Woolworths Lunch Counter
Woolworths Lunch Counter
Origins
Founded in 1879, the F.W. Woolworth Company ("Woolworths" or "Woolworth" for short) was an American department store chain with hundreds of locations by the 1960s. Many Woolworths stores had a lunch counter that sold desserts, soups, beverages, and other foods — but only to White customers.
During the Civil Rights Movement, the Whites-Only lunch counters at Woolworths became the focus of protests throughout the segregated South. Prominent Woolworth sit-ins took place in Greensboro, North Carolina, Jackson, Mississippi, Tallahassee, Florida, and St. Augustine, Florida.
The Woolworth store in St. Augustine was located in the Ponce de Leon Shopping Center on the west side of the Plaza de la Constitución and is now the site of a local restaurant.
Early Protests at the St. Augustine Woolworths
Throughout the 1950s and 1960s, the Civil Rights movement in St. Augustine was mainly led by local women and young people. Whether they were college-aged or high school students, many brave young citizens put their lives on the line to protest racial injustice in their community.
On March 15, 1960, six college students from Florida Memorial College entered the St. Augustine Woolworths seeking service but experienced hostility from a White mob brandishing weapons. Police Chief Virgil Stuart intervened, dispersing the mob and helping the students leave the area.
July 18, 1963 Protest at Woolworths
The St. Augustine Movement peaked in 1963 and 1964, with the arrival of Dr. Martin Luther King and the Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC). During those years, St. Augustine became a crucial battleground in the African American struggle for civil rights.
On July 18, 1963 — less than a year before Dr. King and the SCLC arrived in St. Augustine — a group of protestors from the St. Augustine NAACP Youth Council walked into several local drugstores, intent on making a change.
A group of young protestors sat at the Whites-only lunch counter in Woolworths, each ordering a hamburger and a Coke. After being called "Unlawful guests," 16 young protestors were arrested by St. Johns County Sheriff L.O. Davis and Deputy D. J. Johnson (the latter being one of the first and only Black deputies in St. Augustine at the time).
The St. Augustine Four
Nearly half of the protestors that day were minors. Presiding Judge Charles Mathis denied them bail, agreeing to free the jailed teenagers — but on one condition. Their parents were told to sign an agreement stating that their child would not protest until they turned 21. They were also prodded to accuse Dr. Robert B. Hayling (Advisor to the NAACP Youth Council) of forcing them to protest.
While most of the minors were released, four families declined Judge Mathis's deal, citing concerns that his conditions violated their children's Constitutional Rights. What's more, Dr. Hayling may have been jailed if the members of the Youth Council had spoken against him. So, four young protestors chose to serve their sentence instead of accepting Judge Mathis's deal.
Those four children were Samuel White, Willie Carl Singleton, Audrey Nell Edwards, and JoeAnn Anderson Ulmer — local high school students who would later be known as "The St. Augustine Four" for their bravery and sacrifice.
Their Sentence
The St. Augustine Four endured 77 days in jail, followed by 52 days at a reform school, where they faced harsh treatment. This included isolation, repetitive tasks as punishment — like waxing floors on their hands and knees — and both physical and verbal abuse.
The four remained resilient, and their case received national attention. The teens were ultimately released on January 23, 1964, having missed Thanksgiving and Christmas with their families. Dr. King did not arrive in St. Augustine to march until three months after the release of the St. Augustine Four.
However, King's demonstrations united figures like Jackie Robinson (the first African American to play major league baseball, who spoke at St. Paul's AME church on June 16, 1964) and other activists to speak out against the unjust imprisonment and treatment that the St. Augustine Four endured. Their courageous stance against injustice solidified their place as defenders of freedom within the St. Augustine Civil Rights Movement.
ACCORD Freedom Trail Marker
Today, a historical marker commemorating the 1960s events at Woolworths is posted at the original site of the store at 31 King Street. It is on a coquina wall facing the Plaza de la Constitución.
View the ACCORD Freedom Trail marker text here.
First established in 2007, the ACCORD Freedom Trail is a series of historical markers throughout St. Augustine. Maintained by the Anniversary to Commemorate the Civil Rights Demonstrations, Inc. (ACCORD, an organization founded in 2002) along with the ACCORD Civil Rights Museum at 79 Bridge Street, the Freedom Trail tells the story of the local Civil Rights Movement.
The historical marker at 31 King Street was unveiled on July 2, 2007, as part of the first phase of the ACCORD Freedom Trail Sites. Visit their website, here.
Woolworth Counter, Preserved
When the Woolworth Department Store was set to close in the 1990s, members of the St. Augustine Historical Society saw that the lunch counter was a significant part of Civil Rights History and needed to be preserved. They took a section of the counter and a few chairs, not knowing exactly what they would do with the artifact.
Learn More At The Lincolnville Museum
After years in storage, that section of the original Woolworth lunch counter is now on display at the Lincolnville Museum and Cultural Center. The exhibit expands on the story of the St. Augustine Civil Rights Movement and honors the bravery of local activists, especially the four brave youth known as the St. Augustine Four.
Resources
Online Resources
Videos:
- Tap here to watch an oral history interview of Audrey Nell Hamilton and Joan Anderson Ulmer, courtesy of the Library of Congress.
- Tap here to watch Jackie Robinson’s June 16, 1964 Speech at Paul AME Church.
- Tap here to watch a history of lunch counter sit-ins as Civil Rights protests, courtesy of the Southern Foodways Alliance.
From the ACCORD Museum website:
From the Lincolnville Museum & Cultural Center website:
Further Reading
St. Augustine, Florida, 1963-1964: Mass Protest and Racial Violence, edited by David Garrow, 1989.
NOTE: The image used as the header for this profile does not show the St. Augustine Four or the Woolworths in St. Augustine. It was taken in Tallahassee and can be found on Florida Memory, here.
