hub Dudley and the history of the property at hubdudley.org.
For media requests, please contact:
Miriam Ponton Lewis, Executive Director
Visit Dublin GA
miriam@visitdublinga.org
478.278.4074
