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This is a finding aid. It is a description of archival material held in the Wilson Library at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Unless otherwise noted, the materials described below are physically available in our reading room, and not digitally available through the World Wide Web. See the FAQ section for more information.
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Collection Overview
| Size | 22.0 feet of linear shelf space (approximately 13,000 items) |
| Abstract | Harriet & Henderson Cotton Mills, founded by brothers John Cooper and David Cooper, in Henderson, N.C., was a single company composed of two separate mill complexes. Henderson Cotton Mills, established 1895, produced textiles. Harriet Cotton Mills, established 1901, produced coarse yarns. The consolidated mills operated since 1995 as Harriet & Henderson Yarns. Workers in the mills organized under the Textile Workers Union of America (TWUA) in 1943, starting with Harriet (Local 578) and followed several months later by Henderson (Local 584). Unionized workers began a strike against the consolidated mills in 1958. In 1961, the strike ended and both TWUA locals were dissolved. In 2003, Harriet & Henderson Yarns filed for bankruptcy and closed its doors amidst several other textile factory closings across the state. Records, 1885-1999 and undated, relate to Harriet & Henderson Cotton Mills, Henderson, N.C. They include material about labor relations and labor unions, oral histories, pictures, general business records, financial and legal material, printed material and clippings, and other items. Labor relations materials include arbitration case files, files pertaining to grievances, proposals submitted by the company for union approval, and union-company meeting minutes. Materials related to the 1958-1961 strike include general mill records and items with data on employees. Legal materials related to labor relations include court documents and records of contract negotiations. Printed materials include booklets, pamphlets, and clippings related to the 1958-1961 strike. Taped oral histories, 1984-1991 and undated, conducted by Daniel J. Clark, document relations between the Textile Workers Union of America (TWUA) Locals 578 (Harriet Mill) and 584 (Henderson Mill), and officials at Harriet & Henderson Cotton Mills, and complement the labor relations materials, providing personal recollections of working conditions, life in the mill villages, and the 1958 strike. Pictures include images of individuals, groups, buildings, and objects related to Harriet & Henderson Cotton Mills. Business records consist of administrative material, 1898-1998, and items relating to the company or its presidents. Included are business diaries, 1917-1966 (bulk 1960s), kept by company presidents, all members of the Cooper family. There are also employee handbooks; bylaws and rules; labor union agreements, 1942-1990; surveys and proposals, 1936-1948, generated when the mills were preparing to modernize operations and equipment; and data related to worker productivity. Financial and legal materials, 1897-1998, include accounting information, loan information, invoices, and requisitions. Also included are booklets, articles, and brochures related to the company or the textile industry in general and a 1997 videotape with factory footage. |
| Creator | Harriet & Henderson Cotton Mills. |
| Language | English |
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Information For Users
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Subject Headings
The following terms from Library of Congress Subject Headings suggest topics, persons, geography, etc. interspersed through the entire collection; the terms do not usually represent discrete and easily identifiable portions of the collection--such as folders or items.
Clicking on a subject heading below will take you into the University Library's online catalog.
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Historical Information
Brothers John Cooper and David Cooper broke ground for the Henderson Cotton Mill in 1895 and began producing cloth there in 1896. The Coopers opened a companion mill, named Harriet Cotton Mill after their mother, which began producing coarse yarns in July 1901. By 1913, two additional mill buildings had been added to the Harriet grounds, called Harriet #2 and Harriet #3. Equipment at both mills received a massive overhaul in 1939 in hopes of countering the poor economic conditions of the time. The speed of the new equipment and increased demands from supervisors began to generate new tensions between mill workers and management. It is unclear when workers at Harriet & Henderson Mills began organizing. Recollections of mill workers indicate that they had begun making the effort to unionize well before Textile Workers Union of America (TWUA) representatives arrived in the Harriet Mill village in November 1942. Harriet workers organized first by forming TWUA Local 578 on 23 March 1943. Henderson followed soon thereafter, forming TWUA Local 584 on 28 June 1943. Harriet & Henderson Cotton Mills and the TWUA clashed on several occasions, including a five-week strike in 1951, a seven-week strike in 1954, and a one-day wildcat strike in August 1958. Three months later, a long-term strike broke out, which lasted from mid-November 1958 until it was officially terminated in May 1961, at which time both TWUA locals were dissolved. More than 90% of the mill employees involved in the strike never worked for Harriet & Henderson again. Beginning in 1995, Harriet & Henderson Cotton Mills, the consolidated company, operated as Harriet & Henderson Yarns, until it filed for bankruptcy in 2003 and was forced to close its doors.
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Scope and Content
Records, 1885-1999 and undated, relate to Harriet & Henderson Cotton Mills, Henderson, N.C. The records include material about labor relations and labor unions, oral histories, pictures, general business records, financial and legal material, printed material and clippings, and other items. Labor relations materials include arbitration case files, files pertaining to grievances, proposals submitted by the company for union approval, and union-company meeting minutes. Material related to the 1958-1961 strike includes general mill records and items with data on employees. Legal materials related to labor relations include court documents and records of contract negotiations. Printed materials include booklets, pamphlets, and clippings related to the 1958-1961 strike. These documents provide insight into union activities at a southern textile mill, including the nature and frequency of grievances, as well as processes used in the settlement of those grievances. Also documented are the company's efforts to alter pay rates, workloads, and job descriptions, especially as a result of upgraded mill equipment. Taped oral histories, 1984-1991 and undated, conducted by Daniel J. Clark, document relations between the Textile Workers Union of America (TWUA) Locals 578 (Harriet Mill) and 584 (Henderson Mill), and officials at Harriet & Henderson Cotton Mills, and complement the labor relations materials, providing personal recollections of working conditions, life in the mill villages, and the 1958 strike. Pictures include images of individuals, groups, buildings, and objects related to Harriet & Henderson Cotton Mills.
Business records consist of administrative material, 1898-1998, and items relating to the company or its presidents. Included are business diaries, 1917-1966 (bulk 1960s), kept by company presidents, all members of the Cooper family. There are also employee handbooks, bylaws and rules, and written agreements between Harriet & Henderson and its labor unions, 1942-1990. Also included are surveys and proposals, 1936-1948, generated when the mills were preparing to modernize operations and equipment; there are also documents recording data related to worker productivity. Financial and legal material, 1897-1998, includes accounting information, loan information, invoices, and requisitions. There are also booklets, articles, and brochures related to the company or the textile industry in general and a 1997 videotape with factory footage.
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Series Quick Links
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Series 1. Labor Relations, 1943-1959 and undated.
Processing Note: See also Addition of April 2005.
Arrangement: by file type.
Files, 1943-1959 and undated, of both settled and arbitrated grievances filed by members of the Textile Workers Union of America (TWUA) against Harriet & Henderson Cotton Mills, Henderson, N.C.; minutes of joint meetings between TWUA and Harriet & Henderson Cotton Mills; and notices of proposed changes in mill operations from administrators at Harriet & Henderson Cotton Mills to officials at TWUA.
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Subseries 1.1. Summary Lists of Arbitrated Cases, 1943-1958.
Arrangement: by mill.
Summary lists of arbitrated grievances, 1943-1958, brought against Harriet & Henderson Cotton Mills by members of the Textile Workers Union of America. Separate summary sheets were compiled for each mill. These sheets list the date of arbitration, arbitration number, case number, arbitrator, department, grievance numbers involved, job classifications involved, nature of the case arbitrated, and disposition of the case. The authorship of these lists is uncertain.
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Subseries 1.2. Arbitration Files, 1943-1958.
Arrangement: by arbitration number.
Files, 1943-1958, including correspondence, transcripts, and recorded testimony related to grievances brought by the Textile Workers Union of America (TWUA) before arbitrators of the American Arbitration Association against Harriet & Henderson Cotton Mills. These files contain lists of union demands; correspondence among arbitrators, mill administrators, TWUA officials, and members of the American Arbitration Association; case notes prepared by Harriet & Henderson Cotton Mills; evidence and exhibits used by the mills during arbitration; and opinions handed down by arbitrators. Additional items include typed transcripts of testimony that took place during arbitration and scattered stenographer's notes (Arb. #10, #11, #12, #14) or sound recordings (Arb. #20, #22, #23, #24), on which transcripts were based. Sound recordings, labeled D-4961/1-45, are filed separately. Arbitration files are numbered continuously and incorporate both mills. folders labeled "Twister Award" pertain to a case arbitrated for the twisting department at Harriet Cotton Mills, to which no arbitration number was assigned. Additional information concerning arbitrated cases can be found in Subseries 1.1, Subseries 1.3, and Subseries 1.4.
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Subseries 1.3. Master Lists of Grievances, 1943-1958.
Arrangement: by mill.
Lists of settled grievances, 1943-1958, brought against Harriet & Henderson Cotton Mills by members of the Textile Workers Union of America. Separate lists have been compiled for each mill. These sheets provide the date of the grievance, grievance number, department involved, nature of the grievance, and disposition of the case.
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Subseries 1.4. Grievances Settled, 1943-1958..
Arrangement: by mill and grievance number.
Records, 1943-1958, of grievances filed by members of the Textile Workers Union of America (TWUA) against Harriet & Henderson Cotton Mills. These grievances were settled without outside arbitration. Each grievance file typically contains some combination of the following: handwritten or typed grievance form submitted to the union, typed copy of the same form prepared by the mill, the superintendent or general manager's decision, transcripts of testimony concerning the grievance, and notes prepared by the mill for use in deciding each case. Harriet Cotton Mills and Henderson Cotton Mills each use a separate numerical sequence for filed grievances, and Harriet Cotton Mills appear to have begun labeling grievances by letter before converting to a numerical system. In neither case, however, is the numerical run complete. Grievances sent to arbitration were often removed from these files by the mill and can be found in Subseries 1.1. Consult the master lists of grievances in Subseries 1.4 and arbitration summaries in Subseries 1.2 for clarification in these instances.
Filed with the grievances is a folder containing similar materials related to a one-day wildcat strike at Harriet Cotton Mills on 11 August 1958.
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Subseries 1.5. Company Proposals, 1943-1958.
Arrangement: chronological by mill.
Notices, 1943-1958, from Harriet & Henderson Cotton Mills to the Textile Workers Union of America, informing the union of proposed changes in mill operations. These proposals chiefly concern wages, work assignments, and plant rules. Most proposals show whether they apply to the Harriet Cotton Mills or to the Henderson Cotton Mills.
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Subseries 1.6. Union-Company Meeting Minutes, 1948-1958.
Arrangement: chronological by mill.
Stenographers' transcripts, 1948-1958, of meetings between representatives of Harriet & Henderson Cotton Mills and the Textile Workers Union of America. A large number of the transcripts pertain to the settlement of specific grievances, although some also relate to company proposals and other topics. The subject of the meeting is often noted in the heading of the transcript. Separate chronological runs for the Harriet Cotton Mills and the Henderson Cotton Mills have been maintained.
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Subseries 1.7. Other Mill Records related to Labor Relations, 1945-1959, undated.
Processing Note: See also Addition of April 2005
Arrangement: chronological.
Miscellaneous files, 1945-1959 and undated, of Harriet & Henderson Cotton Mills, including a directive from the National War Labor Board concerning wages, union contracts and contract provisions between the mills and the Textile Workers Union of America (TWUA), notices to the TWUA of work-load and pay changes, plant rules, weekly cost reports, changes approved by members of the general shop committee, and undated summary sheets comparing the staffing of the mill over three shifts.
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2. Oral Histories, 1984-1991.
Arrangement: alphabetical by interviewee.
Taped oral history interviews conducted with employees of the Harriet & Henderson Cotton Mills by Daniel J. Clark between 1984 and 1991. These interviews typically discuss working conditions, home and family life in the mill villages, social activities, and unionization. About two-thirds of the taped interviews are accompanied by typed transcripts, presumably prepared by Clark.
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Series 3. Pictures, undated.
Processing Note: See also Addition of April 2005.
Photograph, undated, of unidentified individuals probably associated with the 1958-1961 strike of the Textile Workers Union of America at Harriet & Henderson Mills. This photograph may relate to Daniel J. Clark's oral histories with mill workers, 1984-1991.
| Image Folder P-4961/1 |
Strikers, undated #04961, Series: "3. Pictures, undated." P-4961/1 |
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Additions.
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Addition of April 2005 (Acc. 100043), 1885-1999 and undated.
Processing note: The Addition of April 2005 is arranged in the same way as, but has not been incorporated into, the original deposit of materials.
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Subseries 1. Labor Relations, 1943-1962.
Material concerning relations between Harriet & Henderson and its labor force, especially during the 1958-1961 strike. General mill records and miscellaneous items include data on employees, letters, and memos. Legal material includes court documents and contract negotiations. Printed material includes booklets and pamphlets and clippings related to the 1958-1961 strike.
Researchers interested in the 1958-1961 strike or labor relations should also see Series 4.
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Subseries 1.7. Other Mill Records Related to Labor Relations, 1943-1960.
Other mill records related to labor relations include material about the 1958-1961 strike at Harriet & Henderson Cotton Mills, including data on employees; a paper about the strike written by a graduate student who corresponded with President J. D. Cooper Jr.; and other items related to the strike, among them letters, memos, and a transcript of a radio broadcast by Mayor Carol Singleton, 27 May 1959.
Note that original file folder titles have, for the most part, been retained.
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Subseries 1.8. Other Legal Material Related to Labor Relations, 1958-1959.
Legal material related to the 1958-1961 strike at Harriet & Henderson Cotton Mills, including court documents and contract negotiations.
Note that original file folder titles have, for the most part, been retained.
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Subseries 1.9. Printed Material and Clippings Related to Strike, 1955-1962.
Printed materials including booklets and pamphlets and clippings related to the 1958-1961 strike at Harriet & Henderson Cotton Mills.
| Folder 175 |
Booklet, 1955, and pamphlet, 1959, related to strikes and Henderson Cotton Mill #04961, Subseries: "1.9. Printed Material and Clippings Related to Strike, 1955-1962." Folder 175 |
| Folder 176 |
Series of articles in America's Textile Reporter about strike, 1959-1960 #04961, Subseries: "1.9. Printed Material and Clippings Related to Strike, 1955-1962." Folder 176 |
| Folder 177 |
Printed material related to strike, 1957-1962 #04961, Subseries: "1.9. Printed Material and Clippings Related to Strike, 1955-1962." Folder 177 |
| Folder 178-189 |
Clippings related to 1958-1961 strike #04961, Subseries: "1.9. Printed Material and Clippings Related to Strike, 1955-1962." Folder 178-189Folder 178Folder 179Folder 180Folder 181Folder 182Folder 183Folder 184Folder 185Folder 186Folder 187Folder 188Folder 189 |
| Oversize Paper Folder OP-4961/6 |
Oversized clippings related to 1958-1961 strike #04961, Subseries: "1.9. Printed Material and Clippings Related to Strike, 1955-1962." OP-4961/6 |
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Subseries 3. Pictures, 1944-1997 and undated.
Pictures include images of individuals, groups, buildings, and objects related to Harriet & Henderson Cotton Mills. Pictures of individuals include past presidents of Harriet & Henderson Cotton Mills, including J. D. Cooper Jr., M . Y. Cooper Sr., and M. Y. Cooper Jr., and unidentified individuals. Group photographs include an undated photographs possibly from the early 1900s of what appears to be employees of the mills and groups from the 1960s and 1980s. Photographs from a "womanless wedding" fundraiser in 1997 are also included, featuring several Harriet & Henderson male employees dressed as women (see also Folder 254 in Series 5). There are also photographs that were used in articles, including a picture of strikers during the 1958-1961 strike and pictures used in an article about Harriet & Henderson's cutting-edge use of computers in 1968. Pictures of building exteriors and aerial photographs of factory grounds, as well as photographs of items such as a desk used by the second president of Harriet & Henderson, S. P. Cooper; cotton bales; and one of the toy cats designed after Harriet & Henderson's Three Cats logo, are also included in this series.
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Subseries 4. Business Records, 1898-1998.
Arrangement: mostly chronological.
Business records consist of material related to the administration of Harriet & Henderson Cotton Mills, 1898-1998, and miscellaneous material related to the company or its presidents. Included are pocket-sized business diaries kept by the presidents of the company, 1917-1966, mostly from the 1960s. In the diaries, the presidents jotted down notes and addresses related to the company. Small booklets include employee handbooks, bylaws and rules, and written agreements between Harriet & Henderson and its labor unions, 1942-1990. A large part of this series is devoted to studies, data, and standards. In the 1930s, Harriet & Henderson's mills were preparing for the large undertaking of modernizing their operations and equipment. They hired J. E. Sirrine & Co., Engineers and Whitin Machine Works to conduct several surveys of all the mills' departments and submit proposals with suggestions for the improvement of the facilities. These surveys and proposals cover the years 1936 to 1948. The mills were also concerned with worker productivity and observed workers performing tasks in several departments, recording the data over time.
Also included are letters from Stanfield and letters of recommendation from several companies vouching for Efton A. Stanfield who was applying for the position of Harriet & Henderson's Director of Personnel and Industry Relations in the midst of the 1958-1961 strike. Notebooks, desk manuals, and procedure manuals provide administrative information from the 1960s to 1980s. Business workshop materials, Harriet & Henderson's application for a Baldrige Award for quality, and material from a "womanless wedding" fundraiser cover the period of the 1990s.
Miscellaneous material, 1898-1980, includes information about the history of the trademark; a letter C. J. Cooper wrote advocating white supremacy, 1900; and an article labor leader Boyd Payton wrote in 1962, after being released from prison where he had served a partial term for conspiracy to commit violence during the 1958-1961 strike.
Note that original file folder tities have, for the most part, been retained.
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Subseries 5. Financial and Legal Material, 1897-1998.
Arrangement: chronological.
Financial and legal material, 1897-1998, includes accounting information, loan information, invoices, and requisitions. The older items include account books, time books, and information about accounts and stocks. Items from the 1950s include term loan agreements and contracts with banks, especially refering to Harriet & Henderson's attempt to help administer Highland Cotton Mills. Material from the 1990s includes invoices and requisitions, usually in chronological order, although some are alphabetical by company. The alphabetical invoices also include information about the companies with which Harriet & Henderson did business, including supply and service companies.
Note that original file folder tities have, for the most part, been retained.
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Subseries 6. Printed Material and Clippings, 1910-1998.
Arrangement: mostly alphabetical
Printed material and clippings include booklets, articles, and brochures related to Harriet & Henderson Cotton Mills. Booklets include instruction and factory equipment manuals. Also included are Harriet & Henderson's newspaper, Cat Tales, and their newsletter, Cat's Three. Miscellaneous clippings include clippings from 1910 to 1998 about the Berryton Mills, a 1927 strike at the cotton mills, and a 1943 advertisement for war bonds sponsored by Harriet & Henderson.
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Subseries 7. Other Material, 1885 and 1993.
Arrangement: chronological.
The relation of material in this series to the rest of the collection is unclear, although it seems to have belonged to employee Robert Bass (Folder 250). "To Robert" appears on one of the Miss Henderson programs. The papers refering to J. B. V. Tunstall, a Civil War veteran, are photocopies of forms refering to an injury sustained during the war and pension information, 1885.
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Subseries 8. Audio and Video Material, 1995? and 1997.
These audio and video materials are not related to the oral history recordings of Series 2. The microcassette includes a note, 100th Club, August 24, which might refer to the 100th anniversary that Harriet & Henderson celebrated in 1995. The videotape includes an unidentified man explaining factory equipment at the mills, but the sound is drowned out by the equipment. Also on the videotape is silent footage of the waste house pump.
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Items Separated
Processed by: Julie Ann Ludwig, September 1999, and Nathalie Wheaton, August 2005
Encoded by: Julie Ann Ludwig, September 1999, and Nathalie Wheaton, September 2005
The Addition of April 2005 (Acc. 100043) is arranged in the same way as, but has not been incorporated into, the original deposit of materials. Researchers should always check additions to be sure they have identified all files of interest to them.
Finding aid updated in September 2005 by Nathalie Wheaton because of addition.
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