Inventory of the J. M. Odell Manufacturing Company Records, 1887-1933

Collection Number 4371-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

Linda Sellars

Date Processed

February 2003

Encoded by

Linda Sellars

Date Encoded

February 2003

Descriptive Summary

Repository

Southern Historical Collection

Creator

J.M. Odell Manufacturing Company.

Title

J. M. Odell Manufacturing Company Records, 1887-1933

Call Number

4371-z

Extent

3 items.

Abstract

John Milton Odell, a cotton manufacturer from Concord, N.C., bought a cotton spinning mill in Bynum, N.C., in 1886. As part of the J. M. Odell Company, the Bynum mill sold much of its yarn to Odell weaving plants in Concord. The collection includes three record books of J. M. Odell Manufacturing Company of Chatham County, N.C. The earliest volume, 1887-1916, contains a copy of the act of incorporation, the by-laws, and the minutes of stockholders' meetings, including the reports of the secretary and treasurer and statements of the company's financial condition. The second continues with minutes, 1917-1933, of stockholders' and directors' meetings. The third volume contains accounts, 1899-1901, of the Bynum mill and company store, including accounts with suppliers, local farmers, mill workers and their families, and with Concord National Bank, and J. M. Odell Company in Concord, N.C.

Administrative Information

Restrictions to Access

No restrictions.

Provenance

Received from Louise Harris of Bynum, N.C., for microfilming in 1983 and from Lawrence F. London of Chapel Hill, N.C., in June 2002 (Acc. 99278).

Preferred Citation

[Identification of item], in the J. M. Odell Manufacturing Company Records #4371-z, Southern Historical Collection, Wilson Library, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

Copyright Notice

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

Online Catalog Headings

These and related materials may be found under the following headings in online catalogs.

Account books--North Carolina.

Bynum (N.C.)--Commerce--History.

Chatham County (N.C.)--Economic conditions.

Company stores--North Carolina--History.

Concord (N.C.)--Commerce--History.

Concord National Bank (Concord, N.C.).

J.M. Odell Manufacturing Company.

Textile industry--North Carolina--History.

Textile workers--North Carolina--History.

Historical Note

John Milton Odell, a cotton manufacturer from Concord, N.C., bought a cotton spinning mill in Bynum, N.C., in 1886. J. M. Odell Manufacturing Company of Chatham County, N.C., was incorporated in 1887 by an act of the North Carolina General Assembly which declared that "J. M. Odell, W. R. Odell of Cabarrus County N.C., and W. H. Ragan and J. A. Odell of Guilford County N.C. their successors and associates are hereby created a body politic and corporate under the name of "J. M. Odell Manufacturing Co" of Chatham County N.C. with a capital stock of thirty thousand ($30,000) dollars... ." The company was authorized to manufacture and sell cotton goods and woolen goods, to erect and operate grist mills and saw mills, and to "buy and sell and deal in goods wares and merchandise of every kind and description, at its will and pleasure." As part of the J. M. Odell Company, the Bynum mill sold much of its yarn to Odell weaving plants in Concord.

The Bynum mill had been built in 1872 by Luther and Carney Bynum on their farm on the Haw River. With capital from neighboring farmers George Thompson and E. W. Atwater, and from Pittsboro merchant William L. London, the Bynums incorporated the mill as the Bynum Manufacturing Company. To accommodate workers, the Bynums built a mill village, including a church and a company store. By 1900, the village housed 28 families, most of whom came from farms in Chatham County. When the Bynums were no longer financially able to carry on the spinning business, they sold the mill to J. M. Odell. The Bynums served as mill superintendents until 1902.

For more information about the Bynum mill and the J. M. Odell Manufacturing Company, see Douglas DeNatale, "Traditional Culture and Community in a Piedmont Textile Mill Village," M.A. thesis, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, 1980; and Gary Richard Freeze, "Master Mill Man: John Milton Odell and Industrial Development in Concord, North Carolina," M.A. thesis, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, 1980.

Collection Overview

The collection includes three record books of J. M. Odell Manufacturing Company. The earliest, 1887-1916, contains a copy of the act of incorporation, the by-laws, and the minutes of stockholders' meetings, including the reports of the secretary and treasurer and statements of the company's financial condition. The second continues with minutes of stockholders' and directors' meetings, 1917-1933.

The third volume contains accounts, 1899-1901, of the company's Bynum, N.C., mill and company store. The mill's accounts with suppliers, customers, and mill workers, and with the Concord National Bank and the J. M. Odell Company in Concord, N.C., are included.

Detailed Description of the Collection

Items Separated

Items separated includes a reel of microfilm containing an image of the account book, 1899-1901 (M-4371-z).

Related Collections

Southern Oral History Program Collection (#4007), Series H. Piedmont Industrialization, Interviews H-60 through H-105, Bynum, N.C.;
Chatham County Miscellaneous Account Books (#2909).