Manuscripts Department
Library of the University of North Carolina
at Chapel Hill
SOUTHERN HISTORICAL COLLECTION
#4073-z
IRON STATION (N.C.) PAPERS
Inventory
Abstract: Sales correspondence, bills, and receipts, 1863-
1865, of High Shoals Manufacturing Company; business
letters, 1866-1878, received by Lawrence S. Camp,
including letters from his brother in Centre, Ala.,
describing farm economic conditions and relations with
black tenant farmers; two letters between Henry Moore
of Columbia, S.C., and Col. William Johnston,
describing business conditions in Augusta, Ga., and
the prospects of selling iron goods; and other papers
relating to the economic development of Iron Station
in Lincoln County, N.C.
Online Catalog Terms:
Afro-American farmers--Alabama--History--19th century.
Augusta (Ga.)--Economic conditions--19th century.
Camp, Lawrence S.
Centre (Ala.)--Economic conditions--19th century.
Farm tenancy--Economic aspects--Alabama.
High Shoals Manufacturing Company (Lincoln County, N.C.).
Iron industry and trade--Georgia--History--19th century.
Iron industry and trade--North Carolina--History--19th
century.
Iron Station (N.C.)--Industries--History--19th century.
Johnston, William, fl. 1864.
Lincoln County (N.C.)--Economic conditions--19th century.
Moore, Henry, fl. 1864.
Tenant farmers--Alabama--History--19th century.
Size: 1 reel of microfilm and 2 original letters.
Provenance: Lent for filming by Mrs. J. Blair Waugh of Galax,
Va., in November 1975 and transferred from the S.
H. Steeleman Collection (#4074).
Access: No restrictions.
Processing Note: This collection was processed with support
from the Randleigh Foundation Trust.
Copyright: Retained by the authors of items in these papers,
or their descendants, as stipulated by United
States copyright law.
Table of Contents:
Microfilm Description
Series 1. High Shoals Iron Company
Series 2. Lawrence S. Camp
MICROFILM DESCRIPTION
Series 1. High Shoals Iron Company
1863-1865. 59 items.
In 1862, Robert R. Bridgers, John L. Bridgers, and (?) Powell
purchased the High Shoals Iron Company. The property included
mineral deposits and machinery in Gaston, Lincoln, and Cleveland
counties, N.C., as well as land under cultivation. In 1865, they
sold the property to Union Admiral Charles Wilkes, under whom the
company was renamed the High Shoals Manufacturing Company.
Papers include no information on the formation, location, or
history of the company. There are, however, invoices, bills of
lading, receipts and correspondence about the sale of the
company's products, especially nails. Most of the letters were
either addressed to or written by Robert R. Bridgers or B. B.
Barron. Also included is a letter, 7 March 1865, from John L.
Bridgers in Rocky Mount, N.C., to Bolin describing the military
situation in his area and the expected battle between Johnston
and Sherman.
Series 2. Lawrence S. Camp
1852-1878. 75 items.
Letters received by Lawrence S. Camp, Iron Station, Lincoln
County, N.C., from Walter S. Stanton of Tarboro, N.C.; John L.
Bridgers, Tarboro, N.C.; B. B. Barron, Joyner's Depot, N.C.; and
Donald Macrae, Wilmington, N.C. Camp rented (and later
purchased) land from Stanton; served as business agent for
Stanton, Bridgers, and Barron; and, in the 1870s, was a salesman
for Navassa Guano Company for which Macrae was treasurer.
Letters deal with the sale, exchange, and shipment of crops;
collection and payment of notes and debts; agricultural
conditions; the sale of guano; and occasional personal news.
Also included are scattered letters written to Camp by his
brother, T. P. Camp, a farmer in Centre, Cherokee County, Ala.
These letters describe his brother's economic situation, status
of his crops, plans for his family, relations with black tenants,
and other personal matters.