Tent Sisters Hall

Children are seen on the corner of Cannister and Battle Streets, ca. 1939 Source: Courtesy of State Archives of North Carolina

The large building shown here was known for many years as Tent Sisters’ Hall, the meeting place of the United Order of Tents. This organization, founded and led by African American church women, was a secret society devoted to community care. Members provided healthcare, end of life care, and financial assistance to people in need. The hall stood at the northeast corner of Cannister and Battle Streets in the Southside neighborhood.

Women’s fraternal groups such as the Tents also played a major role in creating social welfare programs for older adults. The Grand United Order of Tents, founded in Norfolk, Virginia, in 1866, opened an Old Folks’ Home in Hampton in 1897 to support orphaned children and members who could no longer care for themselves. A similar home for elderly members was later established in Raleigh.

In 1909, civil rights leader, W.E.B. Du Bois highlighted the Tent Sisters’ Hall in his book, Efforts for Social Betterment Among Negro Americans, calling it, “the most interesting experiment in the country.”