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Scott Bond Scott Bond was one of those remarkable black men of the early twentieth century who rose above the obstacles of segregation to succeed. Bond not only succeeded, he became known as the “black Rockefeller of Arkansas.” Bond, who was born a slave in rural Mississippi about , was able through determination and hard work to build a network of farms, cotton gins, a sawmill, and a large mercantile store, before dying in  as a very wealthy man. Scott’s biological father was a white overseer, Wesley Rutledge. Scott’s mother,a house slave,married William Bond when her son was about two years old. About , the owner of the Bond family moved from Mississippi to Tennessee. After about five years, the family was relocated to Cross County, Arkansas. Upon obtaining their freedom in April  when the Civil War ended,William and Ann Bond, along with Scott,began a new life by moving to Madison,a small town about four miles east of Forrest City. Scott’s mother died not long after the family moved to Madison, and the boy was raised by his stepfather, a sharecropper. At about the age of twenty-two,young Scott went out on his own and rented twelve acres; the following year he expanded to thirty-five acres. By  he felt secure enough to marry Miss Magnolia Nash, who proved to be a full partner for her enterprising husband. The plantation owner who rented land to Bond asked him to take over management of the entire ,-acre farming operation. Bond took charge of the various sharecroppers working on the plantation, fenced the entire farm, worked his own fields, and turned a profit of $,. Bond would probably have continued with his comfortable life as a plantation manager and farmer had it not been for an unusual opportunity. Normally, Bond never saw the money he generated for the white landowner, since it was handled by a local credit merchant.  One year,however,the landowner was feuding with the merchant,and Bond was asked to deliver the full $, rental income in cash. On his way to the landowner’s home, Bond felt compelled to look at the cash in his pocket—an amount of money he had never seen before. Finding a secluded spot, Bond located a log and “pulled out my money . . . and scattered it up and down the log.” He stepped back from the log and said, “This is the product of labor of my own hand. Here is $, which I am giving the landlord to let me cultivate her land.” Bond concluded that paying rent “was just like taking that money and casting it into the fire.” He went home to his wife and said, “Wife, I am going tomorrow and buy  acres of land. I have learned today what it is to own a farm.” Over the years, Bond purchased many more farms, ultimately totaling , acres of land. He also invested in town lots, and his Madison Mercantile Company sold everything from side meat to coffins. Bond was nothing if not diversified. He built a number of cotton gins,so as to better control costs.Unlike most farmers who cleared their land by burning the trees, Bond built a sawmill and sold the resulting lumber. He also owned a brick-making firm and sold fruit from large orchards. Perhaps Bond’s most shrewd investment was in a gravel mining operation. Many of the railroad beds in eastern Arkansas are built of gravel from Bond’s land. As befitted a man of such success, Bond built a nice home he named “The Cedars.” He erected large barns to house his fine purebred livestock.Bond’s success was enhanced by his accomplished wife, who not only bore eleven sons but also worked tirelessly alongside her husband. In  Bond’s son Theo, along with a professional writer, published a biography of Bond titled From Slavery to Wealth: The Life of Scott Bond, now a rare book that fetches a high price. Bond’s success and growing fame brought him into contact with black leaders in Arkansas and beyond. After  Bond was active in Booker T.Washington’s National Negro Business League. Bond delivered an address at the  annual meeting of the league in New York City, and the following year the league held its convention in Little Rock.After the convention,Bond hosted Washington at his home,followed by an address by the “Wizard of Tuskegee” and a barbeque.  ENTREPRENEURS [3.15.156.140] Project MUSE...

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