The Craftsman appearance of this cottage dates to circa 1920 but the house was built circa 1883. Joseph Young was a successful Black businessman in Thomasville and he often rented rooms in the house for overnight guests. He also housed overflow from the boarding house next door, owned by his family. Historically, Oak Street was known as Thomasville’s “red light” district, and according to the Jack Hadley Black History Museum: “The Young family [were] aware of rumors that the property next door had once been a brothel run by a Caucasian woman; therefore, no rooms were rented on a “transit” basis, by the hour, etc. The Young’s insisted that everything had to be honorable, and men could not take female guests to their rooms…The late Mrs. Janie Armster’s family, a third generation African-American family since approximately 1910, presently occupies this home.“