Preston L. Pope Papers

Preston L. Pope was born on January 25, 1920, in Yantley, Alabama, the son of James Hanover Pope and Viver Brown Pope, and moved with his family at a young age to Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. He served in the United States Army during World War II. After the war, he moved to Connecticut and married to Doris Stewart. He and his wife had two children, Preston Jr. and Patricia, and resided in Windsor, Connecticut.

Mr. Pope is known as the first African-American bus driver in Hartford, Connecticut, for the Connecticut Company. In his work as a printer he was employed by the State of Connecticut Corrections Institute as the supervisor of printing for the Somers State Prison. He retired in 1982.

Mr. Pope was made a member of Excelsior Lodge #3, Free and Accepted Masons, Prince Hall Affiliation, on November 1, 1947, and rose to the rank of 33rd degree. In 1978 he was elected to the office of Most Worshipful Grand Master of the Jurisdiction of Connecticut of the Prince Hall Grand Lodge, and served until October 1981. He founded and organized the Hartford Consistory, #80, in Hartford, Connecticut, and served as Grand High Priest of Holy Royal Arch Masons of Connecticut and as Past Eminent Grand Commander of Knights Templar of the Territory of Connecticut.

A video commemorating Mr. Pope's life is available on YouTube.

Preston L. Pope died on April 30, 2012.