OH127 Dow Wilson Oral History
Collection Title
Jackson Purchase Oral History Project - Lifestyles
Series Number
OH127
Interviewee
Wilson, Dow
Interviewer
Peyton, Bill
Date Interviewed
September 24th, 1979
Processed by
Tara Marcum
Date Processed
July 26th, 2011
Description
Wilson, Dow. 1893-Paducah (Ky.) - History.High Point (Ky._Cecil Elementary School (Paducah, Ky.)Washington Street Misisonary Baptist Church (Paducah, Ky.)Lincoln High School (Paducah, Ky.)Illinois Central Railroad Company (Paducah, Ky.)
Abstract
Dow Wilson describes his experiences as an African American during the first half of the 20th century in rural McCracken County, Kentucky. He mentions attending segregated schools and churches, sharecropping and working for the Illinois Central Railroad Company. He discusses the effects of the Great Depression and Second World War on the black community and the development of the Tennessee Valley Authority in western Kentucky. Wilson also describes the 1942 fire that destroyed the Washington Street Missionary Baptist Church in Paducah and the religious services that were briefly held at Lincoln High School.
Biographical/Historical Note
Dow Wilson was born in McCracken County on April 4, 1893. He was the son of H. R. and Lou Wilson. His father was a farmer and sharecropper. As a child he attended Cecil Elementary School near High Point, Kentucky. He farmed and sharecropped until the age of thirty when he was employed by the Illinois Central Railroad Company. He was a member of the Washington Street Missionary Baptist Church of Paducah. Wilson later served as a deacon at the church.
General Information
No user access to original recordings. Use audio user copies, digital derivatives, transcripts, and/or tape indexes. This collection may be protected from unauthorized copying by the Copyright Law of the United States (Title 17, United States Code). Permission for reproduction must be requested from Murray State University.
Subject Headings/Descriptors
Wilson, Dow 1893-
Paducah (Ky.) – History.
High Point (Ky.)
Cecil Elementary School (Paducah, Ky.)
Washington Street Missionary Baptist Church (Paducah, Ky.)
Lincoln High School (Paducah, Ky.)
Illinois Central Railroad Company (Paducah, Ky.)
Recommended Citation
Peyton, Bill, "OH127 Dow Wilson Oral History" (2025). Lifestyles. 46.
https://digitalcommons.murraystate.edu/oh-lifestyles/46
Audio Transcript
