Sellers Manufacturing Company Records Inventory (#4922)

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 Completed:

September 1998

Encoded by:

Linda Sellars

Descriptive Summary

Title

Sellers Manufacturing Company Records (#4922) 1927-1994

Creator

Sellers Manufacturing Company.

Extent

About 250 items (4.0 linear feet).

Repository

Southern Historical Collection

Abstract

Located in Saxapahaw, N.C., the Sellers Manufacturing Company was incorporated in 1927 to produce fine combed cotton yarns for the hosiery industry in Alamance County, N.C. Starting out with fewer than 10,000 spindles, the company expanded until, at its peak, it employed 1,000 people and operated approximately 75,000 spindles. The Sellers Manufacturing Company also owned the Royal Cotton Mill in Wake Forest, N.C., and the Sellers Dyeing Company, Jordan Spinning Company, and National Processing Company. Charles V. Sellers was the company's president, serving from 1927 until his death in 1941. B. Everett Jordan was the company's treasurer and general manager. The records, 1927-1994, of the Sellers Manufacturing Company of Saxapahaw, N.C., and related companies, Royal Cotton Mill, Sellers Dyeing Company, Jordan Spinning Company, and National Processing Company, include minutes of stockholders meetings and directors meetings, tax returns, inventories, accounts, and other items.

Administrative Information Including Abstract

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 Ben E. Jordan, Jr., of Saxapahaw, N.C., in April 1998.

Online Catalog Terms

Sellers, Charles V.

Jordan, B. Everett (Benjamin Everett).

Sellers Manufacturing Company.

Royal Cotton Mill (Wake Forest, N.C.).

Sellers Dyeing Company.

Jordan Spinning Company.

National Processing Company.

Textile industry--North Carolina--History--20th century.

North Carolina--Economic conditions--20th century.

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

Historical Note

Located in Saxapahaw, N.C., Sellers Manufacturing Company was incorporated in 1927 to produce fine combed cotton yarns to supply the hosiery industry in Alamance County. Charles V. Sellers was the company's president, serving from 1927 until his death in 1941. B. Everett Jordan was the company's treasurer and general manager.

Starting out with fewer than 10,000 spindles, the company expanded in size and in range of products, until at its peak it employed 1,000 people and operated approximately 75,000 spindles. In 1930, the company began producing mercerized combed yarns and, in 1931-1932, established one of the South's first silk-throwing plants for making raw Japanese silk into thread for the hosiery industry. By 1961, Sellers produced a wide range of knitting and weaving yarns-combed, carded, nylon blends, dyed and natural, mercerized, and stretch.

In 1939, Sellers Manufacturing Company acquired Sapona Cotton Mill in Randolph County, which was then reorganized as an affiliate and named Jordan Spinning Company. In 1945, Sellers acquired Royal Cotton Mill in Wake Forest, N.C., a yarn spinning mill that produced a coarser range of yarns than the Sellers products. That same year, Sellers also acquired National Processing Company, a mercerizer. In 1951, Sellers established a dyeing operation, the Sellers Dyeing Company. The company further expanded its product range by spinning and blending nylon and other synthetics with cotton.

Collection Overview

Records, 1927-1994, of the Sellers Manufacturing Company of Saxapahaw, N.C., and related companies, Royal Cotton Mill, Sellers Dyeing Company, Jordan Spinning Company, and National Processing Company. Included are minutes of stockholders meetings and directors meetings, tax returns, inventories, accounts, and other items.

Organization of Collection

1. Sellers Manufacturing Company
2. Royal Cotton Mill
3. Sellers Dyeing Company
4. Jordan Spinning Company
5. National Processing Company

Series Descriptions

Items Separated

Items separated include: 4922/S-1.

Related Collections

Southern Oral History Program (#4007), Series C. Notable North Carolinians, Interviews C-101 through C-242 about B. Everett Jordan.