Scott, Margaret Helen, 1898-1994
Dates
- Existence: 1898 - 1994
Biographical Statement
Margaret Helen Scott was a historian, teacher, librarian, author, and a humanitarian. She was born in Richland Center, Wisconsin on December 26, 1898. After her father died in 1918, she attended the University of Wisconsin-Madison where she graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in history. She taught at a school in Ladysmith, Wisconsin for two years and then returned to Richland Center to teach English at the high school. In 1930 she moved to California and did two years of post-graduate work at the University of California-Berkeley. She earned a Master’s degree in Library Science in 1943 at the University of Chicago.
Ms. Scott worked for many years with the American Missionary Association in African-American schools and historically black colleges and universities founded by the organization. She first worked in Marian, Alabama and then in Talladega College. In addition, she worked at a make-shift library at a mining company in Kentucky and in La Pier, Michigan as a city/county and public librarian for a short time.
She returned to the south in a substitute position at Tougaloo College, then returned to Talladega college to serve as head librarian for 25 years until her retirement in 1964. She began her writing career in Talladega by documenting the history of the college.
After her retirement, Ms. Scott went back to her hometown of Richland Center and worked for ten years as a volunteer at Brewer Library where she organized the Richland County History Room. She wrote several books documenting the history of the town including:
Richland Center, a History, 1972
Story of a Church (Methodist), 1972
Place Names in Richland County, Wisconsin
Chapters in the History of Richland County
Say “Ah:” The Story of One Hundred Years of Medicine in Richland, County 1840-1940,1981
Frank Lloyd Wright’s Warehouse in Richland Center, Wisconsin, 1984
She also wrote an unpublished book called The Miracle of Dixie in which Ms. Scott discusses her life in the south. During her retirement, Ms. Scott as honored with numerous awards by her hometown of Richland for her work in documenting the town’s history. She died March 29, 1994 at the age of 95.
Found in 1 Collection or Record:
Margaret Helen Scott papers
The Margarett Scott papers contain correspondence, newspaper clippings primarily containing aritlces about Scott, and other collected ephemera. The papers also contain photographic slides of Talledega, Alabama. Other materials include the story of early Richland County, Wisconsin, written by Scott and published weekly in "The Richland Observer" in 1975 and, an article on Lone Rock Congregational Church in the area.