Governor William Kerr Scott

WILLIAM K. SCOTT, the sixty-second governor of North Carolina, was born near Haw River, Almance County, North Carolina on April 17, 1896. His education was attained at Hawfield High School, and at North Carolina State College, where he graduated in 1917. During World War I, he enlisted in the army and served as a private in the field artillery. Scott first entered politics in 1920, serving as the Almance County farm agent, a position he held ten years. He also served as master of the North Carolina State Grange from 1930 to 1933; was the regional director of the Farm Debt Adjustment Program of Resettlement Administration from 1934 to 1936; and served as the North Carolina State Commissioner of Agriculture from 1937 to 1948. Scott next secured the Democratic gubernatorial nomination, was elected governor by a popular vote in the 1948 general election. During his tenure, the state’s road system was advanced; a modernized deep-water port facility was developed at Wilmington and Moorhead City; a statewide public school health plan was initiated; and the expansion of state schools was authorized. After completing his term, Scott returned to his farming interests. In 1954, he won election to the U.S. Senate, an office he held until his death. Governor William K. Scott passed away on April 16, 1958, and was buried in the Hawfields Presbyterian Church Cemetery near Mebane, North Carolina.