Title	1970s: Eston Melton
Description	This image is a photograph used in the book Auburn, a Pictorial History of the Loveliest Village by Mickey Logue and Jack Simms, 3rd edition, 2013, depicting the history of the city and the university. From page 121: Eston Melton was Auburn's first licensed black plumber. His work cap, cigar, and reliable work as a plumber were already widely known when the Auburn Bulletin printed this photograph in the 1970s. Yet, about a half century earlier, he had pushed a wheelbarrow for 20 cents an hour in helping build Ramsay Hall. For about ten years he later handled most of API's plumbing and electrical work, either doing the work himself or supervising students who did it. He was one of the first employees that Director B. T. Simms hired at the USDA's Regional Animal Disease Lab in 1938. During World War II, Melton "was a plumber and mechanic at the Charleston, S.C., naval base and mainly worked on submarines, installing such things as torpedo tubing" Owen Davis reported. Melton "[went] into business for himself in 1952" putting the plumbing in more houses over the years than he could remember. He was a founder of Bell Missionary Baptist Church, driving the first nail in the original wooden building. Photo source: Auburn Bulletin.
Date	ca. 1970s
Place	Auburn – Lee County – Alabama
LC Subject Headings	Auburn (Ala.) Auburn University African Americans -- Alabama Plumbers -- Alabama Auburn University -- History
EOA Categories	Business & Industry -- Construction Education -- Higher Education History -- 1946-1987: Post-World War II and the Era of Civil Rights
Original Medium	black and white photograph, 6405 x 8389 pixels
Type	Image
Format	JPEG
File Name	AUH497.tif
Citation	Logue, Mickey and Simms, Jack. Auburn, A Pictorial History of the Loveliest Village. 3rd edition. 2013.
Repository	Auburn University Libraries. Special Collections and Archives.
Digital Publisher	Auburn University Libraries
Language	eng
Rights	This image is the property of the Auburn University Libraries and is intended for non-commercial use. Users of the image are asked to acknowledge the Auburn University Libraries. For information about obtaining high-resolution copies of this and other images in this collection, please contact the Auburn University Libraries Special Collections & Archives Department at achives@auburn.edu or (334) 844-1732.
Submitted by	Coates, Midge