Inventory of the Glencoe Mill Records, 1837-1978

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Historical Note

Glencoe Mills, established in 1880 by James Henry Holt (1833-1897) and William Erwin Holt (1839-1917), operated until 1954, producing cotton fabric. In 1951, the mill reported capitalization of $225,000; 5,736 spindles; and 220 looms. It operated with electric power, had a dye plant, and had finishing equipment. Glencoe Mills closed in 1954.

Glencoe Mills was one of several mills owned and operated in Alamance County, N.C., by the Holt family. Edwin Michael Holt (1807-1884) started the Holt and Carrigan Cotton Mill in 1837. By 1860, it was called Alamance Cotton Mill and was famous for plaids. Edwin Michael Holt's sons, James Henry Holt and William Erwin Holt established Carolina Cotton Mills in 1869. Carolina Mills was operated by J. H. and W. E. Holt and Company. In 1879, James and William Holt acquired a building that had been a tobacco processing plant and that was a short way upstream from Carolina Mills. By 1880, they had installed cotton mill machinery and built mill tenement houses and a company store. They called the mill and the village Glencoe. William Holt moved to Charlotte to be a banker, leaving James Holt to run Glencoe Mills.

In 1890, James Henry Holt helped his sons, James Jr. (1864-1924) and Robert (1866-1923) build Windsor Cotton Mills in Burlington. Windsor Mills was operated by R. L. and J. H. Holt and Company. In 1892, Holt helped sons Samuel (1862-1924) and William (1868-1916) build Lakeside Mills in Burlington. After James Henry Holt died in 1897, his sons Samuel and Ernest moved to Texas to be cattle ranchers. Robert Holt managed Glencoe, Carolina, Alamance, and Elmira Cotton Mills, and was almost sole owner of Glencoe Mills. In 1902, he retired from management of the other mills and devoted 100% of his time to Glencoe. When Robert Holt died in 1923, ownership of Glencoe Mill passed to his sister, Daisie Holt Green (1879-1976).

Daisie Holt Green's husband, Walter Guerry Green (1868-1946), managed Glencoe Mills for a number of years. Green was a native of Sumter, S.C. He married Daisie Holt on 25 November 1902. Their son, Walter G. Green, Jr. (d. 1987), managed Glencoe Mills after his father. Walter Green, Jr., was an attorney. He married Irma Camman Jameson on 1 September 1934. He served in the United States Navy during World War II. Green was an active Republican in the 1950s and 1960s.

Collection Overview

Records of Glencoe Mills and Lakeside Mills, a few records of other mills owned by the Holt family, and papers of Walter G. Green, Jr. The early correspondence files arrived at the Manuscripts Department in letter boxes which were not labeled. The earliest letters are between Robert Holt in North Carolina and his brother Samuel Holt in Texas. Early mill records consist mainly of correspondence and ledgers. Volumes include inventory books, day books, ledgers, time records, meeting minutes, letter books, and other records of Glencoe Mills, the Glencoe Mills store, Lakeside Mills, Windsor Mills, and Carolina Mills.

Files removed from filing cabinets in Walter Green's office at Glencoe Mills include files relating to his law practice, his political activities, his community activities, and his financial affairs, as well as Glencoe Mills records. For the most part, folder order and titles have been retained. Folder titles have been created for a few folders that were not labeled and a few folders containing material that was not in folders. Papers on any one subject may be found in several boxes.

Arrangement of Collection

Items Separated

Detailed Description of the Collection

The early correspondence files arrived at the Manuscripts Department in letter boxes which were not labeled. Staff removed letters from the boxes and placed them in folders. The folders were labeled with the letters from the tab dividers in the box and the years of the items in the folder. The earliest letters are correspondence between Robert Holt in North Carolina and his brother Samuel in Texas. The next letters date from 1904-1920, with only a few from 1904-1912 and 1918-1920 and the bulk of the early correspondence dating from 1913 to 1917.

The later correspondence chiefly dates from the early 1940s, with a few items from the late 1930s and a few from the late 1940s and early 1950s. These letters arrived in file folders, some of which contain material other than correspondence. The folder titles have been retained.

Insurance files were in file cabinets in the basement of the Glencoe Mills offices. Folder order and titles have been retained.

These files were removed from filing cabinets and boxes in the basement of the Glencoe Mills offices. Folder titles have been retained.

Volumes include inventory books, day books, ledgers, time records, meeting minutes, letter books, and other records of Glencoe Mills, the Glencoe Mills store, and Lakeside Mills.

Volumes were stacked in the loft. Volumes small enough to fit in folders were sorted by the type of record they contain and put in folders and boxes. Larger volumes were similarly sorted and put in special volumes. They are listed after the boxed volumes.

These files were removed from filing cabinets in Walter Green's office at Glencoe Mills. They include files relating to his law practice, his political activities, his community activities, and his financial affairs, as well as records of Glencoe Mills, Lakeside Mills, and other businesses. Folders listed under Lakeside were in folders with the Lakeside name and logo printed on them. For the most part, folder order and titles have been retained. Folder titles have been created for a few folders that were not labeled and a few folders containing material that was not in folders.

Gatha Willie Isley Greeson, et. al.; Donnie Isebelle Isley, et. al., vs. P. Pyrtle; Robbins Builders Supply, Inc. vs. John F. McIntyre and James W. Ingold vs. Coy F. Shoffner et. al.