Dr. Hubert Eaton’s house recognized as local Historic Landmark

The house Dr. Hubert Eaton lived in, 1406 Orange Street, is now a local Historic Landmark

WILMINGTON, NC (WWAY) — More than 20 years after his passing, the contributions one man made to the city of Wilmington has been memorialized forever.

The house Dr. Hubert Eaton lived in, 1406 Orange Street, is now a local Historic Landmark.

A national championship winner in tennis, Eaton was the coach and mentor of Althea Gibson, the first African-American woman to win a Grand Slam title.

Fellow tennis player and founder of One Love Tennis Lenny Simpson was there to celebrate the memory of his friend.

Willie Black is a member of the Commission on African-American History.

He said its great to see history preserved for future generations.

“This is an important event for the youth in this community,” Black said. ‘A lot of local history is not taught in our local, in our schools and so, this sheds a light on history that they would normally not be taught in school. They would uh, they can, they can see events like this, they can read these, uh, they can read these signs, these plaques.”

Along with the local Historic Landmark sign, the house also has a Civil Rights Trail marker.