Community leader who revived Columbia’s Arthurtown neighborhood dies
When LeRoy Bolton first moved to Columbia’s Arthurtown neighborhood in the 1970s, the area was falling apart. For years, the city and county had failed to provide basic necessities like sewer lines, paved streets, and in some cases, running water.
Bolton fought tooth and nail to revitalize the historic neighborhood near Bluff Road, working with elected officials to deliver much-needed infrastructure improvements and drive down crime.
On Sept. 21, the man who was commonly referred to as “the Mayor of Arthurtown” died at Providence Hospital. He was 71 years old.
“If he saw something wrong in the community he would fix it no matter what,” said Bernice Scott, a former Richland County Council member. “Even up until the end he was out mowing lawns in the neighborhood and helping people however he could.”
Bolton was born on Aug. 28, 1949, in Columbia’s Little Camden neighborhood. He graduated from Booker T Washington High School and went on to work for the Eastman Kodak company for 33 years before he retired.
In the 1990s Bolton started a neighborhood watch program in Arthurtown.
“There were drug dealers and crime in that area and he took a stance against it,” said Richland County Sheriff Leon Lott.
From there, Arthurtown began to flourish. Bolton lobbied the United Way for a new community center, and he helped bring Habitat for Humanity into the neighborhood to build new homes. By the early 2000s, Richland County finally completed several long-awaited infrastructure projects including paving all of the dirt and gravel roads left in the community.
“He fought to make sure the underserved and the overlooked got the attention they needed,” said Warren Bolton, LeRoy’s friend and distant cousin.
Though his eldest daughter, Deloris Bolton Ellison, described her father as the type to give even a complete stranger the shirt off his back, he always put his family first, she said.
“Anything he thought his daughters needed or wanted he would provide,” she said. “He treated mama like a queen. He wouldn’t do anything without her.”
Bolton and Ellison bonded over their shared love for vintage cars. They spent many weekends either at the race track or traveling to car competitions where Bolton would enter “old beck,” a 1966 Ford F150 that he restored.
His other daughter, Tomica Crawford, said some of her fondest memories with her dad involve sitting out on the porch listening to old school gospel music.
Bolton was a deacon at Zion Pilgrim Baptist Church. Crawford said he emphasized the importance of faith and charity to his children.
“He didn’t believe in turning his back,” she said. “He didn’t believe in closing a door. He never left a project uncompleted.”
Bolton is survived by Irene Bolton, his wife of 50 years, his two daughters, his son, Kenneth Davis, three grandchildren and three great grandchildren.
Bolton’s wake will be held at The Leevy Funeral Home from 2 p.m. to 6 p.m. on Wednesday, Oct. 7. Services will be held at Bible Way Church on Thursday, Oct. 8, at noon with a viewing at 11 a.m.
This story was originally published October 7, 2020 at 5:00 AM.
