He was born in Calhoun (Columbia County) in 1877. At the age of 17, he attended a regular school for the first time. Older than his classmates, he considered dropping out, but a teacher, who later would become governor of Texas, took an interest in him and encouraged him in his studies. After passing a correspondence course, he became a mail clerk with The St. Louis Southwestern Railway. Watching poles for a new long-distance telephone system being installed, he realized he could do the same for farm areas in the South, so he formed the North Louisiana Telephone Co. and later sold it for more than $1 million.
He was only 35 and much too young to retire, so in 1914 he bought the only electric transmission line in Arkansas. The line ran only 22 miles between Malvern and Arkadelphia and ran only at night. He expanded it into Louisiana and Mississippi, creating the Arkansas Power and Light Co. As part of his expansion plans, he built Remmel Dam and Carpenter Dam in Garland County, which created Lake Hamilton and Lake Catherine, named for his daughter. President Herbert Hoover appointed him to the national board of the Reconstruction Finance Corporation.
Who was this remarkable entrepreneur from Columbia County?
See NOTABLE ARKANSANS--Answer
Style on 12/15/2019