Black Businesses in Urbana
Generations of Black entrepreneurs ran successful businesses in the Champaign-Urbana area. One of the earliest examples is General Cass Lee, who in 1885 owned a six-chair barbershop at 127 Main Street where he served judges, lawyers, and others who frequented the county courthouse. Over the following decades, and up to today, many other Black business owners would find success in this community. One of the most notable success stories is that of Shelton Laundry.
During the Great Depression, many residents, including the family of Merritt and Arah Mae Shelton in Urbana, relied on government rations to survive. Searching for a better way to support her family, Arah Mae began taking in laundry from neighborhood families in 1934. The children picked up and delivered the laundry, and Arah Mae washed it on the family’s back porch with a scrub board and water heated over fire in a black kettle. Over time, this humble family operation became a multi-million dollar enterprise and one of Urbana’s most successful Black-owned businesses.
As business grew, it changed locations before finally settling at 1104 N. Goodwin in Urbana with 75 employees of many races, ethnicities, and backgrounds. The Shelton Laundry’s customers included University of Illinois fraternities and sororities, the Illini Union, McKinley Hospital, Chanute Air Force Base, the U.S. Army’s Fort Benjamin Harrison near Indianapolis, and many others. The Sheltons’ son, Albert, purchased the business from his parents in 1972 and oversaw many business enhancements, such as computerized equipment and a fleet of trucks to deliver laundry. Shelton Laundry eventually closed in 1986, but not before Albert was named the Illinois Small Business Person of the Year. Despite his family’s enormous success, Albert kept a scrub board and black kettle in his office as a reminder of how it all began.
Note: We hope to populate this page with information on other Black-owned businesses in Urbana. If you have information, please email info@ccafricanamericanheritage.org.
References:
Bial, Raymond and the Champaign County Historical Museum. (1983) In All My Years: Portraits of Older Blacks in Champaign-Urbana. https://eblackcu.net/portal/archive/files/bial_1980013_cb274c1957.pdf
“Through the Years: African-American History in Champaign County.” (Spring/Summer 2000). https://localwiki.org/cu/Through_the_Years
People:
- Albert Shelton
- General Cass Lee
Location(s):
- Urbana, Illinois
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