On Jan. 10, 1881, Clarence Hamilton Poe was born to William Baxter and Susan Dismukes Poe in Gulf, Chatham County. In his childhood, Poe had little schooling, attending the Rocky Branch School, a one-room schoolhouse, only three to four months a year. Poe then went on to receive one year of high school in Greensboro before going to work in Raleigh. However, throughout his youth, his mother, a former school teacher, encouraged Poe to develop his writing and grammar skills.

     At just 16, Poe became associate editor for the Progressive Farmer, a weekly paper based in Raleigh though founded in Winston-Salem. 

     In 1899, Poe became editor of  the Progressive Farmer. By 1903, Poe had enough funds to purchase the paper. He went on to organize the Agricultural Publishing Company with Dr. B. W. Kilgore, Josiah William Bailey, Dr. C. W. Burkett and T. B. Parker. Later the Agricultural Publishing Company would change names to become the Progressive Farmer Company. 

     Poe served as president for the Progressive Farmer Company until 1954. After his resignation as president, he served as senior editor and board chairman until his death.

     In 1911, the Progressive Farmer Company’s headquarters moved from Raleigh to Birmingham, Alabama, but Poe continued to live in North Carolina and work out of his Raleigh office. From 1903 to 1954, 14 other farm related papers were bought or merged into the Progressive Farmer. This influx caused circulation to increase from 5,000 to 1,400,000 copies. The increase in copies led the Progressive Farmer to become the most dominant farm publication in the South and one of the strongest nationally. 

     Throughout his time working with the Progressive Farming Company, Poe also published books on both agriculture and social conditions abroad. Poe wrote seven books. Poe twice was awarded the Patterson Cup Award for best North Carolina book of the year. 

     Despite never attending university and only having one year of high school education, Poe was well involved in the education field. At various points in his life, he served as trustee of Wake Forest College, was a chairman of the executive committee of the board of trustees for North Carolina State College of Agriculture and Engineering, was a member of the executive committee and chairman of the Agricultural Committee for the University of North Carolina and was a member of the board of advisors for the  Institute of Public Affairs at the University of Virginia. Poe also served on the Raleigh School Board.

     In recognition for his work with the universities, he received honorary degrees from Wake Forest College, the University of North Carolina, Washington College, Clemson Agricultural College and North Carolina State University.

     Poe also served and was involved in many agricultural-based boards and associations. He was a member of the State Board of Agriculture, the Advisory Council of the U.S. Department of Agriculture and the National Commission on Farm Tenancy. Poe also served as president to the State Farmers' Convention, the State Dairymen's Association, the North Carolina Forestry Foundation, the National Agricultural Conference and the American Country Life Association at various points in his life. From 1936 to 1937, Poe represented American agriculture on the Federal Board for Vocational Education.

       Poe’s work within the agricultural community did not go unnoticed either. He received a Distinguished Service Award from the National Future Farmers of America, North Carolina State University,  Southern Agricultural Workers, the North Carolina State Grange, the National 4-H Congress, the American Association of Agricultural College Editors and the North Carolina Farm Bureau. In 1949, Poe was granted honorary membership in Alpha Zeta, the national agricultural fraternity. In 1964, he received the Award of National Convocation of the Church in Town and Country, and in 1966, he was inducted into the North Carolina Agricultural Hall of Fame. In 1962, Poe was awarded the World Peace Award from the American Freedom Association, and in 1964, Poe was awarded the North Carolina Distinguished Public Service Award. 

     However, Poe was not just interested in agriculture. At varying points, he was president of the State Press Association, the North Carolina Conference for Social Service and the State Literary and Historical Association. He also served as director of the North Carolina State Art Society and head of the North Carolina Rural Electrification Authority. Poe was also chairman of the State Committee that secured ratification of five constitutional amendments, the National Advisory Committee on Rural Electrification and the Southern Governors' Campaign for Balanced Prosperity in the South.

     Poe continued his work throughout both World Wars, serving as a member of the Executive Committee of State Food and Fuel Administration and the War Savings Committee during World War I and as a member of the North Carolina Council of National Defense, State Council of Civilian Defense and National Committee to Defend America by Aiding the Allies while also acting as chairman of the Executive Committee of the North Carolina Farm Manpower Commission during World War II.

     Virginius Dabney, an editor from Richmond, Virginia, reflected on the work of Poe saying, "If a list were drawn up of the half-dozen men who have done the most for the South since 1900, it would have to include Dr. Clarence Poe."

     Poe died on Oct. 8, 1962 in Raleigh after dedicating his life to agriculture and public service within the state of North Carolina. Today, the Progressive Farmer continues its work in print and online to its readership of over two million people, continuing to educate customers on agriculture, energy and transportation as Poe did during his lifetime.