Skip to main content

Whittier Cotton Mills records

 Collection
Collection number: ahc.MSS558

Scope and Contents

The bulk of this collection is correspondence that Whittier Cotton Mills received from local and national suppliers and clients such as Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co. and Southern Railroad. Other correspondence documents product pricing and sales, some of which includes interoffice memos; the construction of new company housing and plant #5; receipt of bids; and construction contracts with Silver Lake Company. The collection also contains payroll checks. Of particular note are invoices and correspondence from the United States Penitentiary in Atlanta, Georgia, where Whittier Cotton Mills employeed convict labor.

Dates

  • 1897-1933 (bulk 1926-1933)

Creator

Conditions Governing Access

This collection is open for research.

Conditions Governing Use

Unpublished manuscripts are protected by copyright. All requests to publish, quote, or reproduce must be submitted through the Kenan Research Center.

Biographical / Historical

The Whittier Cotton Mills, based in Lowell, Massachusetts, opened a 10,000-spindle mill on the banks of the Chattahoochee River, northwest of Atlanta, in 1896. The mill, with the surrounding company housing, incorporated as a village that included a post office and Southern Railway frontage. The company built a company store, barber shop, and a schoolhouse; and provided medical services and day care. Later the mill built a baseball field and golf course for employee use. Between 1896 and 1926 members of the Whittier family managed the mill. Helen A. Whittier (1846-?) served as the first president of the company, and Sid Whittier, Paul Fletcher, and Walter Rufus Boyd served in administrative positions for the mill. In 1926, the Silver Lake Company contracted to manage the Whittier Mills. Silver Lake expanded the mill with a 65,000 square foot annex to the main building, referred to as "plant #5." They also built an additional 120 housing units. As part of the expansion plans, Silver Lake emphasized the production of cotton fire hose casing, in addition to the cotton braid and yarn manufactured in the old plant. At its height, the mill employed as many as 600 men and women. Whittier Cotton Mills ceased operation on May 15, 1971.

Extent

6.21 linear ft. ((12 document cases, one half document case, and one oversize box).)

Language

English

Arrangement

Folders are arranged chronologically by year then in alphabetical order by titles supplied by staff.

Immediate Source of Acquisition

Gift, 1985

Bias in Description

As archivists, we acknowledge our role as stewards of information. We choose how individuals and organizations are represented and described in our archives. We are not neutral, and bias is reflected in our descriptions, which may not accurately convey the racist or offensive aspects of collection materials. Archivists make mistakes and might use poor judgment. In working with this collection, we often re-use language used by the former owners of the material. This language provides context but often includes bias and prejudices reflective of the time in which it was created. The Kenan Research Center’s work is ongoing to implement reparative language where Library of Congress subject terms are inaccurate and obsolete.

Kenan Research Center welcomes feedback and questions regarding our archival descriptions. If you encounter harmful, offensive, or insensitive terminology or descriptions, please let us know by emailing reference@atlantahistorycenter.com. Your comments are essential to our work to create inclusive and thoughtful description.

Processing Information

This collection was re-processed in 2009.

Title
Whittier Cotton Mills records
Subtitle
ahc.MSS558
Author
Leah Lefkowitz
Date
September 2024
Description rules
Describing Archives: A Content Standard
Language of description
English
Script of description
Latin

Repository Details

Part of the Kenan Research Center at Atlanta History Center Repository

Contact:
130 West Paces Ferry Road
Atlanta GA 30305
404-814-4040