Peg Leg Bates

Artist: Joseph B. Thompson

Clayton Bates began tap dancing at age five for pennies on the street corners of Fountain Inn. After losing his left leg in a cotton gin accident at the age of twelve, he gained the nickname 'Peg Leg' Bates. A bronze abstract sculpture of Bates by artist Joe Thompson is located near the former site of the Liberty Theater - Greenville's first movie theater with a vaudeville stage for black entertainers and the venue that led to Bates' international fame. His talent provided him many opportunities, including appearing twenty-one times on the Ed Sullivan Show.