BOWLING GREEN, Ky. — Inside Bowling Green’s Shake Rag Historic District is a dense dose of African American history. 

What You Need To Know

  • Bowling Green tourism officials said Shake Rag grew at a steady rate after the Civil War and became a safe haven for Black Americans during the Jim Crow era 

  • The community provided residents with access to doctors, schools, hotels and businesses such as barbers and salons

  • During the mid-1960s, however, urban renewal projects forced dozens of people to vacate Shake Rag

  • While this resulted in massive changes over the decades, the neighborhood's stories, love and history remain 

“This area has been a big part of Bowling Green all of my life and way before then because people will tell you what went on in this area and how it was," said Warren County resident Bettie Turner, who has been with the community for decades. 

The land was donated back in 1802. Bowling Green tourism officials said Shake Rag grew at a steady rate after the Civil War, becoming a haven for Black Americans during the Jim Crow era.

The community provided residents with access to doctors, schools, hotels and businesses such as barbers and salons. Ron Whitlock saw the activity firsthand when he moved to Warren County in 1960.

“It taught respect, taught love," Whitlock said. 

During the mid-1960s, however, urban renewal projects forced dozens of people to vacate Shake Rag. But despite changes over the decades, the stories, the love and even the history remain. Much of this is thanks to the work of the George Washington Carver Center, a history museum of Shake Rag. 

Turner, the center's vice president, keeps news articles and many other artifacts about the residents from years ago.

“Whenever anybody who was Black would do anything, they would be like ‘This is the colored news' or ‘This is the news or issues of colored people,'" Turner said. 

It's all about showing the neighborhood's resiliency, Whitlock said. 

"The history of strong families, the history of self-sustaining neighborhoods, the history of people being skilled-laborers and working and all the things that came out of here," Whitlock said. "Talented, gifted people.”

According to Bowling Green’s tourism website, many believe the term “Shake Rag” derived from families who washed their clothes and hung them up outside to dry.

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