Harvey C. Couch: Arkansas Business Hall of Fame
Harvey C. Couch
(1877-1941)
Founder
Arkansas Power & Light Company (now Entergy)
Pine Bluff/Little Rock, Arkansas
Harvey Couch was an entrepreneur known for bringing electricity to Arkansas. In 1900, he formed the North Louisiana Telephone Co., and in 1911 he sold it to Southwestern Bell Telephone Co. In 1913, he created Arkansas Power Company and continued to buy electric utilities and connect them.
Couch developed Remmel and Carpenter Dams for hydroelectric power. He established Mississippi Power & Light Co. and Louisiana Power Co., and in 1926, he joined these companies with his Arkansas Power & Light to form what would become Entergy in 1996.