Selden Park History

Historical sites are often lost to time and progress, which is especially true for small towns that struggle to fund restoration efforts or general upkeep for these sites. With newer and larger parks established in the local community today, Selden Park is often overlooked or disregarded by the citizens of Brunswick, Georgia, but it has a rich history that shaped the development of coastal Georgia’s African American community, going back to the turn of the 20th century.

Selden Park started as a place of education for African American’s in the region, who following the abolition of slavery struggled to find inclusive institutions in the American South. In 1892, a student, Rev. Samuel Dent, and two instructors, Rev. H.A. Bleach, and Miss Carrie E. Bemus, formed a Normal School in Brunswick. This school, The Selden Normal and Industrial Institute, officially opened in 1903 with the financial support of E.P. Selden and the eponymous Dr. Charles Selden, who bought the land for the school. Like many schools for African Americans at this time, this school offered mostly domestic sciences such as sewing, gardening, and carpentry, but it would later be a place that trained nurses and teachers as well.

The Selden Normal and
However, it was more than just the swimming pool that drew crowds in the South Georgia heat; it was also the range of entertainers that would perform at the park. Selden Park was a stop on the Chitlin’ Circuit, which was a network of venues stretching from the Cotton Club in New York City all the way down to Miami and West to California. Selden’s multi-purpose recreational facility was one of these Black owned and run venues, where Black singers, musicians, and comedians could play in a segregated America, and Selden saw such famous performers as James Brown, Cab Calloway, and Al