Hackney Brothers, Inc., Records Inventory (#4941-z)

Manuscripts Department, Library of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

Contact Information:

Manuscripts Department

CB#3926, Wilson Library

University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

Chapel Hill, NC 27514-8890

Phone: 919/962-1345

Fax: 919/962-3594

Email: mss@email.unc.edu

URL: http://www.lib.unc.edu/mss/

Processed by:

Jennifer Rawlings

Date Completed:

July 1998

Encoded by:

Jennifer Rawlings

Descriptive Summary Including Abstract

Title

Hackney Brothers, Inc., Records (#4941-z) 1974-1996

Creator

Hackney Brothers, Inc.

Extent

About 30 items.

Repository

Southern Historical Collection

Abstract

Hackney Brothers, Inc., began manufacturing buggies in Wilson, N.C., in 1854. After the automobile became popular, the company expanded its product line to include ambulances, house trailers, hearses, portable storage rooms, temporary bleachers, car-top sleepers, and school buses. The company patented the first carbon dioxide-based refrigeration system in 1931 and began a profitable specialization in refrigerated cars and carts. Milk trucks became its most important product. After success in the milk-truck industry up until the mid-1980s, the demand for the product sharply declined. TTI, a private company owned mostly by the H.I.G. Investment Group, bought Hackney Brothers, Inc. In 1996, TTI closed the company and moved production to Hackney and Sons Company in Washington, N.C., which was founded by a relative of the Wilson Hackneys. The collection contains financial records, 1974-1996, of Hackney Brothers, Inc., including shareholders reports, 1993-1996, and balance sheets, 1974-1993.

Administrative Information

Access

No restrictions.

Usage Restrictions

Copyright is retained by the authors of items in these papers, or their descendants, as stipulated by United States copyright law.

Provenance

Received from Charles Clement Hargrave of Lexington, N.C., in February 1997 (Acc. 97014).

Online Catalog Terms

Carriages and carts--North Carolina--History.

Hackney Brothers, Inc.

Refrigerated trucks--History.

Wilson (N.C.)--Economic conditions.

Historical Note

In 1854, Willis Napoleon Hackney established Hackney Brothers, Inc., to manufacture buggies and wagons in Wilson, N.C. His company became successful and turned out about 200 buggies and 100 wagons a year by 1885. According to Willis Napoleon Hackney's great-grandson Tom Hackney, Jr., Hackney Brothers, Inc., became the second-largest wagon and buggy maker in the country by the end of the 19th century. After the automobile became popular, the successors of Willis Napoleon Hackney expanded the company's product line to include ambulances, house trailers, hearses, portable storage rooms, temporary bleachers, car-top sleepers, and school buses. The company patented the first carbon dioxide-based refrigeration system in 1931. Milk trucks became their most important product.

After success in the milk-truck industry up until the mid-1980s, however, the demand for the product sharply declined. TTI, a private company owned mostly by H.I.G. Investment Group, bought Hackney Brothers, Inc. In 1996, TTI closed the company and moved production to Hackney and Sons Company in Washington, N.C., which was founded by a relative of the Wilson Hackneys.

Information from Price, Dudley. "End of the Road." Raleigh News and Observer, 10 November 1996.

Collection Overview

Financial records, 1974-1996, of Hackney Brothers, Inc., including shareholders reports, 1993-1996, and balance sheets, 1974-1993.

Organization of Collection

1. Balance Sheets
2. Shareholders Reports

Series Descriptions