B-5 Bonnette Hodgson House*

In 1936 Claude & Hazel Bonnette moved in and began their family. When Claude died at 92 in 2001 he and his wife were the last surviving homestead couple still living in Arthurdale. When Hazel died in 2015 at the age of 102, she was the last surviving homestead parent.

Claude Bonnette and Hazel Jenkins met in Morgantown in 1933, where they lived for three years before being accepted into the Arthurdale project. The couple had four children: Jean, Claudette, Thomas, and Sandra, the latter three were born after the Bonnettes had moved into the homesteading community. Claude and Hazel were active members within their community. Claude served on the board of directors, he was also on the medical board for the community clinic, and he played clarinet in the Arthurdale Community Band. Later in his life Claude was the head of the Arthurdale Water Company while Hazel served lunches at the community school.  The family moved from their original homestead, B-5, to M-15 in 1942 (Hall 116).

Arthurdale Heritage, Preserving Arthurdale, WV – Eleanor Roosevelt's New Deal Community. Arthurdale Heritage Inc.. Accessed March 20, 2017. http://www.arthurdaleheritage.org/.

Haid, Stephen Edward. "Arthurdale: An Experiment in Community Planning, 1933-1947." Master's thesis, West Virginia University, 1975.

Hall, Marliee, ""New Deal" Original Homesteaders of Arthurdale, West Virginia Part One," 2009. 2019.57. Homesteaders Collection, Arthurdale Heritage, Inc., Arthurdale, WV.

Maloney, C. J. Back to the Land: Arthurdale, FDRs New Deal, and the Costs of Economic Planning. John Wiley & Sons, 2013.

Patterson, Stuart. “A New Pattern of Life: The Public Past and Present of Two New Deal Communities.” Doctoral Thesis, Emory University, 2006.

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