Creator: Smallwood, Bart F. (Bart Fearing), d. 1985.
Collection number: 4883
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Abstract: Bart Fearing Smallwood was an African-American community organizer in the Windsor and Indian Woods communities of Bertie County, N.C., in the 1960s, 1970s, and 1980s. He was responsible for establishing the Blue Jay Recreation Center, the Blue Jay Baseball team, and the Blue Jay Volunteer Fire Department to serve the recreational and fire protection needs of his isolated rural neighborhood.Smallwood was also active in a number of other organizations, including advisory boards for the Bertie County schools and for his employer, Lea Lumber and Plywood Company, and he served on the Bertie County Involvement Council. He was married to Lois Marie Cherry Smallwood and had five children. Bart Smallwood died in December 1985. This collection documents Bart Smallwood’s life as an African-American community organizer. It also contains materials relating to African-American families and African-American education, both in schools and in higher education institutions. Community activities are represented by minutes, baseball score books, programs for special events, and memos and correspondence relating to the organization, administration, and financing organizations with which Smallwood was involved. Smallwood’s personal life is reflected in letters, financial material, and family pictures.The collection contains items relating to Bart Smallwood’s children, especially about their education, including Angelia Smallwood’s attendance at East Carolina University and Anthony Smallwood’s courses at North Carolina A & T State University. Materials relating to Smallwood’s son Arwin include his dissertation, “A History of Three Cultures: Indian Woods, North Carolina, 1585 to 1995” (1997), and related materials:photocopies of published information about North Carolina, photographs of buildings and scenes in and around Indian Woods, and audiotaped interviews with residents of Indian Woods and Bertie County.
Repository: Southern Historical Collection
Collection Highlights: Personal papers that document the life of Bart Smallwood, African American organizer in the communities of Windsor and Indian Woods in Bertie County, N.C. It also contains materials relating to African American families and to African American education, both at school and in higher education institutions.
Also of particular interest are the photographs, which document various members of the Smallwood family as well as Bart Smallwood involved in numerous community and civic activities.