Date Original
1877-1979
Description
The collection contains the project's final report, which includes biographical information on John L. Webb.
Biographical/Historical Note
John L. Webb (September 17, 1877-August 30, 1946) was born in Talladega, Alabama, the son of Reverend Bazil and Henrietta Lockwood Webb. He was the Supreme Custodian of the Supreme Lodge of the Woodmen of the Union, an African American fraternal organization established in Mississippi about 1903. It was later headquartered in Hot Springs, Arkansas. The Woodmen of the Union building housed a hotel, hospital, bathhouse, bank, and a printing company, while offering insurance and hospitalization to its members. John L. Webb was a graduate of Tuskegee Institute in Alabama, and was a builder and contractor by trade. He married Carrie Eleane Branson of Marianna, Arkansas, in 1905, and the couple had one daughter, Emma Elease Webb (1906-1943) who was born in Yazoo, Mississippi. The family moved to Hot Springs by 1918. Webb, who was active in many social and civic organizations, was a prominent and influential figure in Arkansas and around the country. An autobiography of his life, “Triumph of the Simple Virtues or The Life Story of John L. Webb” by Sutton E. Griggs, was published in 1926. In 1945, and after the death of their only child, Emma, John and Carrie Webb donated a building to Hot Springs’ African American community in her memory. The Emma Elease Webb Community Center is still in existence today. The Woodmen of the Union building was sold in 1948 to the National Baptist U.S.A., and was renamed the National Baptist Building. The structure, located on Malvern Avenue in Hot Springs, stands deserted today. It was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1997. John L. Webb died on August 30, 1946, in Hot Springs, where he is buried. “John L. Webb: The Man and the Legacy,” was a project of P.H.O.E.B.E./The Uzuri Project of Hot Springs, Arkansas, to conduct research on John L. Webb and his family. The project was made possible with a grant from the Arkansas Humanities Council and the Arkansas Black History Advisory Committee (now the Black History Commission of Arkansas).
Physical Description
Document, 8.5" x 11"
Geographical Area
Arkansas
Language
English
Identifier
MS.000557
Resource Type
Text
Collection
"John L. Webb: The Man and the Legacy" project report, MS.000557
Publisher
Arkansas State Archives
Contributing Entity
Arkansas State Archives
Recommended Citation
"John L. Webb: The Man and the Legacy" project report, Arkansas State Archives, Little Rock, Arkansas.
Rights
Use and reproduction of images held by the Arkansas State Archives without prior written permission is prohibited. For information on reproducing images held by the Arkansas State Archives, please call 501-682-6900 or email at state.archives@arkansas.gov.
Disciplines
United States History
