![Statue of Clayton "Peg Leg" Bates](/sites/default/files/2021-05/Clayton%20Peg%20Leg%20Bates%20640x480.png)
Statue of Clayton "Peg Leg" Bates in Fountain Inn, South Carolina. Flickr.
(1907-1998) Clayton "Peg Leg" Bates was an African-American entertainer from Fountain Inn, South Carolina. Bates lost a leg at the age of 12 in a cotton gin accident. He subsequently taught himself to tap dance with a wooden peg leg. He was a well-known dancer who performed many times on The Ed Sullivan show. Bates also owned and operated the Peg Leg Bates Country Club, a black resort, in the Catskill Mountains of New York.