Chapman Collection, circa 1900-1959
Collection context
Summary
- Extent:
- 1 Half Hollinger Box 2 series (originals, duplicates)
- Language:
- English
- Preferred citation:
Chapman Collection (BCHA-1974.17), Broward County Historical Archives, Broward County Library.
Background
- Scope and content:
The Chapman Collection contains 25 photographs dating from circa 1900 to 1959 of the Thomas Henry Chapman family and of Pompano Beach, Florida. It includes images of early Broward County railroads, damage from the 1926 hurricane, and various agricultural crops and locations, including the Chapman's tomato-packing plant and the pepper field. It also includes photographs of early residents of Pompano taken in the 1950s.
- Biographical / historical:
The Chapman family is among the first in the history of Pompano. Thomas Henry Chapman Sr. (San Francisco: January 25, 1870 – Pompano: July 7, 1957) was sent to Pompano by Sligh and Co. of Pensacola to build and run the first packing house in the early 1900s. He previously packed the first carload of grapes to be shipped out of the Imperial Valley, California. Coming to Florida, he first worked in Miami packing pineapples, then traveled the state looking after citrus fruit and vegetables. Chapman Sr. later acquired considerable acreage in Pompano. In one instance, the government paid him $53 per acre for land to be used as an airport. The government later sold the airport to the city for a golf course and city park. He was also very active in the First Methodist Church, of which his wife was a charter member.
After setting up a farming operation, Chapman Sr. married Annabelle McNab (1874–1957) in Pompano on July 10, 1904. The McNab family played a significant role in the early development of Pompano in the late 1890s. The couple had three children: Thomas Henry Chapman Jr. and two girls who died in infancy. Annabelle Chapman (McNab) came to Pompano Beach in 1899 and was a charter member of the First Methodist Church. She was the first president of the Woman's Society of Christian Service, known at the time as the Woman's Missionary Society, and was the first one of that Society honored with a Life Pin. Her involvement in the community was well known; she administered to the sick and visited newcomers. Before there was a resident minister in Pompano, Mrs. Chapman opened her home as headquarters for visiting ministers. Mrs. Chapman was instrumental in the formation of the Old Community Church at the turn of the 20th century. In addition, she held a charter membership in the Woman's Club, which later dissolved. At the time of her husband's death, the couple had been married 53 years. They celebrated their Golden Wedding Anniversary in 1954, three years before Pompano's 50th Anniversary.
Their son, Thomas Henry Chapman Jr. (1910–1971), continued the legacy of his parents as a Produce Broker at the Pompano Farmers Market and later operated Thomas Chapman Wholesale Flowers. He attended the public schools of Broward County and completed his education at Porter Military School in Charleston, South Carolina. Like his parents, Chapman Jr. was involved in the First United Methodist Church but also with the Scottish Rite Mason, the Mahi Shrine of Miami, and served as President of the Pompano Beach Rotary Club. He married Henrietta Chapman (Braswell) in 1934, a graduate of the Florida State College for Women and an alumni of the University of Virginia in Charlottesville. Originally from Monticello in North Florida, she moved to Pompano Beach in 1931 to teach Home Economics in the public school. She interrupted her teaching career to raise her three children (Nancy, Thomas Henry, and Robert), then re-entered the teaching field in 1959 at McNab Elementary School until 1972. She was honored as a Broward County Pioneer in 1979 and again during Pompano Beach's Diamond Jubilee celebration in 1983. She was a member of the First United Methodist Church in Pompano Beach for more than 50 years. She died in 1986 at the age of 78.
- Acquisition information:
- Henrietta Chapman donated the materials to the Broward County Historical Commission on February 9, 1974 (Accession BCHA-1974.17).
- Processing information:
The Chapman Collection received item level processing. This finding aid may be updated to reflect new descriptions as well as acquisitions to the collection.
- Rules or conventions:
- Describing Archives: A Content Standard
Indexed terms
- Subjects:
- Hurricane damage
Tomato industry - Places:
- Pompano Beach (Fla.)
Access and use
- Restrictions:
The Chapman Collection is open for research.
- Preferred citation:
Chapman Collection (BCHA-1974.17), Broward County Historical Archives, Broward County Library.
- Location of this collection:
-
Broward County Historical Archives, Broward County Library100 S. Andrews AvenueFort LauderdaleFL33301USA
