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J. Richard Lewis, PhD
Richard Lewis was raised in the Village of Bagdad and left after college to pursue a career as a public school and university teacher and administrator. He is married to the late Betty Bishop, also raised in Bagdad; and together they have three children, Tony, Shelley, and Catherine, who are frequent visitors to the Village.
Since returning to Bagdad, where they built a house in the historic Village, Lewis has been active in many community organizations, including the Bagdad Village Preservation Association, the Bagdad Waterfronts Florida Partnership, and the Bagdad Historic Cemetery Association.
During Village tours, museum lectures, or other events in Bagdad, the public has a chance to travel back in time with Lewis as he presents history in his unique manner of story- telling, sometimes even as a Bagdad character in skits, to give details of daily life, making history 'come alive.'
Lewis's firsthand knowledge of growing up in the Village of Bagdad has proved invaluable as he recites historic accounts of the mill town life, its homes, and how business was conducted.
his daughter Dr. Catherine M. Lewis, Jim Crow America and Women and Slavery in America. He recently published his first novel, Death in a Sawmill Town, set in Bagdad during the Bagdad Land and Lumber Company's heyday, 1880-1925. He currently resides in the Village of Bagdad with his remarkable dog, Lexi.
Lewis is the author of a number of books, including co-authoring with