Horace Erastus Bemis died at his home in Prescott, Ark. on the morning of April 1,

following a month’s illness, and with his passing, Arkansas lost one of its most distinguished citizens. Residing in the vicinity of Prescott for twenty years, Horace Bemis did probably more than any other man to develop and advertise Arkansas over the world.He did not only what all captains of the lumber industry have done, but he made possible the great orchards of the Highland Planting Co., which is now shipping hundreds of bushels of fancy Elberta peaches over the world annually, and so encouraged the diamond mining in Pike Co. that it has been proven that Arkansas contains one of the greatest of all diamond fields.

Large in stature, big in heart, and above all, he was a plain man among his men. He met them all on an equal plane, associated with the families of his workmen, and no employer ever had a more contented set of employees than did Mr. Bemis. This was demonstrated by the grief of the workmen at the death of their employer. The employees of diamond mines, orchards, railroads, and mills from all sections of the state journeyed to Prescott to attend the funeral and to them it was like the parting with a member of their own family. The pallbearers at the funeral were selected from employees of the various companies, and business associates in these concerns were honorary pallbearers.

Horace Bemis came to Arkansas in 1894 with his parents and four brothers and entered the lumber business. The start was small, but from this small beginning great mills have grown and the timber possessions of the Bemis brothers include many thousands of the best pine and hardwood timberlands of Arkansas. At the time of his death, Mr. Bemis was the general manager of the Ozan Lumber Co., the largest of the Bemis concerns, as well as general manager of the Prescott and Northwestern Railway, another Bemis concern. He was the head of the Highland Orchard Planting Co. which has thousands of acres in fruit in Pike Co.

The deceased was born in Clinton, Iowa November 30, 1868, but has spent the greater portion of his life in the South. He graduated from Vanderbilt University in Nashville, TN in 1891 with a B. S. degree. At the time of his death, Mr. Bemis was president of the Vanderbilt Alumni Association. He entered Vanderbilt after an academic education in a northern school, and was the first coach of a Vanderbilt football team in 1890. He played halfback of the university team and later led the baseball team, and at one time was considered the best college tennis player in the South. Mr. Bemis annually returned to

Nashville to attend the alumni meetings and to attend the Thanksgiving football game between Vanderbilt and Sewanee. Mr. Bemis was never deserted by his love for athletics and he greatly encouraged the spirit in the schools of Prescott as well as among his employees. He was an annual visitor to the high school athletic contests in Little Rock, and always accompanied Prescott high school teams when they went out of town.

After graduating from Vanderbilt, Mr. Bemis was associated with college chums in Texas for several years, but finally went to Prescott to settle down to real business. He was married here Nov. 14, 1900 to Miss Ethel Norvelle McRae, daughter of Hon. Thomas C. McRae, a prominent banker of southern Arkansas and at that time, Congressman from that district.

He is survived by his wife and seven children: Thomas McRae Bemis, Douglas Knox Bemis, James Hervey Bemis, Horace E. Bemis, Jr., Norvelle Bemis, Amelia Bemis, and Mildred Bemis and his parents, James Hervey Bemis and Mrs. Hannah Bemis; two brothers, W. N. Bemis and J. W. Bemis all of St. Louis.

The remains were interred in De Ann Cemetery in Prescott with Rev. James Thomas of Pine Bluff and Rev. J. C. Williams of Prescott officiating. All business houses in Prescott were closed during the hours of the funeral, and practically every man, woman, and child in the town attended the services. Besides the companies mentioned, Mr. Bemis was a director in other orchard companies of Pike Co. as well as the Bank of Prescott and the Caddo River Lumber Co. He was among the first to realize the possibilities of the ridges of that section for fruit growing, and the success of the extensive orchards is largely attributed to his untiring energy


The Nevada News, April 30, 1914
Little Rock