Emanuel Rachel Lorraine - Scotlandville

IMAGES
of America

SCOTLANDVILLE

ON THE COVER: A listing in Dun and Bradstreet verifies Scotlandvilles first black millionaire, Horatio Cabrere Thompson (19142012). Thompson, an entrepreneur, business owner, franchisee, real estate developer, property manager, socialite, family man, and community leader, is pictured third from right at a luncheon hosted for his business associates and employees. On his left is his brother James, and his wife, Jewell (19162005), is on his right. His longtime officer manager Odessa Simpkins is seated across the table, fifth from left. In 2004, Baton Rouge philanthropists John and Virginia Noland established an endowed professorship in Thompsons name at the Southern University Law Center (SULC). (Courtesy of Phyllis White.)

IMAGES
of America

SCOTLANDVILLE

Rachel L. Emanuel, PhD, Ruby Jean Simms, EdD,
and Charles Vincent, PhD
Foreword by Mayor-President Melvin Kip Holden

Copyright 2015 by Rachel L. Emanuel, Ruby Jean Simms, and Charles Vincent
ISBN 978-1-4671-1314-4
Ebook ISBN 9781439651582

Published by Arcadia Publishing
Charleston, South Carolina

Library of Congress Control Number: 2015937278

For all general information, please contact Arcadia Publishing:
Telephone 843-853-2070
Fax 843-853-0044
E-mail
For customer service and orders:
Toll-Free 1-888-313-2665

Visit us on the Internet at www.arcadiapublishing.com

The authors dedicate this book to all the first families of Scotlandville who, along with community residents past and present, inspire us to share this valuable history of their lives and times.

CONTENTS

FOREWORD

I can think of no better way to preserve the cultural, educational, business, religious, social, and political history of the self-determined, dedicated, and resilient people of Scotlandville than this pictorial history book. Readers are in for a treat because this publication has captured the flavor of this unique area in our state and nation. This historical account should delight the hearts and expand the minds of young and old. These words and images reveal our days gone by, and inspire and celebrate the victories of everyday folks overcoming challenges and making their way by faith and hard work.

As a lifelong resident of Scotlandville and an elected official blessed with the opportunity to represent and serve this community on the Metro Council, in the Louisiana legislature, and now as mayor-president, I have been shaped and motivated by the educators, entrepreneurs, clergy, community servants, and parental role models who have cared about their youth and fellow human beings. The richness of their lives and times are explored through these pages.

No doubt writing this book was a labor of love for authors who are longtime historians and documentarians of African American cultural, educational, and political experiences. With their work they can lift up our communities, inspire great achievements, and effect positive change.

For this pictorial history of my community presented by these committed authors through Arcadia Publishings Images of America series, I express my appreciation for a valiant effort, one that most certainly will be continued in the work of Dr. Rachel L. Emanuel, Dr. Ruby Jean Simms, and Dr. Charles Vincent.

Melvin Kip Holden, mayor-president
City of Baton Rouge and Parish of East Baton Rouge

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

This publication was made possible with the contributions of former and current Scotlandville residents. They were eager to share with us their photograph collections, as well as names and contact information of others who might have had photographs that we could use. (See names listed in credit lines of photograph captions.) Also, they enthusiastically revealed a story or two about their Scotlandville and Dear Southern. Special thanks go to Mauretta Wailes Elbert, Carolyn Wilcox Fields, Marion Key, Sarah Starring, Brenda Sterling, and Aolar Wilson. We sincerely thank all for their valuable contributions.

Some images were taken from private/public organizational, church, governmental, and media archives. We appreciate help from the archivists we met and Southern employees, alumni, and other supporters who were eager to assist us if they could. Specifically, we thank Lena Armstead, Carla Ball of SULC, Carolyn Bennett of the Foundation for Historical Louisiana, Ann Boltin of the Catholic Diocese of Baton Rouge, Judy Bolton of Louisiana State University (LSU) Libraries Special Collections, Charlene Bonnette of the Louisiana Collection of the State Library of Louisiana, Bridgett Brister, Benjamin J. Dunbar Jr. of St. Paul Catholic Church of Baton Rouge, Richard Early, Elva Jewell E.J. Carter of the Scotlandville Branch of the East Baton Rouge Parish Library, Melissa Eastin of the East Baton Rouge Parish Library Baton Rouge Room, Eldridge Etienne of the Southern Teachers and Parents Federal Credit Union, Nedina Flowers of the Southern University Laboratory School, Rosa L. Franklin, Harold Isadore of the Southern University Law Library, Kenneth and Regina Martin, Dr. Francesco Mellion-Williams, Mwalimu Institute for the Study of People of African Descent in the Western Hemisphere, Edward Pratt of Southern University and A&M College Media Relations, Angela Proctor of the Southern University Library Archives, Dianne J. Pullen of Greater Mount Carmel Baptist Church, Bertha R. Stewart, Joicelyn Southern, Peggy Wallace of Mount Pilgrim Baptist Church, and Lynn West of East Baton Rouge Parish School Board.

Other images are by professional photographers. We extend special thanks to N. John Oubre of Southern University Baton Rouge and longtime Baton Rouge photographer Steve Jarreau for their assistance.

Thank you to Chancellor Freddie Pitcher Jr. and Vice Chancellor John K. Pierre of the Southern University Law Center for their initial endorsement of this project. We spoke with many individuals who expressed excitement and appreciation for what we were doing and wished us well. And for that we are truly grateful.

Finally, we wish to thank our families and friends for their support. The Scotlandville story is not fully told in this one volume; however, we hope we have made a good start.

The names of organizations are abbreviated in the text and courtesy lines as follows: Order of Eastern StarPrince Hall Affiliation (OES-PHA), Louisiana State School for the Deaf (LSSD), National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP), Southern Teachers and Parents Federal Credit Union (STPFCU), Southern University and Agricultural and Mechanical College (SU), and Southern University Law Center (SULC).

INTRODUCTION

The Scotlandville community, located in the northern part of East Baton Rouge Parish in Louisiana, has been in existence for more than 165 years. This book is the first pictorial history with text about the area, which is so intricately tied to the Southern University and Agricultural and Mechanical (A&M) College, the only historically black university system in the United States. Originally located in New Orleans from 1880 until 1913, Southern University and A&M College was relocated to Scotts Bluff on the western edge of Scotlandville in 1914.

With the mighty Mississippi River on one side and swamps on the other, the community of Scotlandville was initially described as isolated and as nearly set aside as it is possible. The change in the university domicile from New Orleans withstood a lawsuit brought by residents of that city who were defeated on appeal to the Louisiana Supreme Court. Shortly after, the stipulations of Act No. 118 signed by Gov. Luther E. Hall on July 9, 1912, calling for the relocation of the institution to a rural area began. Despite the opposition of white residents to a school for Negroes in their village, the plantation, known as the Kernan Place and located on a high point, Scotts Bluff, along the Mississippi River in the rural area of Scotland (later Scotlandville) was chosen.