Biography of Scott Bond, St Francis County, AR

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Submitted by: Paul V Isbell
        Date: 19 Nov 2008
Copyright.  All rights reserved.
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Seldom in the eventful history of St. Francis County has there come to the front
a man who accomplished in his life's span as much as did the almost legendary
Negro figure, Scott Bond, a slave child who became one of Arkansas' largest and
most prosperous landowners and an inspiring leader. In the small town of
Madison, on the west bank of the St. Francis River at the foot of Crowley's
Ridge will always be recognized and respected by all who knew him. He was born
in Canton, Madson Co., Mississippi on March 15, 1852, son of slave parents. When
he was three years old, he and his mother and younger brother were moved to
Cross County by their master. Young Scott served as a houseboy until the end of
the Civil War. His mother died when he was thirteen years old, when he took on
the raising of his younger brothers. On Jan. 11, 1874, he married Miss Magnolia
Nash of Forrest City. Scott Bond with his step father moved to Madison in 1872
and remained with him until he was 22 years of age. That year he rented his
first piece of land-35 acres. The first land he owned was 300 acres along the
Rock Island railroad near Madison. He greatly increased his land holdings, with
the Allen farm totaling over 2, 200 acres on the old Military Road along the St.
Francis river. I later years, another famous highway, the Broadway of America,
Highway 70 passed thru his land. Before he passed away on March 23, 1933, when
he was fatally injured by one of his registered bulls, he owned and farmed 12,
000 acres and ginned over 3, 600 bales of cotton, and owned six cotton gins, and
a successful lumber business, a sawmill, and a orchard of 3, 000 Elberta peach
trees, and 2, 000 Ben Davis Winesap apple trees, and owned some of the finest
gravel pits from which for thirty years furnished the Rock Island Railroad many
thousand cars of gravel, produced at one time 62 carloads of potatoes, raised
registered livestock, and operated a large mercantile store in Madison, along
with being a stockholder in the Madison Brick & Tile Co. Scott and Magnolia Bond
had eleven boys, all of whom were exemplar and gained and retained the respect
of the community. Magnolia Bond passed away Oct. 6, 1943, and today the only
surviving member of the original family is U. S. Bond. Another outstanding son
was Theo Bond before his death on April 19, 1949.


SOURCE:
HISTORY of ST. FRANCIS COUNTY, ARKANSAS, 1954 - Robert W. Chowning

Copyright, with Permission: Weston McCollum Lewey, Publisher
-Times Herald Publishing-Forrest City, Arkansas