Thanks to our partner, Alamance Community College, a batch of Scott Family ephemera is now available to view on DigitalNC. The ephemera includes everything from former North Carolina governor W. Kerr Scott’s campaign materials to photographs to medals.

Poster from W. Kerr Scott’s campaign for North Carolina Governor [1948].

From a farming family and a farmer his whole life, W. Kerr Scott is well-known for being an agricultural leader and champion of rural North Carolinians both in and outside the political roles he held during his life. After graduating from North Carolina State College in 1917 with a degree in agriculture and serving as an artilleryman during World War I, Scott worked as agricultural agent in Alamance County from 1920 to 1930. He then served as Master of the State Grange, an organization that is still active today, from 1931 to 1933. And then, in the two years before entering into politics, Scott was a regional director of the Farm Debt Adjustment Program of the Resettlement Administration.

Making good on a promise to his father (“Farmer Bob”), Scott began his political career in 1936 when he ran for and was elected State Agriculture Commissioner. He continued to hold that position until 1948 when he resigned to run for Governor of North Carolina. Scott was elected and served as Governor of North Carolina from 1949 to 1953. At the end of his term as governor, Scott made the decision to run for United States Senator. The campaign ephemera in this batch from Scott’s run for senate—such as the “Kerr Scott: Tar Heel Building” pamphlet pictured here—unsurprisingly highlights Scott as a man who comes from a family of successful farmers and politicians, united town and country, successfully advocated for rural North Carolina farmers, and never let the State’s money idle.

Over his two decade political career, Scott introduced a new era of progressive reforms. He was a leading proponent of rural electrification, led the fight to get rid of Bangs disease among cattle in the state, forced manufacturers of feed and fertilizer to eliminate sawdust and sand from their products; appointed the first Black member of the State Board of Education, Harold Trigg; appointed the first female Superior Court judge, Susie Sharp; paved more roads in his four years as governor than had been paved up to 1949.

To learn more about or view more materials from Alamance Community College, visit their contributor page linked here.

Information about W. Kerr Scott was gathered from NCPedia, DNCR, and materials from this batch.

To learn about the North Carolina Grange, visit their website, or browse our newspaper collection to read about their development in the state, going as far back as June 28, 1873.