To commemorate the Juneteenth federal holiday, the North Carolina Division of Parks and Recreation held a special event to honor Dewitt Powell, the first Black superintendent of Jones Lake State Park.
The former superintendent, who died in 2001, spent his 31-year career at the park beginning in 1953 when it transitioned from a recreational area to a state park, and he became a park ranger. At the time, Jones Lake was one of only two state parks open to Black North Carolinians, the other being Reedy Creek State Park in Raleigh (now part of William B. Umstead State Park). Powell was promoted to superintendent in the early 1960s, after the state parks system was integrated.
At the June 18 event, the Division presented Powell's family with a commemorative plaque to recognize his career and service to the state of North Carolina. An identical one was added for permanent display at the park's visitor center. More than 250 visitors attended the event, including many who knew or worked with Powell and his family.
"Dewitt Powell was a dedicated public servant who represented the best of the Division," said Acting Director Brian Strong. "He made Jones Lake a haven for everyone, regardless of race, to enjoy and recreate with family and community. We can only hope to aspire to his shining example as we continue to make North Carolina State Parks welcoming to all."
Accepting the plaque on behalf of Powell and his late wife Sallie were his children, Velvet Powell Miles and Dewitt Powell, Jr., as well as Charles McKoy, who worked for Powell at the park for 16 years. Velvet and Dewitt, Jr. lived at the park with their parents beginning in 1953. Sallie was a math teacher at the local high school. In an article for Our State magazine last year, Velvet recounted to writer Emiene Wright her experience of growing up at the park.
Jones Lake opened on July 1, 1939, as North Carolina's first state-operated outdoor recreation area for Black Americans. It started as a New Deal federal project but was given to the state for management, and later, for full ownership. At the time, Jim Crow laws were firmly entrenched and governed almost all social and public spaces, ensuring that Black Americans could not and would not visit any other state parks unless it was designated for their use. An estimated 22,000 visitors came from opening day to when the first season closed in September.
The recreation area offered a bathhouse, swim area, boathouse with boat rentals, picnic tables, parking areas and a refreshment stand. For more than a decade, it was open only during the summer, but it attracted visitors from Raleigh, Charlotte and other states, because it was one of only a few places anywhere in the South where Black visitors could enjoy the outdoors. Eventually, the Division recognized the need for opening the park year-round and hired Powell to live onsite at the park.
With Powell at its helm, Jones Lake cemented its place as a community park for Elizabethtown and Bladen County. He welcomed families, churches and local organizations to swim at the lake, rent boats or enjoy a picnic. He also continued to hire Black youth to serve as seasonal staff. Parents would reach out to him for guidance, and Powell would take them under his wing to mentor them, growing so close that some of them, like McKoy, called him "dad." His influence on the general community was so outsized that the lake became known as "Mr. Dewitt's Lake."
The Jones Lake event was the Division's second celebration of Juneteenth, following a breakfast commemoration at the Reedy Creek access at William B. Umstead State Park last year. Aside from the ceremony, guests were treated to entertainment by the jazz band Stanley Baird Group and singer and speaker Oya Thomas, as well as food from an array of Black-owned food trucks.
About North Carolina State Parks
North Carolina State Parks manages more than 250,000 acres of iconic landscape within North Carolina's state parks, state recreation areas and state natural areas. It administers the N.C. Parks and Recreation Trust Fund, including its local grants program, as well as a state trails program, North Carolina Natural and Scenic Rivers and more, all with a mission dedicated to conservation, recreation and education. The state parks system welcomes more than 19 million visitors annually.
About the North Carolina Department of Natural and Cultural Resources
The N.C. Department of Natural and Cultural Resources (DNCR) manages, promotes, and enhances the things that people love about North Carolina — its diverse arts and culture, rich history, and spectacular natural areas. Through its programs, the department enhances education, stimulates economic development, improves public health, expands accessibility, and strengthens community resiliency.
The department manages over 100 locations across the state, including 27 historic sites, seven history museums, two art museums, five science museums, four aquariums, 35 state parks, four recreation areas, dozens of state trails and natural areas, the North Carolina Zoo, the North Carolina Symphony, the State Library, the State Archives, the N.C. Arts Council, the African American Heritage Commission, the American Indian Heritage Commission, the State Historic Preservation Office, the Office of State Archaeology, the Highway Historical Markers program, the N.C. Land and Water Fund, and the Natural Heritage Program. For more information, visit ncdcr.gov.