About

Our Story

Hello, my name is Will Dockery. For the past several years I've been making candles as a hobby and as gifts.

In October of 2017, I began a preservation effort to save Lewis Park in Fayetteville, Arkansas. Lewis Park is a 27.5 acre park in the heart of Fayetteville that serves a large and diverse population that has no other open green space within easy walking distance.

Black Oak Candles was begun as a way to help raise money and awareness to the park. With a lot of hard work and help from many people; including the city of Fayetteville, the University of Arkansas, the Fayetteville Board of Education, and state and local lawmakers, significant funding of $4.2 million for Lewis Park was secured to preserve the green space in perpetuity for future generations.

Current proceeds from Black Oak Candles go directly to local nonprofit partners in the Fayetteville area.

Our Name

The name for Black Oak Candles comes from the former pioneer town in southern Washington County, Arkansas that my great-great-great-great grandfather J.J. Dockery homesteaded.

There is still a small unincorporated community there that borders the Ozark National Forest. The church and cemetery there were deeded from J.J. Dockery's land. The black oak trees that gave the area its name over 150 years ago are still standing today.