Harvey C. Couch
| Harvey Crowley Couch, Sr. | |
|---|---|
| Born |
August 21, 1877 |
| Died | July 30, 1941 (aged 63) Couchwood, Arkansas |
| Resting place | Magnolia Cemetery in Magnolia, Arkansas |
| Residence |
Pine Bluff, Jefferson County Arkansas |
| Alma mater | Magnolia Academy |
| Occupation | Utilities, Railroad, Radio executive |
| Political party | Democrat |
| Spouse(s) | Jessie Johnson Couch |
| Children |
Johnson Olin Couch |
| Relatives | Pratt C. Remmel (son-in-law) |
August 21, 1877
Calhoun, Columbia County
Johnson Olin Couch
Kirke A. Couch
Harvey Couch, Jr.
William Thomas Couch
Harvey Crowley Couch, Sr. (August 21, 1877 – July 30, 1941), was an Arkansas entrepreneur who rose from modest beginnings to control a regional utility and railroad empire. He is regarded as the father of Arkansas Power and Light Company and other electric utilities now part of Entergy; he helped mold the Louisiana and Arkansas Railway and the Kansas City Southern Railway into a major transportation system. His work with local and federal government leaders during World War I and the Great Depression gained him national recognition and earned him positions in state and federal agencies. He also established Arkansas' first commercial broadcast radio station.
Couch was born in Calhoun, a tiny community in Columbia County in southern Arkansas. The eldest of six children, he assisted his parents and younger siblings with the endless work associated with a small cotton farm. His father was also a Methodist minister. When Couch was seventeen, his father's health deteriorated, and the family moved to nearby Magnolia, the county seat of Columbia County. During this time, he was instructed by a future governor of Texas and president of Baylor University, Pat Neff, at Southwestern Academy in Magnolia, also known as Magnolia Academy. He left school early to help with the family finances and assist his mother, the former Marie Heard, with his younger siblings. His first paying job was to start the boiler every morning at Lum Barnett's cotton gin, for which he received 50 cents daily.
...
Wikipedia