{"links":{"self":"https://search.arvasarchive.org/catalog.json?f%5Bdate_range%5D%5B%5D=1909\u0026f%5Blevel%5D%5B%5D=Subseries\u0026page=19","prev":"https://search.arvasarchive.org/catalog.json?f%5Bdate_range%5D%5B%5D=1909\u0026f%5Blevel%5D%5B%5D=Subseries\u0026page=18","next":"https://search.arvasarchive.org/catalog.json?f%5Bdate_range%5D%5B%5D=1909\u0026f%5Blevel%5D%5B%5D=Subseries\u0026page=20","last":"https://search.arvasarchive.org/catalog.json?f%5Bdate_range%5D%5B%5D=1909\u0026f%5Blevel%5D%5B%5D=Subseries\u0026page=62"},"meta":{"pages":{"current_page":19,"next_page":20,"prev_page":18,"total_pages":62,"limit_value":10,"offset_value":180,"total_count":614,"first_page?":false,"last_page?":false}},"data":[{"id":"viu_viu00917_c01_c12_c07","type":"Subseries","attributes":{"title":"G. Shipments-Low Moor\n                     Furnaces","breadcrumbs":{"id":"https://search.arvasarchive.org/catalog/viu_viu00917_c01_c12_c07#breadcrumbs","type":"document_value","attributes":{"value":{"ref_ssi":"viu_viu00917_c01_c12_c07","ref_ssm":["viu_viu00917_c01_c12_c07"],"id":"viu_viu00917_c01_c12_c07","ead_ssi":"viu_viu00917","_root_":"viu_viu00917","_nest_parent_":"viu_viu00917_c01_c12","parent_ssi":"viu_viu00917_c01_c12","parent_ssim":["viu_viu00917","viu_viu00917_c01","viu_viu00917_c01_c12"],"parent_ids_ssim":["viu_viu00917","viu_viu00917_c01","viu_viu00917_c01_c12"],"parent_unittitles_ssm":["Papers of the Low Moor Iron Company \n          1873-1927","Bound Volumes","Iron, Ore \u0026 Pig"],"parent_unittitles_tesim":["Papers of the Low Moor Iron Company \n          1873-1927","Bound Volumes","Iron, Ore \u0026 Pig"],"text":["Papers of the Low Moor Iron Company \n          1873-1927","Bound Volumes","Iron, Ore \u0026 Pig","G. Shipments-Low Moor\n                     Furnaces","9 volumes"],"title_filing_ssi":"G. Shipments-Low Moor\n                     Furnaces","title_ssm":["G. Shipments-Low Moor\n                     Furnaces"],"title_tesim":["G. Shipments-Low Moor\n                     Furnaces"],"unitdate_other_ssim":["1877-1918"],"normalized_date_ssm":["1877/1918"],"normalized_title_ssm":["G. Shipments-Low Moor\n                     Furnaces"],"component_level_isim":[3],"repository_ssim":["University of Virginia, Special Collections Dept."],"collection_ssim":["Papers of the Low Moor Iron Company \n          1873-1927"],"physdesc_tesim":["9 volumes"],"has_online_content_ssim":["false"],"child_component_count_isi":0,"level_ssm":["Subseries"],"level_ssim":["Subseries"],"sort_isi":57,"date_range_isim":[1877,1878,1879,1880,1881,1882,1883,1884,1885,1886,1887,1888,1889,1890,1891,1892,1893,1894,1895,1896,1897,1898,1899,1900,1901,1902,1903,1904,1905,1906,1907,1908,1909,1910,1911,1912,1913,1914,1915,1916,1917,1918],"_nest_path_":"/components#0/components#11/components#6","timestamp":"2026-05-01T02:17:12.165Z","collection":{"numFound":1,"start":0,"numFoundExact":true,"docs":[{"id":"viu_viu00917","ead_ssi":"viu_viu00917","_root_":"viu_viu00917","_nest_parent_":"viu_viu00917","ead_source_url_ssi":"data/uva-sc/viu00917.xml","title_ssm":["Papers of the Low Moor Iron Company \n          1873-1927"],"title_tesim":["Papers of the Low Moor Iron Company \n          1873-1927"],"level_ssm":["collection"],"level_ssim":["Collection"],"unitid_ssm":["662"],"text":["662","Papers of the Low Moor Iron Company \n          1873-1927","95 linear feer + 1200\n         volumes","The word \"organization\" is used here with considerable\n         diffidence, for any researcher studying the container list\n         that follows will realize quickly that there is no\n         organization in the usual sense of the word.","As noted under \"Provenance,\" the Low Moor Iron Company\n         papers were subjected to a number of moves; when processing\n         began in the fall of 1976, no discernible scheme of\n         organization could be determined.","The first step was to review the series of coded numbers\n         placed on the bundles of papers before they were moved to\n         the dormitory attic, but these did not provide any sort of\n         useful organization. Next, the spine titles of the original\n         letter boxes were reviewed (they had been copied onto the\n         gray cardboard sheets before the move to the dormitory\n         attic), but they, too, proved useless.","These steps having provided no scheme, and after a\n         considerable hiatus due to a turnover in student processors\n         on the collection, the new student processors were\n         instructed to begin a box-by-box inventory of the contents\n         of the collection. During this inventory, old folders were\n         replaced with acid-free ones, and the original folder\n         headings were copied onto the new ones. Some removal of\n         paper clips was accomplished, and the materials were\n         reviewed and notes taken for the guide.","Some consolidation of materials was accomplished, and in\n         other cases, materials were moved. This work has created\n         some problems in the numbering of the boxes. Thus, the\n         researchers will find boxes marked \"6A\" and \"23C\"; he will\n         also discover that certain box numbers have been entirely\n         omitted. As the box numbers exist only to aid in the\n         location of material, it was not felt that the unusual\n         numbers and the omissions would cause problems in working\n         with the papers.","A certain amount of movement of boxes within the\n         collection, and of materials among boxes, probably would\n         ease use of it. But what processing was accomplished on\n         this project took far longer than had been anticipated, and\n         there was no time in the late spring of 1978, when the\n         processors had to complete their work with the project, to\n         undertake a mass movement of material. Thus, they stand in\n         the order in which we found them at the beginning of the\n         project.","The Low Moor Iron Company, the first producer of pig\n         iron in Virginia according to the company's claims, was a\n         self-contained manufacturing unit producing from its own\n         mines the coal, limestone, and iron ore needed for its iron\n         production. Located in Low Moor near Clifton Forge in\n         Alleghany County in western Virginia, an area rich in\n         mineral deposits, the company was in operation from\n         1872-1930, producing only pig iron; it never attempted to\n         produce finished iron products.","Coal came to the Low Moor furnaces from the Kay Moor\n         Mines at Kay Moor, West Virginia, about thirty miles from\n         Low Moor; limestone was produced from the Low Moor\n         limestone quarries; and iron ore came from the Fenwick,\n         Dolly Ann, Jordan, Rich Patch, Low Moor, and Longdale\n         Mines, most of them within twenty miles of Low Moor at\n         Covington or Clifton Forge.","The towns of Low Moor and Kay Moor were company towns in\n         every respect. Workers lived in company-owned houses,\n         bought food in company stores, worshiped at the company\n         church, saw movies in the company theater, were treated in\n         the company hospital, and were buried in the company\n         cemetery. Workers received part of their pay in scrip that\n         they exchanged for goods and services. According to a\n         statement from the Kay Moor Mines dated November 1904, Kay\n         Moor then employed 338 people, paid them an average wage of\n         $36.26 per month, and issued half of their pay in scrip.\n         Kay Moor had four stores; Low Moor had seven or eight. All\n         of these stores carried large inventories which are\n         detailed in the collection. These inventories are valuable\n         to anyone interested in determining the wants and needs of\n         a coal miner and his family.","In the late 1910's and 1920's Kay Moor had a company\n         theater called the Azure Theater which seated about 300\n         people. There were also plans for a company-owned social\n         center, to have pool tables, a soda fountain, and\n         provisions for dancing and skating. The company was in\n         tough economic straits by the 1920's, however, and there is\n         no evidence that the social center was built. The town of\n         Low Moor was so completely under the company's influence\n         that one of Low Moor Iron Company's assistant managers\n         served as the town sheriff. He often foreclosed on people\n         who did not pay their debts, and drove troublesome people\n         \"out of town on a rail\" as he put it.","The Low Moor Iron Company's fortunes fluctuated during\n         the various business cycles between the years 1880-1930.\n         Low Moor was one of the larger pig iron producers in\n         Virginia, but Virginia pig iron production was not\n         important nationally. Low Moor officials sometimes sold\n         their product themselves, but more often they used agents,\n         the prevalent method at the time. Low Moor Iron Company\n         used a variety of agents through the 1900's. James F. Bryan\n         acted as the exclusive agent for the sale of Kay Moor Coal\n         from September 21, 1903 to September, 1905. From about 1890\n         until about 1910 Dalton Nash and Company were the exclusive\n         eastern agents of Low Moor Iron. After that time the\n         exclusive agency went to Philips Isham and Company located\n         in New York. From about 1890 the western agency was handled\n         chiefly by Thomas Mack and Company. After 1902 Thomas Mack\n         and Company underwent a name change, becoming Walter\n         Wallingford and Company, with offices located in\n         Cincinnati, Pittsburgh, and Chicago.","Perhaps the Low Moor Iron Company's biggest problem over\n         the years was obtaining railroad cars for the\n         transportation of its finished product. Low Moor Iron\n         Company had its own cars for transporting its raw materials\n         among its various facilities. For the long haul necessary\n         for its finished goods, however, it depended upon the\n         services of the Chesapeake and Ohio Railroad, and the\n         relationship was not always a happy one. The Low Moor\n         Company complained many times to the C \u0026 O Railroad\n         about the discrepancies between long-and shorthaul freight\n         rates. Low Moor also had trouble getting cars from the C\n         \u0026 O. In a letter to one of Low Moor Company's agents\n         from an irate customer dated 1898, the customer wrote: \"We\n         wrote you on Saturday and endeavored to question upon your\n         mind the necessity of taking care of us with Low Moor iron.\n         We are on our uppers--there is not a pound of Low Moor iron\n         in the yard. Of the one hundred tons ordered some time ago,\n         not one pound of it has been received.\" This was, according\n         to the Low Moor Iron Company, because they could not get\n         the railroad cars. In a letter from Thomas Mack and Company\n         dated November 26, 1901, to General Manager E. C. Means:\n         \"We are hopeful that the car supply will get better because\n         of the number of orders you have of ours for prompt\n         shipment. Our customers are complaining that they are not\n         getting the iron fast enough. . . . We hope that the\n         railroad will be able to supply you with empty cars.\" In\n         another letter dated 1916 to John B. Guernsey, then acting\n         General Manager of the Low Moor Iron Company, \"We were not\n         supplied with coke cars for today's loading, and\n         consequently we have been practically down of Kay Moor\n         ovens all day.\"","The problem of procuring labor also plagued the Low Moor\n         Company. The company sometimes tried to hire immigrant\n         laborers and send the men directly to Low Moor from New\n         York City. There were problems with this, as is explained\n         in the following letter dated April 7, 1906: \n          To Mr. George Wickes \n             Supt. of Mines \n             Kay Moor, Virginia \n             Dear George, \n             Tony arrived with twenty one men last night. One\n            got away in Jersey two in Washington D.C., four in\n            Charlottesville. Some of the men are very good looking,\n            but taken as a whole they are the worst lot I have ever\n            seen: Irish, German-Jews, and Italians. . . . Our New\n            York transportations to this place have never been a\n            success. Signed, \n             Ed D. Wickes Supt. of Mines Low Moor usually employed labor agencies, one\n         of which was Atwood's Employment Agency. Often the Low Moor\n         Company would request certain nationalities, believing them\n         to be better workers than others. Sometimes the company\n         would request a gang of twenty made up of \"ten Greeks and\n         ten Italians.\" Many of the immigrants fled Low Moor and Kay\n         Moor when they learned that they would have to work\n         underground. There is a fair amount of material on\n         immigrant labor and its procurement in the collection, and\n         it is noted in the description of the box contents.","Low Moor Iron Company not only had trouble procuring\n         labor, but it also had trouble with labor already employed\n         in the mines and at the factory. Labor dissension and\n         strikes troubled the Kay Moor Mines through the 1900's. The\n         great coal strike of 1902 hurt the Low Moor Company's coal\n         mining operation, but by 1903 things were \"nearly back to\n         normal\" according to the mine superintendent. There was\n         still trouble at Kay Moor Mines, however. In a letter dated\n         April 26, 1906, to the treasurer of Low Moor Company, the\n         manager of the mines wrote about the trouble in \"trying to\n         get the agitators out.\" The mines were seventy-five men\n         short of the total labor force needed because many of the\n         coal miners returned to their farms during the spring.\n         There were rumblings of another strike at Kay Moor, the\n         result of which was to be a fourteen percent increase in\n         wages for the Kay Moor Mine workers via an agreement with\n         the United Mine Workers Union in December.","The Low Moor Iron Company grew along with the rest of\n         Virginia industry in the 1890's and 1900's. Starting with\n         only one furnace in the 1870's, it opened a second furnace\n         at Covington, Virginia, in 1891. In 1911 it opened a third\n         furnace, this time at Low Moor. Covington, with its heavy\n         industry, soon became known as the \"Pittsburgh of\n         Virginia.\" Virginia's pig iron production rose from 9,000\n         short tons in 1870 to 544,034 long tons in 1903. Judging\n         from the Low Moor Company's correspondence, the most\n         prosperous period for the company fell between the years\n         1895-1907. In the years between 1907-1917 problems befell\n         the Virginia pig iron industry. In a letter from William W.\n         Hearns, the president of the Virginia based Princess Pig\n         Iron Company, to U. S. Senator Thomas S. Martin, Hearns\n         writes of the problems of the Virginia pig iron industry:\n         \"There is not a blast furnace in Virginia that is making\n         any money from the manufacture of pig iron. The cause of\n         this is there is an exceedingly low price on pig iron in\n         the country at the present time, and the increased cost of\n         manufacturing is due to the increase in wages in all\n         lines.\" With the outbreak of World War I prices rose\n         dramatically, but in a market report to Low Moor dated\n         November 11, 1916, it was stated that: \"In spite of the\n         high prices, it is not a picnic to be in the iron industry.\n         There is a desperate shortage of cars and equipment in the\n         coal and iron districts, and in consequence there are\n         troubles of all kinds to get materials shipped. The\n         situation has grown serious.\"","When America became involved in the First World War, it\n         meant a boost for the Low Moor Iron Company. The government\n         helped it procure labor, and even helped it repair its\n         furnaces. The problem of supplies and cars for their\n         shipments, however, plagued the company more than ever. It\n         had a good deal of trouble getting all the raw materials it\n         needed due chiefly to the \"tight ship\" run by Harry F.\n         Byrd, Sr., U.S. Fuel Administrator for Virginia. After the\n         war very serious problems began to trouble the Low Moor\n         Iron Company. The demand for iron fell precipitously and a\n         short but severe depression ensued from 1919-1922. The\n         depression seemed to hit the iron industry especially hard.\n         Prices took a huge drop due to the lack of demand, and many\n         pre-war contracts had to be revalued. To compound the\n         company's problems, the Kay Moor Mines went on strike in\n         1919. This strike was quickly settled, as the market for\n         coal was so good that the Low Moor Company ceased taking\n         orders temporarily in 1921 as it could not fill the orders\n         it had on hand.","The Low Moor Company furnaces lay idle for some twenty\n         months. Finally, in November 1922 one of Low Moor's\n         furnaces was finally fired up. While prosperity gradually\n         returned to the rest of the country, the Low Moor Iron\n         Company never recovered. Production of pig iron in the\n         Virginia iron industry declined from 544,034 tons in 1903\n         to 148,053 tons in 1923, considered a good year for the\n         industry as a whole. In February 1926 Low Moor officials\n         talked of merging with two other iron companies in order to\n         revive the iron business for the three companies. The\n         merger, however, never occurred. By late 1926 the company\n         was in the process of liquidation. An advertisement in the\n         Charleston, West Virginia, Daily Mail dated April 30, 1927,\n         told of a huge warehouse sale at the Low Moor Iron Company.\n         The advertisement noted \"thousands of screws, pipe\n         fittings, valves, etc.\" The last piece of correspondence\n         from the Low Moor Iron Company in the collection is dated\n         1929. It deals with the sale of a machine.","Why did the iron industry in Virginia decline as it did?\n         Some say that lack of speed, efficiency, and a decent\n         transportation system for Alleghany County caused it. In a\n         letter from C. E. Bertie, secretary of the Virginia Pig\n         Iron Association, to the \n          Manufacturers Record dated 1925, Bertie claimed that it was the\n         tremendous rise in the cost of transportation. Virginia, he\n         claimed, had almost no home market. Over 80% of its normal\n         production was shipped out to other states. The failure of\n         the Interstate Commerce Commission to treat Virginia\n         furnaces as southern furnaces was the cause of much of the\n         trouble. From 1914-1925 there were four blanket increases\n         in freight rates in the country, of which only one applied\n         equally to all localities. Southern furnaces were received\n         only two increases--a 25% increase in 1918 and a 25%\n         increase in 1920--but northern furnaces had had 5%, 15%,\n         25%, and 40% increases in their transportation costs.\n         Virginia furnaces, although recognized as southern\n         furnaces, had had freight rates increased in line with the\n         northern furnaces. Prior to the war Virginia iron reached\n         all points in Ohio, Indiana, Michigan, and Illinois on a\n         competitive basis with southern furnaces. After World War I\n         the advantage was limited to a small portion of\n         southeastern Ohio. All of Indiana, Illinois, and Michigan\n         were now lost to the Virginia producers. The Virginia\n         producer, according to Bertie, felt that the freight rates\n         should be restored to a relationship with southern\n         furnaces. If what Bertie said was true, the other southern\n         states iron industries should not have been in the same\n         desperate economic straits as Virginia's, and statistics\n         should support this. In the 1920's production rose to new\n         heights in Alabama. In Tennessee, however, iron production\n         plunged to new lows during the 1920's. While the south\n         accounted for 10.2% of the entire U. S. production in the\n         years 1919-1924, Virginia accounted for less than 1% during\n         those years. In 1915 Virginia accounted for over 6% of the\n         U.S. iron production. One can see a decline in other areas\n         of the south than Virginia. While the discrepancies in the\n         freight rates may have helped cause the decline, clearly\n         there are other reasons.","During the 1900's there was a discovery of extremely\n         rich iron ore deposits in the mid-west. Much of this ore\n         was on or near the surface, making the mining of it both\n         easy and inexpensive. This in turn lowered production costs\n         of the pig iron. This caused iron production to shift to\n         that region, and resulted in a decline in the Virginia iron\n         industry. There was a sharp increase in iron production in\n         the mid-west through the 1920's. The iron ore in the\n         mid-west may have been of better quality than Virginia, but\n         the iron ore in Virginia was of sufficient quality to\n         produce a good pig iron. The western ore deposits were not\n         as conveniently located as Virginia deposits, but the\n         inexpensiveness of production more than made up for it.","In examining the rise and fall of the Low Moor Iron\n         Company, we can see a situation in which the conditions for\n         the manufacture of iron were nearly ideal. There was plenty\n         of land for expansion and resources for the manufacture of\n         the iron. The major internal problem faced by the Low Moor\n         Iron Company was that of transportation. External\n         developments, however, caused the final demise of the Low\n         Moor Iron Company.","Low Moor Iron Company Personnel:","Executive Staff: Managing Director, Colonel H. M.\n         Goodwin: ca. 1881. General Managers: H. G. Merry: ca.\n         1884-1902; E. C. Means: ca. 1905-1915; J. P. Guernsey: ca.\n         1915 (acting General Manager); F. U. Humbert: ca.\n         1916-1929. Assistant General Manager: E. B. Wilkinson: ca.\n         1909-1915. Treasurers and Assistant Treasurers: Edward Low:\n         ca. 1886-1898; Frank Lyman (in New York): ca. 1898-1919; S.\n         G. Cragill (Asst. Treasurer): ca. 1900-1915; H. A. Dalton:\n         ca. 1921-1929; John Lipscomb (Asst. Treasurer): ca.\n         1918-1928.","Factory and Mine Supervisors: Kay Moor Superintendents:\n         C. C. Cooke: ca. 1918; Ed. D. Wickes: ca. 1906; H. L.\n         Tansell: ca. 1903; A. H. Reed: ca. 1906. Kay Moor Managers:\n         J. W. Monteith: manager of mines. ca. 1918; promoted in\n         1925 to general superintendent in charge of mine plants,\n         coke ovens, shops, repairs, and construction; A. L.\n         Monteith: assistant superintendent of mines, ca. 1918;\n         George T. Wickes: manager of Covington mines, ca.\n         1906-1917; Ross Howell, ca. 1918. Stack Mines\n         Superintendents: J. H. Carpenter: ca. 1906; C. D.\n         Oberschain: ca. 1907; J. L. Harris: ca. 1903; John S. Ham:\n         ca. 1891-1901. Rich Patch Mines Superintendents: John R.\n         Thompson: foreman, ca. 1906. Low Moor assorted other\n         personnel: S. L. Tulley: trainmaster, ca. 1906; B. J.\n         Shenkley: foreman, Low Moor limestone quarries; L. Q. Wood:\n         assistant traffic manager, ca. 1919.","The Low Moor Iron Company papers consist of\n         approximately 280 four-inch Hollinger archives boxes (ca.\n         95 linear feet) of records, ca. 1885-1927, and some 1200\n         bound volumes of the company's accounting records,\n         1873-1927, of this iron producing company located in Low\n         Moor (four miles southwest of Clifton Forge), Alleghany\n         County, Virginia.","This material consists of records typical of those\n         produced by a firm of this type in the period, but as the\n         company owned its own coal and iron mines and limestone\n         quarries, there is considerable information about the\n         production of these raw materials. Large numbers of the\n         records that deal with the company's employees have\n         survived: time books, payroll books, hands ledgers, and the\n         like. Because these books sometimes include information\n         about the employee's trade or job with the company, and as\n         race is indicated in some of the records, these books\n         should provide date for studies of the structure and upward\n         mobility within the labor force, patterns of\n         ethnic--possibly racial--occupational penetration and\n         mobility, material conditions of the workers, and so on.\n         The papers should permit a range of studies detailing the\n         pattern and evolution of industrial organization in the\n         iron industry, and the evolution of markets and marketing\n         structures for the entire period. Because the company was\n         dependent upon railroads to move its raw materials to the\n         furnaces, and for the marketing of its products, there is\n         considerable information about railroads and their\n         relationship to their customers.","English"],"unitid_tesim":["662"],"normalized_title_ssm":["Papers of the Low Moor Iron Company \n          1873-1927"],"collection_title_tesim":["Papers of the Low Moor Iron Company \n          1873-1927"],"collection_ssim":["Papers of the Low Moor Iron Company \n          1873-1927"],"repository_ssm":["University of Virginia, Special Collections Dept."],"repository_ssim":["University of Virginia, Special Collections Dept."],"acqinfo_ssim":["This collection was purchased from Green Bookman in\n            1939."],"has_online_content_ssim":["false"],"physdesc_tesim":["95 linear feer + 1200\n         volumes"],"arrangement_html_tesm":["\u003cp\u003eThe word \"organization\" is used here with considerable\n         diffidence, for any researcher studying the container list\n         that follows will realize quickly that there is no\n         organization in the usual sense of the word.\u003c/p\u003e","\u003cp\u003eAs noted under \"Provenance,\" the Low Moor Iron Company\n         papers were subjected to a number of moves; when processing\n         began in the fall of 1976, no discernible scheme of\n         organization could be determined.\u003c/p\u003e","\u003cp\u003eThe first step was to review the series of coded numbers\n         placed on the bundles of papers before they were moved to\n         the dormitory attic, but these did not provide any sort of\n         useful organization. Next, the spine titles of the original\n         letter boxes were reviewed (they had been copied onto the\n         gray cardboard sheets before the move to the dormitory\n         attic), but they, too, proved useless.\u003c/p\u003e","\u003cp\u003eThese steps having provided no scheme, and after a\n         considerable hiatus due to a turnover in student processors\n         on the collection, the new student processors were\n         instructed to begin a box-by-box inventory of the contents\n         of the collection. During this inventory, old folders were\n         replaced with acid-free ones, and the original folder\n         headings were copied onto the new ones. Some removal of\n         paper clips was accomplished, and the materials were\n         reviewed and notes taken for the guide.\u003c/p\u003e","\u003cp\u003eSome consolidation of materials was accomplished, and in\n         other cases, materials were moved. This work has created\n         some problems in the numbering of the boxes. Thus, the\n         researchers will find boxes marked \"6A\" and \"23C\"; he will\n         also discover that certain box numbers have been entirely\n         omitted. As the box numbers exist only to aid in the\n         location of material, it was not felt that the unusual\n         numbers and the omissions would cause problems in working\n         with the papers.\u003c/p\u003e","\u003cp\u003eA certain amount of movement of boxes within the\n         collection, and of materials among boxes, probably would\n         ease use of it. But what processing was accomplished on\n         this project took far longer than had been anticipated, and\n         there was no time in the late spring of 1978, when the\n         processors had to complete their work with the project, to\n         undertake a mass movement of material. Thus, they stand in\n         the order in which we found them at the beginning of the\n         project.\u003c/p\u003e"],"arrangement_heading_ssm":["Organization"],"arrangement_tesim":["The word \"organization\" is used here with considerable\n         diffidence, for any researcher studying the container list\n         that follows will realize quickly that there is no\n         organization in the usual sense of the word.","As noted under \"Provenance,\" the Low Moor Iron Company\n         papers were subjected to a number of moves; when processing\n         began in the fall of 1976, no discernible scheme of\n         organization could be determined.","The first step was to review the series of coded numbers\n         placed on the bundles of papers before they were moved to\n         the dormitory attic, but these did not provide any sort of\n         useful organization. Next, the spine titles of the original\n         letter boxes were reviewed (they had been copied onto the\n         gray cardboard sheets before the move to the dormitory\n         attic), but they, too, proved useless.","These steps having provided no scheme, and after a\n         considerable hiatus due to a turnover in student processors\n         on the collection, the new student processors were\n         instructed to begin a box-by-box inventory of the contents\n         of the collection. During this inventory, old folders were\n         replaced with acid-free ones, and the original folder\n         headings were copied onto the new ones. Some removal of\n         paper clips was accomplished, and the materials were\n         reviewed and notes taken for the guide.","Some consolidation of materials was accomplished, and in\n         other cases, materials were moved. This work has created\n         some problems in the numbering of the boxes. Thus, the\n         researchers will find boxes marked \"6A\" and \"23C\"; he will\n         also discover that certain box numbers have been entirely\n         omitted. As the box numbers exist only to aid in the\n         location of material, it was not felt that the unusual\n         numbers and the omissions would cause problems in working\n         with the papers.","A certain amount of movement of boxes within the\n         collection, and of materials among boxes, probably would\n         ease use of it. But what processing was accomplished on\n         this project took far longer than had been anticipated, and\n         there was no time in the late spring of 1978, when the\n         processors had to complete their work with the project, to\n         undertake a mass movement of material. Thus, they stand in\n         the order in which we found them at the beginning of the\n         project."],"bioghist_html_tesm":["\u003cp\u003eThe Low Moor Iron Company, the first producer of pig\n         iron in Virginia according to the company's claims, was a\n         self-contained manufacturing unit producing from its own\n         mines the coal, limestone, and iron ore needed for its iron\n         production. Located in Low Moor near Clifton Forge in\n         Alleghany County in western Virginia, an area rich in\n         mineral deposits, the company was in operation from\n         1872-1930, producing only pig iron; it never attempted to\n         produce finished iron products.\u003c/p\u003e","\u003cp\u003eCoal came to the Low Moor furnaces from the Kay Moor\n         Mines at Kay Moor, West Virginia, about thirty miles from\n         Low Moor; limestone was produced from the Low Moor\n         limestone quarries; and iron ore came from the Fenwick,\n         Dolly Ann, Jordan, Rich Patch, Low Moor, and Longdale\n         Mines, most of them within twenty miles of Low Moor at\n         Covington or Clifton Forge.\u003c/p\u003e","\u003cp\u003eThe towns of Low Moor and Kay Moor were company towns in\n         every respect. Workers lived in company-owned houses,\n         bought food in company stores, worshiped at the company\n         church, saw movies in the company theater, were treated in\n         the company hospital, and were buried in the company\n         cemetery. Workers received part of their pay in scrip that\n         they exchanged for goods and services. According to a\n         statement from the Kay Moor Mines dated November 1904, Kay\n         Moor then employed 338 people, paid them an average wage of\n         $36.26 per month, and issued half of their pay in scrip.\n         Kay Moor had four stores; Low Moor had seven or eight. All\n         of these stores carried large inventories which are\n         detailed in the collection. These inventories are valuable\n         to anyone interested in determining the wants and needs of\n         a coal miner and his family.\u003c/p\u003e","\u003cp\u003eIn the late 1910's and 1920's Kay Moor had a company\n         theater called the Azure Theater which seated about 300\n         people. There were also plans for a company-owned social\n         center, to have pool tables, a soda fountain, and\n         provisions for dancing and skating. The company was in\n         tough economic straits by the 1920's, however, and there is\n         no evidence that the social center was built. The town of\n         Low Moor was so completely under the company's influence\n         that one of Low Moor Iron Company's assistant managers\n         served as the town sheriff. He often foreclosed on people\n         who did not pay their debts, and drove troublesome people\n         \"out of town on a rail\" as he put it.\u003c/p\u003e","\u003cp\u003eThe Low Moor Iron Company's fortunes fluctuated during\n         the various business cycles between the years 1880-1930.\n         Low Moor was one of the larger pig iron producers in\n         Virginia, but Virginia pig iron production was not\n         important nationally. Low Moor officials sometimes sold\n         their product themselves, but more often they used agents,\n         the prevalent method at the time. Low Moor Iron Company\n         used a variety of agents through the 1900's. James F. Bryan\n         acted as the exclusive agent for the sale of Kay Moor Coal\n         from September 21, 1903 to September, 1905. From about 1890\n         until about 1910 Dalton Nash and Company were the exclusive\n         eastern agents of Low Moor Iron. After that time the\n         exclusive agency went to Philips Isham and Company located\n         in New York. From about 1890 the western agency was handled\n         chiefly by Thomas Mack and Company. After 1902 Thomas Mack\n         and Company underwent a name change, becoming Walter\n         Wallingford and Company, with offices located in\n         Cincinnati, Pittsburgh, and Chicago.\u003c/p\u003e","\u003cp\u003ePerhaps the Low Moor Iron Company's biggest problem over\n         the years was obtaining railroad cars for the\n         transportation of its finished product. Low Moor Iron\n         Company had its own cars for transporting its raw materials\n         among its various facilities. For the long haul necessary\n         for its finished goods, however, it depended upon the\n         services of the Chesapeake and Ohio Railroad, and the\n         relationship was not always a happy one. The Low Moor\n         Company complained many times to the C \u0026amp; O Railroad\n         about the discrepancies between long-and shorthaul freight\n         rates. Low Moor also had trouble getting cars from the C\n         \u0026amp; O. In a letter to one of Low Moor Company's agents\n         from an irate customer dated 1898, the customer wrote: \"We\n         wrote you on Saturday and endeavored to question upon your\n         mind the necessity of taking care of us with Low Moor iron.\n         We are on our uppers--there is not a pound of Low Moor iron\n         in the yard. Of the one hundred tons ordered some time ago,\n         not one pound of it has been received.\" This was, according\n         to the Low Moor Iron Company, because they could not get\n         the railroad cars. In a letter from Thomas Mack and Company\n         dated November 26, 1901, to General Manager E. C. Means:\n         \"We are hopeful that the car supply will get better because\n         of the number of orders you have of ours for prompt\n         shipment. Our customers are complaining that they are not\n         getting the iron fast enough. . . . We hope that the\n         railroad will be able to supply you with empty cars.\" In\n         another letter dated 1916 to John B. Guernsey, then acting\n         General Manager of the Low Moor Iron Company, \"We were not\n         supplied with coke cars for today's loading, and\n         consequently we have been practically down of Kay Moor\n         ovens all day.\"\u003c/p\u003e","\u003cp\u003eThe problem of procuring labor also plagued the Low Moor\n         Company. The company sometimes tried to hire immigrant\n         laborers and send the men directly to Low Moor from New\n         York City. There were problems with this, as is explained\n         in the following letter dated April 7, 1906: \n         \u003cblockquote\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eTo Mr. George Wickes \n            \u003clb\u003e\u003c/lb\u003eSupt. of Mines \n            \u003clb\u003e\u003c/lb\u003eKay Moor, Virginia \n            \u003clb\u003e\u003c/lb\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eDear George, \n            \u003clb\u003e\u003c/lb\u003eTony arrived with twenty one men last night. One\n            got away in Jersey two in Washington D.C., four in\n            Charlottesville. Some of the men are very good looking,\n            but taken as a whole they are the worst lot I have ever\n            seen: Irish, German-Jews, and Italians. . . . Our New\n            York transportations to this place have never been a\n            success.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eSigned, \n            \u003clb\u003e\u003c/lb\u003eEd D. Wickes Supt. of Mines\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/blockquote\u003eLow Moor usually employed labor agencies, one\n         of which was Atwood's Employment Agency. Often the Low Moor\n         Company would request certain nationalities, believing them\n         to be better workers than others. Sometimes the company\n         would request a gang of twenty made up of \"ten Greeks and\n         ten Italians.\" Many of the immigrants fled Low Moor and Kay\n         Moor when they learned that they would have to work\n         underground. There is a fair amount of material on\n         immigrant labor and its procurement in the collection, and\n         it is noted in the description of the box contents.\u003c/p\u003e","\u003cp\u003eLow Moor Iron Company not only had trouble procuring\n         labor, but it also had trouble with labor already employed\n         in the mines and at the factory. Labor dissension and\n         strikes troubled the Kay Moor Mines through the 1900's. The\n         great coal strike of 1902 hurt the Low Moor Company's coal\n         mining operation, but by 1903 things were \"nearly back to\n         normal\" according to the mine superintendent. There was\n         still trouble at Kay Moor Mines, however. In a letter dated\n         April 26, 1906, to the treasurer of Low Moor Company, the\n         manager of the mines wrote about the trouble in \"trying to\n         get the agitators out.\" The mines were seventy-five men\n         short of the total labor force needed because many of the\n         coal miners returned to their farms during the spring.\n         There were rumblings of another strike at Kay Moor, the\n         result of which was to be a fourteen percent increase in\n         wages for the Kay Moor Mine workers via an agreement with\n         the United Mine Workers Union in December.\u003c/p\u003e","\u003cp\u003eThe Low Moor Iron Company grew along with the rest of\n         Virginia industry in the 1890's and 1900's. Starting with\n         only one furnace in the 1870's, it opened a second furnace\n         at Covington, Virginia, in 1891. In 1911 it opened a third\n         furnace, this time at Low Moor. Covington, with its heavy\n         industry, soon became known as the \"Pittsburgh of\n         Virginia.\" Virginia's pig iron production rose from 9,000\n         short tons in 1870 to 544,034 long tons in 1903. Judging\n         from the Low Moor Company's correspondence, the most\n         prosperous period for the company fell between the years\n         1895-1907. In the years between 1907-1917 problems befell\n         the Virginia pig iron industry. In a letter from William W.\n         Hearns, the president of the Virginia based Princess Pig\n         Iron Company, to U. S. Senator Thomas S. Martin, Hearns\n         writes of the problems of the Virginia pig iron industry:\n         \"There is not a blast furnace in Virginia that is making\n         any money from the manufacture of pig iron. The cause of\n         this is there is an exceedingly low price on pig iron in\n         the country at the present time, and the increased cost of\n         manufacturing is due to the increase in wages in all\n         lines.\" With the outbreak of World War I prices rose\n         dramatically, but in a market report to Low Moor dated\n         November 11, 1916, it was stated that: \"In spite of the\n         high prices, it is not a picnic to be in the iron industry.\n         There is a desperate shortage of cars and equipment in the\n         coal and iron districts, and in consequence there are\n         troubles of all kinds to get materials shipped. The\n         situation has grown serious.\"\u003c/p\u003e","\u003cp\u003eWhen America became involved in the First World War, it\n         meant a boost for the Low Moor Iron Company. The government\n         helped it procure labor, and even helped it repair its\n         furnaces. The problem of supplies and cars for their\n         shipments, however, plagued the company more than ever. It\n         had a good deal of trouble getting all the raw materials it\n         needed due chiefly to the \"tight ship\" run by Harry F.\n         Byrd, Sr., U.S. Fuel Administrator for Virginia. After the\n         war very serious problems began to trouble the Low Moor\n         Iron Company. The demand for iron fell precipitously and a\n         short but severe depression ensued from 1919-1922. The\n         depression seemed to hit the iron industry especially hard.\n         Prices took a huge drop due to the lack of demand, and many\n         pre-war contracts had to be revalued. To compound the\n         company's problems, the Kay Moor Mines went on strike in\n         1919. This strike was quickly settled, as the market for\n         coal was so good that the Low Moor Company ceased taking\n         orders temporarily in 1921 as it could not fill the orders\n         it had on hand.\u003c/p\u003e","\u003cp\u003eThe Low Moor Company furnaces lay idle for some twenty\n         months. Finally, in November 1922 one of Low Moor's\n         furnaces was finally fired up. While prosperity gradually\n         returned to the rest of the country, the Low Moor Iron\n         Company never recovered. Production of pig iron in the\n         Virginia iron industry declined from 544,034 tons in 1903\n         to 148,053 tons in 1923, considered a good year for the\n         industry as a whole. In February 1926 Low Moor officials\n         talked of merging with two other iron companies in order to\n         revive the iron business for the three companies. The\n         merger, however, never occurred. By late 1926 the company\n         was in the process of liquidation. An advertisement in the\n         Charleston, West Virginia, Daily Mail dated April 30, 1927,\n         told of a huge warehouse sale at the Low Moor Iron Company.\n         The advertisement noted \"thousands of screws, pipe\n         fittings, valves, etc.\" The last piece of correspondence\n         from the Low Moor Iron Company in the collection is dated\n         1929. It deals with the sale of a machine.\u003c/p\u003e","\u003cp\u003eWhy did the iron industry in Virginia decline as it did?\n         Some say that lack of speed, efficiency, and a decent\n         transportation system for Alleghany County caused it. In a\n         letter from C. E. Bertie, secretary of the Virginia Pig\n         Iron Association, to the \n         \u003cbibref type=\"simple\" href=\"\"\u003e\u003ctitle type=\"simple\" href=\"\"\u003eManufacturers Record\u003c/title\u003e\u003c/bibref\u003edated 1925, Bertie claimed that it was the\n         tremendous rise in the cost of transportation. Virginia, he\n         claimed, had almost no home market. Over 80% of its normal\n         production was shipped out to other states. The failure of\n         the Interstate Commerce Commission to treat Virginia\n         furnaces as southern furnaces was the cause of much of the\n         trouble. From 1914-1925 there were four blanket increases\n         in freight rates in the country, of which only one applied\n         equally to all localities. Southern furnaces were received\n         only two increases--a 25% increase in 1918 and a 25%\n         increase in 1920--but northern furnaces had had 5%, 15%,\n         25%, and 40% increases in their transportation costs.\n         Virginia furnaces, although recognized as southern\n         furnaces, had had freight rates increased in line with the\n         northern furnaces. Prior to the war Virginia iron reached\n         all points in Ohio, Indiana, Michigan, and Illinois on a\n         competitive basis with southern furnaces. After World War I\n         the advantage was limited to a small portion of\n         southeastern Ohio. All of Indiana, Illinois, and Michigan\n         were now lost to the Virginia producers. The Virginia\n         producer, according to Bertie, felt that the freight rates\n         should be restored to a relationship with southern\n         furnaces. If what Bertie said was true, the other southern\n         states iron industries should not have been in the same\n         desperate economic straits as Virginia's, and statistics\n         should support this. In the 1920's production rose to new\n         heights in Alabama. In Tennessee, however, iron production\n         plunged to new lows during the 1920's. While the south\n         accounted for 10.2% of the entire U. S. production in the\n         years 1919-1924, Virginia accounted for less than 1% during\n         those years. In 1915 Virginia accounted for over 6% of the\n         U.S. iron production. One can see a decline in other areas\n         of the south than Virginia. While the discrepancies in the\n         freight rates may have helped cause the decline, clearly\n         there are other reasons.\u003c/p\u003e","\u003cp\u003eDuring the 1900's there was a discovery of extremely\n         rich iron ore deposits in the mid-west. Much of this ore\n         was on or near the surface, making the mining of it both\n         easy and inexpensive. This in turn lowered production costs\n         of the pig iron. This caused iron production to shift to\n         that region, and resulted in a decline in the Virginia iron\n         industry. There was a sharp increase in iron production in\n         the mid-west through the 1920's. The iron ore in the\n         mid-west may have been of better quality than Virginia, but\n         the iron ore in Virginia was of sufficient quality to\n         produce a good pig iron. The western ore deposits were not\n         as conveniently located as Virginia deposits, but the\n         inexpensiveness of production more than made up for it.\u003c/p\u003e","\u003cp\u003eIn examining the rise and fall of the Low Moor Iron\n         Company, we can see a situation in which the conditions for\n         the manufacture of iron were nearly ideal. There was plenty\n         of land for expansion and resources for the manufacture of\n         the iron. The major internal problem faced by the Low Moor\n         Iron Company was that of transportation. External\n         developments, however, caused the final demise of the Low\n         Moor Iron Company.\u003c/p\u003e","\u003cp\u003eLow Moor Iron Company Personnel:\u003c/p\u003e","\u003cp\u003eExecutive Staff: Managing Director, Colonel H. M.\n         Goodwin: ca. 1881. General Managers: H. G. Merry: ca.\n         1884-1902; E. C. Means: ca. 1905-1915; J. P. Guernsey: ca.\n         1915 (acting General Manager); F. U. Humbert: ca.\n         1916-1929. Assistant General Manager: E. B. Wilkinson: ca.\n         1909-1915. Treasurers and Assistant Treasurers: Edward Low:\n         ca. 1886-1898; Frank Lyman (in New York): ca. 1898-1919; S.\n         G. Cragill (Asst. Treasurer): ca. 1900-1915; H. A. Dalton:\n         ca. 1921-1929; John Lipscomb (Asst. Treasurer): ca.\n         1918-1928.\u003c/p\u003e","\u003cp\u003eFactory and Mine Supervisors: Kay Moor Superintendents:\n         C. C. Cooke: ca. 1918; Ed. D. Wickes: ca. 1906; H. L.\n         Tansell: ca. 1903; A. H. Reed: ca. 1906. Kay Moor Managers:\n         J. W. Monteith: manager of mines. ca. 1918; promoted in\n         1925 to general superintendent in charge of mine plants,\n         coke ovens, shops, repairs, and construction; A. L.\n         Monteith: assistant superintendent of mines, ca. 1918;\n         George T. Wickes: manager of Covington mines, ca.\n         1906-1917; Ross Howell, ca. 1918. Stack Mines\n         Superintendents: J. H. Carpenter: ca. 1906; C. D.\n         Oberschain: ca. 1907; J. L. Harris: ca. 1903; John S. Ham:\n         ca. 1891-1901. Rich Patch Mines Superintendents: John R.\n         Thompson: foreman, ca. 1906. Low Moor assorted other\n         personnel: S. L. Tulley: trainmaster, ca. 1906; B. J.\n         Shenkley: foreman, Low Moor limestone quarries; L. Q. Wood:\n         assistant traffic manager, ca. 1919.\u003c/p\u003e"],"bioghist_heading_ssm":["Biographical/Historical Information"],"bioghist_tesim":["The Low Moor Iron Company, the first producer of pig\n         iron in Virginia according to the company's claims, was a\n         self-contained manufacturing unit producing from its own\n         mines the coal, limestone, and iron ore needed for its iron\n         production. Located in Low Moor near Clifton Forge in\n         Alleghany County in western Virginia, an area rich in\n         mineral deposits, the company was in operation from\n         1872-1930, producing only pig iron; it never attempted to\n         produce finished iron products.","Coal came to the Low Moor furnaces from the Kay Moor\n         Mines at Kay Moor, West Virginia, about thirty miles from\n         Low Moor; limestone was produced from the Low Moor\n         limestone quarries; and iron ore came from the Fenwick,\n         Dolly Ann, Jordan, Rich Patch, Low Moor, and Longdale\n         Mines, most of them within twenty miles of Low Moor at\n         Covington or Clifton Forge.","The towns of Low Moor and Kay Moor were company towns in\n         every respect. Workers lived in company-owned houses,\n         bought food in company stores, worshiped at the company\n         church, saw movies in the company theater, were treated in\n         the company hospital, and were buried in the company\n         cemetery. Workers received part of their pay in scrip that\n         they exchanged for goods and services. According to a\n         statement from the Kay Moor Mines dated November 1904, Kay\n         Moor then employed 338 people, paid them an average wage of\n         $36.26 per month, and issued half of their pay in scrip.\n         Kay Moor had four stores; Low Moor had seven or eight. All\n         of these stores carried large inventories which are\n         detailed in the collection. These inventories are valuable\n         to anyone interested in determining the wants and needs of\n         a coal miner and his family.","In the late 1910's and 1920's Kay Moor had a company\n         theater called the Azure Theater which seated about 300\n         people. There were also plans for a company-owned social\n         center, to have pool tables, a soda fountain, and\n         provisions for dancing and skating. The company was in\n         tough economic straits by the 1920's, however, and there is\n         no evidence that the social center was built. The town of\n         Low Moor was so completely under the company's influence\n         that one of Low Moor Iron Company's assistant managers\n         served as the town sheriff. He often foreclosed on people\n         who did not pay their debts, and drove troublesome people\n         \"out of town on a rail\" as he put it.","The Low Moor Iron Company's fortunes fluctuated during\n         the various business cycles between the years 1880-1930.\n         Low Moor was one of the larger pig iron producers in\n         Virginia, but Virginia pig iron production was not\n         important nationally. Low Moor officials sometimes sold\n         their product themselves, but more often they used agents,\n         the prevalent method at the time. Low Moor Iron Company\n         used a variety of agents through the 1900's. James F. Bryan\n         acted as the exclusive agent for the sale of Kay Moor Coal\n         from September 21, 1903 to September, 1905. From about 1890\n         until about 1910 Dalton Nash and Company were the exclusive\n         eastern agents of Low Moor Iron. After that time the\n         exclusive agency went to Philips Isham and Company located\n         in New York. From about 1890 the western agency was handled\n         chiefly by Thomas Mack and Company. After 1902 Thomas Mack\n         and Company underwent a name change, becoming Walter\n         Wallingford and Company, with offices located in\n         Cincinnati, Pittsburgh, and Chicago.","Perhaps the Low Moor Iron Company's biggest problem over\n         the years was obtaining railroad cars for the\n         transportation of its finished product. Low Moor Iron\n         Company had its own cars for transporting its raw materials\n         among its various facilities. For the long haul necessary\n         for its finished goods, however, it depended upon the\n         services of the Chesapeake and Ohio Railroad, and the\n         relationship was not always a happy one. The Low Moor\n         Company complained many times to the C \u0026 O Railroad\n         about the discrepancies between long-and shorthaul freight\n         rates. Low Moor also had trouble getting cars from the C\n         \u0026 O. In a letter to one of Low Moor Company's agents\n         from an irate customer dated 1898, the customer wrote: \"We\n         wrote you on Saturday and endeavored to question upon your\n         mind the necessity of taking care of us with Low Moor iron.\n         We are on our uppers--there is not a pound of Low Moor iron\n         in the yard. Of the one hundred tons ordered some time ago,\n         not one pound of it has been received.\" This was, according\n         to the Low Moor Iron Company, because they could not get\n         the railroad cars. In a letter from Thomas Mack and Company\n         dated November 26, 1901, to General Manager E. C. Means:\n         \"We are hopeful that the car supply will get better because\n         of the number of orders you have of ours for prompt\n         shipment. Our customers are complaining that they are not\n         getting the iron fast enough. . . . We hope that the\n         railroad will be able to supply you with empty cars.\" In\n         another letter dated 1916 to John B. Guernsey, then acting\n         General Manager of the Low Moor Iron Company, \"We were not\n         supplied with coke cars for today's loading, and\n         consequently we have been practically down of Kay Moor\n         ovens all day.\"","The problem of procuring labor also plagued the Low Moor\n         Company. The company sometimes tried to hire immigrant\n         laborers and send the men directly to Low Moor from New\n         York City. There were problems with this, as is explained\n         in the following letter dated April 7, 1906: \n          To Mr. George Wickes \n             Supt. of Mines \n             Kay Moor, Virginia \n             Dear George, \n             Tony arrived with twenty one men last night. One\n            got away in Jersey two in Washington D.C., four in\n            Charlottesville. Some of the men are very good looking,\n            but taken as a whole they are the worst lot I have ever\n            seen: Irish, German-Jews, and Italians. . . . Our New\n            York transportations to this place have never been a\n            success. Signed, \n             Ed D. Wickes Supt. of Mines Low Moor usually employed labor agencies, one\n         of which was Atwood's Employment Agency. Often the Low Moor\n         Company would request certain nationalities, believing them\n         to be better workers than others. Sometimes the company\n         would request a gang of twenty made up of \"ten Greeks and\n         ten Italians.\" Many of the immigrants fled Low Moor and Kay\n         Moor when they learned that they would have to work\n         underground. There is a fair amount of material on\n         immigrant labor and its procurement in the collection, and\n         it is noted in the description of the box contents.","Low Moor Iron Company not only had trouble procuring\n         labor, but it also had trouble with labor already employed\n         in the mines and at the factory. Labor dissension and\n         strikes troubled the Kay Moor Mines through the 1900's. The\n         great coal strike of 1902 hurt the Low Moor Company's coal\n         mining operation, but by 1903 things were \"nearly back to\n         normal\" according to the mine superintendent. There was\n         still trouble at Kay Moor Mines, however. In a letter dated\n         April 26, 1906, to the treasurer of Low Moor Company, the\n         manager of the mines wrote about the trouble in \"trying to\n         get the agitators out.\" The mines were seventy-five men\n         short of the total labor force needed because many of the\n         coal miners returned to their farms during the spring.\n         There were rumblings of another strike at Kay Moor, the\n         result of which was to be a fourteen percent increase in\n         wages for the Kay Moor Mine workers via an agreement with\n         the United Mine Workers Union in December.","The Low Moor Iron Company grew along with the rest of\n         Virginia industry in the 1890's and 1900's. Starting with\n         only one furnace in the 1870's, it opened a second furnace\n         at Covington, Virginia, in 1891. In 1911 it opened a third\n         furnace, this time at Low Moor. Covington, with its heavy\n         industry, soon became known as the \"Pittsburgh of\n         Virginia.\" Virginia's pig iron production rose from 9,000\n         short tons in 1870 to 544,034 long tons in 1903. Judging\n         from the Low Moor Company's correspondence, the most\n         prosperous period for the company fell between the years\n         1895-1907. In the years between 1907-1917 problems befell\n         the Virginia pig iron industry. In a letter from William W.\n         Hearns, the president of the Virginia based Princess Pig\n         Iron Company, to U. S. Senator Thomas S. Martin, Hearns\n         writes of the problems of the Virginia pig iron industry:\n         \"There is not a blast furnace in Virginia that is making\n         any money from the manufacture of pig iron. The cause of\n         this is there is an exceedingly low price on pig iron in\n         the country at the present time, and the increased cost of\n         manufacturing is due to the increase in wages in all\n         lines.\" With the outbreak of World War I prices rose\n         dramatically, but in a market report to Low Moor dated\n         November 11, 1916, it was stated that: \"In spite of the\n         high prices, it is not a picnic to be in the iron industry.\n         There is a desperate shortage of cars and equipment in the\n         coal and iron districts, and in consequence there are\n         troubles of all kinds to get materials shipped. The\n         situation has grown serious.\"","When America became involved in the First World War, it\n         meant a boost for the Low Moor Iron Company. The government\n         helped it procure labor, and even helped it repair its\n         furnaces. The problem of supplies and cars for their\n         shipments, however, plagued the company more than ever. It\n         had a good deal of trouble getting all the raw materials it\n         needed due chiefly to the \"tight ship\" run by Harry F.\n         Byrd, Sr., U.S. Fuel Administrator for Virginia. After the\n         war very serious problems began to trouble the Low Moor\n         Iron Company. The demand for iron fell precipitously and a\n         short but severe depression ensued from 1919-1922. The\n         depression seemed to hit the iron industry especially hard.\n         Prices took a huge drop due to the lack of demand, and many\n         pre-war contracts had to be revalued. To compound the\n         company's problems, the Kay Moor Mines went on strike in\n         1919. This strike was quickly settled, as the market for\n         coal was so good that the Low Moor Company ceased taking\n         orders temporarily in 1921 as it could not fill the orders\n         it had on hand.","The Low Moor Company furnaces lay idle for some twenty\n         months. Finally, in November 1922 one of Low Moor's\n         furnaces was finally fired up. While prosperity gradually\n         returned to the rest of the country, the Low Moor Iron\n         Company never recovered. Production of pig iron in the\n         Virginia iron industry declined from 544,034 tons in 1903\n         to 148,053 tons in 1923, considered a good year for the\n         industry as a whole. In February 1926 Low Moor officials\n         talked of merging with two other iron companies in order to\n         revive the iron business for the three companies. The\n         merger, however, never occurred. By late 1926 the company\n         was in the process of liquidation. An advertisement in the\n         Charleston, West Virginia, Daily Mail dated April 30, 1927,\n         told of a huge warehouse sale at the Low Moor Iron Company.\n         The advertisement noted \"thousands of screws, pipe\n         fittings, valves, etc.\" The last piece of correspondence\n         from the Low Moor Iron Company in the collection is dated\n         1929. It deals with the sale of a machine.","Why did the iron industry in Virginia decline as it did?\n         Some say that lack of speed, efficiency, and a decent\n         transportation system for Alleghany County caused it. In a\n         letter from C. E. Bertie, secretary of the Virginia Pig\n         Iron Association, to the \n          Manufacturers Record dated 1925, Bertie claimed that it was the\n         tremendous rise in the cost of transportation. Virginia, he\n         claimed, had almost no home market. Over 80% of its normal\n         production was shipped out to other states. The failure of\n         the Interstate Commerce Commission to treat Virginia\n         furnaces as southern furnaces was the cause of much of the\n         trouble. From 1914-1925 there were four blanket increases\n         in freight rates in the country, of which only one applied\n         equally to all localities. Southern furnaces were received\n         only two increases--a 25% increase in 1918 and a 25%\n         increase in 1920--but northern furnaces had had 5%, 15%,\n         25%, and 40% increases in their transportation costs.\n         Virginia furnaces, although recognized as southern\n         furnaces, had had freight rates increased in line with the\n         northern furnaces. Prior to the war Virginia iron reached\n         all points in Ohio, Indiana, Michigan, and Illinois on a\n         competitive basis with southern furnaces. After World War I\n         the advantage was limited to a small portion of\n         southeastern Ohio. All of Indiana, Illinois, and Michigan\n         were now lost to the Virginia producers. The Virginia\n         producer, according to Bertie, felt that the freight rates\n         should be restored to a relationship with southern\n         furnaces. If what Bertie said was true, the other southern\n         states iron industries should not have been in the same\n         desperate economic straits as Virginia's, and statistics\n         should support this. In the 1920's production rose to new\n         heights in Alabama. In Tennessee, however, iron production\n         plunged to new lows during the 1920's. While the south\n         accounted for 10.2% of the entire U. S. production in the\n         years 1919-1924, Virginia accounted for less than 1% during\n         those years. In 1915 Virginia accounted for over 6% of the\n         U.S. iron production. One can see a decline in other areas\n         of the south than Virginia. While the discrepancies in the\n         freight rates may have helped cause the decline, clearly\n         there are other reasons.","During the 1900's there was a discovery of extremely\n         rich iron ore deposits in the mid-west. Much of this ore\n         was on or near the surface, making the mining of it both\n         easy and inexpensive. This in turn lowered production costs\n         of the pig iron. This caused iron production to shift to\n         that region, and resulted in a decline in the Virginia iron\n         industry. There was a sharp increase in iron production in\n         the mid-west through the 1920's. The iron ore in the\n         mid-west may have been of better quality than Virginia, but\n         the iron ore in Virginia was of sufficient quality to\n         produce a good pig iron. The western ore deposits were not\n         as conveniently located as Virginia deposits, but the\n         inexpensiveness of production more than made up for it.","In examining the rise and fall of the Low Moor Iron\n         Company, we can see a situation in which the conditions for\n         the manufacture of iron were nearly ideal. There was plenty\n         of land for expansion and resources for the manufacture of\n         the iron. The major internal problem faced by the Low Moor\n         Iron Company was that of transportation. External\n         developments, however, caused the final demise of the Low\n         Moor Iron Company.","Low Moor Iron Company Personnel:","Executive Staff: Managing Director, Colonel H. M.\n         Goodwin: ca. 1881. General Managers: H. G. Merry: ca.\n         1884-1902; E. C. Means: ca. 1905-1915; J. P. Guernsey: ca.\n         1915 (acting General Manager); F. U. Humbert: ca.\n         1916-1929. Assistant General Manager: E. B. Wilkinson: ca.\n         1909-1915. Treasurers and Assistant Treasurers: Edward Low:\n         ca. 1886-1898; Frank Lyman (in New York): ca. 1898-1919; S.\n         G. Cragill (Asst. Treasurer): ca. 1900-1915; H. A. Dalton:\n         ca. 1921-1929; John Lipscomb (Asst. Treasurer): ca.\n         1918-1928.","Factory and Mine Supervisors: Kay Moor Superintendents:\n         C. C. Cooke: ca. 1918; Ed. D. Wickes: ca. 1906; H. L.\n         Tansell: ca. 1903; A. H. Reed: ca. 1906. Kay Moor Managers:\n         J. W. Monteith: manager of mines. ca. 1918; promoted in\n         1925 to general superintendent in charge of mine plants,\n         coke ovens, shops, repairs, and construction; A. L.\n         Monteith: assistant superintendent of mines, ca. 1918;\n         George T. Wickes: manager of Covington mines, ca.\n         1906-1917; Ross Howell, ca. 1918. Stack Mines\n         Superintendents: J. H. Carpenter: ca. 1906; C. D.\n         Oberschain: ca. 1907; J. L. Harris: ca. 1903; John S. Ham:\n         ca. 1891-1901. Rich Patch Mines Superintendents: John R.\n         Thompson: foreman, ca. 1906. Low Moor assorted other\n         personnel: S. L. Tulley: trainmaster, ca. 1906; B. J.\n         Shenkley: foreman, Low Moor limestone quarries; L. Q. Wood:\n         assistant traffic manager, ca. 1919."],"scopecontent_html_tesm":["\u003cp\u003eThe Low Moor Iron Company papers consist of\n         approximately 280 four-inch Hollinger archives boxes (ca.\n         95 linear feet) of records, ca. 1885-1927, and some 1200\n         bound volumes of the company's accounting records,\n         1873-1927, of this iron producing company located in Low\n         Moor (four miles southwest of Clifton Forge), Alleghany\n         County, Virginia.\u003c/p\u003e","\u003cp\u003eThis material consists of records typical of those\n         produced by a firm of this type in the period, but as the\n         company owned its own coal and iron mines and limestone\n         quarries, there is considerable information about the\n         production of these raw materials. Large numbers of the\n         records that deal with the company's employees have\n         survived: time books, payroll books, hands ledgers, and the\n         like. Because these books sometimes include information\n         about the employee's trade or job with the company, and as\n         race is indicated in some of the records, these books\n         should provide date for studies of the structure and upward\n         mobility within the labor force, patterns of\n         ethnic--possibly racial--occupational penetration and\n         mobility, material conditions of the workers, and so on.\n         The papers should permit a range of studies detailing the\n         pattern and evolution of industrial organization in the\n         iron industry, and the evolution of markets and marketing\n         structures for the entire period. Because the company was\n         dependent upon railroads to move its raw materials to the\n         furnaces, and for the marketing of its products, there is\n         considerable information about railroads and their\n         relationship to their customers.\u003c/p\u003e"],"scopecontent_heading_ssm":["Scope and Content Information"],"scopecontent_tesim":["The Low Moor Iron Company papers consist of\n         approximately 280 four-inch Hollinger archives boxes (ca.\n         95 linear feet) of records, ca. 1885-1927, and some 1200\n         bound volumes of the company's accounting records,\n         1873-1927, of this iron producing company located in Low\n         Moor (four miles southwest of Clifton Forge), Alleghany\n         County, Virginia.","This material consists of records typical of those\n         produced by a firm of this type in the period, but as the\n         company owned its own coal and iron mines and limestone\n         quarries, there is considerable information about the\n         production of these raw materials. Large numbers of the\n         records that deal with the company's employees have\n         survived: time books, payroll books, hands ledgers, and the\n         like. Because these books sometimes include information\n         about the employee's trade or job with the company, and as\n         race is indicated in some of the records, these books\n         should provide date for studies of the structure and upward\n         mobility within the labor force, patterns of\n         ethnic--possibly racial--occupational penetration and\n         mobility, material conditions of the workers, and so on.\n         The papers should permit a range of studies detailing the\n         pattern and evolution of industrial organization in the\n         iron industry, and the evolution of markets and marketing\n         structures for the entire period. Because the company was\n         dependent upon railroads to move its raw materials to the\n         furnaces, and for the marketing of its products, there is\n         considerable information about railroads and their\n         relationship to their customers."],"language_ssim":["English"],"total_component_count_is":1879,"online_item_count_is":0,"component_level_isim":[0],"sort_isi":0,"timestamp":"2026-05-01T02:17:12.165Z"}]}},"label":"Breadcrumbs"}}},"links":{"self":"https://search.arvasarchive.org/catalog/viu_viu00917_c01_c12_c07"}},{"id":"viu_viu00917_c01_c10_c07","type":"Subseries","attributes":{"title":"G. Store #8","breadcrumbs":{"id":"https://search.arvasarchive.org/catalog/viu_viu00917_c01_c10_c07#breadcrumbs","type":"document_value","attributes":{"value":{"ref_ssi":"viu_viu00917_c01_c10_c07","ref_ssm":["viu_viu00917_c01_c10_c07"],"id":"viu_viu00917_c01_c10_c07","ead_ssi":"viu_viu00917","_root_":"viu_viu00917","_nest_parent_":"viu_viu00917_c01_c10","parent_ssi":"viu_viu00917_c01_c10","parent_ssim":["viu_viu00917","viu_viu00917_c01","viu_viu00917_c01_c10"],"parent_ids_ssim":["viu_viu00917","viu_viu00917_c01","viu_viu00917_c01_c10"],"parent_unittitles_ssm":["Papers of the Low Moor Iron Company \n          1873-1927","Bound Volumes","Inventories"],"parent_unittitles_tesim":["Papers of the Low Moor Iron Company \n          1873-1927","Bound Volumes","Inventories"],"text":["Papers of the Low Moor Iron Company \n          1873-1927","Bound Volumes","Inventories","G. Store #8","15 volumes"],"title_filing_ssi":"G. Store #8","title_ssm":["G. Store #8"],"title_tesim":["G. Store #8"],"unitdate_other_ssim":["1904-1916"],"normalized_date_ssm":["1904/1916"],"normalized_title_ssm":["G. Store #8"],"component_level_isim":[3],"repository_ssim":["University of Virginia, Special Collections Dept."],"collection_ssim":["Papers of the Low Moor Iron Company \n          1873-1927"],"physdesc_tesim":["15 volumes"],"has_online_content_ssim":["false"],"child_component_count_isi":0,"level_ssm":["Subseries"],"level_ssim":["Subseries"],"sort_isi":41,"date_range_isim":[1904,1905,1906,1907,1908,1909,1910,1911,1912,1913,1914,1915,1916],"_nest_path_":"/components#0/components#9/components#6","timestamp":"2026-05-01T02:17:12.165Z","collection":{"numFound":1,"start":0,"numFoundExact":true,"docs":[{"id":"viu_viu00917","ead_ssi":"viu_viu00917","_root_":"viu_viu00917","_nest_parent_":"viu_viu00917","ead_source_url_ssi":"data/uva-sc/viu00917.xml","title_ssm":["Papers of the Low Moor Iron Company \n          1873-1927"],"title_tesim":["Papers of the Low Moor Iron Company \n          1873-1927"],"level_ssm":["collection"],"level_ssim":["Collection"],"unitid_ssm":["662"],"text":["662","Papers of the Low Moor Iron Company \n          1873-1927","95 linear feer + 1200\n         volumes","The word \"organization\" is used here with considerable\n         diffidence, for any researcher studying the container list\n         that follows will realize quickly that there is no\n         organization in the usual sense of the word.","As noted under \"Provenance,\" the Low Moor Iron Company\n         papers were subjected to a number of moves; when processing\n         began in the fall of 1976, no discernible scheme of\n         organization could be determined.","The first step was to review the series of coded numbers\n         placed on the bundles of papers before they were moved to\n         the dormitory attic, but these did not provide any sort of\n         useful organization. Next, the spine titles of the original\n         letter boxes were reviewed (they had been copied onto the\n         gray cardboard sheets before the move to the dormitory\n         attic), but they, too, proved useless.","These steps having provided no scheme, and after a\n         considerable hiatus due to a turnover in student processors\n         on the collection, the new student processors were\n         instructed to begin a box-by-box inventory of the contents\n         of the collection. During this inventory, old folders were\n         replaced with acid-free ones, and the original folder\n         headings were copied onto the new ones. Some removal of\n         paper clips was accomplished, and the materials were\n         reviewed and notes taken for the guide.","Some consolidation of materials was accomplished, and in\n         other cases, materials were moved. This work has created\n         some problems in the numbering of the boxes. Thus, the\n         researchers will find boxes marked \"6A\" and \"23C\"; he will\n         also discover that certain box numbers have been entirely\n         omitted. As the box numbers exist only to aid in the\n         location of material, it was not felt that the unusual\n         numbers and the omissions would cause problems in working\n         with the papers.","A certain amount of movement of boxes within the\n         collection, and of materials among boxes, probably would\n         ease use of it. But what processing was accomplished on\n         this project took far longer than had been anticipated, and\n         there was no time in the late spring of 1978, when the\n         processors had to complete their work with the project, to\n         undertake a mass movement of material. Thus, they stand in\n         the order in which we found them at the beginning of the\n         project.","The Low Moor Iron Company, the first producer of pig\n         iron in Virginia according to the company's claims, was a\n         self-contained manufacturing unit producing from its own\n         mines the coal, limestone, and iron ore needed for its iron\n         production. Located in Low Moor near Clifton Forge in\n         Alleghany County in western Virginia, an area rich in\n         mineral deposits, the company was in operation from\n         1872-1930, producing only pig iron; it never attempted to\n         produce finished iron products.","Coal came to the Low Moor furnaces from the Kay Moor\n         Mines at Kay Moor, West Virginia, about thirty miles from\n         Low Moor; limestone was produced from the Low Moor\n         limestone quarries; and iron ore came from the Fenwick,\n         Dolly Ann, Jordan, Rich Patch, Low Moor, and Longdale\n         Mines, most of them within twenty miles of Low Moor at\n         Covington or Clifton Forge.","The towns of Low Moor and Kay Moor were company towns in\n         every respect. Workers lived in company-owned houses,\n         bought food in company stores, worshiped at the company\n         church, saw movies in the company theater, were treated in\n         the company hospital, and were buried in the company\n         cemetery. Workers received part of their pay in scrip that\n         they exchanged for goods and services. According to a\n         statement from the Kay Moor Mines dated November 1904, Kay\n         Moor then employed 338 people, paid them an average wage of\n         $36.26 per month, and issued half of their pay in scrip.\n         Kay Moor had four stores; Low Moor had seven or eight. All\n         of these stores carried large inventories which are\n         detailed in the collection. These inventories are valuable\n         to anyone interested in determining the wants and needs of\n         a coal miner and his family.","In the late 1910's and 1920's Kay Moor had a company\n         theater called the Azure Theater which seated about 300\n         people. There were also plans for a company-owned social\n         center, to have pool tables, a soda fountain, and\n         provisions for dancing and skating. The company was in\n         tough economic straits by the 1920's, however, and there is\n         no evidence that the social center was built. The town of\n         Low Moor was so completely under the company's influence\n         that one of Low Moor Iron Company's assistant managers\n         served as the town sheriff. He often foreclosed on people\n         who did not pay their debts, and drove troublesome people\n         \"out of town on a rail\" as he put it.","The Low Moor Iron Company's fortunes fluctuated during\n         the various business cycles between the years 1880-1930.\n         Low Moor was one of the larger pig iron producers in\n         Virginia, but Virginia pig iron production was not\n         important nationally. Low Moor officials sometimes sold\n         their product themselves, but more often they used agents,\n         the prevalent method at the time. Low Moor Iron Company\n         used a variety of agents through the 1900's. James F. Bryan\n         acted as the exclusive agent for the sale of Kay Moor Coal\n         from September 21, 1903 to September, 1905. From about 1890\n         until about 1910 Dalton Nash and Company were the exclusive\n         eastern agents of Low Moor Iron. After that time the\n         exclusive agency went to Philips Isham and Company located\n         in New York. From about 1890 the western agency was handled\n         chiefly by Thomas Mack and Company. After 1902 Thomas Mack\n         and Company underwent a name change, becoming Walter\n         Wallingford and Company, with offices located in\n         Cincinnati, Pittsburgh, and Chicago.","Perhaps the Low Moor Iron Company's biggest problem over\n         the years was obtaining railroad cars for the\n         transportation of its finished product. Low Moor Iron\n         Company had its own cars for transporting its raw materials\n         among its various facilities. For the long haul necessary\n         for its finished goods, however, it depended upon the\n         services of the Chesapeake and Ohio Railroad, and the\n         relationship was not always a happy one. The Low Moor\n         Company complained many times to the C \u0026 O Railroad\n         about the discrepancies between long-and shorthaul freight\n         rates. Low Moor also had trouble getting cars from the C\n         \u0026 O. In a letter to one of Low Moor Company's agents\n         from an irate customer dated 1898, the customer wrote: \"We\n         wrote you on Saturday and endeavored to question upon your\n         mind the necessity of taking care of us with Low Moor iron.\n         We are on our uppers--there is not a pound of Low Moor iron\n         in the yard. Of the one hundred tons ordered some time ago,\n         not one pound of it has been received.\" This was, according\n         to the Low Moor Iron Company, because they could not get\n         the railroad cars. In a letter from Thomas Mack and Company\n         dated November 26, 1901, to General Manager E. C. Means:\n         \"We are hopeful that the car supply will get better because\n         of the number of orders you have of ours for prompt\n         shipment. Our customers are complaining that they are not\n         getting the iron fast enough. . . . We hope that the\n         railroad will be able to supply you with empty cars.\" In\n         another letter dated 1916 to John B. Guernsey, then acting\n         General Manager of the Low Moor Iron Company, \"We were not\n         supplied with coke cars for today's loading, and\n         consequently we have been practically down of Kay Moor\n         ovens all day.\"","The problem of procuring labor also plagued the Low Moor\n         Company. The company sometimes tried to hire immigrant\n         laborers and send the men directly to Low Moor from New\n         York City. There were problems with this, as is explained\n         in the following letter dated April 7, 1906: \n          To Mr. George Wickes \n             Supt. of Mines \n             Kay Moor, Virginia \n             Dear George, \n             Tony arrived with twenty one men last night. One\n            got away in Jersey two in Washington D.C., four in\n            Charlottesville. Some of the men are very good looking,\n            but taken as a whole they are the worst lot I have ever\n            seen: Irish, German-Jews, and Italians. . . . Our New\n            York transportations to this place have never been a\n            success. Signed, \n             Ed D. Wickes Supt. of Mines Low Moor usually employed labor agencies, one\n         of which was Atwood's Employment Agency. Often the Low Moor\n         Company would request certain nationalities, believing them\n         to be better workers than others. Sometimes the company\n         would request a gang of twenty made up of \"ten Greeks and\n         ten Italians.\" Many of the immigrants fled Low Moor and Kay\n         Moor when they learned that they would have to work\n         underground. There is a fair amount of material on\n         immigrant labor and its procurement in the collection, and\n         it is noted in the description of the box contents.","Low Moor Iron Company not only had trouble procuring\n         labor, but it also had trouble with labor already employed\n         in the mines and at the factory. Labor dissension and\n         strikes troubled the Kay Moor Mines through the 1900's. The\n         great coal strike of 1902 hurt the Low Moor Company's coal\n         mining operation, but by 1903 things were \"nearly back to\n         normal\" according to the mine superintendent. There was\n         still trouble at Kay Moor Mines, however. In a letter dated\n         April 26, 1906, to the treasurer of Low Moor Company, the\n         manager of the mines wrote about the trouble in \"trying to\n         get the agitators out.\" The mines were seventy-five men\n         short of the total labor force needed because many of the\n         coal miners returned to their farms during the spring.\n         There were rumblings of another strike at Kay Moor, the\n         result of which was to be a fourteen percent increase in\n         wages for the Kay Moor Mine workers via an agreement with\n         the United Mine Workers Union in December.","The Low Moor Iron Company grew along with the rest of\n         Virginia industry in the 1890's and 1900's. Starting with\n         only one furnace in the 1870's, it opened a second furnace\n         at Covington, Virginia, in 1891. In 1911 it opened a third\n         furnace, this time at Low Moor. Covington, with its heavy\n         industry, soon became known as the \"Pittsburgh of\n         Virginia.\" Virginia's pig iron production rose from 9,000\n         short tons in 1870 to 544,034 long tons in 1903. Judging\n         from the Low Moor Company's correspondence, the most\n         prosperous period for the company fell between the years\n         1895-1907. In the years between 1907-1917 problems befell\n         the Virginia pig iron industry. In a letter from William W.\n         Hearns, the president of the Virginia based Princess Pig\n         Iron Company, to U. S. Senator Thomas S. Martin, Hearns\n         writes of the problems of the Virginia pig iron industry:\n         \"There is not a blast furnace in Virginia that is making\n         any money from the manufacture of pig iron. The cause of\n         this is there is an exceedingly low price on pig iron in\n         the country at the present time, and the increased cost of\n         manufacturing is due to the increase in wages in all\n         lines.\" With the outbreak of World War I prices rose\n         dramatically, but in a market report to Low Moor dated\n         November 11, 1916, it was stated that: \"In spite of the\n         high prices, it is not a picnic to be in the iron industry.\n         There is a desperate shortage of cars and equipment in the\n         coal and iron districts, and in consequence there are\n         troubles of all kinds to get materials shipped. The\n         situation has grown serious.\"","When America became involved in the First World War, it\n         meant a boost for the Low Moor Iron Company. The government\n         helped it procure labor, and even helped it repair its\n         furnaces. The problem of supplies and cars for their\n         shipments, however, plagued the company more than ever. It\n         had a good deal of trouble getting all the raw materials it\n         needed due chiefly to the \"tight ship\" run by Harry F.\n         Byrd, Sr., U.S. Fuel Administrator for Virginia. After the\n         war very serious problems began to trouble the Low Moor\n         Iron Company. The demand for iron fell precipitously and a\n         short but severe depression ensued from 1919-1922. The\n         depression seemed to hit the iron industry especially hard.\n         Prices took a huge drop due to the lack of demand, and many\n         pre-war contracts had to be revalued. To compound the\n         company's problems, the Kay Moor Mines went on strike in\n         1919. This strike was quickly settled, as the market for\n         coal was so good that the Low Moor Company ceased taking\n         orders temporarily in 1921 as it could not fill the orders\n         it had on hand.","The Low Moor Company furnaces lay idle for some twenty\n         months. Finally, in November 1922 one of Low Moor's\n         furnaces was finally fired up. While prosperity gradually\n         returned to the rest of the country, the Low Moor Iron\n         Company never recovered. Production of pig iron in the\n         Virginia iron industry declined from 544,034 tons in 1903\n         to 148,053 tons in 1923, considered a good year for the\n         industry as a whole. In February 1926 Low Moor officials\n         talked of merging with two other iron companies in order to\n         revive the iron business for the three companies. The\n         merger, however, never occurred. By late 1926 the company\n         was in the process of liquidation. An advertisement in the\n         Charleston, West Virginia, Daily Mail dated April 30, 1927,\n         told of a huge warehouse sale at the Low Moor Iron Company.\n         The advertisement noted \"thousands of screws, pipe\n         fittings, valves, etc.\" The last piece of correspondence\n         from the Low Moor Iron Company in the collection is dated\n         1929. It deals with the sale of a machine.","Why did the iron industry in Virginia decline as it did?\n         Some say that lack of speed, efficiency, and a decent\n         transportation system for Alleghany County caused it. In a\n         letter from C. E. Bertie, secretary of the Virginia Pig\n         Iron Association, to the \n          Manufacturers Record dated 1925, Bertie claimed that it was the\n         tremendous rise in the cost of transportation. Virginia, he\n         claimed, had almost no home market. Over 80% of its normal\n         production was shipped out to other states. The failure of\n         the Interstate Commerce Commission to treat Virginia\n         furnaces as southern furnaces was the cause of much of the\n         trouble. From 1914-1925 there were four blanket increases\n         in freight rates in the country, of which only one applied\n         equally to all localities. Southern furnaces were received\n         only two increases--a 25% increase in 1918 and a 25%\n         increase in 1920--but northern furnaces had had 5%, 15%,\n         25%, and 40% increases in their transportation costs.\n         Virginia furnaces, although recognized as southern\n         furnaces, had had freight rates increased in line with the\n         northern furnaces. Prior to the war Virginia iron reached\n         all points in Ohio, Indiana, Michigan, and Illinois on a\n         competitive basis with southern furnaces. After World War I\n         the advantage was limited to a small portion of\n         southeastern Ohio. All of Indiana, Illinois, and Michigan\n         were now lost to the Virginia producers. The Virginia\n         producer, according to Bertie, felt that the freight rates\n         should be restored to a relationship with southern\n         furnaces. If what Bertie said was true, the other southern\n         states iron industries should not have been in the same\n         desperate economic straits as Virginia's, and statistics\n         should support this. In the 1920's production rose to new\n         heights in Alabama. In Tennessee, however, iron production\n         plunged to new lows during the 1920's. While the south\n         accounted for 10.2% of the entire U. S. production in the\n         years 1919-1924, Virginia accounted for less than 1% during\n         those years. In 1915 Virginia accounted for over 6% of the\n         U.S. iron production. One can see a decline in other areas\n         of the south than Virginia. While the discrepancies in the\n         freight rates may have helped cause the decline, clearly\n         there are other reasons.","During the 1900's there was a discovery of extremely\n         rich iron ore deposits in the mid-west. Much of this ore\n         was on or near the surface, making the mining of it both\n         easy and inexpensive. This in turn lowered production costs\n         of the pig iron. This caused iron production to shift to\n         that region, and resulted in a decline in the Virginia iron\n         industry. There was a sharp increase in iron production in\n         the mid-west through the 1920's. The iron ore in the\n         mid-west may have been of better quality than Virginia, but\n         the iron ore in Virginia was of sufficient quality to\n         produce a good pig iron. The western ore deposits were not\n         as conveniently located as Virginia deposits, but the\n         inexpensiveness of production more than made up for it.","In examining the rise and fall of the Low Moor Iron\n         Company, we can see a situation in which the conditions for\n         the manufacture of iron were nearly ideal. There was plenty\n         of land for expansion and resources for the manufacture of\n         the iron. The major internal problem faced by the Low Moor\n         Iron Company was that of transportation. External\n         developments, however, caused the final demise of the Low\n         Moor Iron Company.","Low Moor Iron Company Personnel:","Executive Staff: Managing Director, Colonel H. M.\n         Goodwin: ca. 1881. General Managers: H. G. Merry: ca.\n         1884-1902; E. C. Means: ca. 1905-1915; J. P. Guernsey: ca.\n         1915 (acting General Manager); F. U. Humbert: ca.\n         1916-1929. Assistant General Manager: E. B. Wilkinson: ca.\n         1909-1915. Treasurers and Assistant Treasurers: Edward Low:\n         ca. 1886-1898; Frank Lyman (in New York): ca. 1898-1919; S.\n         G. Cragill (Asst. Treasurer): ca. 1900-1915; H. A. Dalton:\n         ca. 1921-1929; John Lipscomb (Asst. Treasurer): ca.\n         1918-1928.","Factory and Mine Supervisors: Kay Moor Superintendents:\n         C. C. Cooke: ca. 1918; Ed. D. Wickes: ca. 1906; H. L.\n         Tansell: ca. 1903; A. H. Reed: ca. 1906. Kay Moor Managers:\n         J. W. Monteith: manager of mines. ca. 1918; promoted in\n         1925 to general superintendent in charge of mine plants,\n         coke ovens, shops, repairs, and construction; A. L.\n         Monteith: assistant superintendent of mines, ca. 1918;\n         George T. Wickes: manager of Covington mines, ca.\n         1906-1917; Ross Howell, ca. 1918. Stack Mines\n         Superintendents: J. H. Carpenter: ca. 1906; C. D.\n         Oberschain: ca. 1907; J. L. Harris: ca. 1903; John S. Ham:\n         ca. 1891-1901. Rich Patch Mines Superintendents: John R.\n         Thompson: foreman, ca. 1906. Low Moor assorted other\n         personnel: S. L. Tulley: trainmaster, ca. 1906; B. J.\n         Shenkley: foreman, Low Moor limestone quarries; L. Q. Wood:\n         assistant traffic manager, ca. 1919.","The Low Moor Iron Company papers consist of\n         approximately 280 four-inch Hollinger archives boxes (ca.\n         95 linear feet) of records, ca. 1885-1927, and some 1200\n         bound volumes of the company's accounting records,\n         1873-1927, of this iron producing company located in Low\n         Moor (four miles southwest of Clifton Forge), Alleghany\n         County, Virginia.","This material consists of records typical of those\n         produced by a firm of this type in the period, but as the\n         company owned its own coal and iron mines and limestone\n         quarries, there is considerable information about the\n         production of these raw materials. Large numbers of the\n         records that deal with the company's employees have\n         survived: time books, payroll books, hands ledgers, and the\n         like. Because these books sometimes include information\n         about the employee's trade or job with the company, and as\n         race is indicated in some of the records, these books\n         should provide date for studies of the structure and upward\n         mobility within the labor force, patterns of\n         ethnic--possibly racial--occupational penetration and\n         mobility, material conditions of the workers, and so on.\n         The papers should permit a range of studies detailing the\n         pattern and evolution of industrial organization in the\n         iron industry, and the evolution of markets and marketing\n         structures for the entire period. Because the company was\n         dependent upon railroads to move its raw materials to the\n         furnaces, and for the marketing of its products, there is\n         considerable information about railroads and their\n         relationship to their customers.","English"],"unitid_tesim":["662"],"normalized_title_ssm":["Papers of the Low Moor Iron Company \n          1873-1927"],"collection_title_tesim":["Papers of the Low Moor Iron Company \n          1873-1927"],"collection_ssim":["Papers of the Low Moor Iron Company \n          1873-1927"],"repository_ssm":["University of Virginia, Special Collections Dept."],"repository_ssim":["University of Virginia, Special Collections Dept."],"acqinfo_ssim":["This collection was purchased from Green Bookman in\n            1939."],"has_online_content_ssim":["false"],"physdesc_tesim":["95 linear feer + 1200\n         volumes"],"arrangement_html_tesm":["\u003cp\u003eThe word \"organization\" is used here with considerable\n         diffidence, for any researcher studying the container list\n         that follows will realize quickly that there is no\n         organization in the usual sense of the word.\u003c/p\u003e","\u003cp\u003eAs noted under \"Provenance,\" the Low Moor Iron Company\n         papers were subjected to a number of moves; when processing\n         began in the fall of 1976, no discernible scheme of\n         organization could be determined.\u003c/p\u003e","\u003cp\u003eThe first step was to review the series of coded numbers\n         placed on the bundles of papers before they were moved to\n         the dormitory attic, but these did not provide any sort of\n         useful organization. Next, the spine titles of the original\n         letter boxes were reviewed (they had been copied onto the\n         gray cardboard sheets before the move to the dormitory\n         attic), but they, too, proved useless.\u003c/p\u003e","\u003cp\u003eThese steps having provided no scheme, and after a\n         considerable hiatus due to a turnover in student processors\n         on the collection, the new student processors were\n         instructed to begin a box-by-box inventory of the contents\n         of the collection. During this inventory, old folders were\n         replaced with acid-free ones, and the original folder\n         headings were copied onto the new ones. Some removal of\n         paper clips was accomplished, and the materials were\n         reviewed and notes taken for the guide.\u003c/p\u003e","\u003cp\u003eSome consolidation of materials was accomplished, and in\n         other cases, materials were moved. This work has created\n         some problems in the numbering of the boxes. Thus, the\n         researchers will find boxes marked \"6A\" and \"23C\"; he will\n         also discover that certain box numbers have been entirely\n         omitted. As the box numbers exist only to aid in the\n         location of material, it was not felt that the unusual\n         numbers and the omissions would cause problems in working\n         with the papers.\u003c/p\u003e","\u003cp\u003eA certain amount of movement of boxes within the\n         collection, and of materials among boxes, probably would\n         ease use of it. But what processing was accomplished on\n         this project took far longer than had been anticipated, and\n         there was no time in the late spring of 1978, when the\n         processors had to complete their work with the project, to\n         undertake a mass movement of material. Thus, they stand in\n         the order in which we found them at the beginning of the\n         project.\u003c/p\u003e"],"arrangement_heading_ssm":["Organization"],"arrangement_tesim":["The word \"organization\" is used here with considerable\n         diffidence, for any researcher studying the container list\n         that follows will realize quickly that there is no\n         organization in the usual sense of the word.","As noted under \"Provenance,\" the Low Moor Iron Company\n         papers were subjected to a number of moves; when processing\n         began in the fall of 1976, no discernible scheme of\n         organization could be determined.","The first step was to review the series of coded numbers\n         placed on the bundles of papers before they were moved to\n         the dormitory attic, but these did not provide any sort of\n         useful organization. Next, the spine titles of the original\n         letter boxes were reviewed (they had been copied onto the\n         gray cardboard sheets before the move to the dormitory\n         attic), but they, too, proved useless.","These steps having provided no scheme, and after a\n         considerable hiatus due to a turnover in student processors\n         on the collection, the new student processors were\n         instructed to begin a box-by-box inventory of the contents\n         of the collection. During this inventory, old folders were\n         replaced with acid-free ones, and the original folder\n         headings were copied onto the new ones. Some removal of\n         paper clips was accomplished, and the materials were\n         reviewed and notes taken for the guide.","Some consolidation of materials was accomplished, and in\n         other cases, materials were moved. This work has created\n         some problems in the numbering of the boxes. Thus, the\n         researchers will find boxes marked \"6A\" and \"23C\"; he will\n         also discover that certain box numbers have been entirely\n         omitted. As the box numbers exist only to aid in the\n         location of material, it was not felt that the unusual\n         numbers and the omissions would cause problems in working\n         with the papers.","A certain amount of movement of boxes within the\n         collection, and of materials among boxes, probably would\n         ease use of it. But what processing was accomplished on\n         this project took far longer than had been anticipated, and\n         there was no time in the late spring of 1978, when the\n         processors had to complete their work with the project, to\n         undertake a mass movement of material. Thus, they stand in\n         the order in which we found them at the beginning of the\n         project."],"bioghist_html_tesm":["\u003cp\u003eThe Low Moor Iron Company, the first producer of pig\n         iron in Virginia according to the company's claims, was a\n         self-contained manufacturing unit producing from its own\n         mines the coal, limestone, and iron ore needed for its iron\n         production. Located in Low Moor near Clifton Forge in\n         Alleghany County in western Virginia, an area rich in\n         mineral deposits, the company was in operation from\n         1872-1930, producing only pig iron; it never attempted to\n         produce finished iron products.\u003c/p\u003e","\u003cp\u003eCoal came to the Low Moor furnaces from the Kay Moor\n         Mines at Kay Moor, West Virginia, about thirty miles from\n         Low Moor; limestone was produced from the Low Moor\n         limestone quarries; and iron ore came from the Fenwick,\n         Dolly Ann, Jordan, Rich Patch, Low Moor, and Longdale\n         Mines, most of them within twenty miles of Low Moor at\n         Covington or Clifton Forge.\u003c/p\u003e","\u003cp\u003eThe towns of Low Moor and Kay Moor were company towns in\n         every respect. Workers lived in company-owned houses,\n         bought food in company stores, worshiped at the company\n         church, saw movies in the company theater, were treated in\n         the company hospital, and were buried in the company\n         cemetery. Workers received part of their pay in scrip that\n         they exchanged for goods and services. According to a\n         statement from the Kay Moor Mines dated November 1904, Kay\n         Moor then employed 338 people, paid them an average wage of\n         $36.26 per month, and issued half of their pay in scrip.\n         Kay Moor had four stores; Low Moor had seven or eight. All\n         of these stores carried large inventories which are\n         detailed in the collection. These inventories are valuable\n         to anyone interested in determining the wants and needs of\n         a coal miner and his family.\u003c/p\u003e","\u003cp\u003eIn the late 1910's and 1920's Kay Moor had a company\n         theater called the Azure Theater which seated about 300\n         people. There were also plans for a company-owned social\n         center, to have pool tables, a soda fountain, and\n         provisions for dancing and skating. The company was in\n         tough economic straits by the 1920's, however, and there is\n         no evidence that the social center was built. The town of\n         Low Moor was so completely under the company's influence\n         that one of Low Moor Iron Company's assistant managers\n         served as the town sheriff. He often foreclosed on people\n         who did not pay their debts, and drove troublesome people\n         \"out of town on a rail\" as he put it.\u003c/p\u003e","\u003cp\u003eThe Low Moor Iron Company's fortunes fluctuated during\n         the various business cycles between the years 1880-1930.\n         Low Moor was one of the larger pig iron producers in\n         Virginia, but Virginia pig iron production was not\n         important nationally. Low Moor officials sometimes sold\n         their product themselves, but more often they used agents,\n         the prevalent method at the time. Low Moor Iron Company\n         used a variety of agents through the 1900's. James F. Bryan\n         acted as the exclusive agent for the sale of Kay Moor Coal\n         from September 21, 1903 to September, 1905. From about 1890\n         until about 1910 Dalton Nash and Company were the exclusive\n         eastern agents of Low Moor Iron. After that time the\n         exclusive agency went to Philips Isham and Company located\n         in New York. From about 1890 the western agency was handled\n         chiefly by Thomas Mack and Company. After 1902 Thomas Mack\n         and Company underwent a name change, becoming Walter\n         Wallingford and Company, with offices located in\n         Cincinnati, Pittsburgh, and Chicago.\u003c/p\u003e","\u003cp\u003ePerhaps the Low Moor Iron Company's biggest problem over\n         the years was obtaining railroad cars for the\n         transportation of its finished product. Low Moor Iron\n         Company had its own cars for transporting its raw materials\n         among its various facilities. For the long haul necessary\n         for its finished goods, however, it depended upon the\n         services of the Chesapeake and Ohio Railroad, and the\n         relationship was not always a happy one. The Low Moor\n         Company complained many times to the C \u0026amp; O Railroad\n         about the discrepancies between long-and shorthaul freight\n         rates. Low Moor also had trouble getting cars from the C\n         \u0026amp; O. In a letter to one of Low Moor Company's agents\n         from an irate customer dated 1898, the customer wrote: \"We\n         wrote you on Saturday and endeavored to question upon your\n         mind the necessity of taking care of us with Low Moor iron.\n         We are on our uppers--there is not a pound of Low Moor iron\n         in the yard. Of the one hundred tons ordered some time ago,\n         not one pound of it has been received.\" This was, according\n         to the Low Moor Iron Company, because they could not get\n         the railroad cars. In a letter from Thomas Mack and Company\n         dated November 26, 1901, to General Manager E. C. Means:\n         \"We are hopeful that the car supply will get better because\n         of the number of orders you have of ours for prompt\n         shipment. Our customers are complaining that they are not\n         getting the iron fast enough. . . . We hope that the\n         railroad will be able to supply you with empty cars.\" In\n         another letter dated 1916 to John B. Guernsey, then acting\n         General Manager of the Low Moor Iron Company, \"We were not\n         supplied with coke cars for today's loading, and\n         consequently we have been practically down of Kay Moor\n         ovens all day.\"\u003c/p\u003e","\u003cp\u003eThe problem of procuring labor also plagued the Low Moor\n         Company. The company sometimes tried to hire immigrant\n         laborers and send the men directly to Low Moor from New\n         York City. There were problems with this, as is explained\n         in the following letter dated April 7, 1906: \n         \u003cblockquote\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eTo Mr. George Wickes \n            \u003clb\u003e\u003c/lb\u003eSupt. of Mines \n            \u003clb\u003e\u003c/lb\u003eKay Moor, Virginia \n            \u003clb\u003e\u003c/lb\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eDear George, \n            \u003clb\u003e\u003c/lb\u003eTony arrived with twenty one men last night. One\n            got away in Jersey two in Washington D.C., four in\n            Charlottesville. Some of the men are very good looking,\n            but taken as a whole they are the worst lot I have ever\n            seen: Irish, German-Jews, and Italians. . . . Our New\n            York transportations to this place have never been a\n            success.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eSigned, \n            \u003clb\u003e\u003c/lb\u003eEd D. Wickes Supt. of Mines\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/blockquote\u003eLow Moor usually employed labor agencies, one\n         of which was Atwood's Employment Agency. Often the Low Moor\n         Company would request certain nationalities, believing them\n         to be better workers than others. Sometimes the company\n         would request a gang of twenty made up of \"ten Greeks and\n         ten Italians.\" Many of the immigrants fled Low Moor and Kay\n         Moor when they learned that they would have to work\n         underground. There is a fair amount of material on\n         immigrant labor and its procurement in the collection, and\n         it is noted in the description of the box contents.\u003c/p\u003e","\u003cp\u003eLow Moor Iron Company not only had trouble procuring\n         labor, but it also had trouble with labor already employed\n         in the mines and at the factory. Labor dissension and\n         strikes troubled the Kay Moor Mines through the 1900's. The\n         great coal strike of 1902 hurt the Low Moor Company's coal\n         mining operation, but by 1903 things were \"nearly back to\n         normal\" according to the mine superintendent. There was\n         still trouble at Kay Moor Mines, however. In a letter dated\n         April 26, 1906, to the treasurer of Low Moor Company, the\n         manager of the mines wrote about the trouble in \"trying to\n         get the agitators out.\" The mines were seventy-five men\n         short of the total labor force needed because many of the\n         coal miners returned to their farms during the spring.\n         There were rumblings of another strike at Kay Moor, the\n         result of which was to be a fourteen percent increase in\n         wages for the Kay Moor Mine workers via an agreement with\n         the United Mine Workers Union in December.\u003c/p\u003e","\u003cp\u003eThe Low Moor Iron Company grew along with the rest of\n         Virginia industry in the 1890's and 1900's. Starting with\n         only one furnace in the 1870's, it opened a second furnace\n         at Covington, Virginia, in 1891. In 1911 it opened a third\n         furnace, this time at Low Moor. Covington, with its heavy\n         industry, soon became known as the \"Pittsburgh of\n         Virginia.\" Virginia's pig iron production rose from 9,000\n         short tons in 1870 to 544,034 long tons in 1903. Judging\n         from the Low Moor Company's correspondence, the most\n         prosperous period for the company fell between the years\n         1895-1907. In the years between 1907-1917 problems befell\n         the Virginia pig iron industry. In a letter from William W.\n         Hearns, the president of the Virginia based Princess Pig\n         Iron Company, to U. S. Senator Thomas S. Martin, Hearns\n         writes of the problems of the Virginia pig iron industry:\n         \"There is not a blast furnace in Virginia that is making\n         any money from the manufacture of pig iron. The cause of\n         this is there is an exceedingly low price on pig iron in\n         the country at the present time, and the increased cost of\n         manufacturing is due to the increase in wages in all\n         lines.\" With the outbreak of World War I prices rose\n         dramatically, but in a market report to Low Moor dated\n         November 11, 1916, it was stated that: \"In spite of the\n         high prices, it is not a picnic to be in the iron industry.\n         There is a desperate shortage of cars and equipment in the\n         coal and iron districts, and in consequence there are\n         troubles of all kinds to get materials shipped. The\n         situation has grown serious.\"\u003c/p\u003e","\u003cp\u003eWhen America became involved in the First World War, it\n         meant a boost for the Low Moor Iron Company. The government\n         helped it procure labor, and even helped it repair its\n         furnaces. The problem of supplies and cars for their\n         shipments, however, plagued the company more than ever. It\n         had a good deal of trouble getting all the raw materials it\n         needed due chiefly to the \"tight ship\" run by Harry F.\n         Byrd, Sr., U.S. Fuel Administrator for Virginia. After the\n         war very serious problems began to trouble the Low Moor\n         Iron Company. The demand for iron fell precipitously and a\n         short but severe depression ensued from 1919-1922. The\n         depression seemed to hit the iron industry especially hard.\n         Prices took a huge drop due to the lack of demand, and many\n         pre-war contracts had to be revalued. To compound the\n         company's problems, the Kay Moor Mines went on strike in\n         1919. This strike was quickly settled, as the market for\n         coal was so good that the Low Moor Company ceased taking\n         orders temporarily in 1921 as it could not fill the orders\n         it had on hand.\u003c/p\u003e","\u003cp\u003eThe Low Moor Company furnaces lay idle for some twenty\n         months. Finally, in November 1922 one of Low Moor's\n         furnaces was finally fired up. While prosperity gradually\n         returned to the rest of the country, the Low Moor Iron\n         Company never recovered. Production of pig iron in the\n         Virginia iron industry declined from 544,034 tons in 1903\n         to 148,053 tons in 1923, considered a good year for the\n         industry as a whole. In February 1926 Low Moor officials\n         talked of merging with two other iron companies in order to\n         revive the iron business for the three companies. The\n         merger, however, never occurred. By late 1926 the company\n         was in the process of liquidation. An advertisement in the\n         Charleston, West Virginia, Daily Mail dated April 30, 1927,\n         told of a huge warehouse sale at the Low Moor Iron Company.\n         The advertisement noted \"thousands of screws, pipe\n         fittings, valves, etc.\" The last piece of correspondence\n         from the Low Moor Iron Company in the collection is dated\n         1929. It deals with the sale of a machine.\u003c/p\u003e","\u003cp\u003eWhy did the iron industry in Virginia decline as it did?\n         Some say that lack of speed, efficiency, and a decent\n         transportation system for Alleghany County caused it. In a\n         letter from C. E. Bertie, secretary of the Virginia Pig\n         Iron Association, to the \n         \u003cbibref type=\"simple\" href=\"\"\u003e\u003ctitle type=\"simple\" href=\"\"\u003eManufacturers Record\u003c/title\u003e\u003c/bibref\u003edated 1925, Bertie claimed that it was the\n         tremendous rise in the cost of transportation. Virginia, he\n         claimed, had almost no home market. Over 80% of its normal\n         production was shipped out to other states. The failure of\n         the Interstate Commerce Commission to treat Virginia\n         furnaces as southern furnaces was the cause of much of the\n         trouble. From 1914-1925 there were four blanket increases\n         in freight rates in the country, of which only one applied\n         equally to all localities. Southern furnaces were received\n         only two increases--a 25% increase in 1918 and a 25%\n         increase in 1920--but northern furnaces had had 5%, 15%,\n         25%, and 40% increases in their transportation costs.\n         Virginia furnaces, although recognized as southern\n         furnaces, had had freight rates increased in line with the\n         northern furnaces. Prior to the war Virginia iron reached\n         all points in Ohio, Indiana, Michigan, and Illinois on a\n         competitive basis with southern furnaces. After World War I\n         the advantage was limited to a small portion of\n         southeastern Ohio. All of Indiana, Illinois, and Michigan\n         were now lost to the Virginia producers. The Virginia\n         producer, according to Bertie, felt that the freight rates\n         should be restored to a relationship with southern\n         furnaces. If what Bertie said was true, the other southern\n         states iron industries should not have been in the same\n         desperate economic straits as Virginia's, and statistics\n         should support this. In the 1920's production rose to new\n         heights in Alabama. In Tennessee, however, iron production\n         plunged to new lows during the 1920's. While the south\n         accounted for 10.2% of the entire U. S. production in the\n         years 1919-1924, Virginia accounted for less than 1% during\n         those years. In 1915 Virginia accounted for over 6% of the\n         U.S. iron production. One can see a decline in other areas\n         of the south than Virginia. While the discrepancies in the\n         freight rates may have helped cause the decline, clearly\n         there are other reasons.\u003c/p\u003e","\u003cp\u003eDuring the 1900's there was a discovery of extremely\n         rich iron ore deposits in the mid-west. Much of this ore\n         was on or near the surface, making the mining of it both\n         easy and inexpensive. This in turn lowered production costs\n         of the pig iron. This caused iron production to shift to\n         that region, and resulted in a decline in the Virginia iron\n         industry. There was a sharp increase in iron production in\n         the mid-west through the 1920's. The iron ore in the\n         mid-west may have been of better quality than Virginia, but\n         the iron ore in Virginia was of sufficient quality to\n         produce a good pig iron. The western ore deposits were not\n         as conveniently located as Virginia deposits, but the\n         inexpensiveness of production more than made up for it.\u003c/p\u003e","\u003cp\u003eIn examining the rise and fall of the Low Moor Iron\n         Company, we can see a situation in which the conditions for\n         the manufacture of iron were nearly ideal. There was plenty\n         of land for expansion and resources for the manufacture of\n         the iron. The major internal problem faced by the Low Moor\n         Iron Company was that of transportation. External\n         developments, however, caused the final demise of the Low\n         Moor Iron Company.\u003c/p\u003e","\u003cp\u003eLow Moor Iron Company Personnel:\u003c/p\u003e","\u003cp\u003eExecutive Staff: Managing Director, Colonel H. M.\n         Goodwin: ca. 1881. General Managers: H. G. Merry: ca.\n         1884-1902; E. C. Means: ca. 1905-1915; J. P. Guernsey: ca.\n         1915 (acting General Manager); F. U. Humbert: ca.\n         1916-1929. Assistant General Manager: E. B. Wilkinson: ca.\n         1909-1915. Treasurers and Assistant Treasurers: Edward Low:\n         ca. 1886-1898; Frank Lyman (in New York): ca. 1898-1919; S.\n         G. Cragill (Asst. Treasurer): ca. 1900-1915; H. A. Dalton:\n         ca. 1921-1929; John Lipscomb (Asst. Treasurer): ca.\n         1918-1928.\u003c/p\u003e","\u003cp\u003eFactory and Mine Supervisors: Kay Moor Superintendents:\n         C. C. Cooke: ca. 1918; Ed. D. Wickes: ca. 1906; H. L.\n         Tansell: ca. 1903; A. H. Reed: ca. 1906. Kay Moor Managers:\n         J. W. Monteith: manager of mines. ca. 1918; promoted in\n         1925 to general superintendent in charge of mine plants,\n         coke ovens, shops, repairs, and construction; A. L.\n         Monteith: assistant superintendent of mines, ca. 1918;\n         George T. Wickes: manager of Covington mines, ca.\n         1906-1917; Ross Howell, ca. 1918. Stack Mines\n         Superintendents: J. H. Carpenter: ca. 1906; C. D.\n         Oberschain: ca. 1907; J. L. Harris: ca. 1903; John S. Ham:\n         ca. 1891-1901. Rich Patch Mines Superintendents: John R.\n         Thompson: foreman, ca. 1906. Low Moor assorted other\n         personnel: S. L. Tulley: trainmaster, ca. 1906; B. J.\n         Shenkley: foreman, Low Moor limestone quarries; L. Q. Wood:\n         assistant traffic manager, ca. 1919.\u003c/p\u003e"],"bioghist_heading_ssm":["Biographical/Historical Information"],"bioghist_tesim":["The Low Moor Iron Company, the first producer of pig\n         iron in Virginia according to the company's claims, was a\n         self-contained manufacturing unit producing from its own\n         mines the coal, limestone, and iron ore needed for its iron\n         production. Located in Low Moor near Clifton Forge in\n         Alleghany County in western Virginia, an area rich in\n         mineral deposits, the company was in operation from\n         1872-1930, producing only pig iron; it never attempted to\n         produce finished iron products.","Coal came to the Low Moor furnaces from the Kay Moor\n         Mines at Kay Moor, West Virginia, about thirty miles from\n         Low Moor; limestone was produced from the Low Moor\n         limestone quarries; and iron ore came from the Fenwick,\n         Dolly Ann, Jordan, Rich Patch, Low Moor, and Longdale\n         Mines, most of them within twenty miles of Low Moor at\n         Covington or Clifton Forge.","The towns of Low Moor and Kay Moor were company towns in\n         every respect. Workers lived in company-owned houses,\n         bought food in company stores, worshiped at the company\n         church, saw movies in the company theater, were treated in\n         the company hospital, and were buried in the company\n         cemetery. Workers received part of their pay in scrip that\n         they exchanged for goods and services. According to a\n         statement from the Kay Moor Mines dated November 1904, Kay\n         Moor then employed 338 people, paid them an average wage of\n         $36.26 per month, and issued half of their pay in scrip.\n         Kay Moor had four stores; Low Moor had seven or eight. All\n         of these stores carried large inventories which are\n         detailed in the collection. These inventories are valuable\n         to anyone interested in determining the wants and needs of\n         a coal miner and his family.","In the late 1910's and 1920's Kay Moor had a company\n         theater called the Azure Theater which seated about 300\n         people. There were also plans for a company-owned social\n         center, to have pool tables, a soda fountain, and\n         provisions for dancing and skating. The company was in\n         tough economic straits by the 1920's, however, and there is\n         no evidence that the social center was built. The town of\n         Low Moor was so completely under the company's influence\n         that one of Low Moor Iron Company's assistant managers\n         served as the town sheriff. He often foreclosed on people\n         who did not pay their debts, and drove troublesome people\n         \"out of town on a rail\" as he put it.","The Low Moor Iron Company's fortunes fluctuated during\n         the various business cycles between the years 1880-1930.\n         Low Moor was one of the larger pig iron producers in\n         Virginia, but Virginia pig iron production was not\n         important nationally. Low Moor officials sometimes sold\n         their product themselves, but more often they used agents,\n         the prevalent method at the time. Low Moor Iron Company\n         used a variety of agents through the 1900's. James F. Bryan\n         acted as the exclusive agent for the sale of Kay Moor Coal\n         from September 21, 1903 to September, 1905. From about 1890\n         until about 1910 Dalton Nash and Company were the exclusive\n         eastern agents of Low Moor Iron. After that time the\n         exclusive agency went to Philips Isham and Company located\n         in New York. From about 1890 the western agency was handled\n         chiefly by Thomas Mack and Company. After 1902 Thomas Mack\n         and Company underwent a name change, becoming Walter\n         Wallingford and Company, with offices located in\n         Cincinnati, Pittsburgh, and Chicago.","Perhaps the Low Moor Iron Company's biggest problem over\n         the years was obtaining railroad cars for the\n         transportation of its finished product. Low Moor Iron\n         Company had its own cars for transporting its raw materials\n         among its various facilities. For the long haul necessary\n         for its finished goods, however, it depended upon the\n         services of the Chesapeake and Ohio Railroad, and the\n         relationship was not always a happy one. The Low Moor\n         Company complained many times to the C \u0026 O Railroad\n         about the discrepancies between long-and shorthaul freight\n         rates. Low Moor also had trouble getting cars from the C\n         \u0026 O. In a letter to one of Low Moor Company's agents\n         from an irate customer dated 1898, the customer wrote: \"We\n         wrote you on Saturday and endeavored to question upon your\n         mind the necessity of taking care of us with Low Moor iron.\n         We are on our uppers--there is not a pound of Low Moor iron\n         in the yard. Of the one hundred tons ordered some time ago,\n         not one pound of it has been received.\" This was, according\n         to the Low Moor Iron Company, because they could not get\n         the railroad cars. In a letter from Thomas Mack and Company\n         dated November 26, 1901, to General Manager E. C. Means:\n         \"We are hopeful that the car supply will get better because\n         of the number of orders you have of ours for prompt\n         shipment. Our customers are complaining that they are not\n         getting the iron fast enough. . . . We hope that the\n         railroad will be able to supply you with empty cars.\" In\n         another letter dated 1916 to John B. Guernsey, then acting\n         General Manager of the Low Moor Iron Company, \"We were not\n         supplied with coke cars for today's loading, and\n         consequently we have been practically down of Kay Moor\n         ovens all day.\"","The problem of procuring labor also plagued the Low Moor\n         Company. The company sometimes tried to hire immigrant\n         laborers and send the men directly to Low Moor from New\n         York City. There were problems with this, as is explained\n         in the following letter dated April 7, 1906: \n          To Mr. George Wickes \n             Supt. of Mines \n             Kay Moor, Virginia \n             Dear George, \n             Tony arrived with twenty one men last night. One\n            got away in Jersey two in Washington D.C., four in\n            Charlottesville. Some of the men are very good looking,\n            but taken as a whole they are the worst lot I have ever\n            seen: Irish, German-Jews, and Italians. . . . Our New\n            York transportations to this place have never been a\n            success. Signed, \n             Ed D. Wickes Supt. of Mines Low Moor usually employed labor agencies, one\n         of which was Atwood's Employment Agency. Often the Low Moor\n         Company would request certain nationalities, believing them\n         to be better workers than others. Sometimes the company\n         would request a gang of twenty made up of \"ten Greeks and\n         ten Italians.\" Many of the immigrants fled Low Moor and Kay\n         Moor when they learned that they would have to work\n         underground. There is a fair amount of material on\n         immigrant labor and its procurement in the collection, and\n         it is noted in the description of the box contents.","Low Moor Iron Company not only had trouble procuring\n         labor, but it also had trouble with labor already employed\n         in the mines and at the factory. Labor dissension and\n         strikes troubled the Kay Moor Mines through the 1900's. The\n         great coal strike of 1902 hurt the Low Moor Company's coal\n         mining operation, but by 1903 things were \"nearly back to\n         normal\" according to the mine superintendent. There was\n         still trouble at Kay Moor Mines, however. In a letter dated\n         April 26, 1906, to the treasurer of Low Moor Company, the\n         manager of the mines wrote about the trouble in \"trying to\n         get the agitators out.\" The mines were seventy-five men\n         short of the total labor force needed because many of the\n         coal miners returned to their farms during the spring.\n         There were rumblings of another strike at Kay Moor, the\n         result of which was to be a fourteen percent increase in\n         wages for the Kay Moor Mine workers via an agreement with\n         the United Mine Workers Union in December.","The Low Moor Iron Company grew along with the rest of\n         Virginia industry in the 1890's and 1900's. Starting with\n         only one furnace in the 1870's, it opened a second furnace\n         at Covington, Virginia, in 1891. In 1911 it opened a third\n         furnace, this time at Low Moor. Covington, with its heavy\n         industry, soon became known as the \"Pittsburgh of\n         Virginia.\" Virginia's pig iron production rose from 9,000\n         short tons in 1870 to 544,034 long tons in 1903. Judging\n         from the Low Moor Company's correspondence, the most\n         prosperous period for the company fell between the years\n         1895-1907. In the years between 1907-1917 problems befell\n         the Virginia pig iron industry. In a letter from William W.\n         Hearns, the president of the Virginia based Princess Pig\n         Iron Company, to U. S. Senator Thomas S. Martin, Hearns\n         writes of the problems of the Virginia pig iron industry:\n         \"There is not a blast furnace in Virginia that is making\n         any money from the manufacture of pig iron. The cause of\n         this is there is an exceedingly low price on pig iron in\n         the country at the present time, and the increased cost of\n         manufacturing is due to the increase in wages in all\n         lines.\" With the outbreak of World War I prices rose\n         dramatically, but in a market report to Low Moor dated\n         November 11, 1916, it was stated that: \"In spite of the\n         high prices, it is not a picnic to be in the iron industry.\n         There is a desperate shortage of cars and equipment in the\n         coal and iron districts, and in consequence there are\n         troubles of all kinds to get materials shipped. The\n         situation has grown serious.\"","When America became involved in the First World War, it\n         meant a boost for the Low Moor Iron Company. The government\n         helped it procure labor, and even helped it repair its\n         furnaces. The problem of supplies and cars for their\n         shipments, however, plagued the company more than ever. It\n         had a good deal of trouble getting all the raw materials it\n         needed due chiefly to the \"tight ship\" run by Harry F.\n         Byrd, Sr., U.S. Fuel Administrator for Virginia. After the\n         war very serious problems began to trouble the Low Moor\n         Iron Company. The demand for iron fell precipitously and a\n         short but severe depression ensued from 1919-1922. The\n         depression seemed to hit the iron industry especially hard.\n         Prices took a huge drop due to the lack of demand, and many\n         pre-war contracts had to be revalued. To compound the\n         company's problems, the Kay Moor Mines went on strike in\n         1919. This strike was quickly settled, as the market for\n         coal was so good that the Low Moor Company ceased taking\n         orders temporarily in 1921 as it could not fill the orders\n         it had on hand.","The Low Moor Company furnaces lay idle for some twenty\n         months. Finally, in November 1922 one of Low Moor's\n         furnaces was finally fired up. While prosperity gradually\n         returned to the rest of the country, the Low Moor Iron\n         Company never recovered. Production of pig iron in the\n         Virginia iron industry declined from 544,034 tons in 1903\n         to 148,053 tons in 1923, considered a good year for the\n         industry as a whole. In February 1926 Low Moor officials\n         talked of merging with two other iron companies in order to\n         revive the iron business for the three companies. The\n         merger, however, never occurred. By late 1926 the company\n         was in the process of liquidation. An advertisement in the\n         Charleston, West Virginia, Daily Mail dated April 30, 1927,\n         told of a huge warehouse sale at the Low Moor Iron Company.\n         The advertisement noted \"thousands of screws, pipe\n         fittings, valves, etc.\" The last piece of correspondence\n         from the Low Moor Iron Company in the collection is dated\n         1929. It deals with the sale of a machine.","Why did the iron industry in Virginia decline as it did?\n         Some say that lack of speed, efficiency, and a decent\n         transportation system for Alleghany County caused it. In a\n         letter from C. E. Bertie, secretary of the Virginia Pig\n         Iron Association, to the \n          Manufacturers Record dated 1925, Bertie claimed that it was the\n         tremendous rise in the cost of transportation. Virginia, he\n         claimed, had almost no home market. Over 80% of its normal\n         production was shipped out to other states. The failure of\n         the Interstate Commerce Commission to treat Virginia\n         furnaces as southern furnaces was the cause of much of the\n         trouble. From 1914-1925 there were four blanket increases\n         in freight rates in the country, of which only one applied\n         equally to all localities. Southern furnaces were received\n         only two increases--a 25% increase in 1918 and a 25%\n         increase in 1920--but northern furnaces had had 5%, 15%,\n         25%, and 40% increases in their transportation costs.\n         Virginia furnaces, although recognized as southern\n         furnaces, had had freight rates increased in line with the\n         northern furnaces. Prior to the war Virginia iron reached\n         all points in Ohio, Indiana, Michigan, and Illinois on a\n         competitive basis with southern furnaces. After World War I\n         the advantage was limited to a small portion of\n         southeastern Ohio. All of Indiana, Illinois, and Michigan\n         were now lost to the Virginia producers. The Virginia\n         producer, according to Bertie, felt that the freight rates\n         should be restored to a relationship with southern\n         furnaces. If what Bertie said was true, the other southern\n         states iron industries should not have been in the same\n         desperate economic straits as Virginia's, and statistics\n         should support this. In the 1920's production rose to new\n         heights in Alabama. In Tennessee, however, iron production\n         plunged to new lows during the 1920's. While the south\n         accounted for 10.2% of the entire U. S. production in the\n         years 1919-1924, Virginia accounted for less than 1% during\n         those years. In 1915 Virginia accounted for over 6% of the\n         U.S. iron production. One can see a decline in other areas\n         of the south than Virginia. While the discrepancies in the\n         freight rates may have helped cause the decline, clearly\n         there are other reasons.","During the 1900's there was a discovery of extremely\n         rich iron ore deposits in the mid-west. Much of this ore\n         was on or near the surface, making the mining of it both\n         easy and inexpensive. This in turn lowered production costs\n         of the pig iron. This caused iron production to shift to\n         that region, and resulted in a decline in the Virginia iron\n         industry. There was a sharp increase in iron production in\n         the mid-west through the 1920's. The iron ore in the\n         mid-west may have been of better quality than Virginia, but\n         the iron ore in Virginia was of sufficient quality to\n         produce a good pig iron. The western ore deposits were not\n         as conveniently located as Virginia deposits, but the\n         inexpensiveness of production more than made up for it.","In examining the rise and fall of the Low Moor Iron\n         Company, we can see a situation in which the conditions for\n         the manufacture of iron were nearly ideal. There was plenty\n         of land for expansion and resources for the manufacture of\n         the iron. The major internal problem faced by the Low Moor\n         Iron Company was that of transportation. External\n         developments, however, caused the final demise of the Low\n         Moor Iron Company.","Low Moor Iron Company Personnel:","Executive Staff: Managing Director, Colonel H. M.\n         Goodwin: ca. 1881. General Managers: H. G. Merry: ca.\n         1884-1902; E. C. Means: ca. 1905-1915; J. P. Guernsey: ca.\n         1915 (acting General Manager); F. U. Humbert: ca.\n         1916-1929. Assistant General Manager: E. B. Wilkinson: ca.\n         1909-1915. Treasurers and Assistant Treasurers: Edward Low:\n         ca. 1886-1898; Frank Lyman (in New York): ca. 1898-1919; S.\n         G. Cragill (Asst. Treasurer): ca. 1900-1915; H. A. Dalton:\n         ca. 1921-1929; John Lipscomb (Asst. Treasurer): ca.\n         1918-1928.","Factory and Mine Supervisors: Kay Moor Superintendents:\n         C. C. Cooke: ca. 1918; Ed. D. Wickes: ca. 1906; H. L.\n         Tansell: ca. 1903; A. H. Reed: ca. 1906. Kay Moor Managers:\n         J. W. Monteith: manager of mines. ca. 1918; promoted in\n         1925 to general superintendent in charge of mine plants,\n         coke ovens, shops, repairs, and construction; A. L.\n         Monteith: assistant superintendent of mines, ca. 1918;\n         George T. Wickes: manager of Covington mines, ca.\n         1906-1917; Ross Howell, ca. 1918. Stack Mines\n         Superintendents: J. H. Carpenter: ca. 1906; C. D.\n         Oberschain: ca. 1907; J. L. Harris: ca. 1903; John S. Ham:\n         ca. 1891-1901. Rich Patch Mines Superintendents: John R.\n         Thompson: foreman, ca. 1906. Low Moor assorted other\n         personnel: S. L. Tulley: trainmaster, ca. 1906; B. J.\n         Shenkley: foreman, Low Moor limestone quarries; L. Q. Wood:\n         assistant traffic manager, ca. 1919."],"scopecontent_html_tesm":["\u003cp\u003eThe Low Moor Iron Company papers consist of\n         approximately 280 four-inch Hollinger archives boxes (ca.\n         95 linear feet) of records, ca. 1885-1927, and some 1200\n         bound volumes of the company's accounting records,\n         1873-1927, of this iron producing company located in Low\n         Moor (four miles southwest of Clifton Forge), Alleghany\n         County, Virginia.\u003c/p\u003e","\u003cp\u003eThis material consists of records typical of those\n         produced by a firm of this type in the period, but as the\n         company owned its own coal and iron mines and limestone\n         quarries, there is considerable information about the\n         production of these raw materials. Large numbers of the\n         records that deal with the company's employees have\n         survived: time books, payroll books, hands ledgers, and the\n         like. Because these books sometimes include information\n         about the employee's trade or job with the company, and as\n         race is indicated in some of the records, these books\n         should provide date for studies of the structure and upward\n         mobility within the labor force, patterns of\n         ethnic--possibly racial--occupational penetration and\n         mobility, material conditions of the workers, and so on.\n         The papers should permit a range of studies detailing the\n         pattern and evolution of industrial organization in the\n         iron industry, and the evolution of markets and marketing\n         structures for the entire period. Because the company was\n         dependent upon railroads to move its raw materials to the\n         furnaces, and for the marketing of its products, there is\n         considerable information about railroads and their\n         relationship to their customers.\u003c/p\u003e"],"scopecontent_heading_ssm":["Scope and Content Information"],"scopecontent_tesim":["The Low Moor Iron Company papers consist of\n         approximately 280 four-inch Hollinger archives boxes (ca.\n         95 linear feet) of records, ca. 1885-1927, and some 1200\n         bound volumes of the company's accounting records,\n         1873-1927, of this iron producing company located in Low\n         Moor (four miles southwest of Clifton Forge), Alleghany\n         County, Virginia.","This material consists of records typical of those\n         produced by a firm of this type in the period, but as the\n         company owned its own coal and iron mines and limestone\n         quarries, there is considerable information about the\n         production of these raw materials. Large numbers of the\n         records that deal with the company's employees have\n         survived: time books, payroll books, hands ledgers, and the\n         like. Because these books sometimes include information\n         about the employee's trade or job with the company, and as\n         race is indicated in some of the records, these books\n         should provide date for studies of the structure and upward\n         mobility within the labor force, patterns of\n         ethnic--possibly racial--occupational penetration and\n         mobility, material conditions of the workers, and so on.\n         The papers should permit a range of studies detailing the\n         pattern and evolution of industrial organization in the\n         iron industry, and the evolution of markets and marketing\n         structures for the entire period. Because the company was\n         dependent upon railroads to move its raw materials to the\n         furnaces, and for the marketing of its products, there is\n         considerable information about railroads and their\n         relationship to their customers."],"language_ssim":["English"],"total_component_count_is":1879,"online_item_count_is":0,"component_level_isim":[0],"sort_isi":0,"timestamp":"2026-05-01T02:17:12.165Z"}]}},"label":"Breadcrumbs"}}},"links":{"self":"https://search.arvasarchive.org/catalog/viu_viu00917_c01_c10_c07"}},{"id":"viw_repositories_2_resources_8694_c02_c03_c04","type":"Subseries","attributes":{"title":"Gubernatorial--Various","breadcrumbs":{"id":"https://search.arvasarchive.org/catalog/viw_repositories_2_resources_8694_c02_c03_c04#breadcrumbs","type":"document_value","attributes":{"value":{"ref_ssi":"viw_repositories_2_resources_8694_c02_c03_c04","ref_ssm":["viw_repositories_2_resources_8694_c02_c03_c04"],"id":"viw_repositories_2_resources_8694_c02_c03_c04","ead_ssi":"viw_repositories_2_resources_8694","_root_":"viw_repositories_2_resources_8694","_nest_parent_":"viw_repositories_2_resources_8694_c02_c03","parent_ssi":"viw_repositories_2_resources_8694_c02_c03","parent_ssim":["viw_repositories_2_resources_8694","viw_repositories_2_resources_8694_c02","viw_repositories_2_resources_8694_c02_c03"],"parent_ids_ssim":["viw_repositories_2_resources_8694","viw_repositories_2_resources_8694_c02","viw_repositories_2_resources_8694_c02_c03"],"parent_unittitles_ssm":["Marshall-Wythe Institute for Research in Social Science","Series 2: Virginia Elections Project","Box 3"],"parent_unittitles_tesim":["Marshall-Wythe Institute for Research in Social Science","Series 2: Virginia Elections Project","Box 3"],"text":["Marshall-Wythe Institute for Research in Social Science","Series 2: Virginia Elections Project","Box 3","Gubernatorial--Various"],"title_filing_ssi":"Gubernatorial--Various","title_ssm":["Gubernatorial--Various"],"title_tesim":["Gubernatorial--Various"],"unitdate_inclusive_ssm":["1905-1969"],"normalized_date_ssm":["1905/1969"],"normalized_title_ssm":["Gubernatorial--Various"],"component_level_isim":[3],"repository_ssim":["College of William and Mary"],"collection_ssim":["Marshall-Wythe Institute for Research in Social Science"],"has_online_content_ssim":["false"],"child_component_count_isi":34,"level_ssm":["Subseries"],"level_ssim":["Subseries"],"sort_isi":288,"parent_access_restrict_tesm":["The collection is open to all researchers. Manuscript collections and archival records may contain materials with sensitive or confidential information that is protected under federal or state right to privacy laws and regulations, such as the Virginia Public Records Act (Code of Virginia. § 42.1-76-91); and the Virginia Freedom of Information Act (Code of Virginia § 2.2-3705.5). Confidential material may include, but is not limited to, educational, medical, and personnel records. If sensitive material is found in this collection, please contact a staff member immediately. The disclosure of personally identifiable information pertaining to a living individual may have legal consequences for which the College of William and Mary assumes no responsibility."],"parent_access_terms_tesm":["Before reproducing or quoting from any materials, in whole or in part, permission must be obtained from the Special Collections Research Center, and the holder of the copyright, if not Swem Library."],"date_range_isim":[1905,1906,1907,1908,1909,1910,1911,1912,1913,1914,1915,1916,1917,1918,1919,1920,1921,1922,1923,1924,1925,1926,1927,1928,1929,1930,1931,1932,1933,1934,1935,1936,1937,1938,1939,1940,1941,1942,1943,1944,1945,1946,1947,1948,1949,1950,1951,1952,1953,1954,1955,1956,1957,1958,1959,1960,1961,1962,1963,1964,1965,1966,1967,1968,1969],"_nest_path_":"/components#1/components#2/components#3","timestamp":"2026-04-30T22:05:21.161Z","collection":{"numFound":1,"start":0,"numFoundExact":true,"docs":[{"id":"viw_repositories_2_resources_8694","ead_ssi":"viw_repositories_2_resources_8694","_root_":"viw_repositories_2_resources_8694","_nest_parent_":"viw_repositories_2_resources_8694","ead_source_url_ssi":"data/oai/WM/repositories_2_resources_8694.xml","title_filing_ssi":"Marshall-Wythe Institute for Research in Social Sc","title_ssm":["Marshall-Wythe Institute for Research in Social Science"],"title_tesim":["Marshall-Wythe Institute for Research in Social Science"],"unitdate_ssm":["1892-1975","1963-1975"],"unitdate_bulk_ssim":["1963-1975"],"unitdate_inclusive_ssm":["1892-1975"],"level_ssm":["collection"],"level_ssim":["Collection"],"unitid_ssm":["00/02/01/33/UA 34.002","/repositories/2/resources/8694"],"text":["00/02/01/33/UA 34.002","/repositories/2/resources/8694","Marshall-Wythe Institute for Research in Social Science","Elections--Virginia","Manuscripts (document genre)","Reports","Sound Recordings","The collection is open to all researchers. Manuscript collections and archival records may contain materials with sensitive or confidential information that is protected under federal or state right to privacy laws and regulations, such as the Virginia Public Records Act (Code of Virginia. § 42.1-76-91); and the Virginia Freedom of Information Act (Code of Virginia § 2.2-3705.5). Confidential material may include, but is not limited to, educational, medical, and personnel records. If sensitive material is found in this collection, please contact a staff member immediately. The disclosure of personally identifiable information pertaining to a living individual may have legal consequences for which the College of William and Mary assumes no responsibility.","Series 1, Office Records,  Acquired 07/1979, Acc. 1980.041; Series 2, Virginia Elections Project, Acquired 07/1979, Acc. 1982.056; Series 3, Symposium Records, Acquired 10/1983, Acc. 1983.058","Information about this individual or organization may be available in the Special Collections Research Center Wiki:  .","These records used to be held by the Government Department. Most were transferred in 1979.","This collection is stored offsite. Consult a staff member for details."," Series 3 contains tapes of lectures (format not specified in the acquisition record).","Series 1, Office Records, contains 2 boxes of materials about conferences, symposiums, speakers, budgets, grants, and projects pertaining to the Marshall-Wythe Institute."," Series 2, Virginia Elections Project, contains 5 boxes of assembled data on Virginia elections from 1892-1975. Most items are election returns. This series is organized first by election (e.g., presidential, senatorial), then chronologically, and within each election race by county, city, and precinct."," Series 3, Symposium Records, contains 2 boxes of lecture tapes and 1 box of lecture manuscripts from symposiums held from 1967-1972. Tapes are arranged alphabetically by speaker; manuscripts are arranged chronologically by year.","Before reproducing or quoting from any materials, in whole or in part, permission must be obtained from the Special Collections Research Center, and the holder of the copyright, if not Swem Library.","Special Collections Research Center","Marshall-Wythe Institute","Marshall-Wythe School of Law","English"],"unitid_tesim":["00/02/01/33/UA 34.002","/repositories/2/resources/8694"],"normalized_title_ssm":["Marshall-Wythe Institute for Research in Social Science"],"collection_title_tesim":["Marshall-Wythe Institute for Research in Social Science"],"collection_ssim":["Marshall-Wythe Institute for Research in Social Science"],"repository_ssm":["College of William and Mary"],"repository_ssim":["College of William and Mary"],"creator_ssm":["Marshall-Wythe Institute"],"creator_ssim":["Marshall-Wythe Institute"],"creator_corpname_ssim":["Marshall-Wythe Institute"],"creators_ssim":["Marshall-Wythe Institute"],"access_terms_ssm":["Before reproducing or quoting from any materials, in whole or in part, permission must be obtained from the Special Collections Research Center, and the holder of the copyright, if not Swem Library."],"acqinfo_ssim":["Transferred from the Government Department in July 1979 and October 1983."],"access_subjects_ssim":["Elections--Virginia","Manuscripts (document genre)","Reports","Sound Recordings"],"access_subjects_ssm":["Elections--Virginia","Manuscripts (document genre)","Reports","Sound Recordings"],"has_online_content_ssim":["false"],"extent_ssm":["9.00 Linear Feet"],"extent_tesim":["9.00 Linear Feet"],"genreform_ssim":["Manuscripts (document genre)","Reports","Sound Recordings"],"date_range_isim":[1892,1893,1894,1895,1896,1897,1898,1899,1900,1901,1902,1903,1904,1905,1906,1907,1908,1909,1910,1911,1912,1913,1914,1915,1916,1917,1918,1919,1920,1921,1922,1923,1924,1925,1926,1927,1928,1929,1930,1931,1932,1933,1934,1935,1936,1937,1938,1939,1940,1941,1942,1943,1944,1945,1946,1947,1948,1949,1950,1951,1952,1953,1954,1955,1956,1957,1958,1959,1960,1961,1962,1963,1964,1965,1966,1967,1968,1969,1970,1971,1972,1973,1974,1975],"accessrestrict_html_tesm":["\u003cp\u003eThe collection is open to all researchers. Manuscript collections and archival records may contain materials with sensitive or confidential information that is protected under federal or state right to privacy laws and regulations, such as the Virginia Public Records Act (Code of Virginia. § 42.1-76-91); and the Virginia Freedom of Information Act (Code of Virginia § 2.2-3705.5). Confidential material may include, but is not limited to, educational, medical, and personnel records. If sensitive material is found in this collection, please contact a staff member immediately. The disclosure of personally identifiable information pertaining to a living individual may have legal consequences for which the College of William and Mary assumes no responsibility.\u003c/p\u003e"],"accessrestrict_heading_ssm":["Conditions Governing Access:"],"accessrestrict_tesim":["The collection is open to all researchers. Manuscript collections and archival records may contain materials with sensitive or confidential information that is protected under federal or state right to privacy laws and regulations, such as the Virginia Public Records Act (Code of Virginia. § 42.1-76-91); and the Virginia Freedom of Information Act (Code of Virginia § 2.2-3705.5). Confidential material may include, but is not limited to, educational, medical, and personnel records. If sensitive material is found in this collection, please contact a staff member immediately. The disclosure of personally identifiable information pertaining to a living individual may have legal consequences for which the College of William and Mary assumes no responsibility."],"accruals_html_tesm":["\u003cp\u003eSeries 1, Office Records,  Acquired 07/1979, Acc. 1980.041; Series 2, Virginia Elections Project, Acquired 07/1979, Acc. 1982.056; Series 3, Symposium Records, Acquired 10/1983, Acc. 1983.058\u003c/p\u003e"],"accruals_heading_ssm":["Accruals:"],"accruals_tesim":["Series 1, Office Records,  Acquired 07/1979, Acc. 1980.041; Series 2, Virginia Elections Project, Acquired 07/1979, Acc. 1982.056; Series 3, Symposium Records, Acquired 10/1983, Acc. 1983.058"],"bioghist_html_tesm":["\u003cp\u003eInformation about this individual or organization may be available in the Special Collections Research Center Wiki: \u003cextref href=\"http://scdbwiki.swem.wm.edu/wiki/index.php/Marshall-Wythe_Institute\" title=\"Marshall-Wythe Institute\"\u003e\u003c/extref\u003e.\u003c/p\u003e"],"bioghist_heading_ssm":["Historical Note:"],"bioghist_tesim":["Information about this individual or organization may be available in the Special Collections Research Center Wiki:  ."],"custodhist_html_tesm":["\u003cp\u003eThese records used to be held by the Government Department. Most were transferred in 1979.\u003c/p\u003e"],"custodhist_heading_ssm":["Custodial History:"],"custodhist_tesim":["These records used to be held by the Government Department. Most were transferred in 1979."],"phystech_html_tesm":["\u003cp\u003eThis collection is stored offsite. Consult a staff member for details.\u003c/p\u003e","\u003cp\u003e Series 3 contains tapes of lectures (format not specified in the acquisition record).\u003c/p\u003e"],"phystech_heading_ssm":["Physical Characteristics or Technical Requirements:"],"phystech_tesim":["This collection is stored offsite. Consult a staff member for details."," Series 3 contains tapes of lectures (format not specified in the acquisition record)."],"prefercite_html_tesm":["\u003cp\u003eCollege of William and Mary, Marshall-Wythe Institute for Research in Social Science Records, Special Collections Research Center, Earl Gregg Swem Library, College of William and Mary.\u003c/p\u003e"],"prefercite_tesim":["College of William and Mary, Marshall-Wythe Institute for Research in Social Science Records, Special Collections Research Center, Earl Gregg Swem Library, College of William and Mary."],"scopecontent_html_tesm":["\u003cp\u003eSeries 1, Office Records, contains 2 boxes of materials about conferences, symposiums, speakers, budgets, grants, and projects pertaining to the Marshall-Wythe Institute.\u003c/p\u003e\n","\u003cp\u003e Series 2, Virginia Elections Project, contains 5 boxes of assembled data on Virginia elections from 1892-1975. Most items are election returns. This series is organized first by election (e.g., presidential, senatorial), then chronologically, and within each election race by county, city, and precinct.\u003c/p\u003e\n","\u003cp\u003e Series 3, Symposium Records, contains 2 boxes of lecture tapes and 1 box of lecture manuscripts from symposiums held from 1967-1972. Tapes are arranged alphabetically by speaker; manuscripts are arranged chronologically by year.\u003c/p\u003e"],"scopecontent_heading_ssm":["Scope and Contents"],"scopecontent_tesim":["Series 1, Office Records, contains 2 boxes of materials about conferences, symposiums, speakers, budgets, grants, and projects pertaining to the Marshall-Wythe Institute."," Series 2, Virginia Elections Project, contains 5 boxes of assembled data on Virginia elections from 1892-1975. Most items are election returns. This series is organized first by election (e.g., presidential, senatorial), then chronologically, and within each election race by county, city, and precinct."," Series 3, Symposium Records, contains 2 boxes of lecture tapes and 1 box of lecture manuscripts from symposiums held from 1967-1972. Tapes are arranged alphabetically by speaker; manuscripts are arranged chronologically by year."],"userestrict_html_tesm":["\u003cp\u003eBefore reproducing or quoting from any materials, in whole or in part, permission must be obtained from the Special Collections Research Center, and the holder of the copyright, if not Swem Library.\u003c/p\u003e"],"userestrict_heading_ssm":["Conditions Governing Use:"],"userestrict_tesim":["Before reproducing or quoting from any materials, in whole or in part, permission must be obtained from the Special Collections Research Center, and the holder of the copyright, if not Swem Library."],"names_coll_ssim":["Marshall-Wythe Institute","Marshall-Wythe School of Law"],"names_ssim":["Special Collections Research Center","Marshall-Wythe Institute","Marshall-Wythe School of Law"],"corpname_ssim":["Special Collections Research Center","Marshall-Wythe Institute","Marshall-Wythe School of Law"],"language_ssim":["English"],"total_component_count_is":575,"online_item_count_is":0,"component_level_isim":[0],"sort_isi":0,"timestamp":"2026-04-30T22:05:21.161Z"}]}},"label":"Breadcrumbs"}}},"links":{"self":"https://search.arvasarchive.org/catalog/viw_repositories_2_resources_8694_c02_c03_c04"}},{"id":"viw_repositories_2_resources_9853_c07_c01_c13","type":"Subseries","attributes":{"title":"Harper's Weekly","breadcrumbs":{"id":"https://search.arvasarchive.org/catalog/viw_repositories_2_resources_9853_c07_c01_c13#breadcrumbs","type":"document_value","attributes":{"value":{"ref_ssi":"viw_repositories_2_resources_9853_c07_c01_c13","ref_ssm":["viw_repositories_2_resources_9853_c07_c01_c13"],"id":"viw_repositories_2_resources_9853_c07_c01_c13","ead_ssi":"viw_repositories_2_resources_9853","_root_":"viw_repositories_2_resources_9853","_nest_parent_":"viw_repositories_2_resources_9853_c07_c01","parent_ssi":"viw_repositories_2_resources_9853_c07_c01","parent_ssim":["viw_repositories_2_resources_9853","viw_repositories_2_resources_9853_c07","viw_repositories_2_resources_9853_c07_c01"],"parent_ids_ssim":["viw_repositories_2_resources_9853","viw_repositories_2_resources_9853_c07","viw_repositories_2_resources_9853_c07_c01"],"parent_unittitles_ssm":["Richard Wright Collection of Graphic Images of African Americans","Series 7: Newspapers","Newspapers and clippings by publication"],"parent_unittitles_tesim":["Richard Wright Collection of Graphic Images of African Americans","Series 7: Newspapers","Newspapers and clippings by publication"],"text":["Richard Wright Collection of Graphic Images of African Americans","Series 7: Newspapers","Newspapers and clippings by publication","Harper's Weekly"],"title_filing_ssi":"Harper's Weekly","title_ssm":["Harper's Weekly"],"title_tesim":["Harper's Weekly"],"unitdate_inclusive_ssm":["1861 - 1967"],"normalized_date_ssm":["1861/1967"],"normalized_title_ssm":["Harper's Weekly"],"component_level_isim":[3],"repository_ssim":["College of William and Mary"],"collection_ssim":["Richard Wright Collection of Graphic Images of African Americans"],"has_online_content_ssim":["false"],"child_component_count_isi":37,"level_ssm":["Subseries"],"level_ssim":["Subseries"],"sort_isi":573,"parent_access_restrict_tesm":["Collection is open to all researchers. Manuscript collections and archival records may contain materials with sensitive or confidential information that is protected under federal or state right to privacy laws and regulations, such as the Virginia Public Records Act (Code of Virginia. § 42.1-76-91); and the Virginia Freedom of Information Act (Code of Virginia § 2.2-3705.5). Confidential material may include, but is not limited to, educational, medical, and personnel records. If sensitive material is found in this collection, please contact a staff member immediately. The disclosure of personally identifiable information pertaining to a living individual may have legal consequences for which the College of William and Mary assumes no responsibility."],"parent_access_terms_tesm":["Before publishing quotations or excerpts from any materials, permission must be obtained from the Curator of Manuscripts and Rare Books, and the holder of the copyright, if not Swem Library."],"date_range_isim":[1861,1862,1863,1864,1865,1866,1867,1868,1869,1870,1871,1872,1873,1874,1875,1876,1877,1878,1879,1880,1881,1882,1883,1884,1885,1886,1887,1888,1889,1890,1891,1892,1893,1894,1895,1896,1897,1898,1899,1900,1901,1902,1903,1904,1905,1906,1907,1908,1909,1910,1911,1912,1913,1914,1915,1916,1917,1918,1919,1920,1921,1922,1923,1924,1925,1926,1927,1928,1929,1930,1931,1932,1933,1934,1935,1936,1937,1938,1939,1940,1941,1942,1943,1944,1945,1946,1947,1948,1949,1950,1951,1952,1953,1954,1955,1956,1957,1958,1959,1960,1961,1962,1963,1964,1965,1966,1967],"_nest_path_":"/components#6/components#0/components#12","timestamp":"2026-04-30T22:10:15.256Z","collection":{"numFound":1,"start":0,"numFoundExact":true,"docs":[{"id":"viw_repositories_2_resources_9853","ead_ssi":"viw_repositories_2_resources_9853","_root_":"viw_repositories_2_resources_9853","_nest_parent_":"viw_repositories_2_resources_9853","ead_source_url_ssi":"data/oai/WM/repositories_2_resources_9853.xml","title_filing_ssi":"Richard Wright Collection of Graphic Images of African Americans","title_ssm":["Richard Wright Collection of Graphic Images of African Americans"],"title_tesim":["Richard Wright Collection of Graphic Images of African Americans"],"unitdate_ssm":["1806-2017"],"unitdate_inclusive_ssm":["1806-2017"],"level_ssm":["collection"],"level_ssim":["Collection"],"unitid_ssm":["MS 00317","/repositories/2/resources/9853"],"text":["MS 00317","/repositories/2/resources/9853","Richard Wright Collection of Graphic Images of African Americans","Comic books, strips, etc","African Americans--Caricatures and cartoons","Racism in popular culture","Drawings (visual works)","Motion pictures (visual work)","Sheet music","Collection is open to all researchers. Manuscript collections and archival records may contain materials with sensitive or confidential information that is protected under federal or state right to privacy laws and regulations, such as the Virginia Public Records Act (Code of Virginia. § 42.1-76-91); and the Virginia Freedom of Information Act (Code of Virginia § 2.2-3705.5). Confidential material may include, but is not limited to, educational, medical, and personnel records. If sensitive material is found in this collection, please contact a staff member immediately. The disclosure of personally identifiable information pertaining to a living individual may have legal consequences for which the College of William and Mary assumes no responsibility.","This collection is arranged into nine series: Research files, Collecting records, Minstrel shows, Scrapbooks and portfolios, Original artwork, Print and poster reproductions, Newspapers, Printed materials, and Audiovisual materials. ","Published books and comics can be found in our Rare Books collection.","Richard Wright (1946-2019) grew up in New York and attended college at Bradley University in Peoria, IL on an academic scholarship. He originally planned to study chemistry but graduated with a Bachelor of Political Science instead. ","\nWright moved to Stamford, Connecticut, where he met and married Minister Deborah V. P. Wright (1953-2012). They had three children together: Aaron Person, Joslynn S. Hamlet, and Porchia M. W. Smith.","\nWright spent the bulk of his career working as a court officer in the social services Department of Child Support in Connecticut until his retirement in 2013. He then moved to Williamsburg, Virgina, where he lived until his passing in 2019.","\nHe was an active member of Faith Tabernacle Missionary Baptist Church in Stamford, Connecticut. He served as a member of the trustee board, and sang in the Male Chorus and Inspirational Choir. Upon relocating to Williamsburg, VA, he joined Colossian Baptist Church in Newport News, and once again served as a choir member. ","\nOutside of the church, Wright also served as the president of the Stamford Chapter of the NAACP, was a member of Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity Inc., and worked as a volunteer and mentor for a substance abuse rehabilitation program called Liberation House.","\nWhile living in Stamford, Wright began collecting Black comic books in 1986 because \"he wanted to have a hobby.\" His collection eventually grew beyond comics to include books, art works, photographs, and audio visual materials on the same topic. He saw the images that he collected over the years as a way to better tell the story of the depiction of Black Americans in visual media. In 2019, Wright donated his collection to William \u0026 Mary so that it might be \"a helpful resource to students\" in the future.","William \u0026 Mary Libraries' archival, digital and physical collections may contain content with harmful language or difficult subject matters. We strive for transparency in making these materials available for teaching and research, but we do not endorse the attitudes, prejudices or behaviors found within them.","William \u0026 Mary Libraries' perspective on harmful content and language aligns with the U.S. National Archives and Records Administration (NARA), Digital Public Library of America (DPLA) and university libraries around the world.","Comic book volumes and other published materials included with this collection have been transfered to Rare Books and cataloged individually.","This collection, compiled by Richard Wright, focuses on the evolution of the Black American image in print media, cartoons and comics. Wright organized his own historical timeline titled \"Good Clean Fun: Blacks in Comics,\" also referred to as \"Clean Fun: Blacks in Comics,\" in a series of binders with artist biographies and time period summaries. Item titles have been retained from the original labels.","Materials in this collection include: books, comic books, magazines, prints, reference books, slides, photographs, CDs, DVDs, sheet music, newspaper strips, lithographs, and artwork. 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The disclosure of personally identifiable information pertaining to a living individual may have legal consequences for which the College of William and Mary assumes no responsibility."],"arrangement_html_tesm":["\u003cp\u003eThis collection is arranged into nine series: Research files, Collecting records, Minstrel shows, Scrapbooks and portfolios, Original artwork, Print and poster reproductions, Newspapers, Printed materials, and Audiovisual materials. \u003c/p\u003e\n","\u003cp\u003ePublished books and comics can be found in our Rare Books collection.\u003c/p\u003e"],"arrangement_heading_ssm":["Arrangement"],"arrangement_tesim":["This collection is arranged into nine series: Research files, Collecting records, Minstrel shows, Scrapbooks and portfolios, Original artwork, Print and poster reproductions, Newspapers, Printed materials, and Audiovisual materials. ","Published books and comics can be found in our Rare Books collection."],"bioghist_html_tesm":["\u003cp\u003eRichard Wright (1946-2019) grew up in New York and attended college at Bradley University in Peoria, IL on an academic scholarship. He originally planned to study chemistry but graduated with a Bachelor of Political Science instead. \u003c/p\u003e\n","\u003cp\u003e\nWright moved to Stamford, Connecticut, where he met and married Minister Deborah V. P. Wright (1953-2012). They had three children together: Aaron Person, Joslynn S. Hamlet, and Porchia M. W. Smith.\u003c/p\u003e\n","\u003cp\u003e\nWright spent the bulk of his career working as a court officer in the social services Department of Child Support in Connecticut until his retirement in 2013. He then moved to Williamsburg, Virgina, where he lived until his passing in 2019.\u003c/p\u003e\n","\u003cp\u003e\nHe was an active member of Faith Tabernacle Missionary Baptist Church in Stamford, Connecticut. He served as a member of the trustee board, and sang in the Male Chorus and Inspirational Choir. Upon relocating to Williamsburg, VA, he joined Colossian Baptist Church in Newport News, and once again served as a choir member. \u003c/p\u003e\n","\u003cp\u003e\nOutside of the church, Wright also served as the president of the Stamford Chapter of the NAACP, was a member of Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity Inc., and worked as a volunteer and mentor for a substance abuse rehabilitation program called Liberation House.\u003c/p\u003e\n","\u003cp\u003e\nWhile living in Stamford, Wright began collecting Black comic books in 1986 because \"he wanted to have a hobby.\" His collection eventually grew beyond comics to include books, art works, photographs, and audio visual materials on the same topic. He saw the images that he collected over the years as a way to better tell the story of the depiction of Black Americans in visual media. In 2019, Wright donated his collection to William \u0026amp; Mary so that it might be \"a helpful resource to students\" in the future.\u003c/p\u003e"],"bioghist_heading_ssm":["Biographical / Historical"],"bioghist_tesim":["Richard Wright (1946-2019) grew up in New York and attended college at Bradley University in Peoria, IL on an academic scholarship. He originally planned to study chemistry but graduated with a Bachelor of Political Science instead. ","\nWright moved to Stamford, Connecticut, where he met and married Minister Deborah V. P. Wright (1953-2012). They had three children together: Aaron Person, Joslynn S. Hamlet, and Porchia M. W. Smith.","\nWright spent the bulk of his career working as a court officer in the social services Department of Child Support in Connecticut until his retirement in 2013. He then moved to Williamsburg, Virgina, where he lived until his passing in 2019.","\nHe was an active member of Faith Tabernacle Missionary Baptist Church in Stamford, Connecticut. He served as a member of the trustee board, and sang in the Male Chorus and Inspirational Choir. Upon relocating to Williamsburg, VA, he joined Colossian Baptist Church in Newport News, and once again served as a choir member. ","\nOutside of the church, Wright also served as the president of the Stamford Chapter of the NAACP, was a member of Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity Inc., and worked as a volunteer and mentor for a substance abuse rehabilitation program called Liberation House.","\nWhile living in Stamford, Wright began collecting Black comic books in 1986 because \"he wanted to have a hobby.\" His collection eventually grew beyond comics to include books, art works, photographs, and audio visual materials on the same topic. He saw the images that he collected over the years as a way to better tell the story of the depiction of Black Americans in visual media. In 2019, Wright donated his collection to William \u0026 Mary so that it might be \"a helpful resource to students\" in the future."],"odd_html_tesm":["\u003cp\u003eWilliam \u0026amp; Mary Libraries' archival, digital and physical collections may contain content with harmful language or difficult subject matters. We strive for transparency in making these materials available for teaching and research, but we do not endorse the attitudes, prejudices or behaviors found within them.\u003c/p\u003e\n","\u003cp\u003eWilliam \u0026amp; Mary Libraries' perspective on harmful content and language aligns with the U.S. National Archives and Records Administration (NARA), Digital Public Library of America (DPLA) and university libraries around the world.\u003c/p\u003e"],"odd_heading_ssm":["General"],"odd_tesim":["William \u0026 Mary Libraries' archival, digital and physical collections may contain content with harmful language or difficult subject matters. We strive for transparency in making these materials available for teaching and research, but we do not endorse the attitudes, prejudices or behaviors found within them.","William \u0026 Mary Libraries' perspective on harmful content and language aligns with the U.S. National Archives and Records Administration (NARA), Digital Public Library of America (DPLA) and university libraries around the world."],"prefercite_html_tesm":["\u003cp\u003eRichard Wright Collection of Graphic Images of African Americans, Special Collections Research Center, William \u0026amp; Mary Libraries.\u003c/p\u003e"],"prefercite_tesim":["Richard Wright Collection of Graphic Images of African Americans, Special Collections Research Center, William \u0026 Mary Libraries."],"processinfo_html_tesm":["\u003cp\u003eComic book volumes and other published materials included with this collection have been transfered to Rare Books and cataloged individually.\u003c/p\u003e"],"processinfo_heading_ssm":["Processing Information"],"processinfo_tesim":["Comic book volumes and other published materials included with this collection have been transfered to Rare Books and cataloged individually."],"scopecontent_html_tesm":["\u003cp\u003eThis collection, compiled by Richard Wright, focuses on the evolution of the Black American image in print media, cartoons and comics. Wright organized his own historical timeline titled \"Good Clean Fun: Blacks in Comics,\" also referred to as \"Clean Fun: Blacks in Comics,\" in a series of binders with artist biographies and time period summaries. Item titles have been retained from the original labels.\u003c/p\u003e\n","\u003cp\u003eMaterials in this collection include: books, comic books, magazines, prints, reference books, slides, photographs, CDs, DVDs, sheet music, newspaper strips, lithographs, and artwork. \u003c/p\u003e"],"scopecontent_heading_ssm":["Content Description"],"scopecontent_tesim":["This collection, compiled by Richard Wright, focuses on the evolution of the Black American image in print media, cartoons and comics. Wright organized his own historical timeline titled \"Good Clean Fun: Blacks in Comics,\" also referred to as \"Clean Fun: Blacks in Comics,\" in a series of binders with artist biographies and time period summaries. Item titles have been retained from the original labels.","Materials in this collection include: books, comic books, magazines, prints, reference books, slides, photographs, CDs, DVDs, sheet music, newspaper strips, lithographs, and artwork. "],"userestrict_html_tesm":["\u003cp\u003eBefore publishing quotations or excerpts from any materials, permission must be obtained from the Curator of Manuscripts and Rare Books, and the holder of the copyright, if not Swem Library.\u003c/p\u003e"],"userestrict_heading_ssm":["Conditions Governing Use"],"userestrict_tesim":["Before publishing quotations or excerpts from any materials, permission must be obtained from the Curator of Manuscripts and Rare Books, and the holder of the copyright, if not Swem Library."],"names_ssim":["Special Collections Research Center"],"corpname_ssim":["Special Collections Research Center"],"language_ssim":["English"],"descrules_ssm":["Describing Archives: A Content Standard"],"total_component_count_is":987,"online_item_count_is":0,"component_level_isim":[0],"sort_isi":0,"timestamp":"2026-04-30T22:10:15.256Z"}]}},"label":"Breadcrumbs"}}},"links":{"self":"https://search.arvasarchive.org/catalog/viw_repositories_2_resources_9853_c07_c01_c13"}},{"id":"vihart_repositories_4_resources_244_c01_c02","type":"Subseries","attributes":{"title":"Harris family","breadcrumbs":{"id":"https://search.arvasarchive.org/catalog/vihart_repositories_4_resources_244_c01_c02#breadcrumbs","type":"document_value","attributes":{"value":{"ref_ssi":"vihart_repositories_4_resources_244_c01_c02","ref_ssm":["vihart_repositories_4_resources_244_c01_c02"],"id":"vihart_repositories_4_resources_244_c01_c02","ead_ssi":"vihart_repositories_4_resources_244","_root_":"vihart_repositories_4_resources_244","_nest_parent_":"vihart_repositories_4_resources_244_c01","parent_ssi":"vihart_repositories_4_resources_244_c01","parent_ssim":["vihart_repositories_4_resources_244","vihart_repositories_4_resources_244_c01"],"parent_ids_ssim":["vihart_repositories_4_resources_244","vihart_repositories_4_resources_244_c01"],"parent_unittitles_ssm":["John T. Harris papers","Correspondence"],"parent_unittitles_tesim":["John T. Harris papers","Correspondence"],"text":["John T. Harris papers","Correspondence","Harris family"],"title_filing_ssi":"Harris family","title_ssm":["Harris family"],"title_tesim":["Harris family"],"unitdate_inclusive_ssm":["1831-1937"],"normalized_date_ssm":["1831/1937"],"normalized_title_ssm":["Harris family"],"component_level_isim":[2],"repository_ssim":["James Madison University"],"collection_ssim":["John T. Harris papers"],"has_online_content_ssim":["false"],"child_component_count_isi":9,"level_ssm":["Subseries"],"level_ssim":["Subseries"],"sort_isi":20,"parent_access_restrict_tesm":["Collection is open for research. Researchers must register and agree to copyright and privacy laws before using this collection. Please contact Research Services staff before visiting the James Madison University Special Collections Library to use this collection."],"parent_access_terms_tesm":["The copyright interests in this collection have not been transferred to the James Madison University Special Collection Library. For more information, contact the Special Collections Library Reference Desk (library-special@jmu.edu)."],"date_range_isim":[1831,1832,1833,1834,1835,1836,1837,1838,1839,1840,1841,1842,1843,1844,1845,1846,1847,1848,1849,1850,1851,1852,1853,1854,1855,1856,1857,1858,1859,1860,1861,1862,1863,1864,1865,1866,1867,1868,1869,1870,1871,1872,1873,1874,1875,1876,1877,1878,1879,1880,1881,1882,1883,1884,1885,1886,1887,1888,1889,1890,1891,1892,1893,1894,1895,1896,1897,1898,1899,1900,1901,1902,1903,1904,1905,1906,1907,1908,1909,1910,1911,1912,1913,1914,1915,1916,1917,1918,1919,1920,1921,1922,1923,1924,1925,1926,1927,1928,1929,1930,1931,1932,1933,1934,1935,1936,1937],"_nest_path_":"/components#0/components#1","timestamp":"2026-04-30T22:59:43.839Z","collection":{"numFound":1,"start":0,"numFoundExact":true,"docs":[{"id":"vihart_repositories_4_resources_244","ead_ssi":"vihart_repositories_4_resources_244","_root_":"vihart_repositories_4_resources_244","_nest_parent_":"vihart_repositories_4_resources_244","ead_source_url_ssi":"data/oai/JMU/repositories_4_resources_244.xml","title_ssm":["John T. Harris papers"],"title_tesim":["John T. Harris papers"],"unitdate_ssm":["1771-1937","1850-1900"],"unitdate_bulk_ssim":["1850-1900"],"unitdate_inclusive_ssm":["1771-1937"],"level_ssm":["collection"],"level_ssim":["Collection"],"unitid_ssm":["SC 0089","/repositories/4/resources/244"],"text":["SC 0089","/repositories/4/resources/244","John T. Harris papers","Rockingham County (Va.) -- Politics and government","Virginia -- Politics and government -- 1775-1865","Virginia -- Politics and government -- 1861-1865","Virginia -- Politics and government -- 1865-1950","Virginia -- Genealogy","Virginia -- History, Local","Virginia -- History -- Civil War, 1861-1865","Virginia -- Social life and customs","United States -- History -- Civil War, 1861-1865 -- Personal narratives, Confederate","United States -- Politics and government -- 1849-1861","United States -- Social life and customs -- 19th century","Lawyers -- Virginia","Judges -- Virginia","Practice of law -- Virginia","Elections -- Virginia","Statesmen -- Virginia","Letters (correspondence)","Genealogies (histories)","Newspaper clippings","Indentures","Photographs","Wills","broadsides (notices)","Legal documents","Collection is open for research. Researchers must register and agree to copyright and privacy laws before using this collection. Please contact Research Services staff before visiting the James Madison University Special Collections Library to use this collection.","The collection is also available on microfilm at Special Collections of James Madison University (Microfilm # 1471-1479) and at the Library of Virginia, Richmond, Virginia.","The collection is arranged into the following four series and subseries. All correspondence series are arranged chronologically, and all other series are arranged topically.","Series 1: Correspondence, 1831-1937 1.1: Addressed to John T. Harris, 1841-1899 1.2: Harris Family, 1831-1937 1.3: Addressed to Peyton Randolph, 1846-1884 1.4: Randolph Family, 1837-1928 Series 2: Personal and Family Papers, 1843-1936 Series 3: Political Papers, 1856-1896 Series 4: Miscellaneous, 1771-1933","Boatner, Mark Mayo.  The Civil War Dictionary . New York: David McKay Co., Inc., 1959.","Dabney, Virginius.  Virginia: The New Dominion . Charlottesville: University Press of Virginia, 1971.","Daniels, Jonathon.  The Randolphs of Virginia . New York: Doubleday, 1972.","Johnson, Allen \u0026 Malone, Dumas, ed.  Dictionary of American Biography.  Vol. VI. NY: Scribner's     Sons, 1931. ","Krick, Robert K.  Lee's Colonels: A Biographical Register of the Field Officers of the Army of Northern Virginia . Dayton, Ohio: Press of Morningside Bookshop, 1979. ","Members of Congress Since 1789. Congressional Quarterly, Inc., 1977. ","The National Cyclopedia of American Biography . Vol. XIX. NY: Charles T. White and Co., 1926. ","Tewksbury, Donald G.  The Founding of American Colleges and Universities Before the Civil War . NY: Archon Books, 1965. ","Wakelyn, Jon L.  Biographical Dictionary of the Confederacy . Westport, CN: Greenwood, 1977. ","Wayland, John W.  A History of Rockingham County, Virginia . Dayton, VA: Ruebush-Elkins, 1912. ","John T. Harris (1823-1899) was perhaps one of the most prominent citizens of Rockingham County throughout the nineteenth century. The son of Nathan and Ann Harris, he was commonwealth's attorney for Rockingham County from 1852 to 1859, and in 1856 served as a Presidential elector for James Buchanan. Thereafter, he served in the United States Congress from 1859 until the outbreak of the Civil War. Despite his strong Unionist sentiments and his continual efforts to keep Virginia in the Union, Harris remained loyal to Virginia when she seceded in May 1861. During the war he served two terms in the Virginia General Assembly. Following the war John T. Harris was judge of the 12th judicial circuit, which included Rockingham County. In 1870 he was again elected to Congress and was continuously re-elected until 1880, after which he resumed his law practice in Harrisonburg. John T. Harris returned to politics in 1889 as a rival of P.W. McKinney for the Democratic nomination for the governorship. Later he was appointed by Governor McKinney as one of the representatives for Virginia to the World's Columbian Exposition in 1892. He died in Harrisonburg, October 14, 1899. ","In addition to the Harris family letters, there are a large number of miscellaneous letters (3 Hollinger boxes) of the related Peyton Randolph Family. The Randolph family papers came into the Harris family when John T. Harris's son, John T. Harris Jr., married Peyton Randolph's daughter, Mary Elizabeth Randolph. Born in Washington, D.C. in 1833, Peyton was the son of James Innes Randolph, a congressional clerk, and Susan Armistead Randolph. However, despite the numerous letters to him, little is known about Peyton Randolph. Prior to the Civil War he attended Columbian College (now George Washington University) and was an engineer on numerous railroad projects in Virginia, Indiana, and Alabama through the 1850's. He enlisted in the army in Mobile, Alabama, at the outbreak of war and served as an engineer in Pickett's division, rising to the rank of major by 1865. Thereafter, even less is known of his life. He married Mary Fisher following the war, returned to the engineering profession, and died November 28, 1888.","In order to streamline the process of applying collection numbers, Special Collections staff completed a large-scale renumbering campaign in the spring of 2017.  This collection was previously cataloged as SC 2025.","Harter, Dale F.  Of Men and Measures: The Memoirs of John T. Harris of Virginia.  M.A. Thesis, University of South Carolina, 1999.","The John T. Harris Papers, 1771-1937 (bulk 1850-1900), consists of seven boxes and two oversize folders of material. Although the collection contains a large number of personal and political documents relevant to the life and career of John T. Harris, the bulk of the collection is comprised of correspondence addressed to John T. Harris and his family, and between Peyton Randolph and his family. A small number of James Clarkson papers are also present. The collection is arranged in four series: Correspondence, Personal and Family Papers, Political Papers, and Miscellaneous.","Series 1: Correspondence, 1831-1937, is arranged chronologically in four subseries:  ","Subseries 1.1: Addressed to John T. Harris, 1841-1899, consists of correspondence addressed to Harris from his constituents requesting personal favors. Letters from 1860 to 1861 primarily address the issue of Virginia seceding from the Union. Most of the letters express pro-Unionist feelings and encourage Harris to work for a compromise in Congress to avert violent conflict. The contents of these letters suggest that Harris worked with and may have been a close friend of Stephen A. Douglas. The 24 May 1871 letter addressed to Harris from William Nelson Pendelton, written on behalf of Henry Clay White of Rockbridge County requesting appointment to the U.S. Military Academy at West Point is property of Special Collections at James Madison University, and does not form part of the original collection on deposit. It is not available on microfilm.","Subseries 1.2: Harris Family, 1831-1937, consists chiefly of letters among various members of the Harris family; content includes descriptions of family life. Also included among this subseries are several letters to John T. Harris, Jr., from Presidents Woodrow Wilson and Theodore Roosevelt.","Subseries 1.3: Addressed to Peyton Randolph, 1846-1884, consists of letters from several college friends of Randolph and from Randolph's immediate family. Notable among these are letters from college friend Henry Force. Force was the son of historian Peter Force and acted as surveyor on the Border Commission dispatched to study the newly acquired lands in present-day New Mexico and Arizona. In a series of letters to Peyton from 1848 to 1853, Force describes his encounters with Mexican soldiers and Apache Indians, as well as his duties on the trek from New Orleans to San Diego. Transcriptions are available for eight of Force's letters, 1848-1851.","Subseries 1.4: Randolph Family, 1837-1928, includes letters addressed to Peyton Randolph and his sisters, Mollie Randolph, Nannie Randolph and Sue Randolph from their mother, Susan Armistead Randolph, correspondence between the Randolph siblings, as well as a few miscellaneous items of Peyton Randolph's including a book of psalms which he carried during the Civil War. The letters from Susan Armistead Randolph form the bulk of this subseries. In her weekly four-page letters, Susan Randolph describes life in Washington, D.C. during the 1850's, including the inauguration of Franklin Pierce and the funeral of Henry Clay. Susan Randolph was acutely aware of the political climate of her era and took particular interest in the Know-Nothing party in the 1850's. In several letters she outlines the platform of the Know-Nothings and even urges Peyton to join the party. However, despite her vivid political commentaries and her proximity to the arena of the conflict, she does not mention the issue of slavery. In addition to her political and social sketches, she provides detailed accounts of family life, including detailed descriptions of the deaths of various family members. Her letters from Richmond during the war describe the changes in life in that city through the course of the war and include detailed examples of the rampant inflation of prices on common goods such as bacon and flour. Of particular interest are Mrs. Randolph's inquiries concerning her first cousin, General Lewis Armistead, who was said to be the first Confederate soldier to cross into Union lines during Pickett's Charge at the battle of Gettysburg. See Randolph Harris Moulton's Some Randolphs Around Civil War Times for transcriptions of some of the Peyton Randolph letters.","Series 2: Personal and Family Papers, 1843-1936, is arranged topically and contains a variety of materials. General papers include John T. Harris' law license, an 1861 will, and his post-Civil War oath of allegiance to the United States. [A certificate in which President Benjamin Harrison appoints Harris as Virginia's representative at the World's Columbian Exposition of 1892 is located in the oversize miscellaneous file.] Also in this series is a photocopy of John T. Harris' handwritten 1898 autobiography, which gives many particulars of his life, as well as a photocopy of his son John T. Harris Jr.'s typed 1936 autobiography, which includes characterizations of the lawyers with which the younger Harris was acquainted. Genealogical notes and charts as well as newspaper clippings pertaining to the Harris family are also present.","Series 3: Political Papers, 1856-1896, consists primarily of copies of John T. Harris' Congressional speeches as well as several made by other members of Congress. The most notable of these is the resignation speech of Preston B. \"Bully\" Brookes, who was censured by Congress for caning Charles Sumner in 1856. In addition, there are election returns from elections in which Harris was a candidate. These include reports from Rockingham County and localities throughout the Shenandoah Valley. There is also a folder containing political ephemera such as political broadsides, handbills, and selected pages from newspapers regarding local and national elections","Series 4: Miscellaneous, 1771-1933, contains a variety of materials, including general miscellany and receipts, Civil War documents, indentures, James Clarkson Papers, photographs and undated material. Among the Civil War documents are requests for exemption from military service, requisition receipts from Confederate military authorities, contracts between individuals and their military substitutes, and requests to John  T. Harris for release from Union prisoner-of-war camps. The James Clarkson Papers primarily are comprised of legal documents from Albemarle County. These documents were preserved by John T. Harris's wife, Virginia Harris, who was a descendant of James Clarkson. Among the photographs is a print of Peyton Randolph and his four brothers, a photographed portrait of James Innes, and photographs of John T. Harris' writing desk, a young Isabelle Heard, and an unidentified young girl.  Undated material consists of any items in this series that may be undated, including print material, notes, memoranda, receipts, various lists, writings, and calling cards. In addition, also includes a certificate signed by Benjamin Harrison appointing him as Virginia's representative at the World's Columbian Exposition of 1892; a land grant to Joel S. Graves signed by Governor Thomas M. Randolph; and a sheet dated March 11, 1861, signed by members of the provisional government of secession (Civil War) from South Carolina, Georgia, Florida and Alabama.","The copyright interests in this collection have not been transferred to the James Madison University Special Collection Library. For more information, contact the Special Collections Library Reference Desk (library-special@jmu.edu).","The John T. Harris Papers, 1771-1937 (bulk 1850-1900), consist of a large number of personal and political documents relevant to the life and career of John T. Harris. The bulk of the collection is comprised of letters of John T. Harris and his family, and of Peyton Randolph and his family. Several letters discuss Southern secession and the American Civil War. Also included are Randolph family letters, James Clarkson Papers, Civil War documents and Harris genealogy.","James Madison University Libraries Special Collections","Harrisonburg-Rockingham Historical Society","Virginia. General Assembly. House of Delegates -- Elections","Harris family -- Correspondence","Randolph family -- Correspondence","Harris, John T. (John Thomas), 1823-1899","Harris, R. Randolph","Harris, John T. (John Thomas), 1823-1899 -- Correspondence","Randolph, Peyton, 1833-1891 -- Correspondence","Randolph, Susan Armistead, 1810-1884 -- Correspondence","Randolph, Innes, 1837-1887","English"],"unitid_tesim":["SC 0089","/repositories/4/resources/244"],"normalized_title_ssm":["John T. Harris papers"],"collection_title_tesim":["John T. Harris papers"],"collection_ssim":["John T. Harris papers"],"repository_ssm":["James Madison University"],"repository_ssim":["James Madison University"],"geogname_ssm":["Rockingham County (Va.) -- Politics and government","Virginia -- Politics and government -- 1775-1865","Virginia -- Politics and government -- 1861-1865","Virginia -- Politics and government -- 1865-1950","Virginia -- Genealogy","Virginia -- History, Local","Virginia -- History -- Civil War, 1861-1865","Virginia -- Social life and customs","United States -- History -- Civil War, 1861-1865 -- Personal narratives, Confederate","United States -- Politics and government -- 1849-1861","United States -- Social life and customs -- 19th century"],"geogname_ssim":["Rockingham County (Va.) -- Politics and government","Virginia -- Politics and government -- 1775-1865","Virginia -- Politics and government -- 1861-1865","Virginia -- Politics and government -- 1865-1950","Virginia -- Genealogy","Virginia -- History, Local","Virginia -- History -- Civil War, 1861-1865","Virginia -- Social life and customs","United States -- History -- Civil War, 1861-1865 -- Personal narratives, Confederate","United States -- Politics and government -- 1849-1861","United States -- Social life and customs -- 19th century"],"creator_ssm":["Harris, John T. (John Thomas), 1823-1899","Harrisonburg-Rockingham Historical Society","Harris, R. Randolph"],"creator_ssim":["Harris, John T. (John Thomas), 1823-1899","Harrisonburg-Rockingham Historical Society","Harris, R. Randolph"],"creator_persname_ssim":["Harris, John T. (John Thomas), 1823-1899","Harris, R. Randolph"],"creator_corpname_ssim":["Harrisonburg-Rockingham Historical Society"],"creators_ssim":["Harris, John T. (John Thomas), 1823-1899","Harris, R. Randolph","Harrisonburg-Rockingham Historical Society"],"places_ssim":["Rockingham County (Va.) -- Politics and government","Virginia -- Politics and government -- 1775-1865","Virginia -- Politics and government -- 1861-1865","Virginia -- Politics and government -- 1865-1950","Virginia -- Genealogy","Virginia -- History, Local","Virginia -- History -- Civil War, 1861-1865","Virginia -- Social life and customs","United States -- History -- Civil War, 1861-1865 -- Personal narratives, Confederate","United States -- Politics and government -- 1849-1861","United States -- Social life and customs -- 19th century"],"access_terms_ssm":["The copyright interests in this collection have not been transferred to the James Madison University Special Collection Library. For more information, contact the Special Collections Library Reference Desk (library-special@jmu.edu)."],"acqinfo_ssim":["Placed on deposit according to a November 1985 contract with the Harrisonburg-Rockingham Historical Society. Two letters were donated to JMU Special Collections in July 2003 by R. Randolph Harris, great-grandson of John T. Harris (1823-1899)."],"access_subjects_ssim":["Lawyers -- Virginia","Judges -- Virginia","Practice of law -- Virginia","Elections -- Virginia","Statesmen -- Virginia","Letters (correspondence)","Genealogies (histories)","Newspaper clippings","Indentures","Photographs","Wills","broadsides (notices)","Legal documents"],"access_subjects_ssm":["Lawyers -- Virginia","Judges -- Virginia","Practice of law -- Virginia","Elections -- Virginia","Statesmen -- Virginia","Letters (correspondence)","Genealogies (histories)","Newspaper clippings","Indentures","Photographs","Wills","broadsides (notices)","Legal documents"],"has_online_content_ssim":["false"],"extent_ssm":["2.47 cubic feet 7 boxes and 2 folders"],"extent_tesim":["2.47 cubic feet 7 boxes and 2 folders"],"genreform_ssim":["Letters (correspondence)","Genealogies (histories)","Newspaper clippings","Indentures","Photographs","Wills","broadsides (notices)","Legal documents"],"date_range_isim":[1771,1772,1773,1774,1775,1776,1777,1778,1779,1780,1781,1782,1783,1784,1785,1786,1787,1788,1789,1790,1791,1792,1793,1794,1795,1796,1797,1798,1799,1800,1801,1802,1803,1804,1805,1806,1807,1808,1809,1810,1811,1812,1813,1814,1815,1816,1817,1818,1819,1820,1821,1822,1823,1824,1825,1826,1827,1828,1829,1830,1831,1832,1833,1834,1835,1836,1837,1838,1839,1840,1841,1842,1843,1844,1845,1846,1847,1848,1849,1850,1851,1852,1853,1854,1855,1856,1857,1858,1859,1860,1861,1862,1863,1864,1865,1866,1867,1868,1869,1870,1871,1872,1873,1874,1875,1876,1877,1878,1879,1880,1881,1882,1883,1884,1885,1886,1887,1888,1889,1890,1891,1892,1893,1894,1895,1896,1897,1898,1899,1900,1901,1902,1903,1904,1905,1906,1907,1908,1909,1910,1911,1912,1913,1914,1915,1916,1917,1918,1919,1920,1921,1922,1923,1924,1925,1926,1927,1928,1929,1930,1931,1932,1933,1934,1935,1936,1937],"accessrestrict_html_tesm":["\u003cp\u003eCollection is open for research. Researchers must register and agree to copyright and privacy laws before using this collection. Please contact Research Services staff before visiting the James Madison University Special Collections Library to use this collection.\u003c/p\u003e"],"accessrestrict_heading_ssm":["Access Restrictions"],"accessrestrict_tesim":["Collection is open for research. Researchers must register and agree to copyright and privacy laws before using this collection. Please contact Research Services staff before visiting the James Madison University Special Collections Library to use this collection."],"altformavail_html_tesm":["\u003cp\u003eThe collection is also available on microfilm at Special Collections of James Madison University (Microfilm # 1471-1479) and at the Library of Virginia, Richmond, Virginia.\u003c/p\u003e"],"altformavail_heading_ssm":["Other Formats Available"],"altformavail_tesim":["The collection is also available on microfilm at Special Collections of James Madison University (Microfilm # 1471-1479) and at the Library of Virginia, Richmond, Virginia."],"arrangement_html_tesm":["\u003cp\u003eThe collection is arranged into the following four series and subseries. All correspondence series are arranged chronologically, and all other series are arranged topically.\u003c/p\u003e\n","\u003cp\u003e\u003cul\u003e\n  \u003cli\u003eSeries 1: Correspondence, 1831-1937\u003c/li\u003e\n  \u003cul\u003e\n  \u003cli\u003e1.1: Addressed to John T. Harris, 1841-1899\u003c/li\u003e\n  \u003cli\u003e1.2: Harris Family, 1831-1937\u003c/li\u003e\n  \u003cli\u003e1.3: Addressed to Peyton Randolph, 1846-1884\u003c/li\u003e\n  \u003cli\u003e1.4: Randolph Family, 1837-1928\u003c/li\u003e\n  \u003c/ul\u003e\n  \u003cli\u003eSeries 2: Personal and Family Papers, 1843-1936\u003c/li\u003e\n  \u003cli\u003eSeries 3: Political Papers, 1856-1896\u003c/li\u003e\n  \u003cli\u003eSeries 4: Miscellaneous, 1771-1933\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003c/ul\u003e\u003c/p\u003e"],"arrangement_heading_ssm":["Arrangement"],"arrangement_tesim":["The collection is arranged into the following four series and subseries. All correspondence series are arranged chronologically, and all other series are arranged topically.","Series 1: Correspondence, 1831-1937 1.1: Addressed to John T. Harris, 1841-1899 1.2: Harris Family, 1831-1937 1.3: Addressed to Peyton Randolph, 1846-1884 1.4: Randolph Family, 1837-1928 Series 2: Personal and Family Papers, 1843-1936 Series 3: Political Papers, 1856-1896 Series 4: Miscellaneous, 1771-1933"],"bibliography_html_tesm":["\u003cbibref\u003eBoatner, Mark Mayo. \u003cemph render=\"italic\"\u003eThe Civil War Dictionary\u003c/emph\u003e. New York: David McKay Co., Inc., 1959.\u003c/bibref\u003e","\u003cbibref\u003eDabney, Virginius. \u003cemph render=\"italic\"\u003eVirginia: The New Dominion\u003c/emph\u003e. Charlottesville: University Press of Virginia, 1971.\u003c/bibref\u003e","\u003cbibref\u003eDaniels, Jonathon. \u003cemph render=\"italic\"\u003eThe Randolphs of Virginia\u003c/emph\u003e. New York: Doubleday, 1972.\u003c/bibref\u003e","\u003cbibref\u003eJohnson, Allen \u0026amp; Malone, Dumas, ed. \u003cemph render=\"italic\"\u003eDictionary of American Biography.\u003c/emph\u003e Vol. VI. NY: Scribner's     Sons, 1931. \u003c/bibref\u003e","\u003cbibref\u003eKrick, Robert K. \u003cemph render=\"italic\"\u003eLee's Colonels: A Biographical Register of the Field Officers of the Army of Northern Virginia\u003c/emph\u003e. Dayton, Ohio: Press of Morningside Bookshop, 1979. \u003c/bibref\u003e","\u003cbibref\u003eMembers of Congress Since 1789. Congressional Quarterly, Inc., 1977. \u003c/bibref\u003e","\u003cbibref\u003e\u003cemph render=\"italic\"\u003eThe National Cyclopedia of American Biography\u003c/emph\u003e. Vol. XIX. NY: Charles T. White and Co., 1926. \u003c/bibref\u003e","\u003cbibref\u003eTewksbury, Donald G. \u003cemph render=\"italic\"\u003eThe Founding of American Colleges and Universities Before the Civil War\u003c/emph\u003e. NY: Archon Books, 1965. \u003c/bibref\u003e","\u003cbibref\u003eWakelyn, Jon L. \u003cemph render=\"italic\"\u003eBiographical Dictionary of the Confederacy\u003c/emph\u003e. Westport, CN: Greenwood, 1977. \u003c/bibref\u003e","\u003cbibref\u003eWayland, John W. \u003cemph render=\"italic\"\u003eA History of Rockingham County, Virginia\u003c/emph\u003e. Dayton, VA: Ruebush-Elkins, 1912. \u003c/bibref\u003e"],"bibliography_heading_ssm":["Bibliography"],"bibliography_tesim":["Boatner, Mark Mayo.  The Civil War Dictionary . New York: David McKay Co., Inc., 1959.","Dabney, Virginius.  Virginia: The New Dominion . Charlottesville: University Press of Virginia, 1971.","Daniels, Jonathon.  The Randolphs of Virginia . New York: Doubleday, 1972.","Johnson, Allen \u0026 Malone, Dumas, ed.  Dictionary of American Biography.  Vol. VI. NY: Scribner's     Sons, 1931. ","Krick, Robert K.  Lee's Colonels: A Biographical Register of the Field Officers of the Army of Northern Virginia . Dayton, Ohio: Press of Morningside Bookshop, 1979. ","Members of Congress Since 1789. Congressional Quarterly, Inc., 1977. ","The National Cyclopedia of American Biography . Vol. XIX. NY: Charles T. White and Co., 1926. ","Tewksbury, Donald G.  The Founding of American Colleges and Universities Before the Civil War . NY: Archon Books, 1965. ","Wakelyn, Jon L.  Biographical Dictionary of the Confederacy . Westport, CN: Greenwood, 1977. ","Wayland, John W.  A History of Rockingham County, Virginia . Dayton, VA: Ruebush-Elkins, 1912. "],"bioghist_html_tesm":["\u003cp\u003eJohn T. Harris (1823-1899) was perhaps one of the most prominent citizens of Rockingham County throughout the nineteenth century. The son of Nathan and Ann Harris, he was commonwealth's attorney for Rockingham County from 1852 to 1859, and in 1856 served as a Presidential elector for James Buchanan. Thereafter, he served in the United States Congress from 1859 until the outbreak of the Civil War. Despite his strong Unionist sentiments and his continual efforts to keep Virginia in the Union, Harris remained loyal to Virginia when she seceded in May 1861. During the war he served two terms in the Virginia General Assembly. Following the war John T. Harris was judge of the 12th judicial circuit, which included Rockingham County. In 1870 he was again elected to Congress and was continuously re-elected until 1880, after which he resumed his law practice in Harrisonburg. John T. Harris returned to politics in 1889 as a rival of P.W. McKinney for the Democratic nomination for the governorship. Later he was appointed by Governor McKinney as one of the representatives for Virginia to the World's Columbian Exposition in 1892. He died in Harrisonburg, October 14, 1899. \u003c/p\u003e\n","\u003cp\u003eIn addition to the Harris family letters, there are a large number of miscellaneous letters (3 Hollinger boxes) of the related Peyton Randolph Family. The Randolph family papers came into the Harris family when John T. Harris's son, John T. Harris Jr., married Peyton Randolph's daughter, Mary Elizabeth Randolph. Born in Washington, D.C. in 1833, Peyton was the son of James Innes Randolph, a congressional clerk, and Susan Armistead Randolph. However, despite the numerous letters to him, little is known about Peyton Randolph. Prior to the Civil War he attended Columbian College (now George Washington University) and was an engineer on numerous railroad projects in Virginia, Indiana, and Alabama through the 1850's. He enlisted in the army in Mobile, Alabama, at the outbreak of war and served as an engineer in Pickett's division, rising to the rank of major by 1865. Thereafter, even less is known of his life. He married Mary Fisher following the war, returned to the engineering profession, and died November 28, 1888.\u003c/p\u003e"],"bioghist_heading_ssm":["Bio/Historical Note"],"bioghist_tesim":["John T. Harris (1823-1899) was perhaps one of the most prominent citizens of Rockingham County throughout the nineteenth century. The son of Nathan and Ann Harris, he was commonwealth's attorney for Rockingham County from 1852 to 1859, and in 1856 served as a Presidential elector for James Buchanan. Thereafter, he served in the United States Congress from 1859 until the outbreak of the Civil War. Despite his strong Unionist sentiments and his continual efforts to keep Virginia in the Union, Harris remained loyal to Virginia when she seceded in May 1861. During the war he served two terms in the Virginia General Assembly. Following the war John T. Harris was judge of the 12th judicial circuit, which included Rockingham County. In 1870 he was again elected to Congress and was continuously re-elected until 1880, after which he resumed his law practice in Harrisonburg. John T. Harris returned to politics in 1889 as a rival of P.W. McKinney for the Democratic nomination for the governorship. Later he was appointed by Governor McKinney as one of the representatives for Virginia to the World's Columbian Exposition in 1892. He died in Harrisonburg, October 14, 1899. ","In addition to the Harris family letters, there are a large number of miscellaneous letters (3 Hollinger boxes) of the related Peyton Randolph Family. The Randolph family papers came into the Harris family when John T. Harris's son, John T. Harris Jr., married Peyton Randolph's daughter, Mary Elizabeth Randolph. Born in Washington, D.C. in 1833, Peyton was the son of James Innes Randolph, a congressional clerk, and Susan Armistead Randolph. However, despite the numerous letters to him, little is known about Peyton Randolph. Prior to the Civil War he attended Columbian College (now George Washington University) and was an engineer on numerous railroad projects in Virginia, Indiana, and Alabama through the 1850's. He enlisted in the army in Mobile, Alabama, at the outbreak of war and served as an engineer in Pickett's division, rising to the rank of major by 1865. Thereafter, even less is known of his life. He married Mary Fisher following the war, returned to the engineering profession, and died November 28, 1888."],"prefercite_html_tesm":["\u003cp\u003e[Identification of Item], [box #, folder #], John T. Harris Papers, 1771-1937 (bulk 1850-1900), SC 0089, Special Collections, Carrier Library, James Madison University, Harrisonburg, Va. on deposit from Harrisonburg-Rockingham Historical Society, Dayton, Va., housed in Special Collections, Carrier Library, James Madison University, Harrisonburg, Va.\u003c/p\u003e"],"prefercite_tesim":["[Identification of Item], [box #, folder #], John T. Harris Papers, 1771-1937 (bulk 1850-1900), SC 0089, Special Collections, Carrier Library, James Madison University, Harrisonburg, Va. on deposit from Harrisonburg-Rockingham Historical Society, Dayton, Va., housed in Special Collections, Carrier Library, James Madison University, Harrisonburg, Va."],"processinfo_html_tesm":["\u003cp\u003eIn order to streamline the process of applying collection numbers, Special Collections staff completed a large-scale renumbering campaign in the spring of 2017. \u003cemph render=\"bold\"\u003eThis collection was previously cataloged as SC 2025.\u003c/emph\u003e\u003c/p\u003e"],"processinfo_heading_ssm":["Processing Information"],"processinfo_tesim":["In order to streamline the process of applying collection numbers, Special Collections staff completed a large-scale renumbering campaign in the spring of 2017.  This collection was previously cataloged as SC 2025."],"relatedmaterial_html_tesm":["\u003cp\u003eHarter, Dale F. \u003cemph render=\"italic\"\u003eOf Men and Measures: The Memoirs of John T. Harris of Virginia.\u003c/emph\u003e M.A. Thesis, University of South Carolina, 1999.\u003c/p\u003e"],"relatedmaterial_heading_ssm":["Related Material"],"relatedmaterial_tesim":["Harter, Dale F.  Of Men and Measures: The Memoirs of John T. Harris of Virginia.  M.A. Thesis, University of South Carolina, 1999."],"scopecontent_html_tesm":["\u003cp\u003eThe John T. Harris Papers, 1771-1937 (bulk 1850-1900), consists of seven boxes and two oversize folders of material. Although the collection contains a large number of personal and political documents relevant to the life and career of John T. Harris, the bulk of the collection is comprised of correspondence addressed to John T. Harris and his family, and between Peyton Randolph and his family. A small number of James Clarkson papers are also present. The collection is arranged in four series: Correspondence, Personal and Family Papers, Political Papers, and Miscellaneous.\u003c/p\u003e\n","\u003cp\u003eSeries 1: Correspondence, 1831-1937, is arranged chronologically in four subseries:  \u003c/p\u003e\n","\u003cp\u003eSubseries 1.1: Addressed to John T. Harris, 1841-1899, consists of correspondence addressed to Harris from his constituents requesting personal favors. Letters from 1860 to 1861 primarily address the issue of Virginia seceding from the Union. Most of the letters express pro-Unionist feelings and encourage Harris to work for a compromise in Congress to avert violent conflict. The contents of these letters suggest that Harris worked with and may have been a close friend of Stephen A. Douglas. The 24 May 1871 letter addressed to Harris from William Nelson Pendelton, written on behalf of Henry Clay White of Rockbridge County requesting appointment to the U.S. Military Academy at West Point is property of Special Collections at James Madison University, and does not form part of the original collection on deposit. It is not available on microfilm.\u003c/p\u003e\n","\u003cp\u003eSubseries 1.2: Harris Family, 1831-1937, consists chiefly of letters among various members of the Harris family; content includes descriptions of family life. Also included among this subseries are several letters to John T. Harris, Jr., from Presidents Woodrow Wilson and Theodore Roosevelt.\u003c/p\u003e\n","\u003cp\u003eSubseries 1.3: Addressed to Peyton Randolph, 1846-1884, consists of letters from several college friends of Randolph and from Randolph's immediate family. Notable among these are letters from college friend Henry Force. Force was the son of historian Peter Force and acted as surveyor on the Border Commission dispatched to study the newly acquired lands in present-day New Mexico and Arizona. In a series of letters to Peyton from 1848 to 1853, Force describes his encounters with Mexican soldiers and Apache Indians, as well as his duties on the trek from New Orleans to San Diego. Transcriptions are available for eight of Force's letters, 1848-1851.\u003c/p\u003e\n","\u003cp\u003eSubseries 1.4: Randolph Family, 1837-1928, includes letters addressed to Peyton Randolph and his sisters, Mollie Randolph, Nannie Randolph and Sue Randolph from their mother, Susan Armistead Randolph, correspondence between the Randolph siblings, as well as a few miscellaneous items of Peyton Randolph's including a book of psalms which he carried during the Civil War. The letters from Susan Armistead Randolph form the bulk of this subseries. In her weekly four-page letters, Susan Randolph describes life in Washington, D.C. during the 1850's, including the inauguration of Franklin Pierce and the funeral of Henry Clay. Susan Randolph was acutely aware of the political climate of her era and took particular interest in the Know-Nothing party in the 1850's. In several letters she outlines the platform of the Know-Nothings and even urges Peyton to join the party. However, despite her vivid political commentaries and her proximity to the arena of the conflict, she does not mention the issue of slavery. In addition to her political and social sketches, she provides detailed accounts of family life, including detailed descriptions of the deaths of various family members. Her letters from Richmond during the war describe the changes in life in that city through the course of the war and include detailed examples of the rampant inflation of prices on common goods such as bacon and flour. Of particular interest are Mrs. Randolph's inquiries concerning her first cousin, General Lewis Armistead, who was said to be the first Confederate soldier to cross into Union lines during Pickett's Charge at the battle of Gettysburg. See Randolph Harris Moulton's Some Randolphs Around Civil War Times for transcriptions of some of the Peyton Randolph letters.\u003c/p\u003e\n","\u003cp\u003eSeries 2: Personal and Family Papers, 1843-1936, is arranged topically and contains a variety of materials. General papers include John T. Harris' law license, an 1861 will, and his post-Civil War oath of allegiance to the United States. [A certificate in which President Benjamin Harrison appoints Harris as Virginia's representative at the World's Columbian Exposition of 1892 is located in the oversize miscellaneous file.] Also in this series is a photocopy of John T. Harris' handwritten 1898 autobiography, which gives many particulars of his life, as well as a photocopy of his son John T. Harris Jr.'s typed 1936 autobiography, which includes characterizations of the lawyers with which the younger Harris was acquainted. Genealogical notes and charts as well as newspaper clippings pertaining to the Harris family are also present.\u003c/p\u003e\n","\u003cp\u003eSeries 3: Political Papers, 1856-1896, consists primarily of copies of John T. Harris' Congressional speeches as well as several made by other members of Congress. The most notable of these is the resignation speech of Preston B. \"Bully\" Brookes, who was censured by Congress for caning Charles Sumner in 1856. In addition, there are election returns from elections in which Harris was a candidate. These include reports from Rockingham County and localities throughout the Shenandoah Valley. There is also a folder containing political ephemera such as political broadsides, handbills, and selected pages from newspapers regarding local and national elections\u003c/p\u003e\n","\u003cp\u003eSeries 4: Miscellaneous, 1771-1933, contains a variety of materials, including general miscellany and receipts, Civil War documents, indentures, James Clarkson Papers, photographs and undated material. Among the Civil War documents are requests for exemption from military service, requisition receipts from Confederate military authorities, contracts between individuals and their military substitutes, and requests to John  T. Harris for release from Union prisoner-of-war camps. The James Clarkson Papers primarily are comprised of legal documents from Albemarle County. These documents were preserved by John T. Harris's wife, Virginia Harris, who was a descendant of James Clarkson. Among the photographs is a print of Peyton Randolph and his four brothers, a photographed portrait of James Innes, and photographs of John T. Harris' writing desk, a young Isabelle Heard, and an unidentified young girl.  Undated material consists of any items in this series that may be undated, including print material, notes, memoranda, receipts, various lists, writings, and calling cards. In addition, also includes a certificate signed by Benjamin Harrison appointing him as Virginia's representative at the World's Columbian Exposition of 1892; a land grant to Joel S. Graves signed by Governor Thomas M. Randolph; and a sheet dated March 11, 1861, signed by members of the provisional government of secession (Civil War) from South Carolina, Georgia, Florida and Alabama.\u003c/p\u003e"],"scopecontent_heading_ssm":["Scope and Contents"],"scopecontent_tesim":["The John T. Harris Papers, 1771-1937 (bulk 1850-1900), consists of seven boxes and two oversize folders of material. Although the collection contains a large number of personal and political documents relevant to the life and career of John T. Harris, the bulk of the collection is comprised of correspondence addressed to John T. Harris and his family, and between Peyton Randolph and his family. A small number of James Clarkson papers are also present. The collection is arranged in four series: Correspondence, Personal and Family Papers, Political Papers, and Miscellaneous.","Series 1: Correspondence, 1831-1937, is arranged chronologically in four subseries:  ","Subseries 1.1: Addressed to John T. Harris, 1841-1899, consists of correspondence addressed to Harris from his constituents requesting personal favors. Letters from 1860 to 1861 primarily address the issue of Virginia seceding from the Union. Most of the letters express pro-Unionist feelings and encourage Harris to work for a compromise in Congress to avert violent conflict. The contents of these letters suggest that Harris worked with and may have been a close friend of Stephen A. Douglas. The 24 May 1871 letter addressed to Harris from William Nelson Pendelton, written on behalf of Henry Clay White of Rockbridge County requesting appointment to the U.S. Military Academy at West Point is property of Special Collections at James Madison University, and does not form part of the original collection on deposit. It is not available on microfilm.","Subseries 1.2: Harris Family, 1831-1937, consists chiefly of letters among various members of the Harris family; content includes descriptions of family life. Also included among this subseries are several letters to John T. Harris, Jr., from Presidents Woodrow Wilson and Theodore Roosevelt.","Subseries 1.3: Addressed to Peyton Randolph, 1846-1884, consists of letters from several college friends of Randolph and from Randolph's immediate family. Notable among these are letters from college friend Henry Force. Force was the son of historian Peter Force and acted as surveyor on the Border Commission dispatched to study the newly acquired lands in present-day New Mexico and Arizona. In a series of letters to Peyton from 1848 to 1853, Force describes his encounters with Mexican soldiers and Apache Indians, as well as his duties on the trek from New Orleans to San Diego. Transcriptions are available for eight of Force's letters, 1848-1851.","Subseries 1.4: Randolph Family, 1837-1928, includes letters addressed to Peyton Randolph and his sisters, Mollie Randolph, Nannie Randolph and Sue Randolph from their mother, Susan Armistead Randolph, correspondence between the Randolph siblings, as well as a few miscellaneous items of Peyton Randolph's including a book of psalms which he carried during the Civil War. The letters from Susan Armistead Randolph form the bulk of this subseries. In her weekly four-page letters, Susan Randolph describes life in Washington, D.C. during the 1850's, including the inauguration of Franklin Pierce and the funeral of Henry Clay. Susan Randolph was acutely aware of the political climate of her era and took particular interest in the Know-Nothing party in the 1850's. In several letters she outlines the platform of the Know-Nothings and even urges Peyton to join the party. However, despite her vivid political commentaries and her proximity to the arena of the conflict, she does not mention the issue of slavery. In addition to her political and social sketches, she provides detailed accounts of family life, including detailed descriptions of the deaths of various family members. Her letters from Richmond during the war describe the changes in life in that city through the course of the war and include detailed examples of the rampant inflation of prices on common goods such as bacon and flour. Of particular interest are Mrs. Randolph's inquiries concerning her first cousin, General Lewis Armistead, who was said to be the first Confederate soldier to cross into Union lines during Pickett's Charge at the battle of Gettysburg. See Randolph Harris Moulton's Some Randolphs Around Civil War Times for transcriptions of some of the Peyton Randolph letters.","Series 2: Personal and Family Papers, 1843-1936, is arranged topically and contains a variety of materials. General papers include John T. Harris' law license, an 1861 will, and his post-Civil War oath of allegiance to the United States. [A certificate in which President Benjamin Harrison appoints Harris as Virginia's representative at the World's Columbian Exposition of 1892 is located in the oversize miscellaneous file.] Also in this series is a photocopy of John T. Harris' handwritten 1898 autobiography, which gives many particulars of his life, as well as a photocopy of his son John T. Harris Jr.'s typed 1936 autobiography, which includes characterizations of the lawyers with which the younger Harris was acquainted. Genealogical notes and charts as well as newspaper clippings pertaining to the Harris family are also present.","Series 3: Political Papers, 1856-1896, consists primarily of copies of John T. Harris' Congressional speeches as well as several made by other members of Congress. The most notable of these is the resignation speech of Preston B. \"Bully\" Brookes, who was censured by Congress for caning Charles Sumner in 1856. In addition, there are election returns from elections in which Harris was a candidate. These include reports from Rockingham County and localities throughout the Shenandoah Valley. There is also a folder containing political ephemera such as political broadsides, handbills, and selected pages from newspapers regarding local and national elections","Series 4: Miscellaneous, 1771-1933, contains a variety of materials, including general miscellany and receipts, Civil War documents, indentures, James Clarkson Papers, photographs and undated material. Among the Civil War documents are requests for exemption from military service, requisition receipts from Confederate military authorities, contracts between individuals and their military substitutes, and requests to John  T. Harris for release from Union prisoner-of-war camps. The James Clarkson Papers primarily are comprised of legal documents from Albemarle County. These documents were preserved by John T. Harris's wife, Virginia Harris, who was a descendant of James Clarkson. Among the photographs is a print of Peyton Randolph and his four brothers, a photographed portrait of James Innes, and photographs of John T. Harris' writing desk, a young Isabelle Heard, and an unidentified young girl.  Undated material consists of any items in this series that may be undated, including print material, notes, memoranda, receipts, various lists, writings, and calling cards. In addition, also includes a certificate signed by Benjamin Harrison appointing him as Virginia's representative at the World's Columbian Exposition of 1892; a land grant to Joel S. Graves signed by Governor Thomas M. Randolph; and a sheet dated March 11, 1861, signed by members of the provisional government of secession (Civil War) from South Carolina, Georgia, Florida and Alabama."],"userestrict_html_tesm":["\u003cp\u003eThe copyright interests in this collection have not been transferred to the James Madison University Special Collection Library. For more information, contact the Special Collections Library Reference Desk (library-special@jmu.edu).\u003c/p\u003e"],"userestrict_heading_ssm":["Use Restrictions"],"userestrict_tesim":["The copyright interests in this collection have not been transferred to the James Madison University Special Collection Library. For more information, contact the Special Collections Library Reference Desk (library-special@jmu.edu)."],"abstract_html_tesm":["\u003cabstract id=\"aspace_dc1bd08acadd3e1eb1362ba5b6c828f4\"\u003eThe John T. Harris Papers, 1771-1937 (bulk 1850-1900), consist of a large number of personal and political documents relevant to the life and career of John T. Harris. The bulk of the collection is comprised of letters of John T. Harris and his family, and of Peyton Randolph and his family. Several letters discuss Southern secession and the American Civil War. Also included are Randolph family letters, James Clarkson Papers, Civil War documents and Harris genealogy.\u003c/abstract\u003e"],"abstract_tesim":["The John T. Harris Papers, 1771-1937 (bulk 1850-1900), consist of a large number of personal and political documents relevant to the life and career of John T. Harris. The bulk of the collection is comprised of letters of John T. Harris and his family, and of Peyton Randolph and his family. Several letters discuss Southern secession and the American Civil War. Also included are Randolph family letters, James Clarkson Papers, Civil War documents and Harris genealogy."],"names_coll_ssim":["Virginia. General Assembly. House of Delegates -- Elections","Harrisonburg-Rockingham Historical Society","Harris family -- Correspondence","Randolph family -- Correspondence","Harris, John T. (John Thomas), 1823-1899 -- Correspondence","Randolph, Peyton, 1833-1891 -- Correspondence","Randolph, Susan Armistead, 1810-1884 -- Correspondence","Harris, R. Randolph"],"names_ssim":["James Madison University Libraries Special Collections","Harrisonburg-Rockingham Historical Society","Virginia. General Assembly. House of Delegates -- Elections","Harris family -- Correspondence","Randolph family -- Correspondence","Harris, John T. (John Thomas), 1823-1899","Harris, R. Randolph","Harris, John T. (John Thomas), 1823-1899 -- Correspondence","Randolph, Peyton, 1833-1891 -- Correspondence","Randolph, Susan Armistead, 1810-1884 -- Correspondence","Randolph, Innes, 1837-1887"],"corpname_ssim":["James Madison University Libraries Special Collections","Harrisonburg-Rockingham Historical Society","Virginia. General Assembly. House of Delegates -- Elections"],"famname_ssim":["Harris family -- Correspondence","Randolph family -- Correspondence"],"persname_ssim":["Harris, John T. (John Thomas), 1823-1899","Harris, R. Randolph","Harris, John T. (John Thomas), 1823-1899 -- Correspondence","Randolph, Peyton, 1833-1891 -- Correspondence","Randolph, Susan Armistead, 1810-1884 -- Correspondence","Randolph, Innes, 1837-1887"],"language_ssim":["English"],"descrules_ssm":["Describing Archives: A Content Standard"],"total_component_count_is":82,"online_item_count_is":0,"component_level_isim":[0],"sort_isi":0,"timestamp":"2026-04-30T22:59:43.839Z"}]}},"label":"Breadcrumbs"}}},"links":{"self":"https://search.arvasarchive.org/catalog/vihart_repositories_4_resources_244_c01_c02"}},{"id":"viu_viu00917_c01_c28_c08","type":"Subseries","attributes":{"title":"H. Furnace C, 1, 2, t, [6]","breadcrumbs":{"id":"https://search.arvasarchive.org/catalog/viu_viu00917_c01_c28_c08#breadcrumbs","type":"document_value","attributes":{"value":{"ref_ssi":"viu_viu00917_c01_c28_c08","ref_ssm":["viu_viu00917_c01_c28_c08"],"id":"viu_viu00917_c01_c28_c08","ead_ssi":"viu_viu00917","_root_":"viu_viu00917","_nest_parent_":"viu_viu00917_c01_c28","parent_ssi":"viu_viu00917_c01_c28","parent_ssim":["viu_viu00917","viu_viu00917_c01","viu_viu00917_c01_c28"],"parent_ids_ssim":["viu_viu00917","viu_viu00917_c01","viu_viu00917_c01_c28"],"parent_unittitles_ssm":["Papers of the Low Moor Iron Company \n          1873-1927","Bound Volumes","Time Books"],"parent_unittitles_tesim":["Papers of the Low Moor Iron Company \n          1873-1927","Bound Volumes","Time Books"],"text":["Papers of the Low Moor Iron Company \n          1873-1927","Bound Volumes","Time Books","H. Furnace C, 1, 2, t, [6]","4 volumes"],"title_filing_ssi":"H. Furnace C, 1, 2, t, [6]","title_ssm":["H. Furnace C, 1, 2, t, [6]"],"title_tesim":["H. Furnace C, 1, 2, t, [6]"],"unitdate_other_ssim":["1895-1914"],"normalized_date_ssm":["1895/1914"],"normalized_title_ssm":["H. Furnace C, 1, 2, t, [6]"],"component_level_isim":[3],"repository_ssim":["University of Virginia, Special Collections Dept."],"collection_ssim":["Papers of the Low Moor Iron Company \n          1873-1927"],"physdesc_tesim":["4 volumes"],"has_online_content_ssim":["false"],"child_component_count_isi":0,"level_ssm":["Subseries"],"level_ssim":["Subseries"],"sort_isi":156,"date_range_isim":[1895,1896,1897,1898,1899,1900,1901,1902,1903,1904,1905,1906,1907,1908,1909,1910,1911,1912,1913,1914],"_nest_path_":"/components#0/components#27/components#7","timestamp":"2026-05-01T02:17:12.165Z","collection":{"numFound":1,"start":0,"numFoundExact":true,"docs":[{"id":"viu_viu00917","ead_ssi":"viu_viu00917","_root_":"viu_viu00917","_nest_parent_":"viu_viu00917","ead_source_url_ssi":"data/uva-sc/viu00917.xml","title_ssm":["Papers of the Low Moor Iron Company \n          1873-1927"],"title_tesim":["Papers of the Low Moor Iron Company \n          1873-1927"],"level_ssm":["collection"],"level_ssim":["Collection"],"unitid_ssm":["662"],"text":["662","Papers of the Low Moor Iron Company \n          1873-1927","95 linear feer + 1200\n         volumes","The word \"organization\" is used here with considerable\n         diffidence, for any researcher studying the container list\n         that follows will realize quickly that there is no\n         organization in the usual sense of the word.","As noted under \"Provenance,\" the Low Moor Iron Company\n         papers were subjected to a number of moves; when processing\n         began in the fall of 1976, no discernible scheme of\n         organization could be determined.","The first step was to review the series of coded numbers\n         placed on the bundles of papers before they were moved to\n         the dormitory attic, but these did not provide any sort of\n         useful organization. Next, the spine titles of the original\n         letter boxes were reviewed (they had been copied onto the\n         gray cardboard sheets before the move to the dormitory\n         attic), but they, too, proved useless.","These steps having provided no scheme, and after a\n         considerable hiatus due to a turnover in student processors\n         on the collection, the new student processors were\n         instructed to begin a box-by-box inventory of the contents\n         of the collection. During this inventory, old folders were\n         replaced with acid-free ones, and the original folder\n         headings were copied onto the new ones. Some removal of\n         paper clips was accomplished, and the materials were\n         reviewed and notes taken for the guide.","Some consolidation of materials was accomplished, and in\n         other cases, materials were moved. This work has created\n         some problems in the numbering of the boxes. Thus, the\n         researchers will find boxes marked \"6A\" and \"23C\"; he will\n         also discover that certain box numbers have been entirely\n         omitted. As the box numbers exist only to aid in the\n         location of material, it was not felt that the unusual\n         numbers and the omissions would cause problems in working\n         with the papers.","A certain amount of movement of boxes within the\n         collection, and of materials among boxes, probably would\n         ease use of it. But what processing was accomplished on\n         this project took far longer than had been anticipated, and\n         there was no time in the late spring of 1978, when the\n         processors had to complete their work with the project, to\n         undertake a mass movement of material. Thus, they stand in\n         the order in which we found them at the beginning of the\n         project.","The Low Moor Iron Company, the first producer of pig\n         iron in Virginia according to the company's claims, was a\n         self-contained manufacturing unit producing from its own\n         mines the coal, limestone, and iron ore needed for its iron\n         production. Located in Low Moor near Clifton Forge in\n         Alleghany County in western Virginia, an area rich in\n         mineral deposits, the company was in operation from\n         1872-1930, producing only pig iron; it never attempted to\n         produce finished iron products.","Coal came to the Low Moor furnaces from the Kay Moor\n         Mines at Kay Moor, West Virginia, about thirty miles from\n         Low Moor; limestone was produced from the Low Moor\n         limestone quarries; and iron ore came from the Fenwick,\n         Dolly Ann, Jordan, Rich Patch, Low Moor, and Longdale\n         Mines, most of them within twenty miles of Low Moor at\n         Covington or Clifton Forge.","The towns of Low Moor and Kay Moor were company towns in\n         every respect. Workers lived in company-owned houses,\n         bought food in company stores, worshiped at the company\n         church, saw movies in the company theater, were treated in\n         the company hospital, and were buried in the company\n         cemetery. Workers received part of their pay in scrip that\n         they exchanged for goods and services. According to a\n         statement from the Kay Moor Mines dated November 1904, Kay\n         Moor then employed 338 people, paid them an average wage of\n         $36.26 per month, and issued half of their pay in scrip.\n         Kay Moor had four stores; Low Moor had seven or eight. All\n         of these stores carried large inventories which are\n         detailed in the collection. These inventories are valuable\n         to anyone interested in determining the wants and needs of\n         a coal miner and his family.","In the late 1910's and 1920's Kay Moor had a company\n         theater called the Azure Theater which seated about 300\n         people. There were also plans for a company-owned social\n         center, to have pool tables, a soda fountain, and\n         provisions for dancing and skating. The company was in\n         tough economic straits by the 1920's, however, and there is\n         no evidence that the social center was built. The town of\n         Low Moor was so completely under the company's influence\n         that one of Low Moor Iron Company's assistant managers\n         served as the town sheriff. He often foreclosed on people\n         who did not pay their debts, and drove troublesome people\n         \"out of town on a rail\" as he put it.","The Low Moor Iron Company's fortunes fluctuated during\n         the various business cycles between the years 1880-1930.\n         Low Moor was one of the larger pig iron producers in\n         Virginia, but Virginia pig iron production was not\n         important nationally. Low Moor officials sometimes sold\n         their product themselves, but more often they used agents,\n         the prevalent method at the time. Low Moor Iron Company\n         used a variety of agents through the 1900's. James F. Bryan\n         acted as the exclusive agent for the sale of Kay Moor Coal\n         from September 21, 1903 to September, 1905. From about 1890\n         until about 1910 Dalton Nash and Company were the exclusive\n         eastern agents of Low Moor Iron. After that time the\n         exclusive agency went to Philips Isham and Company located\n         in New York. From about 1890 the western agency was handled\n         chiefly by Thomas Mack and Company. After 1902 Thomas Mack\n         and Company underwent a name change, becoming Walter\n         Wallingford and Company, with offices located in\n         Cincinnati, Pittsburgh, and Chicago.","Perhaps the Low Moor Iron Company's biggest problem over\n         the years was obtaining railroad cars for the\n         transportation of its finished product. Low Moor Iron\n         Company had its own cars for transporting its raw materials\n         among its various facilities. For the long haul necessary\n         for its finished goods, however, it depended upon the\n         services of the Chesapeake and Ohio Railroad, and the\n         relationship was not always a happy one. The Low Moor\n         Company complained many times to the C \u0026 O Railroad\n         about the discrepancies between long-and shorthaul freight\n         rates. Low Moor also had trouble getting cars from the C\n         \u0026 O. In a letter to one of Low Moor Company's agents\n         from an irate customer dated 1898, the customer wrote: \"We\n         wrote you on Saturday and endeavored to question upon your\n         mind the necessity of taking care of us with Low Moor iron.\n         We are on our uppers--there is not a pound of Low Moor iron\n         in the yard. Of the one hundred tons ordered some time ago,\n         not one pound of it has been received.\" This was, according\n         to the Low Moor Iron Company, because they could not get\n         the railroad cars. In a letter from Thomas Mack and Company\n         dated November 26, 1901, to General Manager E. C. Means:\n         \"We are hopeful that the car supply will get better because\n         of the number of orders you have of ours for prompt\n         shipment. Our customers are complaining that they are not\n         getting the iron fast enough. . . . We hope that the\n         railroad will be able to supply you with empty cars.\" In\n         another letter dated 1916 to John B. Guernsey, then acting\n         General Manager of the Low Moor Iron Company, \"We were not\n         supplied with coke cars for today's loading, and\n         consequently we have been practically down of Kay Moor\n         ovens all day.\"","The problem of procuring labor also plagued the Low Moor\n         Company. The company sometimes tried to hire immigrant\n         laborers and send the men directly to Low Moor from New\n         York City. There were problems with this, as is explained\n         in the following letter dated April 7, 1906: \n          To Mr. George Wickes \n             Supt. of Mines \n             Kay Moor, Virginia \n             Dear George, \n             Tony arrived with twenty one men last night. One\n            got away in Jersey two in Washington D.C., four in\n            Charlottesville. Some of the men are very good looking,\n            but taken as a whole they are the worst lot I have ever\n            seen: Irish, German-Jews, and Italians. . . . Our New\n            York transportations to this place have never been a\n            success. Signed, \n             Ed D. Wickes Supt. of Mines Low Moor usually employed labor agencies, one\n         of which was Atwood's Employment Agency. Often the Low Moor\n         Company would request certain nationalities, believing them\n         to be better workers than others. Sometimes the company\n         would request a gang of twenty made up of \"ten Greeks and\n         ten Italians.\" Many of the immigrants fled Low Moor and Kay\n         Moor when they learned that they would have to work\n         underground. There is a fair amount of material on\n         immigrant labor and its procurement in the collection, and\n         it is noted in the description of the box contents.","Low Moor Iron Company not only had trouble procuring\n         labor, but it also had trouble with labor already employed\n         in the mines and at the factory. Labor dissension and\n         strikes troubled the Kay Moor Mines through the 1900's. The\n         great coal strike of 1902 hurt the Low Moor Company's coal\n         mining operation, but by 1903 things were \"nearly back to\n         normal\" according to the mine superintendent. There was\n         still trouble at Kay Moor Mines, however. In a letter dated\n         April 26, 1906, to the treasurer of Low Moor Company, the\n         manager of the mines wrote about the trouble in \"trying to\n         get the agitators out.\" The mines were seventy-five men\n         short of the total labor force needed because many of the\n         coal miners returned to their farms during the spring.\n         There were rumblings of another strike at Kay Moor, the\n         result of which was to be a fourteen percent increase in\n         wages for the Kay Moor Mine workers via an agreement with\n         the United Mine Workers Union in December.","The Low Moor Iron Company grew along with the rest of\n         Virginia industry in the 1890's and 1900's. Starting with\n         only one furnace in the 1870's, it opened a second furnace\n         at Covington, Virginia, in 1891. In 1911 it opened a third\n         furnace, this time at Low Moor. Covington, with its heavy\n         industry, soon became known as the \"Pittsburgh of\n         Virginia.\" Virginia's pig iron production rose from 9,000\n         short tons in 1870 to 544,034 long tons in 1903. Judging\n         from the Low Moor Company's correspondence, the most\n         prosperous period for the company fell between the years\n         1895-1907. In the years between 1907-1917 problems befell\n         the Virginia pig iron industry. In a letter from William W.\n         Hearns, the president of the Virginia based Princess Pig\n         Iron Company, to U. S. Senator Thomas S. Martin, Hearns\n         writes of the problems of the Virginia pig iron industry:\n         \"There is not a blast furnace in Virginia that is making\n         any money from the manufacture of pig iron. The cause of\n         this is there is an exceedingly low price on pig iron in\n         the country at the present time, and the increased cost of\n         manufacturing is due to the increase in wages in all\n         lines.\" With the outbreak of World War I prices rose\n         dramatically, but in a market report to Low Moor dated\n         November 11, 1916, it was stated that: \"In spite of the\n         high prices, it is not a picnic to be in the iron industry.\n         There is a desperate shortage of cars and equipment in the\n         coal and iron districts, and in consequence there are\n         troubles of all kinds to get materials shipped. The\n         situation has grown serious.\"","When America became involved in the First World War, it\n         meant a boost for the Low Moor Iron Company. The government\n         helped it procure labor, and even helped it repair its\n         furnaces. The problem of supplies and cars for their\n         shipments, however, plagued the company more than ever. It\n         had a good deal of trouble getting all the raw materials it\n         needed due chiefly to the \"tight ship\" run by Harry F.\n         Byrd, Sr., U.S. Fuel Administrator for Virginia. After the\n         war very serious problems began to trouble the Low Moor\n         Iron Company. The demand for iron fell precipitously and a\n         short but severe depression ensued from 1919-1922. The\n         depression seemed to hit the iron industry especially hard.\n         Prices took a huge drop due to the lack of demand, and many\n         pre-war contracts had to be revalued. To compound the\n         company's problems, the Kay Moor Mines went on strike in\n         1919. This strike was quickly settled, as the market for\n         coal was so good that the Low Moor Company ceased taking\n         orders temporarily in 1921 as it could not fill the orders\n         it had on hand.","The Low Moor Company furnaces lay idle for some twenty\n         months. Finally, in November 1922 one of Low Moor's\n         furnaces was finally fired up. While prosperity gradually\n         returned to the rest of the country, the Low Moor Iron\n         Company never recovered. Production of pig iron in the\n         Virginia iron industry declined from 544,034 tons in 1903\n         to 148,053 tons in 1923, considered a good year for the\n         industry as a whole. In February 1926 Low Moor officials\n         talked of merging with two other iron companies in order to\n         revive the iron business for the three companies. The\n         merger, however, never occurred. By late 1926 the company\n         was in the process of liquidation. An advertisement in the\n         Charleston, West Virginia, Daily Mail dated April 30, 1927,\n         told of a huge warehouse sale at the Low Moor Iron Company.\n         The advertisement noted \"thousands of screws, pipe\n         fittings, valves, etc.\" The last piece of correspondence\n         from the Low Moor Iron Company in the collection is dated\n         1929. It deals with the sale of a machine.","Why did the iron industry in Virginia decline as it did?\n         Some say that lack of speed, efficiency, and a decent\n         transportation system for Alleghany County caused it. In a\n         letter from C. E. Bertie, secretary of the Virginia Pig\n         Iron Association, to the \n          Manufacturers Record dated 1925, Bertie claimed that it was the\n         tremendous rise in the cost of transportation. Virginia, he\n         claimed, had almost no home market. Over 80% of its normal\n         production was shipped out to other states. The failure of\n         the Interstate Commerce Commission to treat Virginia\n         furnaces as southern furnaces was the cause of much of the\n         trouble. From 1914-1925 there were four blanket increases\n         in freight rates in the country, of which only one applied\n         equally to all localities. Southern furnaces were received\n         only two increases--a 25% increase in 1918 and a 25%\n         increase in 1920--but northern furnaces had had 5%, 15%,\n         25%, and 40% increases in their transportation costs.\n         Virginia furnaces, although recognized as southern\n         furnaces, had had freight rates increased in line with the\n         northern furnaces. Prior to the war Virginia iron reached\n         all points in Ohio, Indiana, Michigan, and Illinois on a\n         competitive basis with southern furnaces. After World War I\n         the advantage was limited to a small portion of\n         southeastern Ohio. All of Indiana, Illinois, and Michigan\n         were now lost to the Virginia producers. The Virginia\n         producer, according to Bertie, felt that the freight rates\n         should be restored to a relationship with southern\n         furnaces. If what Bertie said was true, the other southern\n         states iron industries should not have been in the same\n         desperate economic straits as Virginia's, and statistics\n         should support this. In the 1920's production rose to new\n         heights in Alabama. In Tennessee, however, iron production\n         plunged to new lows during the 1920's. While the south\n         accounted for 10.2% of the entire U. S. production in the\n         years 1919-1924, Virginia accounted for less than 1% during\n         those years. In 1915 Virginia accounted for over 6% of the\n         U.S. iron production. One can see a decline in other areas\n         of the south than Virginia. While the discrepancies in the\n         freight rates may have helped cause the decline, clearly\n         there are other reasons.","During the 1900's there was a discovery of extremely\n         rich iron ore deposits in the mid-west. Much of this ore\n         was on or near the surface, making the mining of it both\n         easy and inexpensive. This in turn lowered production costs\n         of the pig iron. This caused iron production to shift to\n         that region, and resulted in a decline in the Virginia iron\n         industry. There was a sharp increase in iron production in\n         the mid-west through the 1920's. The iron ore in the\n         mid-west may have been of better quality than Virginia, but\n         the iron ore in Virginia was of sufficient quality to\n         produce a good pig iron. The western ore deposits were not\n         as conveniently located as Virginia deposits, but the\n         inexpensiveness of production more than made up for it.","In examining the rise and fall of the Low Moor Iron\n         Company, we can see a situation in which the conditions for\n         the manufacture of iron were nearly ideal. There was plenty\n         of land for expansion and resources for the manufacture of\n         the iron. The major internal problem faced by the Low Moor\n         Iron Company was that of transportation. External\n         developments, however, caused the final demise of the Low\n         Moor Iron Company.","Low Moor Iron Company Personnel:","Executive Staff: Managing Director, Colonel H. M.\n         Goodwin: ca. 1881. General Managers: H. G. Merry: ca.\n         1884-1902; E. C. Means: ca. 1905-1915; J. P. Guernsey: ca.\n         1915 (acting General Manager); F. U. Humbert: ca.\n         1916-1929. Assistant General Manager: E. B. Wilkinson: ca.\n         1909-1915. Treasurers and Assistant Treasurers: Edward Low:\n         ca. 1886-1898; Frank Lyman (in New York): ca. 1898-1919; S.\n         G. Cragill (Asst. Treasurer): ca. 1900-1915; H. A. Dalton:\n         ca. 1921-1929; John Lipscomb (Asst. Treasurer): ca.\n         1918-1928.","Factory and Mine Supervisors: Kay Moor Superintendents:\n         C. C. Cooke: ca. 1918; Ed. D. Wickes: ca. 1906; H. L.\n         Tansell: ca. 1903; A. H. Reed: ca. 1906. Kay Moor Managers:\n         J. W. Monteith: manager of mines. ca. 1918; promoted in\n         1925 to general superintendent in charge of mine plants,\n         coke ovens, shops, repairs, and construction; A. L.\n         Monteith: assistant superintendent of mines, ca. 1918;\n         George T. Wickes: manager of Covington mines, ca.\n         1906-1917; Ross Howell, ca. 1918. Stack Mines\n         Superintendents: J. H. Carpenter: ca. 1906; C. D.\n         Oberschain: ca. 1907; J. L. Harris: ca. 1903; John S. Ham:\n         ca. 1891-1901. Rich Patch Mines Superintendents: John R.\n         Thompson: foreman, ca. 1906. Low Moor assorted other\n         personnel: S. L. Tulley: trainmaster, ca. 1906; B. J.\n         Shenkley: foreman, Low Moor limestone quarries; L. Q. Wood:\n         assistant traffic manager, ca. 1919.","The Low Moor Iron Company papers consist of\n         approximately 280 four-inch Hollinger archives boxes (ca.\n         95 linear feet) of records, ca. 1885-1927, and some 1200\n         bound volumes of the company's accounting records,\n         1873-1927, of this iron producing company located in Low\n         Moor (four miles southwest of Clifton Forge), Alleghany\n         County, Virginia.","This material consists of records typical of those\n         produced by a firm of this type in the period, but as the\n         company owned its own coal and iron mines and limestone\n         quarries, there is considerable information about the\n         production of these raw materials. Large numbers of the\n         records that deal with the company's employees have\n         survived: time books, payroll books, hands ledgers, and the\n         like. Because these books sometimes include information\n         about the employee's trade or job with the company, and as\n         race is indicated in some of the records, these books\n         should provide date for studies of the structure and upward\n         mobility within the labor force, patterns of\n         ethnic--possibly racial--occupational penetration and\n         mobility, material conditions of the workers, and so on.\n         The papers should permit a range of studies detailing the\n         pattern and evolution of industrial organization in the\n         iron industry, and the evolution of markets and marketing\n         structures for the entire period. Because the company was\n         dependent upon railroads to move its raw materials to the\n         furnaces, and for the marketing of its products, there is\n         considerable information about railroads and their\n         relationship to their customers.","English"],"unitid_tesim":["662"],"normalized_title_ssm":["Papers of the Low Moor Iron Company \n          1873-1927"],"collection_title_tesim":["Papers of the Low Moor Iron Company \n          1873-1927"],"collection_ssim":["Papers of the Low Moor Iron Company \n          1873-1927"],"repository_ssm":["University of Virginia, Special Collections Dept."],"repository_ssim":["University of Virginia, Special Collections Dept."],"acqinfo_ssim":["This collection was purchased from Green Bookman in\n            1939."],"has_online_content_ssim":["false"],"physdesc_tesim":["95 linear feer + 1200\n         volumes"],"arrangement_html_tesm":["\u003cp\u003eThe word \"organization\" is used here with considerable\n         diffidence, for any researcher studying the container list\n         that follows will realize quickly that there is no\n         organization in the usual sense of the word.\u003c/p\u003e","\u003cp\u003eAs noted under \"Provenance,\" the Low Moor Iron Company\n         papers were subjected to a number of moves; when processing\n         began in the fall of 1976, no discernible scheme of\n         organization could be determined.\u003c/p\u003e","\u003cp\u003eThe first step was to review the series of coded numbers\n         placed on the bundles of papers before they were moved to\n         the dormitory attic, but these did not provide any sort of\n         useful organization. Next, the spine titles of the original\n         letter boxes were reviewed (they had been copied onto the\n         gray cardboard sheets before the move to the dormitory\n         attic), but they, too, proved useless.\u003c/p\u003e","\u003cp\u003eThese steps having provided no scheme, and after a\n         considerable hiatus due to a turnover in student processors\n         on the collection, the new student processors were\n         instructed to begin a box-by-box inventory of the contents\n         of the collection. During this inventory, old folders were\n         replaced with acid-free ones, and the original folder\n         headings were copied onto the new ones. Some removal of\n         paper clips was accomplished, and the materials were\n         reviewed and notes taken for the guide.\u003c/p\u003e","\u003cp\u003eSome consolidation of materials was accomplished, and in\n         other cases, materials were moved. This work has created\n         some problems in the numbering of the boxes. Thus, the\n         researchers will find boxes marked \"6A\" and \"23C\"; he will\n         also discover that certain box numbers have been entirely\n         omitted. As the box numbers exist only to aid in the\n         location of material, it was not felt that the unusual\n         numbers and the omissions would cause problems in working\n         with the papers.\u003c/p\u003e","\u003cp\u003eA certain amount of movement of boxes within the\n         collection, and of materials among boxes, probably would\n         ease use of it. But what processing was accomplished on\n         this project took far longer than had been anticipated, and\n         there was no time in the late spring of 1978, when the\n         processors had to complete their work with the project, to\n         undertake a mass movement of material. Thus, they stand in\n         the order in which we found them at the beginning of the\n         project.\u003c/p\u003e"],"arrangement_heading_ssm":["Organization"],"arrangement_tesim":["The word \"organization\" is used here with considerable\n         diffidence, for any researcher studying the container list\n         that follows will realize quickly that there is no\n         organization in the usual sense of the word.","As noted under \"Provenance,\" the Low Moor Iron Company\n         papers were subjected to a number of moves; when processing\n         began in the fall of 1976, no discernible scheme of\n         organization could be determined.","The first step was to review the series of coded numbers\n         placed on the bundles of papers before they were moved to\n         the dormitory attic, but these did not provide any sort of\n         useful organization. Next, the spine titles of the original\n         letter boxes were reviewed (they had been copied onto the\n         gray cardboard sheets before the move to the dormitory\n         attic), but they, too, proved useless.","These steps having provided no scheme, and after a\n         considerable hiatus due to a turnover in student processors\n         on the collection, the new student processors were\n         instructed to begin a box-by-box inventory of the contents\n         of the collection. During this inventory, old folders were\n         replaced with acid-free ones, and the original folder\n         headings were copied onto the new ones. Some removal of\n         paper clips was accomplished, and the materials were\n         reviewed and notes taken for the guide.","Some consolidation of materials was accomplished, and in\n         other cases, materials were moved. This work has created\n         some problems in the numbering of the boxes. Thus, the\n         researchers will find boxes marked \"6A\" and \"23C\"; he will\n         also discover that certain box numbers have been entirely\n         omitted. As the box numbers exist only to aid in the\n         location of material, it was not felt that the unusual\n         numbers and the omissions would cause problems in working\n         with the papers.","A certain amount of movement of boxes within the\n         collection, and of materials among boxes, probably would\n         ease use of it. But what processing was accomplished on\n         this project took far longer than had been anticipated, and\n         there was no time in the late spring of 1978, when the\n         processors had to complete their work with the project, to\n         undertake a mass movement of material. Thus, they stand in\n         the order in which we found them at the beginning of the\n         project."],"bioghist_html_tesm":["\u003cp\u003eThe Low Moor Iron Company, the first producer of pig\n         iron in Virginia according to the company's claims, was a\n         self-contained manufacturing unit producing from its own\n         mines the coal, limestone, and iron ore needed for its iron\n         production. Located in Low Moor near Clifton Forge in\n         Alleghany County in western Virginia, an area rich in\n         mineral deposits, the company was in operation from\n         1872-1930, producing only pig iron; it never attempted to\n         produce finished iron products.\u003c/p\u003e","\u003cp\u003eCoal came to the Low Moor furnaces from the Kay Moor\n         Mines at Kay Moor, West Virginia, about thirty miles from\n         Low Moor; limestone was produced from the Low Moor\n         limestone quarries; and iron ore came from the Fenwick,\n         Dolly Ann, Jordan, Rich Patch, Low Moor, and Longdale\n         Mines, most of them within twenty miles of Low Moor at\n         Covington or Clifton Forge.\u003c/p\u003e","\u003cp\u003eThe towns of Low Moor and Kay Moor were company towns in\n         every respect. Workers lived in company-owned houses,\n         bought food in company stores, worshiped at the company\n         church, saw movies in the company theater, were treated in\n         the company hospital, and were buried in the company\n         cemetery. Workers received part of their pay in scrip that\n         they exchanged for goods and services. According to a\n         statement from the Kay Moor Mines dated November 1904, Kay\n         Moor then employed 338 people, paid them an average wage of\n         $36.26 per month, and issued half of their pay in scrip.\n         Kay Moor had four stores; Low Moor had seven or eight. All\n         of these stores carried large inventories which are\n         detailed in the collection. These inventories are valuable\n         to anyone interested in determining the wants and needs of\n         a coal miner and his family.\u003c/p\u003e","\u003cp\u003eIn the late 1910's and 1920's Kay Moor had a company\n         theater called the Azure Theater which seated about 300\n         people. There were also plans for a company-owned social\n         center, to have pool tables, a soda fountain, and\n         provisions for dancing and skating. The company was in\n         tough economic straits by the 1920's, however, and there is\n         no evidence that the social center was built. The town of\n         Low Moor was so completely under the company's influence\n         that one of Low Moor Iron Company's assistant managers\n         served as the town sheriff. He often foreclosed on people\n         who did not pay their debts, and drove troublesome people\n         \"out of town on a rail\" as he put it.\u003c/p\u003e","\u003cp\u003eThe Low Moor Iron Company's fortunes fluctuated during\n         the various business cycles between the years 1880-1930.\n         Low Moor was one of the larger pig iron producers in\n         Virginia, but Virginia pig iron production was not\n         important nationally. Low Moor officials sometimes sold\n         their product themselves, but more often they used agents,\n         the prevalent method at the time. Low Moor Iron Company\n         used a variety of agents through the 1900's. James F. Bryan\n         acted as the exclusive agent for the sale of Kay Moor Coal\n         from September 21, 1903 to September, 1905. From about 1890\n         until about 1910 Dalton Nash and Company were the exclusive\n         eastern agents of Low Moor Iron. After that time the\n         exclusive agency went to Philips Isham and Company located\n         in New York. From about 1890 the western agency was handled\n         chiefly by Thomas Mack and Company. After 1902 Thomas Mack\n         and Company underwent a name change, becoming Walter\n         Wallingford and Company, with offices located in\n         Cincinnati, Pittsburgh, and Chicago.\u003c/p\u003e","\u003cp\u003ePerhaps the Low Moor Iron Company's biggest problem over\n         the years was obtaining railroad cars for the\n         transportation of its finished product. Low Moor Iron\n         Company had its own cars for transporting its raw materials\n         among its various facilities. For the long haul necessary\n         for its finished goods, however, it depended upon the\n         services of the Chesapeake and Ohio Railroad, and the\n         relationship was not always a happy one. The Low Moor\n         Company complained many times to the C \u0026amp; O Railroad\n         about the discrepancies between long-and shorthaul freight\n         rates. Low Moor also had trouble getting cars from the C\n         \u0026amp; O. In a letter to one of Low Moor Company's agents\n         from an irate customer dated 1898, the customer wrote: \"We\n         wrote you on Saturday and endeavored to question upon your\n         mind the necessity of taking care of us with Low Moor iron.\n         We are on our uppers--there is not a pound of Low Moor iron\n         in the yard. Of the one hundred tons ordered some time ago,\n         not one pound of it has been received.\" This was, according\n         to the Low Moor Iron Company, because they could not get\n         the railroad cars. In a letter from Thomas Mack and Company\n         dated November 26, 1901, to General Manager E. C. Means:\n         \"We are hopeful that the car supply will get better because\n         of the number of orders you have of ours for prompt\n         shipment. Our customers are complaining that they are not\n         getting the iron fast enough. . . . We hope that the\n         railroad will be able to supply you with empty cars.\" In\n         another letter dated 1916 to John B. Guernsey, then acting\n         General Manager of the Low Moor Iron Company, \"We were not\n         supplied with coke cars for today's loading, and\n         consequently we have been practically down of Kay Moor\n         ovens all day.\"\u003c/p\u003e","\u003cp\u003eThe problem of procuring labor also plagued the Low Moor\n         Company. The company sometimes tried to hire immigrant\n         laborers and send the men directly to Low Moor from New\n         York City. There were problems with this, as is explained\n         in the following letter dated April 7, 1906: \n         \u003cblockquote\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eTo Mr. George Wickes \n            \u003clb\u003e\u003c/lb\u003eSupt. of Mines \n            \u003clb\u003e\u003c/lb\u003eKay Moor, Virginia \n            \u003clb\u003e\u003c/lb\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eDear George, \n            \u003clb\u003e\u003c/lb\u003eTony arrived with twenty one men last night. One\n            got away in Jersey two in Washington D.C., four in\n            Charlottesville. Some of the men are very good looking,\n            but taken as a whole they are the worst lot I have ever\n            seen: Irish, German-Jews, and Italians. . . . Our New\n            York transportations to this place have never been a\n            success.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eSigned, \n            \u003clb\u003e\u003c/lb\u003eEd D. Wickes Supt. of Mines\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/blockquote\u003eLow Moor usually employed labor agencies, one\n         of which was Atwood's Employment Agency. Often the Low Moor\n         Company would request certain nationalities, believing them\n         to be better workers than others. Sometimes the company\n         would request a gang of twenty made up of \"ten Greeks and\n         ten Italians.\" Many of the immigrants fled Low Moor and Kay\n         Moor when they learned that they would have to work\n         underground. There is a fair amount of material on\n         immigrant labor and its procurement in the collection, and\n         it is noted in the description of the box contents.\u003c/p\u003e","\u003cp\u003eLow Moor Iron Company not only had trouble procuring\n         labor, but it also had trouble with labor already employed\n         in the mines and at the factory. Labor dissension and\n         strikes troubled the Kay Moor Mines through the 1900's. The\n         great coal strike of 1902 hurt the Low Moor Company's coal\n         mining operation, but by 1903 things were \"nearly back to\n         normal\" according to the mine superintendent. There was\n         still trouble at Kay Moor Mines, however. In a letter dated\n         April 26, 1906, to the treasurer of Low Moor Company, the\n         manager of the mines wrote about the trouble in \"trying to\n         get the agitators out.\" The mines were seventy-five men\n         short of the total labor force needed because many of the\n         coal miners returned to their farms during the spring.\n         There were rumblings of another strike at Kay Moor, the\n         result of which was to be a fourteen percent increase in\n         wages for the Kay Moor Mine workers via an agreement with\n         the United Mine Workers Union in December.\u003c/p\u003e","\u003cp\u003eThe Low Moor Iron Company grew along with the rest of\n         Virginia industry in the 1890's and 1900's. Starting with\n         only one furnace in the 1870's, it opened a second furnace\n         at Covington, Virginia, in 1891. In 1911 it opened a third\n         furnace, this time at Low Moor. Covington, with its heavy\n         industry, soon became known as the \"Pittsburgh of\n         Virginia.\" Virginia's pig iron production rose from 9,000\n         short tons in 1870 to 544,034 long tons in 1903. Judging\n         from the Low Moor Company's correspondence, the most\n         prosperous period for the company fell between the years\n         1895-1907. In the years between 1907-1917 problems befell\n         the Virginia pig iron industry. In a letter from William W.\n         Hearns, the president of the Virginia based Princess Pig\n         Iron Company, to U. S. Senator Thomas S. Martin, Hearns\n         writes of the problems of the Virginia pig iron industry:\n         \"There is not a blast furnace in Virginia that is making\n         any money from the manufacture of pig iron. The cause of\n         this is there is an exceedingly low price on pig iron in\n         the country at the present time, and the increased cost of\n         manufacturing is due to the increase in wages in all\n         lines.\" With the outbreak of World War I prices rose\n         dramatically, but in a market report to Low Moor dated\n         November 11, 1916, it was stated that: \"In spite of the\n         high prices, it is not a picnic to be in the iron industry.\n         There is a desperate shortage of cars and equipment in the\n         coal and iron districts, and in consequence there are\n         troubles of all kinds to get materials shipped. The\n         situation has grown serious.\"\u003c/p\u003e","\u003cp\u003eWhen America became involved in the First World War, it\n         meant a boost for the Low Moor Iron Company. The government\n         helped it procure labor, and even helped it repair its\n         furnaces. The problem of supplies and cars for their\n         shipments, however, plagued the company more than ever. It\n         had a good deal of trouble getting all the raw materials it\n         needed due chiefly to the \"tight ship\" run by Harry F.\n         Byrd, Sr., U.S. Fuel Administrator for Virginia. After the\n         war very serious problems began to trouble the Low Moor\n         Iron Company. The demand for iron fell precipitously and a\n         short but severe depression ensued from 1919-1922. The\n         depression seemed to hit the iron industry especially hard.\n         Prices took a huge drop due to the lack of demand, and many\n         pre-war contracts had to be revalued. To compound the\n         company's problems, the Kay Moor Mines went on strike in\n         1919. This strike was quickly settled, as the market for\n         coal was so good that the Low Moor Company ceased taking\n         orders temporarily in 1921 as it could not fill the orders\n         it had on hand.\u003c/p\u003e","\u003cp\u003eThe Low Moor Company furnaces lay idle for some twenty\n         months. Finally, in November 1922 one of Low Moor's\n         furnaces was finally fired up. While prosperity gradually\n         returned to the rest of the country, the Low Moor Iron\n         Company never recovered. Production of pig iron in the\n         Virginia iron industry declined from 544,034 tons in 1903\n         to 148,053 tons in 1923, considered a good year for the\n         industry as a whole. In February 1926 Low Moor officials\n         talked of merging with two other iron companies in order to\n         revive the iron business for the three companies. The\n         merger, however, never occurred. By late 1926 the company\n         was in the process of liquidation. An advertisement in the\n         Charleston, West Virginia, Daily Mail dated April 30, 1927,\n         told of a huge warehouse sale at the Low Moor Iron Company.\n         The advertisement noted \"thousands of screws, pipe\n         fittings, valves, etc.\" The last piece of correspondence\n         from the Low Moor Iron Company in the collection is dated\n         1929. It deals with the sale of a machine.\u003c/p\u003e","\u003cp\u003eWhy did the iron industry in Virginia decline as it did?\n         Some say that lack of speed, efficiency, and a decent\n         transportation system for Alleghany County caused it. In a\n         letter from C. E. Bertie, secretary of the Virginia Pig\n         Iron Association, to the \n         \u003cbibref type=\"simple\" href=\"\"\u003e\u003ctitle type=\"simple\" href=\"\"\u003eManufacturers Record\u003c/title\u003e\u003c/bibref\u003edated 1925, Bertie claimed that it was the\n         tremendous rise in the cost of transportation. Virginia, he\n         claimed, had almost no home market. Over 80% of its normal\n         production was shipped out to other states. The failure of\n         the Interstate Commerce Commission to treat Virginia\n         furnaces as southern furnaces was the cause of much of the\n         trouble. From 1914-1925 there were four blanket increases\n         in freight rates in the country, of which only one applied\n         equally to all localities. Southern furnaces were received\n         only two increases--a 25% increase in 1918 and a 25%\n         increase in 1920--but northern furnaces had had 5%, 15%,\n         25%, and 40% increases in their transportation costs.\n         Virginia furnaces, although recognized as southern\n         furnaces, had had freight rates increased in line with the\n         northern furnaces. Prior to the war Virginia iron reached\n         all points in Ohio, Indiana, Michigan, and Illinois on a\n         competitive basis with southern furnaces. After World War I\n         the advantage was limited to a small portion of\n         southeastern Ohio. All of Indiana, Illinois, and Michigan\n         were now lost to the Virginia producers. The Virginia\n         producer, according to Bertie, felt that the freight rates\n         should be restored to a relationship with southern\n         furnaces. If what Bertie said was true, the other southern\n         states iron industries should not have been in the same\n         desperate economic straits as Virginia's, and statistics\n         should support this. In the 1920's production rose to new\n         heights in Alabama. In Tennessee, however, iron production\n         plunged to new lows during the 1920's. While the south\n         accounted for 10.2% of the entire U. S. production in the\n         years 1919-1924, Virginia accounted for less than 1% during\n         those years. In 1915 Virginia accounted for over 6% of the\n         U.S. iron production. One can see a decline in other areas\n         of the south than Virginia. While the discrepancies in the\n         freight rates may have helped cause the decline, clearly\n         there are other reasons.\u003c/p\u003e","\u003cp\u003eDuring the 1900's there was a discovery of extremely\n         rich iron ore deposits in the mid-west. Much of this ore\n         was on or near the surface, making the mining of it both\n         easy and inexpensive. This in turn lowered production costs\n         of the pig iron. This caused iron production to shift to\n         that region, and resulted in a decline in the Virginia iron\n         industry. There was a sharp increase in iron production in\n         the mid-west through the 1920's. The iron ore in the\n         mid-west may have been of better quality than Virginia, but\n         the iron ore in Virginia was of sufficient quality to\n         produce a good pig iron. The western ore deposits were not\n         as conveniently located as Virginia deposits, but the\n         inexpensiveness of production more than made up for it.\u003c/p\u003e","\u003cp\u003eIn examining the rise and fall of the Low Moor Iron\n         Company, we can see a situation in which the conditions for\n         the manufacture of iron were nearly ideal. There was plenty\n         of land for expansion and resources for the manufacture of\n         the iron. The major internal problem faced by the Low Moor\n         Iron Company was that of transportation. External\n         developments, however, caused the final demise of the Low\n         Moor Iron Company.\u003c/p\u003e","\u003cp\u003eLow Moor Iron Company Personnel:\u003c/p\u003e","\u003cp\u003eExecutive Staff: Managing Director, Colonel H. M.\n         Goodwin: ca. 1881. General Managers: H. G. Merry: ca.\n         1884-1902; E. C. Means: ca. 1905-1915; J. P. Guernsey: ca.\n         1915 (acting General Manager); F. U. Humbert: ca.\n         1916-1929. Assistant General Manager: E. B. Wilkinson: ca.\n         1909-1915. Treasurers and Assistant Treasurers: Edward Low:\n         ca. 1886-1898; Frank Lyman (in New York): ca. 1898-1919; S.\n         G. Cragill (Asst. Treasurer): ca. 1900-1915; H. A. Dalton:\n         ca. 1921-1929; John Lipscomb (Asst. Treasurer): ca.\n         1918-1928.\u003c/p\u003e","\u003cp\u003eFactory and Mine Supervisors: Kay Moor Superintendents:\n         C. C. Cooke: ca. 1918; Ed. D. Wickes: ca. 1906; H. L.\n         Tansell: ca. 1903; A. H. Reed: ca. 1906. Kay Moor Managers:\n         J. W. Monteith: manager of mines. ca. 1918; promoted in\n         1925 to general superintendent in charge of mine plants,\n         coke ovens, shops, repairs, and construction; A. L.\n         Monteith: assistant superintendent of mines, ca. 1918;\n         George T. Wickes: manager of Covington mines, ca.\n         1906-1917; Ross Howell, ca. 1918. Stack Mines\n         Superintendents: J. H. Carpenter: ca. 1906; C. D.\n         Oberschain: ca. 1907; J. L. Harris: ca. 1903; John S. Ham:\n         ca. 1891-1901. Rich Patch Mines Superintendents: John R.\n         Thompson: foreman, ca. 1906. Low Moor assorted other\n         personnel: S. L. Tulley: trainmaster, ca. 1906; B. J.\n         Shenkley: foreman, Low Moor limestone quarries; L. Q. Wood:\n         assistant traffic manager, ca. 1919.\u003c/p\u003e"],"bioghist_heading_ssm":["Biographical/Historical Information"],"bioghist_tesim":["The Low Moor Iron Company, the first producer of pig\n         iron in Virginia according to the company's claims, was a\n         self-contained manufacturing unit producing from its own\n         mines the coal, limestone, and iron ore needed for its iron\n         production. Located in Low Moor near Clifton Forge in\n         Alleghany County in western Virginia, an area rich in\n         mineral deposits, the company was in operation from\n         1872-1930, producing only pig iron; it never attempted to\n         produce finished iron products.","Coal came to the Low Moor furnaces from the Kay Moor\n         Mines at Kay Moor, West Virginia, about thirty miles from\n         Low Moor; limestone was produced from the Low Moor\n         limestone quarries; and iron ore came from the Fenwick,\n         Dolly Ann, Jordan, Rich Patch, Low Moor, and Longdale\n         Mines, most of them within twenty miles of Low Moor at\n         Covington or Clifton Forge.","The towns of Low Moor and Kay Moor were company towns in\n         every respect. Workers lived in company-owned houses,\n         bought food in company stores, worshiped at the company\n         church, saw movies in the company theater, were treated in\n         the company hospital, and were buried in the company\n         cemetery. Workers received part of their pay in scrip that\n         they exchanged for goods and services. According to a\n         statement from the Kay Moor Mines dated November 1904, Kay\n         Moor then employed 338 people, paid them an average wage of\n         $36.26 per month, and issued half of their pay in scrip.\n         Kay Moor had four stores; Low Moor had seven or eight. All\n         of these stores carried large inventories which are\n         detailed in the collection. These inventories are valuable\n         to anyone interested in determining the wants and needs of\n         a coal miner and his family.","In the late 1910's and 1920's Kay Moor had a company\n         theater called the Azure Theater which seated about 300\n         people. There were also plans for a company-owned social\n         center, to have pool tables, a soda fountain, and\n         provisions for dancing and skating. The company was in\n         tough economic straits by the 1920's, however, and there is\n         no evidence that the social center was built. The town of\n         Low Moor was so completely under the company's influence\n         that one of Low Moor Iron Company's assistant managers\n         served as the town sheriff. He often foreclosed on people\n         who did not pay their debts, and drove troublesome people\n         \"out of town on a rail\" as he put it.","The Low Moor Iron Company's fortunes fluctuated during\n         the various business cycles between the years 1880-1930.\n         Low Moor was one of the larger pig iron producers in\n         Virginia, but Virginia pig iron production was not\n         important nationally. Low Moor officials sometimes sold\n         their product themselves, but more often they used agents,\n         the prevalent method at the time. Low Moor Iron Company\n         used a variety of agents through the 1900's. James F. Bryan\n         acted as the exclusive agent for the sale of Kay Moor Coal\n         from September 21, 1903 to September, 1905. From about 1890\n         until about 1910 Dalton Nash and Company were the exclusive\n         eastern agents of Low Moor Iron. After that time the\n         exclusive agency went to Philips Isham and Company located\n         in New York. From about 1890 the western agency was handled\n         chiefly by Thomas Mack and Company. After 1902 Thomas Mack\n         and Company underwent a name change, becoming Walter\n         Wallingford and Company, with offices located in\n         Cincinnati, Pittsburgh, and Chicago.","Perhaps the Low Moor Iron Company's biggest problem over\n         the years was obtaining railroad cars for the\n         transportation of its finished product. Low Moor Iron\n         Company had its own cars for transporting its raw materials\n         among its various facilities. For the long haul necessary\n         for its finished goods, however, it depended upon the\n         services of the Chesapeake and Ohio Railroad, and the\n         relationship was not always a happy one. The Low Moor\n         Company complained many times to the C \u0026 O Railroad\n         about the discrepancies between long-and shorthaul freight\n         rates. Low Moor also had trouble getting cars from the C\n         \u0026 O. In a letter to one of Low Moor Company's agents\n         from an irate customer dated 1898, the customer wrote: \"We\n         wrote you on Saturday and endeavored to question upon your\n         mind the necessity of taking care of us with Low Moor iron.\n         We are on our uppers--there is not a pound of Low Moor iron\n         in the yard. Of the one hundred tons ordered some time ago,\n         not one pound of it has been received.\" This was, according\n         to the Low Moor Iron Company, because they could not get\n         the railroad cars. In a letter from Thomas Mack and Company\n         dated November 26, 1901, to General Manager E. C. Means:\n         \"We are hopeful that the car supply will get better because\n         of the number of orders you have of ours for prompt\n         shipment. Our customers are complaining that they are not\n         getting the iron fast enough. . . . We hope that the\n         railroad will be able to supply you with empty cars.\" In\n         another letter dated 1916 to John B. Guernsey, then acting\n         General Manager of the Low Moor Iron Company, \"We were not\n         supplied with coke cars for today's loading, and\n         consequently we have been practically down of Kay Moor\n         ovens all day.\"","The problem of procuring labor also plagued the Low Moor\n         Company. The company sometimes tried to hire immigrant\n         laborers and send the men directly to Low Moor from New\n         York City. There were problems with this, as is explained\n         in the following letter dated April 7, 1906: \n          To Mr. George Wickes \n             Supt. of Mines \n             Kay Moor, Virginia \n             Dear George, \n             Tony arrived with twenty one men last night. One\n            got away in Jersey two in Washington D.C., four in\n            Charlottesville. Some of the men are very good looking,\n            but taken as a whole they are the worst lot I have ever\n            seen: Irish, German-Jews, and Italians. . . . Our New\n            York transportations to this place have never been a\n            success. Signed, \n             Ed D. Wickes Supt. of Mines Low Moor usually employed labor agencies, one\n         of which was Atwood's Employment Agency. Often the Low Moor\n         Company would request certain nationalities, believing them\n         to be better workers than others. Sometimes the company\n         would request a gang of twenty made up of \"ten Greeks and\n         ten Italians.\" Many of the immigrants fled Low Moor and Kay\n         Moor when they learned that they would have to work\n         underground. There is a fair amount of material on\n         immigrant labor and its procurement in the collection, and\n         it is noted in the description of the box contents.","Low Moor Iron Company not only had trouble procuring\n         labor, but it also had trouble with labor already employed\n         in the mines and at the factory. Labor dissension and\n         strikes troubled the Kay Moor Mines through the 1900's. The\n         great coal strike of 1902 hurt the Low Moor Company's coal\n         mining operation, but by 1903 things were \"nearly back to\n         normal\" according to the mine superintendent. There was\n         still trouble at Kay Moor Mines, however. In a letter dated\n         April 26, 1906, to the treasurer of Low Moor Company, the\n         manager of the mines wrote about the trouble in \"trying to\n         get the agitators out.\" The mines were seventy-five men\n         short of the total labor force needed because many of the\n         coal miners returned to their farms during the spring.\n         There were rumblings of another strike at Kay Moor, the\n         result of which was to be a fourteen percent increase in\n         wages for the Kay Moor Mine workers via an agreement with\n         the United Mine Workers Union in December.","The Low Moor Iron Company grew along with the rest of\n         Virginia industry in the 1890's and 1900's. Starting with\n         only one furnace in the 1870's, it opened a second furnace\n         at Covington, Virginia, in 1891. In 1911 it opened a third\n         furnace, this time at Low Moor. Covington, with its heavy\n         industry, soon became known as the \"Pittsburgh of\n         Virginia.\" Virginia's pig iron production rose from 9,000\n         short tons in 1870 to 544,034 long tons in 1903. Judging\n         from the Low Moor Company's correspondence, the most\n         prosperous period for the company fell between the years\n         1895-1907. In the years between 1907-1917 problems befell\n         the Virginia pig iron industry. In a letter from William W.\n         Hearns, the president of the Virginia based Princess Pig\n         Iron Company, to U. S. Senator Thomas S. Martin, Hearns\n         writes of the problems of the Virginia pig iron industry:\n         \"There is not a blast furnace in Virginia that is making\n         any money from the manufacture of pig iron. The cause of\n         this is there is an exceedingly low price on pig iron in\n         the country at the present time, and the increased cost of\n         manufacturing is due to the increase in wages in all\n         lines.\" With the outbreak of World War I prices rose\n         dramatically, but in a market report to Low Moor dated\n         November 11, 1916, it was stated that: \"In spite of the\n         high prices, it is not a picnic to be in the iron industry.\n         There is a desperate shortage of cars and equipment in the\n         coal and iron districts, and in consequence there are\n         troubles of all kinds to get materials shipped. The\n         situation has grown serious.\"","When America became involved in the First World War, it\n         meant a boost for the Low Moor Iron Company. The government\n         helped it procure labor, and even helped it repair its\n         furnaces. The problem of supplies and cars for their\n         shipments, however, plagued the company more than ever. It\n         had a good deal of trouble getting all the raw materials it\n         needed due chiefly to the \"tight ship\" run by Harry F.\n         Byrd, Sr., U.S. Fuel Administrator for Virginia. After the\n         war very serious problems began to trouble the Low Moor\n         Iron Company. The demand for iron fell precipitously and a\n         short but severe depression ensued from 1919-1922. The\n         depression seemed to hit the iron industry especially hard.\n         Prices took a huge drop due to the lack of demand, and many\n         pre-war contracts had to be revalued. To compound the\n         company's problems, the Kay Moor Mines went on strike in\n         1919. This strike was quickly settled, as the market for\n         coal was so good that the Low Moor Company ceased taking\n         orders temporarily in 1921 as it could not fill the orders\n         it had on hand.","The Low Moor Company furnaces lay idle for some twenty\n         months. Finally, in November 1922 one of Low Moor's\n         furnaces was finally fired up. While prosperity gradually\n         returned to the rest of the country, the Low Moor Iron\n         Company never recovered. Production of pig iron in the\n         Virginia iron industry declined from 544,034 tons in 1903\n         to 148,053 tons in 1923, considered a good year for the\n         industry as a whole. In February 1926 Low Moor officials\n         talked of merging with two other iron companies in order to\n         revive the iron business for the three companies. The\n         merger, however, never occurred. By late 1926 the company\n         was in the process of liquidation. An advertisement in the\n         Charleston, West Virginia, Daily Mail dated April 30, 1927,\n         told of a huge warehouse sale at the Low Moor Iron Company.\n         The advertisement noted \"thousands of screws, pipe\n         fittings, valves, etc.\" The last piece of correspondence\n         from the Low Moor Iron Company in the collection is dated\n         1929. It deals with the sale of a machine.","Why did the iron industry in Virginia decline as it did?\n         Some say that lack of speed, efficiency, and a decent\n         transportation system for Alleghany County caused it. In a\n         letter from C. E. Bertie, secretary of the Virginia Pig\n         Iron Association, to the \n          Manufacturers Record dated 1925, Bertie claimed that it was the\n         tremendous rise in the cost of transportation. Virginia, he\n         claimed, had almost no home market. Over 80% of its normal\n         production was shipped out to other states. The failure of\n         the Interstate Commerce Commission to treat Virginia\n         furnaces as southern furnaces was the cause of much of the\n         trouble. From 1914-1925 there were four blanket increases\n         in freight rates in the country, of which only one applied\n         equally to all localities. Southern furnaces were received\n         only two increases--a 25% increase in 1918 and a 25%\n         increase in 1920--but northern furnaces had had 5%, 15%,\n         25%, and 40% increases in their transportation costs.\n         Virginia furnaces, although recognized as southern\n         furnaces, had had freight rates increased in line with the\n         northern furnaces. Prior to the war Virginia iron reached\n         all points in Ohio, Indiana, Michigan, and Illinois on a\n         competitive basis with southern furnaces. After World War I\n         the advantage was limited to a small portion of\n         southeastern Ohio. All of Indiana, Illinois, and Michigan\n         were now lost to the Virginia producers. The Virginia\n         producer, according to Bertie, felt that the freight rates\n         should be restored to a relationship with southern\n         furnaces. If what Bertie said was true, the other southern\n         states iron industries should not have been in the same\n         desperate economic straits as Virginia's, and statistics\n         should support this. In the 1920's production rose to new\n         heights in Alabama. In Tennessee, however, iron production\n         plunged to new lows during the 1920's. While the south\n         accounted for 10.2% of the entire U. S. production in the\n         years 1919-1924, Virginia accounted for less than 1% during\n         those years. In 1915 Virginia accounted for over 6% of the\n         U.S. iron production. One can see a decline in other areas\n         of the south than Virginia. While the discrepancies in the\n         freight rates may have helped cause the decline, clearly\n         there are other reasons.","During the 1900's there was a discovery of extremely\n         rich iron ore deposits in the mid-west. Much of this ore\n         was on or near the surface, making the mining of it both\n         easy and inexpensive. This in turn lowered production costs\n         of the pig iron. This caused iron production to shift to\n         that region, and resulted in a decline in the Virginia iron\n         industry. There was a sharp increase in iron production in\n         the mid-west through the 1920's. The iron ore in the\n         mid-west may have been of better quality than Virginia, but\n         the iron ore in Virginia was of sufficient quality to\n         produce a good pig iron. The western ore deposits were not\n         as conveniently located as Virginia deposits, but the\n         inexpensiveness of production more than made up for it.","In examining the rise and fall of the Low Moor Iron\n         Company, we can see a situation in which the conditions for\n         the manufacture of iron were nearly ideal. There was plenty\n         of land for expansion and resources for the manufacture of\n         the iron. The major internal problem faced by the Low Moor\n         Iron Company was that of transportation. External\n         developments, however, caused the final demise of the Low\n         Moor Iron Company.","Low Moor Iron Company Personnel:","Executive Staff: Managing Director, Colonel H. M.\n         Goodwin: ca. 1881. General Managers: H. G. Merry: ca.\n         1884-1902; E. C. Means: ca. 1905-1915; J. P. Guernsey: ca.\n         1915 (acting General Manager); F. U. Humbert: ca.\n         1916-1929. Assistant General Manager: E. B. Wilkinson: ca.\n         1909-1915. Treasurers and Assistant Treasurers: Edward Low:\n         ca. 1886-1898; Frank Lyman (in New York): ca. 1898-1919; S.\n         G. Cragill (Asst. Treasurer): ca. 1900-1915; H. A. Dalton:\n         ca. 1921-1929; John Lipscomb (Asst. Treasurer): ca.\n         1918-1928.","Factory and Mine Supervisors: Kay Moor Superintendents:\n         C. C. Cooke: ca. 1918; Ed. D. Wickes: ca. 1906; H. L.\n         Tansell: ca. 1903; A. H. Reed: ca. 1906. Kay Moor Managers:\n         J. W. Monteith: manager of mines. ca. 1918; promoted in\n         1925 to general superintendent in charge of mine plants,\n         coke ovens, shops, repairs, and construction; A. L.\n         Monteith: assistant superintendent of mines, ca. 1918;\n         George T. Wickes: manager of Covington mines, ca.\n         1906-1917; Ross Howell, ca. 1918. Stack Mines\n         Superintendents: J. H. Carpenter: ca. 1906; C. D.\n         Oberschain: ca. 1907; J. L. Harris: ca. 1903; John S. Ham:\n         ca. 1891-1901. Rich Patch Mines Superintendents: John R.\n         Thompson: foreman, ca. 1906. Low Moor assorted other\n         personnel: S. L. Tulley: trainmaster, ca. 1906; B. J.\n         Shenkley: foreman, Low Moor limestone quarries; L. Q. Wood:\n         assistant traffic manager, ca. 1919."],"scopecontent_html_tesm":["\u003cp\u003eThe Low Moor Iron Company papers consist of\n         approximately 280 four-inch Hollinger archives boxes (ca.\n         95 linear feet) of records, ca. 1885-1927, and some 1200\n         bound volumes of the company's accounting records,\n         1873-1927, of this iron producing company located in Low\n         Moor (four miles southwest of Clifton Forge), Alleghany\n         County, Virginia.\u003c/p\u003e","\u003cp\u003eThis material consists of records typical of those\n         produced by a firm of this type in the period, but as the\n         company owned its own coal and iron mines and limestone\n         quarries, there is considerable information about the\n         production of these raw materials. Large numbers of the\n         records that deal with the company's employees have\n         survived: time books, payroll books, hands ledgers, and the\n         like. Because these books sometimes include information\n         about the employee's trade or job with the company, and as\n         race is indicated in some of the records, these books\n         should provide date for studies of the structure and upward\n         mobility within the labor force, patterns of\n         ethnic--possibly racial--occupational penetration and\n         mobility, material conditions of the workers, and so on.\n         The papers should permit a range of studies detailing the\n         pattern and evolution of industrial organization in the\n         iron industry, and the evolution of markets and marketing\n         structures for the entire period. Because the company was\n         dependent upon railroads to move its raw materials to the\n         furnaces, and for the marketing of its products, there is\n         considerable information about railroads and their\n         relationship to their customers.\u003c/p\u003e"],"scopecontent_heading_ssm":["Scope and Content Information"],"scopecontent_tesim":["The Low Moor Iron Company papers consist of\n         approximately 280 four-inch Hollinger archives boxes (ca.\n         95 linear feet) of records, ca. 1885-1927, and some 1200\n         bound volumes of the company's accounting records,\n         1873-1927, of this iron producing company located in Low\n         Moor (four miles southwest of Clifton Forge), Alleghany\n         County, Virginia.","This material consists of records typical of those\n         produced by a firm of this type in the period, but as the\n         company owned its own coal and iron mines and limestone\n         quarries, there is considerable information about the\n         production of these raw materials. Large numbers of the\n         records that deal with the company's employees have\n         survived: time books, payroll books, hands ledgers, and the\n         like. Because these books sometimes include information\n         about the employee's trade or job with the company, and as\n         race is indicated in some of the records, these books\n         should provide date for studies of the structure and upward\n         mobility within the labor force, patterns of\n         ethnic--possibly racial--occupational penetration and\n         mobility, material conditions of the workers, and so on.\n         The papers should permit a range of studies detailing the\n         pattern and evolution of industrial organization in the\n         iron industry, and the evolution of markets and marketing\n         structures for the entire period. Because the company was\n         dependent upon railroads to move its raw materials to the\n         furnaces, and for the marketing of its products, there is\n         considerable information about railroads and their\n         relationship to their customers."],"language_ssim":["English"],"total_component_count_is":1879,"online_item_count_is":0,"component_level_isim":[0],"sort_isi":0,"timestamp":"2026-05-01T02:17:12.165Z"}]}},"label":"Breadcrumbs"}}},"links":{"self":"https://search.arvasarchive.org/catalog/viu_viu00917_c01_c28_c08"}},{"id":"viblbv_repositories_2_resources_3065_c03_c01","type":"Subseries","attributes":{"title":"Historical Financial Budgets, Records, and Reports","breadcrumbs":{"id":"https://search.arvasarchive.org/catalog/viblbv_repositories_2_resources_3065_c03_c01#breadcrumbs","type":"document_value","attributes":{"value":{"ref_ssi":"viblbv_repositories_2_resources_3065_c03_c01","ref_ssm":["viblbv_repositories_2_resources_3065_c03_c01"],"id":"viblbv_repositories_2_resources_3065_c03_c01","ead_ssi":"viblbv_repositories_2_resources_3065","_root_":"viblbv_repositories_2_resources_3065","_nest_parent_":"viblbv_repositories_2_resources_3065_c03","parent_ssi":"viblbv_repositories_2_resources_3065_c03","parent_ssim":["viblbv_repositories_2_resources_3065","viblbv_repositories_2_resources_3065_c03"],"parent_ids_ssim":["viblbv_repositories_2_resources_3065","viblbv_repositories_2_resources_3065_c03"],"parent_unittitles_ssm":["Records of the Virginia Cooperative Extension","Series III. Bob Swain Records"],"parent_unittitles_tesim":["Records of the Virginia Cooperative Extension","Series III. Bob Swain Records"],"text":["Records of the Virginia Cooperative Extension","Series III. Bob Swain Records","Historical Financial Budgets, Records, and Reports"],"title_filing_ssi":"Historical Financial Budgets, Records, and Reports","title_ssm":["Historical Financial Budgets, Records, and Reports"],"title_tesim":["Historical Financial Budgets, Records, and Reports"],"unitdate_inclusive_ssm":["1907-1929"],"normalized_date_ssm":["1907/1929"],"normalized_title_ssm":["Historical Financial Budgets, Records, and Reports"],"component_level_isim":[2],"repository_ssim":["Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University"],"collection_ssim":["Records of the Virginia Cooperative Extension"],"has_online_content_ssim":["false"],"child_component_count_isi":13,"level_ssm":["Subseries"],"level_ssim":["Subseries"],"sort_isi":113,"parent_access_restrict_tesm":["The collection is open for research, except for boxes 22 and 23 which are restricted for confidentiality and personally identifiable information."],"parent_access_terms_tesm":["The copyright status of this collection is unknown. Copyright restrictions may apply. Contact Special Collections and University Archives for assistance in determining the use of these materials. ","Reproduction or digitization of materials for personal or research use can be requested using our reproduction/digitization form: http://bit.ly/scuareproduction. Reproduction or digitization of materials for publication or exhibit use can be requested using our publication/exhibition form: http://bit.ly/scuapublication. Please contact Special Collections and University Archives (specref@vt.edu or 540-231-6308) if you need assistance with forms or to submit a completed form."],"date_range_isim":[1907,1908,1909,1910,1911,1912,1913,1914,1915,1916,1917,1918,1919,1920,1921,1922,1923,1924,1925,1926,1927,1928,1929],"_nest_path_":"/components#2/components#0","timestamp":"2026-04-30T23:48:35.639Z","collection":{"numFound":1,"start":0,"numFoundExact":true,"docs":[{"id":"viblbv_repositories_2_resources_3065","ead_ssi":"viblbv_repositories_2_resources_3065","_root_":"viblbv_repositories_2_resources_3065","_nest_parent_":"viblbv_repositories_2_resources_3065","ead_source_url_ssi":"data/oai/VT/repositories_2_resources_3065.xml","title_filing_ssi":"Virginia Cooperative Extension, Records of the","title_ssm":["Records of the Virginia Cooperative Extension"],"title_tesim":["Records of the Virginia Cooperative Extension"],"unitdate_ssm":["1862-1997"],"unitdate_inclusive_ssm":["1862-1997"],"level_ssm":["collection"],"level_ssim":["Record Group","Collection"],"unitid_ssm":["RG.26"],"text":["RG.26","Records of the Virginia Cooperative Extension","University Archives","Agricultural extension work","University Archives","University History","The collection is open for research, except for boxes 22 and 23 which are restricted for confidentiality and personally identifiable information.","Duplicate budget books were removed from this collection and destroyed.","The Records of the Virginia cooperative Extension are organized into the following series:","Series I. Rural Communities, 1993-1994 Series II. Reports and and Statistics, 1926-1949 Series III. Bob Swain Records, 1907-1990 Series IV. Extension Administration Records, 1994-1997 Series V. Joint Legistlative Audit and Review Commission (JLARC), 1962-1993 Series VI. Virginia Association of Extenison Secretaries, 1958-1993 Series VII. Lucy Is Still Here papers, 1980-1989 Series VIII. Slides, 1980-1989 Series IX. Office of the Director, Edwin J. Jones, Records is arranged by material type, with most of original order retained, into two subseries:\n Subseries A: Administrative Documents. This includes meeting minutes, USDA budgets, newspaper clippings, and speeches. Materials are organized by type. Folders are arranged alphabetically by folder title. Subseries B: District Financial Records. These are divided into three subgroups; Records by date, organized chronologically; Records by District, arranged alphabetically by county name with the individual folders organized chronologically; 1995 Budget restoration, including newspaper articles, correspondence, and budget reports, arranged alphabetically.","\"Extension work at the university can trace its roots to 1906, when an extension program was established in Virginia. After the Smith-Lever Act of 1914 was passed, overall administration of extension, or demonstration, work was transferred to Virginia Polytechnic Institute (VPI), with Hampton Institute (later Hampton University) as a division initially serving Black communities. At that time, it became the Agricultural Extension Service, also called the Cooperative Extension Service. In 1930, Virginia State College (later Virginia State University (VSU)) took over the extension responsibilities of Hampton Institute.","In 1966, the Virginia General Assembly established the VPI Extension Division, which combined the Cooperative Extension Service, General Extension Division, State Technical Services, and Continuing Education Center. After passage of the 1977 U. S. Farm Bill, VSU's extension program became an equal partner to VT's program, rather than a division reporting to VT. In 1995, the Division became the Virginia Cooperative Extension and Agricultural Experiment Station Division, often shortened to the Virginia Cooperative Extension (VCE), still operated jointly by VT and VSU today.\"","The guide to the Records of the Virginia Cooperative Extension by Special Collections and University Archives, Virginia Tech, is licensed under a CC0 ( https://creativecommons.org/share-your- work/public-domain/cc0/ ).","Audiovisual materials require special equipment to access. Special Collections and University Archives has equipment for accessing DVDs and  VHS tapes. Other audiovisual materials in this collection may not be accessible due to format.","Initial minimal description of the Records of the Virginia Cooperative Extension was completed in August 2019. The processing, arrangement, and description was completed in December 2019. Series IX. Office of the Director, Edwin J. Jones, Records was integrated in July 2021.","Additional unprocessed records and ephemera are available upon request. Please contact Special Collections and University Archives staff for more information.","This collection contains the administrative records of the Virginia Cooperative Extension, including correspondence, reports, financial documents, slides, videos, and the records of Bob Swain. ","The records are divided into eight seires. The first series, Rural Communities, contains videotapes from Rural Communities and notes. Series II, Reports and Statistics, includes statistical and narrative doruments, annual reports, plans of work, and progress reports. ","The third series, Bob Swain records, are subdivided chronologically. This series includes budgets, financial statements and reports, allotment estimates, salaries, expenditures, legistlative documents, treasurer's statements, interest on federal funds, and extension donations. ","Series four, Extension Administration Records, is restricted due to the contents containing perosnal information. The fifth series, JLARC, contains action reports, correspondence, news and media, recordings and other documents relating to the Joint Legislative Audit and Review Commission from 1862 to 1993. Series six, Virginia Association of Extension Secretaries, contains correspondence, meeting notes, newsletters, and other documents from 1958-1993. The seventh series contains papers from the presentation Lucy is Still Here, and the last series, Slides, contain slides from New 4-H leader orientation and inflation.","Additional audiovisual tapes and reels are available, and a separate inventory is online.","Publications have been separated to the Rare Book Collection.","The copyright status of this collection is unknown. Copyright restrictions may apply. Contact Special Collections and University Archives for assistance in determining the use of these materials. ","Reproduction or digitization of materials for personal or research use can be requested using our reproduction/digitization form:  http://bit.ly/scuareproduction . Reproduction or digitization of materials for publication or exhibit use can be requested using our publication/exhibition form:  http://bit.ly/scuapublication . Please contact Special Collections and University Archives ( specref@vt.edu  or 540-231-6308) if you need assistance with forms or to submit a completed form.","This collection contains the administrative records of the Virginia Cooperative Extension, including correspondence, reports, financial documents, slides, videos, and the records of Bob Swain and Edwin J. Jones. The collection also documents the VCE's role in Joint Legislative Audit and Review Commission, Virginia Association of Extension Secretaries, and their work within rural communities.","Special Collections and University Archives, Virginia Tech","Virginia Cooperative Extension (1995-)","Virginia Cooperative Extension Service","Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University. Extension Division","Virginia Agricultural and Mechanical College and Polytechnic Institute (1896-1944)","Virginia Polytechnic Institute (1944-1970)","Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University (1970-)","The materials in the collection are in English."],"unitid_tesim":["RG.26"],"normalized_title_ssm":["Records of the Virginia Cooperative Extension"],"collection_title_tesim":["Records of the Virginia Cooperative Extension"],"collection_ssim":["Records of the Virginia Cooperative Extension"],"repository_ssm":["Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University"],"repository_ssim":["Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University"],"creator_ssm":["Virginia Cooperative Extension (1995-)","Virginia Cooperative Extension Service","Virginia Cooperative Extension Service","Virginia Cooperative Extension (1995-)","Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University. Extension Division"],"creator_ssim":["Virginia Cooperative Extension (1995-)","Virginia Cooperative Extension Service","Virginia Cooperative Extension Service","Virginia Cooperative Extension (1995-)","Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University. Extension Division"],"creator_corpname_ssim":["Virginia Cooperative Extension (1995-)","Virginia Cooperative Extension Service","Virginia Cooperative Extension Service","Virginia Cooperative Extension (1995-)","Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University. Extension Division"],"creators_ssim":["Virginia Cooperative Extension (1995-)","Virginia Cooperative Extension Service","Virginia Cooperative Extension Service","Virginia Cooperative Extension (1995-)","Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University. Extension Division"],"access_terms_ssm":["The copyright status of this collection is unknown. Copyright restrictions may apply. Contact Special Collections and University Archives for assistance in determining the use of these materials. ","Reproduction or digitization of materials for personal or research use can be requested using our reproduction/digitization form:  http://bit.ly/scuareproduction . Reproduction or digitization of materials for publication or exhibit use can be requested using our publication/exhibition form:  http://bit.ly/scuapublication . Please contact Special Collections and University Archives ( specref@vt.edu  or 540-231-6308) if you need assistance with forms or to submit a completed form."],"acqinfo_ssim":["The Records of the Virginia Cooperative Extension were transferred to Special Collections and University Archives in 2015 and 2016. Series IX. Office of the Director, Edwin J. Jones, Records were tranferred in June 2021."],"access_subjects_ssim":["University Archives","Agricultural extension work","University Archives","University History"],"access_subjects_ssm":["University Archives","Agricultural extension work","University Archives","University History"],"has_online_content_ssim":["false"],"extent_ssm":["29.32 Cubic Feet 35 boxes"],"extent_tesim":["29.32 Cubic Feet 35 boxes"],"date_range_isim":[1862,1863,1864,1865,1866,1867,1868,1869,1870,1871,1872,1873,1874,1875,1876,1877,1878,1879,1880,1881,1882,1883,1884,1885,1886,1887,1888,1889,1890,1891,1892,1893,1894,1895,1896,1897,1898,1899,1900,1901,1902,1903,1904,1905,1906,1907,1908,1909,1910,1911,1912,1913,1914,1915,1916,1917,1918,1919,1920,1921,1922,1923,1924,1925,1926,1927,1928,1929,1930,1931,1932,1933,1934,1935,1936,1937,1938,1939,1940,1941,1942,1943,1944,1945,1946,1947,1948,1949,1950,1951,1952,1953,1954,1955,1956,1957,1958,1959,1960,1961,1962,1963,1964,1965,1966,1967,1968,1969,1970,1971,1972,1973,1974,1975,1976,1977,1978,1979,1980,1981,1982,1983,1984,1985,1986,1987,1988,1989,1990,1991,1992,1993,1994,1995,1996,1997],"accessrestrict_html_tesm":["\u003cp\u003eThe collection is open for research, except for boxes 22 and 23 which are restricted for confidentiality and personally identifiable information.\u003c/p\u003e"],"accessrestrict_heading_ssm":["Conditions Governing Access"],"accessrestrict_tesim":["The collection is open for research, except for boxes 22 and 23 which are restricted for confidentiality and personally identifiable information."],"appraisal_html_tesm":["\u003cp\u003eDuplicate budget books were removed from this collection and destroyed.\u003c/p\u003e"],"appraisal_heading_ssm":["Appraisal"],"appraisal_tesim":["Duplicate budget books were removed from this collection and destroyed."],"arrangement_html_tesm":["\u003cp\u003eThe Records of the Virginia cooperative Extension are organized into the following series:\u003c/p\u003e\n","\u003cp\u003e\u003clist\u003e\n\u003citem\u003eSeries I. Rural Communities, 1993-1994\u003c/item\u003e\n\u003citem\u003eSeries II. Reports and and Statistics, 1926-1949\u003c/item\u003e\n\u003citem\u003eSeries III. Bob Swain Records, 1907-1990\u003c/item\u003e\n\u003citem\u003eSeries IV. Extension Administration Records, 1994-1997\u003c/item\u003e\n\u003citem\u003eSeries V. Joint Legistlative Audit and Review Commission (JLARC), 1962-1993\u003c/item\u003e\n\u003citem\u003eSeries VI. Virginia Association of Extenison Secretaries, 1958-1993\u003c/item\u003e\n\u003citem\u003eSeries VII. Lucy Is Still Here papers, 1980-1989\u003c/item\u003e\n\u003citem\u003eSeries VIII. Slides, 1980-1989\u003c/item\u003e\n\u003citem\u003eSeries IX. Office of the Director, Edwin J. Jones, Records is arranged by material type, with most of original order retained, into two subseries:\n\u003clist\u003e\n\u003citem\u003eSubseries A: Administrative Documents. This includes meeting minutes, USDA budgets, newspaper clippings, and speeches. Materials are organized by type. Folders are arranged alphabetically by folder title.\u003c/item\u003e\n\u003citem\u003eSubseries B: District Financial Records. These are divided into three subgroups; Records by date, organized chronologically; Records by District, arranged alphabetically by county name with the individual folders organized chronologically; 1995 Budget restoration, including newspaper articles, correspondence, and budget reports, arranged alphabetically.\u003c/item\u003e\n\u003c/list\u003e\n\u003c/item\u003e\n\u003c/list\u003e\u003c/p\u003e"],"arrangement_heading_ssm":["Arrangement"],"arrangement_tesim":["The Records of the Virginia cooperative Extension are organized into the following series:","Series I. Rural Communities, 1993-1994 Series II. Reports and and Statistics, 1926-1949 Series III. Bob Swain Records, 1907-1990 Series IV. Extension Administration Records, 1994-1997 Series V. Joint Legistlative Audit and Review Commission (JLARC), 1962-1993 Series VI. Virginia Association of Extenison Secretaries, 1958-1993 Series VII. Lucy Is Still Here papers, 1980-1989 Series VIII. Slides, 1980-1989 Series IX. Office of the Director, Edwin J. Jones, Records is arranged by material type, with most of original order retained, into two subseries:\n Subseries A: Administrative Documents. This includes meeting minutes, USDA budgets, newspaper clippings, and speeches. Materials are organized by type. Folders are arranged alphabetically by folder title. Subseries B: District Financial Records. These are divided into three subgroups; Records by date, organized chronologically; Records by District, arranged alphabetically by county name with the individual folders organized chronologically; 1995 Budget restoration, including newspaper articles, correspondence, and budget reports, arranged alphabetically."],"bioghist_html_tesm":["\u003cp\u003e\"Extension work at the university can trace its roots to 1906, when an extension program was established in Virginia. After the Smith-Lever Act of 1914 was passed, overall administration of extension, or demonstration, work was transferred to Virginia Polytechnic Institute (VPI), with Hampton Institute (later Hampton University) as a division initially serving Black communities. At that time, it became the Agricultural Extension Service, also called the Cooperative Extension Service. In 1930, Virginia State College (later Virginia State University (VSU)) took over the extension responsibilities of Hampton Institute.\u003c/p\u003e\n","\u003cp\u003eIn 1966, the Virginia General Assembly established the VPI Extension Division, which combined the Cooperative Extension Service, General Extension Division, State Technical Services, and Continuing Education Center. After passage of the 1977 U. S. Farm Bill, VSU's extension program became an equal partner to VT's program, rather than a division reporting to VT. In 1995, the Division became the Virginia Cooperative Extension and Agricultural Experiment Station Division, often shortened to the Virginia Cooperative Extension (VCE), still operated jointly by VT and VSU today.\"\u003c/p\u003e"],"bioghist_heading_ssm":["Adminsitrative History"],"bioghist_tesim":["\"Extension work at the university can trace its roots to 1906, when an extension program was established in Virginia. After the Smith-Lever Act of 1914 was passed, overall administration of extension, or demonstration, work was transferred to Virginia Polytechnic Institute (VPI), with Hampton Institute (later Hampton University) as a division initially serving Black communities. At that time, it became the Agricultural Extension Service, also called the Cooperative Extension Service. In 1930, Virginia State College (later Virginia State University (VSU)) took over the extension responsibilities of Hampton Institute.","In 1966, the Virginia General Assembly established the VPI Extension Division, which combined the Cooperative Extension Service, General Extension Division, State Technical Services, and Continuing Education Center. After passage of the 1977 U. S. Farm Bill, VSU's extension program became an equal partner to VT's program, rather than a division reporting to VT. In 1995, the Division became the Virginia Cooperative Extension and Agricultural Experiment Station Division, often shortened to the Virginia Cooperative Extension (VCE), still operated jointly by VT and VSU today.\""],"odd_html_tesm":["\u003cp\u003eThe guide to the Records of the Virginia Cooperative Extension by Special Collections and University Archives, Virginia Tech, is licensed under a CC0 (\u003ca href=\"https://creativecommons.org/share-your-%20work/public-domain/cc0/\" target=\"_blank\"\u003ehttps://creativecommons.org/share-your- work/public-domain/cc0/\u003c/a\u003e).\u003c/p\u003e"],"odd_heading_ssm":["Rights Statement for Archival Description"],"odd_tesim":["The guide to the Records of the Virginia Cooperative Extension by Special Collections and University Archives, Virginia Tech, is licensed under a CC0 ( https://creativecommons.org/share-your- work/public-domain/cc0/ )."],"phystech_html_tesm":["\u003cp\u003eAudiovisual materials require special equipment to access. Special Collections and University Archives has equipment for accessing DVDs and  VHS tapes. Other audiovisual materials in this collection may not be accessible due to format.\u003c/p\u003e"],"phystech_heading_ssm":["Technical Requirements"],"phystech_tesim":["Audiovisual materials require special equipment to access. Special Collections and University Archives has equipment for accessing DVDs and  VHS tapes. Other audiovisual materials in this collection may not be accessible due to format."],"prefercite_html_tesm":["\u003cp\u003eResearchers wishing to cite this collection should include the following information: [identification of item], [box], [folder], Records of the Virginia Cooperative Extension, RG 26, Special Collections and University Archives, Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, Va.\u003c/p\u003e"],"prefercite_tesim":["Researchers wishing to cite this collection should include the following information: [identification of item], [box], [folder], Records of the Virginia Cooperative Extension, RG 26, Special Collections and University Archives, Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, Va."],"processinfo_html_tesm":["\u003cp\u003eInitial minimal description of the Records of the Virginia Cooperative Extension was completed in August 2019. The processing, arrangement, and description was completed in December 2019. Series IX. Office of the Director, Edwin J. Jones, Records was integrated in July 2021.\u003c/p\u003e","\u003cp\u003eAdditional unprocessed records and ephemera are available upon request. Please contact Special Collections and University Archives staff for more information.\u003c/p\u003e"],"processinfo_heading_ssm":["Processing Information"],"processinfo_tesim":["Initial minimal description of the Records of the Virginia Cooperative Extension was completed in August 2019. The processing, arrangement, and description was completed in December 2019. Series IX. Office of the Director, Edwin J. Jones, Records was integrated in July 2021.","Additional unprocessed records and ephemera are available upon request. Please contact Special Collections and University Archives staff for more information."],"scopecontent_html_tesm":["\u003cp\u003eThis collection contains the administrative records of the Virginia Cooperative Extension, including correspondence, reports, financial documents, slides, videos, and the records of Bob Swain. \u003c/p\u003e\n","\u003cp\u003eThe records are divided into eight seires. The first series, Rural Communities, contains videotapes from Rural Communities and notes. Series II, Reports and Statistics, includes statistical and narrative doruments, annual reports, plans of work, and progress reports. \u003c/p\u003e\n","\u003cp\u003eThe third series, Bob Swain records, are subdivided chronologically. This series includes budgets, financial statements and reports, allotment estimates, salaries, expenditures, legistlative documents, treasurer's statements, interest on federal funds, and extension donations. \u003c/p\u003e\n","\u003cp\u003eSeries four, Extension Administration Records, is restricted due to the contents containing perosnal information. The fifth series, JLARC, contains action reports, correspondence, news and media, recordings and other documents relating to the Joint Legislative Audit and Review Commission from 1862 to 1993. Series six, Virginia Association of Extension Secretaries, contains correspondence, meeting notes, newsletters, and other documents from 1958-1993. The seventh series contains papers from the presentation Lucy is Still Here, and the last series, Slides, contain slides from New 4-H leader orientation and inflation.\u003c/p\u003e\n","\u003cp\u003e\u003ca href=\"https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1JbWX1Eu9BoB2VT-m186O11E22abIGsafgUw_RlnBses/edit?usp=sharing\" target=\"_blank\"\u003eAdditional audiovisual tapes and reels are available, and a separate inventory is online.\u003c/a\u003e\u003c/p\u003e"],"scopecontent_heading_ssm":["Scope and Content"],"scopecontent_tesim":["This collection contains the administrative records of the Virginia Cooperative Extension, including correspondence, reports, financial documents, slides, videos, and the records of Bob Swain. ","The records are divided into eight seires. The first series, Rural Communities, contains videotapes from Rural Communities and notes. Series II, Reports and Statistics, includes statistical and narrative doruments, annual reports, plans of work, and progress reports. ","The third series, Bob Swain records, are subdivided chronologically. This series includes budgets, financial statements and reports, allotment estimates, salaries, expenditures, legistlative documents, treasurer's statements, interest on federal funds, and extension donations. ","Series four, Extension Administration Records, is restricted due to the contents containing perosnal information. The fifth series, JLARC, contains action reports, correspondence, news and media, recordings and other documents relating to the Joint Legislative Audit and Review Commission from 1862 to 1993. Series six, Virginia Association of Extension Secretaries, contains correspondence, meeting notes, newsletters, and other documents from 1958-1993. The seventh series contains papers from the presentation Lucy is Still Here, and the last series, Slides, contain slides from New 4-H leader orientation and inflation.","Additional audiovisual tapes and reels are available, and a separate inventory is online."],"separatedmaterial_html_tesm":["\u003cp\u003ePublications have been separated to the Rare Book Collection.\u003c/p\u003e"],"separatedmaterial_heading_ssm":["Separated Materials"],"separatedmaterial_tesim":["Publications have been separated to the Rare Book Collection."],"userestrict_html_tesm":["\u003cp\u003eThe copyright status of this collection is unknown. Copyright restrictions may apply. Contact Special Collections and University Archives for assistance in determining the use of these materials. \u003c/p\u003e\n","\u003cp\u003eReproduction or digitization of materials for personal or research use can be requested using our reproduction/digitization form: \u003ca href=\"http://bit.ly/scuareproduction\" target=\"_blank\"\u003ehttp://bit.ly/scuareproduction\u003c/a\u003e. Reproduction or digitization of materials for publication or exhibit use can be requested using our publication/exhibition form: \u003ca href=\"http://bit.ly/scuapublication\" target=\"_blank\"\u003ehttp://bit.ly/scuapublication\u003c/a\u003e. Please contact Special Collections and University Archives (\u003ca href=\"mailto:specref@vt.edu\"\u003especref@vt.edu\u003c/a\u003e or 540-231-6308) if you need assistance with forms or to submit a completed form.\u003c/p\u003e"],"userestrict_heading_ssm":["Conditions Governing Reproduction and Use"],"userestrict_tesim":["The copyright status of this collection is unknown. Copyright restrictions may apply. Contact Special Collections and University Archives for assistance in determining the use of these materials. ","Reproduction or digitization of materials for personal or research use can be requested using our reproduction/digitization form:  http://bit.ly/scuareproduction . Reproduction or digitization of materials for publication or exhibit use can be requested using our publication/exhibition form:  http://bit.ly/scuapublication . Please contact Special Collections and University Archives ( specref@vt.edu  or 540-231-6308) if you need assistance with forms or to submit a completed form."],"abstract_html_tesm":["\u003cabstract id=\"aspace_f96017f76b4b7ca63792328cd56b5110\"\u003eThis collection contains the administrative records of the Virginia Cooperative Extension, including correspondence, reports, financial documents, slides, videos, and the records of Bob Swain and Edwin J. Jones. The collection also documents the VCE's role in Joint Legislative Audit and Review Commission, Virginia Association of Extension Secretaries, and their work within rural communities.\u003c/abstract\u003e"],"abstract_tesim":["This collection contains the administrative records of the Virginia Cooperative Extension, including correspondence, reports, financial documents, slides, videos, and the records of Bob Swain and Edwin J. Jones. The collection also documents the VCE's role in Joint Legislative Audit and Review Commission, Virginia Association of Extension Secretaries, and their work within rural communities."],"names_coll_ssim":["Virginia Cooperative Extension (1995-)","Virginia Cooperative Extension Service","Virginia Cooperative Extension (1995-)","Virginia Cooperative Extension Service","Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University. Extension Division","Virginia Agricultural and Mechanical College and Polytechnic Institute (1896-1944)","Virginia Polytechnic Institute (1944-1970)","Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University (1970-)"],"names_ssim":["Special Collections and University Archives, Virginia Tech","Virginia Cooperative Extension (1995-)","Virginia Cooperative Extension Service","Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University. Extension Division","Virginia Agricultural and Mechanical College and Polytechnic Institute (1896-1944)","Virginia Polytechnic Institute (1944-1970)","Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University (1970-)"],"corpname_ssim":["Special Collections and University Archives, Virginia Tech","Virginia Cooperative Extension (1995-)","Virginia Cooperative Extension Service","Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University. Extension Division","Virginia Agricultural and Mechanical College and Polytechnic Institute (1896-1944)","Virginia Polytechnic Institute (1944-1970)","Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University (1970-)"],"language_ssim":["The materials in the collection are in English."],"total_component_count_is":926,"online_item_count_is":0,"component_level_isim":[0],"sort_isi":0,"timestamp":"2026-04-30T23:48:35.639Z"}]}},"label":"Breadcrumbs"}}},"links":{"self":"https://search.arvasarchive.org/catalog/viblbv_repositories_2_resources_3065_c03_c01"}},{"id":"viu_viu00917_c01_c17_c08","type":"Subseries","attributes":{"title":"H. Miscellaneous; includes letters of\n                     J. F. Fowle, of the Furnace Department, minutes of\n                     the Desotat Mining and Exploring Association for\n                     Michigan and Wisconsin mineral development, the\n                     Michigan Company, Low Moor Furnace Store; and C\n                     \u0026 O railroad claims and bills","breadcrumbs":{"id":"https://search.arvasarchive.org/catalog/viu_viu00917_c01_c17_c08#breadcrumbs","type":"document_value","attributes":{"value":{"ref_ssi":"viu_viu00917_c01_c17_c08","ref_ssm":["viu_viu00917_c01_c17_c08"],"id":"viu_viu00917_c01_c17_c08","ead_ssi":"viu_viu00917","_root_":"viu_viu00917","_nest_parent_":"viu_viu00917_c01_c17","parent_ssi":"viu_viu00917_c01_c17","parent_ssim":["viu_viu00917","viu_viu00917_c01","viu_viu00917_c01_c17"],"parent_ids_ssim":["viu_viu00917","viu_viu00917_c01","viu_viu00917_c01_c17"],"parent_unittitles_ssm":["Papers of the Low Moor Iron Company \n          1873-1927","Bound Volumes","Letter Books"],"parent_unittitles_tesim":["Papers of the Low Moor Iron Company \n          1873-1927","Bound Volumes","Letter Books"],"text":["Papers of the Low Moor Iron Company \n          1873-1927","Bound Volumes","Letter Books","H. Miscellaneous; includes letters of\n                     J. F. Fowle, of the Furnace Department, minutes of\n                     the Desotat Mining and Exploring Association for\n                     Michigan and Wisconsin mineral development, the\n                     Michigan Company, Low Moor Furnace Store; and C\n                     \u0026 O railroad claims and bills","14 volumes"],"title_filing_ssi":"H. Miscellaneous; includes letters of\n                     J. F. Fowle, of the Furnace Department, minutes of\n                     the Desotat Mining and Exploring Association for\n                     Michigan and Wisconsin mineral development, the\n                     Michigan Company, Low Moor Furnace Store; and C\n                     \u0026 O railroad claims and bills","title_ssm":["H. Miscellaneous; includes letters of\n                     J. F. Fowle, of the Furnace Department, minutes of\n                     the Desotat Mining and Exploring Association for\n                     Michigan and Wisconsin mineral development, the\n                     Michigan Company, Low Moor Furnace Store; and C\n                     \u0026 O railroad claims and bills"],"title_tesim":["H. Miscellaneous; includes letters of\n                     J. F. Fowle, of the Furnace Department, minutes of\n                     the Desotat Mining and Exploring Association for\n                     Michigan and Wisconsin mineral development, the\n                     Michigan Company, Low Moor Furnace Store; and C\n                     \u0026 O railroad claims and bills"],"unitdate_other_ssim":["1881-1916"],"normalized_date_ssm":["1881/1916"],"normalized_title_ssm":["H. Miscellaneous; includes letters of\n                     J. F. Fowle, of the Furnace Department, minutes of\n                     the Desotat Mining and Exploring Association for\n                     Michigan and Wisconsin mineral development, the\n                     Michigan Company, Low Moor Furnace Store; and C\n                     \u0026 O railroad claims and bills"],"component_level_isim":[3],"repository_ssim":["University of Virginia, Special Collections Dept."],"collection_ssim":["Papers of the Low Moor Iron Company \n          1873-1927"],"physdesc_tesim":["14 volumes"],"has_online_content_ssim":["false"],"child_component_count_isi":0,"level_ssm":["Subseries"],"level_ssim":["Subseries"],"sort_isi":94,"date_range_isim":[1881,1882,1883,1884,1885,1886,1887,1888,1889,1890,1891,1892,1893,1894,1895,1896,1897,1898,1899,1900,1901,1902,1903,1904,1905,1906,1907,1908,1909,1910,1911,1912,1913,1914,1915,1916],"_nest_path_":"/components#0/components#16/components#7","timestamp":"2026-05-01T02:17:12.165Z","collection":{"numFound":1,"start":0,"numFoundExact":true,"docs":[{"id":"viu_viu00917","ead_ssi":"viu_viu00917","_root_":"viu_viu00917","_nest_parent_":"viu_viu00917","ead_source_url_ssi":"data/uva-sc/viu00917.xml","title_ssm":["Papers of the Low Moor Iron Company \n          1873-1927"],"title_tesim":["Papers of the Low Moor Iron Company \n          1873-1927"],"level_ssm":["collection"],"level_ssim":["Collection"],"unitid_ssm":["662"],"text":["662","Papers of the Low Moor Iron Company \n          1873-1927","95 linear feer + 1200\n         volumes","The word \"organization\" is used here with considerable\n         diffidence, for any researcher studying the container list\n         that follows will realize quickly that there is no\n         organization in the usual sense of the word.","As noted under \"Provenance,\" the Low Moor Iron Company\n         papers were subjected to a number of moves; when processing\n         began in the fall of 1976, no discernible scheme of\n         organization could be determined.","The first step was to review the series of coded numbers\n         placed on the bundles of papers before they were moved to\n         the dormitory attic, but these did not provide any sort of\n         useful organization. Next, the spine titles of the original\n         letter boxes were reviewed (they had been copied onto the\n         gray cardboard sheets before the move to the dormitory\n         attic), but they, too, proved useless.","These steps having provided no scheme, and after a\n         considerable hiatus due to a turnover in student processors\n         on the collection, the new student processors were\n         instructed to begin a box-by-box inventory of the contents\n         of the collection. During this inventory, old folders were\n         replaced with acid-free ones, and the original folder\n         headings were copied onto the new ones. Some removal of\n         paper clips was accomplished, and the materials were\n         reviewed and notes taken for the guide.","Some consolidation of materials was accomplished, and in\n         other cases, materials were moved. This work has created\n         some problems in the numbering of the boxes. Thus, the\n         researchers will find boxes marked \"6A\" and \"23C\"; he will\n         also discover that certain box numbers have been entirely\n         omitted. As the box numbers exist only to aid in the\n         location of material, it was not felt that the unusual\n         numbers and the omissions would cause problems in working\n         with the papers.","A certain amount of movement of boxes within the\n         collection, and of materials among boxes, probably would\n         ease use of it. But what processing was accomplished on\n         this project took far longer than had been anticipated, and\n         there was no time in the late spring of 1978, when the\n         processors had to complete their work with the project, to\n         undertake a mass movement of material. Thus, they stand in\n         the order in which we found them at the beginning of the\n         project.","The Low Moor Iron Company, the first producer of pig\n         iron in Virginia according to the company's claims, was a\n         self-contained manufacturing unit producing from its own\n         mines the coal, limestone, and iron ore needed for its iron\n         production. Located in Low Moor near Clifton Forge in\n         Alleghany County in western Virginia, an area rich in\n         mineral deposits, the company was in operation from\n         1872-1930, producing only pig iron; it never attempted to\n         produce finished iron products.","Coal came to the Low Moor furnaces from the Kay Moor\n         Mines at Kay Moor, West Virginia, about thirty miles from\n         Low Moor; limestone was produced from the Low Moor\n         limestone quarries; and iron ore came from the Fenwick,\n         Dolly Ann, Jordan, Rich Patch, Low Moor, and Longdale\n         Mines, most of them within twenty miles of Low Moor at\n         Covington or Clifton Forge.","The towns of Low Moor and Kay Moor were company towns in\n         every respect. Workers lived in company-owned houses,\n         bought food in company stores, worshiped at the company\n         church, saw movies in the company theater, were treated in\n         the company hospital, and were buried in the company\n         cemetery. Workers received part of their pay in scrip that\n         they exchanged for goods and services. According to a\n         statement from the Kay Moor Mines dated November 1904, Kay\n         Moor then employed 338 people, paid them an average wage of\n         $36.26 per month, and issued half of their pay in scrip.\n         Kay Moor had four stores; Low Moor had seven or eight. All\n         of these stores carried large inventories which are\n         detailed in the collection. These inventories are valuable\n         to anyone interested in determining the wants and needs of\n         a coal miner and his family.","In the late 1910's and 1920's Kay Moor had a company\n         theater called the Azure Theater which seated about 300\n         people. There were also plans for a company-owned social\n         center, to have pool tables, a soda fountain, and\n         provisions for dancing and skating. The company was in\n         tough economic straits by the 1920's, however, and there is\n         no evidence that the social center was built. The town of\n         Low Moor was so completely under the company's influence\n         that one of Low Moor Iron Company's assistant managers\n         served as the town sheriff. He often foreclosed on people\n         who did not pay their debts, and drove troublesome people\n         \"out of town on a rail\" as he put it.","The Low Moor Iron Company's fortunes fluctuated during\n         the various business cycles between the years 1880-1930.\n         Low Moor was one of the larger pig iron producers in\n         Virginia, but Virginia pig iron production was not\n         important nationally. Low Moor officials sometimes sold\n         their product themselves, but more often they used agents,\n         the prevalent method at the time. Low Moor Iron Company\n         used a variety of agents through the 1900's. James F. Bryan\n         acted as the exclusive agent for the sale of Kay Moor Coal\n         from September 21, 1903 to September, 1905. From about 1890\n         until about 1910 Dalton Nash and Company were the exclusive\n         eastern agents of Low Moor Iron. After that time the\n         exclusive agency went to Philips Isham and Company located\n         in New York. From about 1890 the western agency was handled\n         chiefly by Thomas Mack and Company. After 1902 Thomas Mack\n         and Company underwent a name change, becoming Walter\n         Wallingford and Company, with offices located in\n         Cincinnati, Pittsburgh, and Chicago.","Perhaps the Low Moor Iron Company's biggest problem over\n         the years was obtaining railroad cars for the\n         transportation of its finished product. Low Moor Iron\n         Company had its own cars for transporting its raw materials\n         among its various facilities. For the long haul necessary\n         for its finished goods, however, it depended upon the\n         services of the Chesapeake and Ohio Railroad, and the\n         relationship was not always a happy one. The Low Moor\n         Company complained many times to the C \u0026 O Railroad\n         about the discrepancies between long-and shorthaul freight\n         rates. Low Moor also had trouble getting cars from the C\n         \u0026 O. In a letter to one of Low Moor Company's agents\n         from an irate customer dated 1898, the customer wrote: \"We\n         wrote you on Saturday and endeavored to question upon your\n         mind the necessity of taking care of us with Low Moor iron.\n         We are on our uppers--there is not a pound of Low Moor iron\n         in the yard. Of the one hundred tons ordered some time ago,\n         not one pound of it has been received.\" This was, according\n         to the Low Moor Iron Company, because they could not get\n         the railroad cars. In a letter from Thomas Mack and Company\n         dated November 26, 1901, to General Manager E. C. Means:\n         \"We are hopeful that the car supply will get better because\n         of the number of orders you have of ours for prompt\n         shipment. Our customers are complaining that they are not\n         getting the iron fast enough. . . . We hope that the\n         railroad will be able to supply you with empty cars.\" In\n         another letter dated 1916 to John B. Guernsey, then acting\n         General Manager of the Low Moor Iron Company, \"We were not\n         supplied with coke cars for today's loading, and\n         consequently we have been practically down of Kay Moor\n         ovens all day.\"","The problem of procuring labor also plagued the Low Moor\n         Company. The company sometimes tried to hire immigrant\n         laborers and send the men directly to Low Moor from New\n         York City. There were problems with this, as is explained\n         in the following letter dated April 7, 1906: \n          To Mr. George Wickes \n             Supt. of Mines \n             Kay Moor, Virginia \n             Dear George, \n             Tony arrived with twenty one men last night. One\n            got away in Jersey two in Washington D.C., four in\n            Charlottesville. Some of the men are very good looking,\n            but taken as a whole they are the worst lot I have ever\n            seen: Irish, German-Jews, and Italians. . . . Our New\n            York transportations to this place have never been a\n            success. Signed, \n             Ed D. Wickes Supt. of Mines Low Moor usually employed labor agencies, one\n         of which was Atwood's Employment Agency. Often the Low Moor\n         Company would request certain nationalities, believing them\n         to be better workers than others. Sometimes the company\n         would request a gang of twenty made up of \"ten Greeks and\n         ten Italians.\" Many of the immigrants fled Low Moor and Kay\n         Moor when they learned that they would have to work\n         underground. There is a fair amount of material on\n         immigrant labor and its procurement in the collection, and\n         it is noted in the description of the box contents.","Low Moor Iron Company not only had trouble procuring\n         labor, but it also had trouble with labor already employed\n         in the mines and at the factory. Labor dissension and\n         strikes troubled the Kay Moor Mines through the 1900's. The\n         great coal strike of 1902 hurt the Low Moor Company's coal\n         mining operation, but by 1903 things were \"nearly back to\n         normal\" according to the mine superintendent. There was\n         still trouble at Kay Moor Mines, however. In a letter dated\n         April 26, 1906, to the treasurer of Low Moor Company, the\n         manager of the mines wrote about the trouble in \"trying to\n         get the agitators out.\" The mines were seventy-five men\n         short of the total labor force needed because many of the\n         coal miners returned to their farms during the spring.\n         There were rumblings of another strike at Kay Moor, the\n         result of which was to be a fourteen percent increase in\n         wages for the Kay Moor Mine workers via an agreement with\n         the United Mine Workers Union in December.","The Low Moor Iron Company grew along with the rest of\n         Virginia industry in the 1890's and 1900's. Starting with\n         only one furnace in the 1870's, it opened a second furnace\n         at Covington, Virginia, in 1891. In 1911 it opened a third\n         furnace, this time at Low Moor. Covington, with its heavy\n         industry, soon became known as the \"Pittsburgh of\n         Virginia.\" Virginia's pig iron production rose from 9,000\n         short tons in 1870 to 544,034 long tons in 1903. Judging\n         from the Low Moor Company's correspondence, the most\n         prosperous period for the company fell between the years\n         1895-1907. In the years between 1907-1917 problems befell\n         the Virginia pig iron industry. In a letter from William W.\n         Hearns, the president of the Virginia based Princess Pig\n         Iron Company, to U. S. Senator Thomas S. Martin, Hearns\n         writes of the problems of the Virginia pig iron industry:\n         \"There is not a blast furnace in Virginia that is making\n         any money from the manufacture of pig iron. The cause of\n         this is there is an exceedingly low price on pig iron in\n         the country at the present time, and the increased cost of\n         manufacturing is due to the increase in wages in all\n         lines.\" With the outbreak of World War I prices rose\n         dramatically, but in a market report to Low Moor dated\n         November 11, 1916, it was stated that: \"In spite of the\n         high prices, it is not a picnic to be in the iron industry.\n         There is a desperate shortage of cars and equipment in the\n         coal and iron districts, and in consequence there are\n         troubles of all kinds to get materials shipped. The\n         situation has grown serious.\"","When America became involved in the First World War, it\n         meant a boost for the Low Moor Iron Company. The government\n         helped it procure labor, and even helped it repair its\n         furnaces. The problem of supplies and cars for their\n         shipments, however, plagued the company more than ever. It\n         had a good deal of trouble getting all the raw materials it\n         needed due chiefly to the \"tight ship\" run by Harry F.\n         Byrd, Sr., U.S. Fuel Administrator for Virginia. After the\n         war very serious problems began to trouble the Low Moor\n         Iron Company. The demand for iron fell precipitously and a\n         short but severe depression ensued from 1919-1922. The\n         depression seemed to hit the iron industry especially hard.\n         Prices took a huge drop due to the lack of demand, and many\n         pre-war contracts had to be revalued. To compound the\n         company's problems, the Kay Moor Mines went on strike in\n         1919. This strike was quickly settled, as the market for\n         coal was so good that the Low Moor Company ceased taking\n         orders temporarily in 1921 as it could not fill the orders\n         it had on hand.","The Low Moor Company furnaces lay idle for some twenty\n         months. Finally, in November 1922 one of Low Moor's\n         furnaces was finally fired up. While prosperity gradually\n         returned to the rest of the country, the Low Moor Iron\n         Company never recovered. Production of pig iron in the\n         Virginia iron industry declined from 544,034 tons in 1903\n         to 148,053 tons in 1923, considered a good year for the\n         industry as a whole. In February 1926 Low Moor officials\n         talked of merging with two other iron companies in order to\n         revive the iron business for the three companies. The\n         merger, however, never occurred. By late 1926 the company\n         was in the process of liquidation. An advertisement in the\n         Charleston, West Virginia, Daily Mail dated April 30, 1927,\n         told of a huge warehouse sale at the Low Moor Iron Company.\n         The advertisement noted \"thousands of screws, pipe\n         fittings, valves, etc.\" The last piece of correspondence\n         from the Low Moor Iron Company in the collection is dated\n         1929. It deals with the sale of a machine.","Why did the iron industry in Virginia decline as it did?\n         Some say that lack of speed, efficiency, and a decent\n         transportation system for Alleghany County caused it. In a\n         letter from C. E. Bertie, secretary of the Virginia Pig\n         Iron Association, to the \n          Manufacturers Record dated 1925, Bertie claimed that it was the\n         tremendous rise in the cost of transportation. Virginia, he\n         claimed, had almost no home market. Over 80% of its normal\n         production was shipped out to other states. The failure of\n         the Interstate Commerce Commission to treat Virginia\n         furnaces as southern furnaces was the cause of much of the\n         trouble. From 1914-1925 there were four blanket increases\n         in freight rates in the country, of which only one applied\n         equally to all localities. Southern furnaces were received\n         only two increases--a 25% increase in 1918 and a 25%\n         increase in 1920--but northern furnaces had had 5%, 15%,\n         25%, and 40% increases in their transportation costs.\n         Virginia furnaces, although recognized as southern\n         furnaces, had had freight rates increased in line with the\n         northern furnaces. Prior to the war Virginia iron reached\n         all points in Ohio, Indiana, Michigan, and Illinois on a\n         competitive basis with southern furnaces. After World War I\n         the advantage was limited to a small portion of\n         southeastern Ohio. All of Indiana, Illinois, and Michigan\n         were now lost to the Virginia producers. The Virginia\n         producer, according to Bertie, felt that the freight rates\n         should be restored to a relationship with southern\n         furnaces. If what Bertie said was true, the other southern\n         states iron industries should not have been in the same\n         desperate economic straits as Virginia's, and statistics\n         should support this. In the 1920's production rose to new\n         heights in Alabama. In Tennessee, however, iron production\n         plunged to new lows during the 1920's. While the south\n         accounted for 10.2% of the entire U. S. production in the\n         years 1919-1924, Virginia accounted for less than 1% during\n         those years. In 1915 Virginia accounted for over 6% of the\n         U.S. iron production. One can see a decline in other areas\n         of the south than Virginia. While the discrepancies in the\n         freight rates may have helped cause the decline, clearly\n         there are other reasons.","During the 1900's there was a discovery of extremely\n         rich iron ore deposits in the mid-west. Much of this ore\n         was on or near the surface, making the mining of it both\n         easy and inexpensive. This in turn lowered production costs\n         of the pig iron. This caused iron production to shift to\n         that region, and resulted in a decline in the Virginia iron\n         industry. There was a sharp increase in iron production in\n         the mid-west through the 1920's. The iron ore in the\n         mid-west may have been of better quality than Virginia, but\n         the iron ore in Virginia was of sufficient quality to\n         produce a good pig iron. The western ore deposits were not\n         as conveniently located as Virginia deposits, but the\n         inexpensiveness of production more than made up for it.","In examining the rise and fall of the Low Moor Iron\n         Company, we can see a situation in which the conditions for\n         the manufacture of iron were nearly ideal. There was plenty\n         of land for expansion and resources for the manufacture of\n         the iron. The major internal problem faced by the Low Moor\n         Iron Company was that of transportation. External\n         developments, however, caused the final demise of the Low\n         Moor Iron Company.","Low Moor Iron Company Personnel:","Executive Staff: Managing Director, Colonel H. M.\n         Goodwin: ca. 1881. General Managers: H. G. Merry: ca.\n         1884-1902; E. C. Means: ca. 1905-1915; J. P. Guernsey: ca.\n         1915 (acting General Manager); F. U. Humbert: ca.\n         1916-1929. Assistant General Manager: E. B. Wilkinson: ca.\n         1909-1915. Treasurers and Assistant Treasurers: Edward Low:\n         ca. 1886-1898; Frank Lyman (in New York): ca. 1898-1919; S.\n         G. Cragill (Asst. Treasurer): ca. 1900-1915; H. A. Dalton:\n         ca. 1921-1929; John Lipscomb (Asst. Treasurer): ca.\n         1918-1928.","Factory and Mine Supervisors: Kay Moor Superintendents:\n         C. C. Cooke: ca. 1918; Ed. D. Wickes: ca. 1906; H. L.\n         Tansell: ca. 1903; A. H. Reed: ca. 1906. Kay Moor Managers:\n         J. W. Monteith: manager of mines. ca. 1918; promoted in\n         1925 to general superintendent in charge of mine plants,\n         coke ovens, shops, repairs, and construction; A. L.\n         Monteith: assistant superintendent of mines, ca. 1918;\n         George T. Wickes: manager of Covington mines, ca.\n         1906-1917; Ross Howell, ca. 1918. Stack Mines\n         Superintendents: J. H. Carpenter: ca. 1906; C. D.\n         Oberschain: ca. 1907; J. L. Harris: ca. 1903; John S. Ham:\n         ca. 1891-1901. Rich Patch Mines Superintendents: John R.\n         Thompson: foreman, ca. 1906. Low Moor assorted other\n         personnel: S. L. Tulley: trainmaster, ca. 1906; B. J.\n         Shenkley: foreman, Low Moor limestone quarries; L. Q. Wood:\n         assistant traffic manager, ca. 1919.","The Low Moor Iron Company papers consist of\n         approximately 280 four-inch Hollinger archives boxes (ca.\n         95 linear feet) of records, ca. 1885-1927, and some 1200\n         bound volumes of the company's accounting records,\n         1873-1927, of this iron producing company located in Low\n         Moor (four miles southwest of Clifton Forge), Alleghany\n         County, Virginia.","This material consists of records typical of those\n         produced by a firm of this type in the period, but as the\n         company owned its own coal and iron mines and limestone\n         quarries, there is considerable information about the\n         production of these raw materials. Large numbers of the\n         records that deal with the company's employees have\n         survived: time books, payroll books, hands ledgers, and the\n         like. Because these books sometimes include information\n         about the employee's trade or job with the company, and as\n         race is indicated in some of the records, these books\n         should provide date for studies of the structure and upward\n         mobility within the labor force, patterns of\n         ethnic--possibly racial--occupational penetration and\n         mobility, material conditions of the workers, and so on.\n         The papers should permit a range of studies detailing the\n         pattern and evolution of industrial organization in the\n         iron industry, and the evolution of markets and marketing\n         structures for the entire period. Because the company was\n         dependent upon railroads to move its raw materials to the\n         furnaces, and for the marketing of its products, there is\n         considerable information about railroads and their\n         relationship to their customers.","English"],"unitid_tesim":["662"],"normalized_title_ssm":["Papers of the Low Moor Iron Company \n          1873-1927"],"collection_title_tesim":["Papers of the Low Moor Iron Company \n          1873-1927"],"collection_ssim":["Papers of the Low Moor Iron Company \n          1873-1927"],"repository_ssm":["University of Virginia, Special Collections Dept."],"repository_ssim":["University of Virginia, Special Collections Dept."],"acqinfo_ssim":["This collection was purchased from Green Bookman in\n            1939."],"has_online_content_ssim":["false"],"physdesc_tesim":["95 linear feer + 1200\n         volumes"],"arrangement_html_tesm":["\u003cp\u003eThe word \"organization\" is used here with considerable\n         diffidence, for any researcher studying the container list\n         that follows will realize quickly that there is no\n         organization in the usual sense of the word.\u003c/p\u003e","\u003cp\u003eAs noted under \"Provenance,\" the Low Moor Iron Company\n         papers were subjected to a number of moves; when processing\n         began in the fall of 1976, no discernible scheme of\n         organization could be determined.\u003c/p\u003e","\u003cp\u003eThe first step was to review the series of coded numbers\n         placed on the bundles of papers before they were moved to\n         the dormitory attic, but these did not provide any sort of\n         useful organization. Next, the spine titles of the original\n         letter boxes were reviewed (they had been copied onto the\n         gray cardboard sheets before the move to the dormitory\n         attic), but they, too, proved useless.\u003c/p\u003e","\u003cp\u003eThese steps having provided no scheme, and after a\n         considerable hiatus due to a turnover in student processors\n         on the collection, the new student processors were\n         instructed to begin a box-by-box inventory of the contents\n         of the collection. During this inventory, old folders were\n         replaced with acid-free ones, and the original folder\n         headings were copied onto the new ones. Some removal of\n         paper clips was accomplished, and the materials were\n         reviewed and notes taken for the guide.\u003c/p\u003e","\u003cp\u003eSome consolidation of materials was accomplished, and in\n         other cases, materials were moved. This work has created\n         some problems in the numbering of the boxes. Thus, the\n         researchers will find boxes marked \"6A\" and \"23C\"; he will\n         also discover that certain box numbers have been entirely\n         omitted. As the box numbers exist only to aid in the\n         location of material, it was not felt that the unusual\n         numbers and the omissions would cause problems in working\n         with the papers.\u003c/p\u003e","\u003cp\u003eA certain amount of movement of boxes within the\n         collection, and of materials among boxes, probably would\n         ease use of it. But what processing was accomplished on\n         this project took far longer than had been anticipated, and\n         there was no time in the late spring of 1978, when the\n         processors had to complete their work with the project, to\n         undertake a mass movement of material. Thus, they stand in\n         the order in which we found them at the beginning of the\n         project.\u003c/p\u003e"],"arrangement_heading_ssm":["Organization"],"arrangement_tesim":["The word \"organization\" is used here with considerable\n         diffidence, for any researcher studying the container list\n         that follows will realize quickly that there is no\n         organization in the usual sense of the word.","As noted under \"Provenance,\" the Low Moor Iron Company\n         papers were subjected to a number of moves; when processing\n         began in the fall of 1976, no discernible scheme of\n         organization could be determined.","The first step was to review the series of coded numbers\n         placed on the bundles of papers before they were moved to\n         the dormitory attic, but these did not provide any sort of\n         useful organization. Next, the spine titles of the original\n         letter boxes were reviewed (they had been copied onto the\n         gray cardboard sheets before the move to the dormitory\n         attic), but they, too, proved useless.","These steps having provided no scheme, and after a\n         considerable hiatus due to a turnover in student processors\n         on the collection, the new student processors were\n         instructed to begin a box-by-box inventory of the contents\n         of the collection. During this inventory, old folders were\n         replaced with acid-free ones, and the original folder\n         headings were copied onto the new ones. Some removal of\n         paper clips was accomplished, and the materials were\n         reviewed and notes taken for the guide.","Some consolidation of materials was accomplished, and in\n         other cases, materials were moved. This work has created\n         some problems in the numbering of the boxes. Thus, the\n         researchers will find boxes marked \"6A\" and \"23C\"; he will\n         also discover that certain box numbers have been entirely\n         omitted. As the box numbers exist only to aid in the\n         location of material, it was not felt that the unusual\n         numbers and the omissions would cause problems in working\n         with the papers.","A certain amount of movement of boxes within the\n         collection, and of materials among boxes, probably would\n         ease use of it. But what processing was accomplished on\n         this project took far longer than had been anticipated, and\n         there was no time in the late spring of 1978, when the\n         processors had to complete their work with the project, to\n         undertake a mass movement of material. Thus, they stand in\n         the order in which we found them at the beginning of the\n         project."],"bioghist_html_tesm":["\u003cp\u003eThe Low Moor Iron Company, the first producer of pig\n         iron in Virginia according to the company's claims, was a\n         self-contained manufacturing unit producing from its own\n         mines the coal, limestone, and iron ore needed for its iron\n         production. Located in Low Moor near Clifton Forge in\n         Alleghany County in western Virginia, an area rich in\n         mineral deposits, the company was in operation from\n         1872-1930, producing only pig iron; it never attempted to\n         produce finished iron products.\u003c/p\u003e","\u003cp\u003eCoal came to the Low Moor furnaces from the Kay Moor\n         Mines at Kay Moor, West Virginia, about thirty miles from\n         Low Moor; limestone was produced from the Low Moor\n         limestone quarries; and iron ore came from the Fenwick,\n         Dolly Ann, Jordan, Rich Patch, Low Moor, and Longdale\n         Mines, most of them within twenty miles of Low Moor at\n         Covington or Clifton Forge.\u003c/p\u003e","\u003cp\u003eThe towns of Low Moor and Kay Moor were company towns in\n         every respect. Workers lived in company-owned houses,\n         bought food in company stores, worshiped at the company\n         church, saw movies in the company theater, were treated in\n         the company hospital, and were buried in the company\n         cemetery. Workers received part of their pay in scrip that\n         they exchanged for goods and services. According to a\n         statement from the Kay Moor Mines dated November 1904, Kay\n         Moor then employed 338 people, paid them an average wage of\n         $36.26 per month, and issued half of their pay in scrip.\n         Kay Moor had four stores; Low Moor had seven or eight. All\n         of these stores carried large inventories which are\n         detailed in the collection. These inventories are valuable\n         to anyone interested in determining the wants and needs of\n         a coal miner and his family.\u003c/p\u003e","\u003cp\u003eIn the late 1910's and 1920's Kay Moor had a company\n         theater called the Azure Theater which seated about 300\n         people. There were also plans for a company-owned social\n         center, to have pool tables, a soda fountain, and\n         provisions for dancing and skating. The company was in\n         tough economic straits by the 1920's, however, and there is\n         no evidence that the social center was built. The town of\n         Low Moor was so completely under the company's influence\n         that one of Low Moor Iron Company's assistant managers\n         served as the town sheriff. He often foreclosed on people\n         who did not pay their debts, and drove troublesome people\n         \"out of town on a rail\" as he put it.\u003c/p\u003e","\u003cp\u003eThe Low Moor Iron Company's fortunes fluctuated during\n         the various business cycles between the years 1880-1930.\n         Low Moor was one of the larger pig iron producers in\n         Virginia, but Virginia pig iron production was not\n         important nationally. Low Moor officials sometimes sold\n         their product themselves, but more often they used agents,\n         the prevalent method at the time. Low Moor Iron Company\n         used a variety of agents through the 1900's. James F. Bryan\n         acted as the exclusive agent for the sale of Kay Moor Coal\n         from September 21, 1903 to September, 1905. From about 1890\n         until about 1910 Dalton Nash and Company were the exclusive\n         eastern agents of Low Moor Iron. After that time the\n         exclusive agency went to Philips Isham and Company located\n         in New York. From about 1890 the western agency was handled\n         chiefly by Thomas Mack and Company. After 1902 Thomas Mack\n         and Company underwent a name change, becoming Walter\n         Wallingford and Company, with offices located in\n         Cincinnati, Pittsburgh, and Chicago.\u003c/p\u003e","\u003cp\u003ePerhaps the Low Moor Iron Company's biggest problem over\n         the years was obtaining railroad cars for the\n         transportation of its finished product. Low Moor Iron\n         Company had its own cars for transporting its raw materials\n         among its various facilities. For the long haul necessary\n         for its finished goods, however, it depended upon the\n         services of the Chesapeake and Ohio Railroad, and the\n         relationship was not always a happy one. The Low Moor\n         Company complained many times to the C \u0026amp; O Railroad\n         about the discrepancies between long-and shorthaul freight\n         rates. Low Moor also had trouble getting cars from the C\n         \u0026amp; O. In a letter to one of Low Moor Company's agents\n         from an irate customer dated 1898, the customer wrote: \"We\n         wrote you on Saturday and endeavored to question upon your\n         mind the necessity of taking care of us with Low Moor iron.\n         We are on our uppers--there is not a pound of Low Moor iron\n         in the yard. Of the one hundred tons ordered some time ago,\n         not one pound of it has been received.\" This was, according\n         to the Low Moor Iron Company, because they could not get\n         the railroad cars. In a letter from Thomas Mack and Company\n         dated November 26, 1901, to General Manager E. C. Means:\n         \"We are hopeful that the car supply will get better because\n         of the number of orders you have of ours for prompt\n         shipment. Our customers are complaining that they are not\n         getting the iron fast enough. . . . We hope that the\n         railroad will be able to supply you with empty cars.\" In\n         another letter dated 1916 to John B. Guernsey, then acting\n         General Manager of the Low Moor Iron Company, \"We were not\n         supplied with coke cars for today's loading, and\n         consequently we have been practically down of Kay Moor\n         ovens all day.\"\u003c/p\u003e","\u003cp\u003eThe problem of procuring labor also plagued the Low Moor\n         Company. The company sometimes tried to hire immigrant\n         laborers and send the men directly to Low Moor from New\n         York City. There were problems with this, as is explained\n         in the following letter dated April 7, 1906: \n         \u003cblockquote\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eTo Mr. George Wickes \n            \u003clb\u003e\u003c/lb\u003eSupt. of Mines \n            \u003clb\u003e\u003c/lb\u003eKay Moor, Virginia \n            \u003clb\u003e\u003c/lb\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eDear George, \n            \u003clb\u003e\u003c/lb\u003eTony arrived with twenty one men last night. One\n            got away in Jersey two in Washington D.C., four in\n            Charlottesville. Some of the men are very good looking,\n            but taken as a whole they are the worst lot I have ever\n            seen: Irish, German-Jews, and Italians. . . . Our New\n            York transportations to this place have never been a\n            success.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eSigned, \n            \u003clb\u003e\u003c/lb\u003eEd D. Wickes Supt. of Mines\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/blockquote\u003eLow Moor usually employed labor agencies, one\n         of which was Atwood's Employment Agency. Often the Low Moor\n         Company would request certain nationalities, believing them\n         to be better workers than others. Sometimes the company\n         would request a gang of twenty made up of \"ten Greeks and\n         ten Italians.\" Many of the immigrants fled Low Moor and Kay\n         Moor when they learned that they would have to work\n         underground. There is a fair amount of material on\n         immigrant labor and its procurement in the collection, and\n         it is noted in the description of the box contents.\u003c/p\u003e","\u003cp\u003eLow Moor Iron Company not only had trouble procuring\n         labor, but it also had trouble with labor already employed\n         in the mines and at the factory. Labor dissension and\n         strikes troubled the Kay Moor Mines through the 1900's. The\n         great coal strike of 1902 hurt the Low Moor Company's coal\n         mining operation, but by 1903 things were \"nearly back to\n         normal\" according to the mine superintendent. There was\n         still trouble at Kay Moor Mines, however. In a letter dated\n         April 26, 1906, to the treasurer of Low Moor Company, the\n         manager of the mines wrote about the trouble in \"trying to\n         get the agitators out.\" The mines were seventy-five men\n         short of the total labor force needed because many of the\n         coal miners returned to their farms during the spring.\n         There were rumblings of another strike at Kay Moor, the\n         result of which was to be a fourteen percent increase in\n         wages for the Kay Moor Mine workers via an agreement with\n         the United Mine Workers Union in December.\u003c/p\u003e","\u003cp\u003eThe Low Moor Iron Company grew along with the rest of\n         Virginia industry in the 1890's and 1900's. Starting with\n         only one furnace in the 1870's, it opened a second furnace\n         at Covington, Virginia, in 1891. In 1911 it opened a third\n         furnace, this time at Low Moor. Covington, with its heavy\n         industry, soon became known as the \"Pittsburgh of\n         Virginia.\" Virginia's pig iron production rose from 9,000\n         short tons in 1870 to 544,034 long tons in 1903. Judging\n         from the Low Moor Company's correspondence, the most\n         prosperous period for the company fell between the years\n         1895-1907. In the years between 1907-1917 problems befell\n         the Virginia pig iron industry. In a letter from William W.\n         Hearns, the president of the Virginia based Princess Pig\n         Iron Company, to U. S. Senator Thomas S. Martin, Hearns\n         writes of the problems of the Virginia pig iron industry:\n         \"There is not a blast furnace in Virginia that is making\n         any money from the manufacture of pig iron. The cause of\n         this is there is an exceedingly low price on pig iron in\n         the country at the present time, and the increased cost of\n         manufacturing is due to the increase in wages in all\n         lines.\" With the outbreak of World War I prices rose\n         dramatically, but in a market report to Low Moor dated\n         November 11, 1916, it was stated that: \"In spite of the\n         high prices, it is not a picnic to be in the iron industry.\n         There is a desperate shortage of cars and equipment in the\n         coal and iron districts, and in consequence there are\n         troubles of all kinds to get materials shipped. The\n         situation has grown serious.\"\u003c/p\u003e","\u003cp\u003eWhen America became involved in the First World War, it\n         meant a boost for the Low Moor Iron Company. The government\n         helped it procure labor, and even helped it repair its\n         furnaces. The problem of supplies and cars for their\n         shipments, however, plagued the company more than ever. It\n         had a good deal of trouble getting all the raw materials it\n         needed due chiefly to the \"tight ship\" run by Harry F.\n         Byrd, Sr., U.S. Fuel Administrator for Virginia. After the\n         war very serious problems began to trouble the Low Moor\n         Iron Company. The demand for iron fell precipitously and a\n         short but severe depression ensued from 1919-1922. The\n         depression seemed to hit the iron industry especially hard.\n         Prices took a huge drop due to the lack of demand, and many\n         pre-war contracts had to be revalued. To compound the\n         company's problems, the Kay Moor Mines went on strike in\n         1919. This strike was quickly settled, as the market for\n         coal was so good that the Low Moor Company ceased taking\n         orders temporarily in 1921 as it could not fill the orders\n         it had on hand.\u003c/p\u003e","\u003cp\u003eThe Low Moor Company furnaces lay idle for some twenty\n         months. Finally, in November 1922 one of Low Moor's\n         furnaces was finally fired up. While prosperity gradually\n         returned to the rest of the country, the Low Moor Iron\n         Company never recovered. Production of pig iron in the\n         Virginia iron industry declined from 544,034 tons in 1903\n         to 148,053 tons in 1923, considered a good year for the\n         industry as a whole. In February 1926 Low Moor officials\n         talked of merging with two other iron companies in order to\n         revive the iron business for the three companies. The\n         merger, however, never occurred. By late 1926 the company\n         was in the process of liquidation. An advertisement in the\n         Charleston, West Virginia, Daily Mail dated April 30, 1927,\n         told of a huge warehouse sale at the Low Moor Iron Company.\n         The advertisement noted \"thousands of screws, pipe\n         fittings, valves, etc.\" The last piece of correspondence\n         from the Low Moor Iron Company in the collection is dated\n         1929. It deals with the sale of a machine.\u003c/p\u003e","\u003cp\u003eWhy did the iron industry in Virginia decline as it did?\n         Some say that lack of speed, efficiency, and a decent\n         transportation system for Alleghany County caused it. In a\n         letter from C. E. Bertie, secretary of the Virginia Pig\n         Iron Association, to the \n         \u003cbibref type=\"simple\" href=\"\"\u003e\u003ctitle type=\"simple\" href=\"\"\u003eManufacturers Record\u003c/title\u003e\u003c/bibref\u003edated 1925, Bertie claimed that it was the\n         tremendous rise in the cost of transportation. Virginia, he\n         claimed, had almost no home market. Over 80% of its normal\n         production was shipped out to other states. The failure of\n         the Interstate Commerce Commission to treat Virginia\n         furnaces as southern furnaces was the cause of much of the\n         trouble. From 1914-1925 there were four blanket increases\n         in freight rates in the country, of which only one applied\n         equally to all localities. Southern furnaces were received\n         only two increases--a 25% increase in 1918 and a 25%\n         increase in 1920--but northern furnaces had had 5%, 15%,\n         25%, and 40% increases in their transportation costs.\n         Virginia furnaces, although recognized as southern\n         furnaces, had had freight rates increased in line with the\n         northern furnaces. Prior to the war Virginia iron reached\n         all points in Ohio, Indiana, Michigan, and Illinois on a\n         competitive basis with southern furnaces. After World War I\n         the advantage was limited to a small portion of\n         southeastern Ohio. All of Indiana, Illinois, and Michigan\n         were now lost to the Virginia producers. The Virginia\n         producer, according to Bertie, felt that the freight rates\n         should be restored to a relationship with southern\n         furnaces. If what Bertie said was true, the other southern\n         states iron industries should not have been in the same\n         desperate economic straits as Virginia's, and statistics\n         should support this. In the 1920's production rose to new\n         heights in Alabama. In Tennessee, however, iron production\n         plunged to new lows during the 1920's. While the south\n         accounted for 10.2% of the entire U. S. production in the\n         years 1919-1924, Virginia accounted for less than 1% during\n         those years. In 1915 Virginia accounted for over 6% of the\n         U.S. iron production. One can see a decline in other areas\n         of the south than Virginia. While the discrepancies in the\n         freight rates may have helped cause the decline, clearly\n         there are other reasons.\u003c/p\u003e","\u003cp\u003eDuring the 1900's there was a discovery of extremely\n         rich iron ore deposits in the mid-west. Much of this ore\n         was on or near the surface, making the mining of it both\n         easy and inexpensive. This in turn lowered production costs\n         of the pig iron. This caused iron production to shift to\n         that region, and resulted in a decline in the Virginia iron\n         industry. There was a sharp increase in iron production in\n         the mid-west through the 1920's. The iron ore in the\n         mid-west may have been of better quality than Virginia, but\n         the iron ore in Virginia was of sufficient quality to\n         produce a good pig iron. The western ore deposits were not\n         as conveniently located as Virginia deposits, but the\n         inexpensiveness of production more than made up for it.\u003c/p\u003e","\u003cp\u003eIn examining the rise and fall of the Low Moor Iron\n         Company, we can see a situation in which the conditions for\n         the manufacture of iron were nearly ideal. There was plenty\n         of land for expansion and resources for the manufacture of\n         the iron. The major internal problem faced by the Low Moor\n         Iron Company was that of transportation. External\n         developments, however, caused the final demise of the Low\n         Moor Iron Company.\u003c/p\u003e","\u003cp\u003eLow Moor Iron Company Personnel:\u003c/p\u003e","\u003cp\u003eExecutive Staff: Managing Director, Colonel H. M.\n         Goodwin: ca. 1881. General Managers: H. G. Merry: ca.\n         1884-1902; E. C. Means: ca. 1905-1915; J. P. Guernsey: ca.\n         1915 (acting General Manager); F. U. Humbert: ca.\n         1916-1929. Assistant General Manager: E. B. Wilkinson: ca.\n         1909-1915. Treasurers and Assistant Treasurers: Edward Low:\n         ca. 1886-1898; Frank Lyman (in New York): ca. 1898-1919; S.\n         G. Cragill (Asst. Treasurer): ca. 1900-1915; H. A. Dalton:\n         ca. 1921-1929; John Lipscomb (Asst. Treasurer): ca.\n         1918-1928.\u003c/p\u003e","\u003cp\u003eFactory and Mine Supervisors: Kay Moor Superintendents:\n         C. C. Cooke: ca. 1918; Ed. D. Wickes: ca. 1906; H. L.\n         Tansell: ca. 1903; A. H. Reed: ca. 1906. Kay Moor Managers:\n         J. W. Monteith: manager of mines. ca. 1918; promoted in\n         1925 to general superintendent in charge of mine plants,\n         coke ovens, shops, repairs, and construction; A. L.\n         Monteith: assistant superintendent of mines, ca. 1918;\n         George T. Wickes: manager of Covington mines, ca.\n         1906-1917; Ross Howell, ca. 1918. Stack Mines\n         Superintendents: J. H. Carpenter: ca. 1906; C. D.\n         Oberschain: ca. 1907; J. L. Harris: ca. 1903; John S. Ham:\n         ca. 1891-1901. Rich Patch Mines Superintendents: John R.\n         Thompson: foreman, ca. 1906. Low Moor assorted other\n         personnel: S. L. Tulley: trainmaster, ca. 1906; B. J.\n         Shenkley: foreman, Low Moor limestone quarries; L. Q. Wood:\n         assistant traffic manager, ca. 1919.\u003c/p\u003e"],"bioghist_heading_ssm":["Biographical/Historical Information"],"bioghist_tesim":["The Low Moor Iron Company, the first producer of pig\n         iron in Virginia according to the company's claims, was a\n         self-contained manufacturing unit producing from its own\n         mines the coal, limestone, and iron ore needed for its iron\n         production. Located in Low Moor near Clifton Forge in\n         Alleghany County in western Virginia, an area rich in\n         mineral deposits, the company was in operation from\n         1872-1930, producing only pig iron; it never attempted to\n         produce finished iron products.","Coal came to the Low Moor furnaces from the Kay Moor\n         Mines at Kay Moor, West Virginia, about thirty miles from\n         Low Moor; limestone was produced from the Low Moor\n         limestone quarries; and iron ore came from the Fenwick,\n         Dolly Ann, Jordan, Rich Patch, Low Moor, and Longdale\n         Mines, most of them within twenty miles of Low Moor at\n         Covington or Clifton Forge.","The towns of Low Moor and Kay Moor were company towns in\n         every respect. Workers lived in company-owned houses,\n         bought food in company stores, worshiped at the company\n         church, saw movies in the company theater, were treated in\n         the company hospital, and were buried in the company\n         cemetery. Workers received part of their pay in scrip that\n         they exchanged for goods and services. According to a\n         statement from the Kay Moor Mines dated November 1904, Kay\n         Moor then employed 338 people, paid them an average wage of\n         $36.26 per month, and issued half of their pay in scrip.\n         Kay Moor had four stores; Low Moor had seven or eight. All\n         of these stores carried large inventories which are\n         detailed in the collection. These inventories are valuable\n         to anyone interested in determining the wants and needs of\n         a coal miner and his family.","In the late 1910's and 1920's Kay Moor had a company\n         theater called the Azure Theater which seated about 300\n         people. There were also plans for a company-owned social\n         center, to have pool tables, a soda fountain, and\n         provisions for dancing and skating. The company was in\n         tough economic straits by the 1920's, however, and there is\n         no evidence that the social center was built. The town of\n         Low Moor was so completely under the company's influence\n         that one of Low Moor Iron Company's assistant managers\n         served as the town sheriff. He often foreclosed on people\n         who did not pay their debts, and drove troublesome people\n         \"out of town on a rail\" as he put it.","The Low Moor Iron Company's fortunes fluctuated during\n         the various business cycles between the years 1880-1930.\n         Low Moor was one of the larger pig iron producers in\n         Virginia, but Virginia pig iron production was not\n         important nationally. Low Moor officials sometimes sold\n         their product themselves, but more often they used agents,\n         the prevalent method at the time. Low Moor Iron Company\n         used a variety of agents through the 1900's. James F. Bryan\n         acted as the exclusive agent for the sale of Kay Moor Coal\n         from September 21, 1903 to September, 1905. From about 1890\n         until about 1910 Dalton Nash and Company were the exclusive\n         eastern agents of Low Moor Iron. After that time the\n         exclusive agency went to Philips Isham and Company located\n         in New York. From about 1890 the western agency was handled\n         chiefly by Thomas Mack and Company. After 1902 Thomas Mack\n         and Company underwent a name change, becoming Walter\n         Wallingford and Company, with offices located in\n         Cincinnati, Pittsburgh, and Chicago.","Perhaps the Low Moor Iron Company's biggest problem over\n         the years was obtaining railroad cars for the\n         transportation of its finished product. Low Moor Iron\n         Company had its own cars for transporting its raw materials\n         among its various facilities. For the long haul necessary\n         for its finished goods, however, it depended upon the\n         services of the Chesapeake and Ohio Railroad, and the\n         relationship was not always a happy one. The Low Moor\n         Company complained many times to the C \u0026 O Railroad\n         about the discrepancies between long-and shorthaul freight\n         rates. Low Moor also had trouble getting cars from the C\n         \u0026 O. In a letter to one of Low Moor Company's agents\n         from an irate customer dated 1898, the customer wrote: \"We\n         wrote you on Saturday and endeavored to question upon your\n         mind the necessity of taking care of us with Low Moor iron.\n         We are on our uppers--there is not a pound of Low Moor iron\n         in the yard. Of the one hundred tons ordered some time ago,\n         not one pound of it has been received.\" This was, according\n         to the Low Moor Iron Company, because they could not get\n         the railroad cars. In a letter from Thomas Mack and Company\n         dated November 26, 1901, to General Manager E. C. Means:\n         \"We are hopeful that the car supply will get better because\n         of the number of orders you have of ours for prompt\n         shipment. Our customers are complaining that they are not\n         getting the iron fast enough. . . . We hope that the\n         railroad will be able to supply you with empty cars.\" In\n         another letter dated 1916 to John B. Guernsey, then acting\n         General Manager of the Low Moor Iron Company, \"We were not\n         supplied with coke cars for today's loading, and\n         consequently we have been practically down of Kay Moor\n         ovens all day.\"","The problem of procuring labor also plagued the Low Moor\n         Company. The company sometimes tried to hire immigrant\n         laborers and send the men directly to Low Moor from New\n         York City. There were problems with this, as is explained\n         in the following letter dated April 7, 1906: \n          To Mr. George Wickes \n             Supt. of Mines \n             Kay Moor, Virginia \n             Dear George, \n             Tony arrived with twenty one men last night. One\n            got away in Jersey two in Washington D.C., four in\n            Charlottesville. Some of the men are very good looking,\n            but taken as a whole they are the worst lot I have ever\n            seen: Irish, German-Jews, and Italians. . . . Our New\n            York transportations to this place have never been a\n            success. Signed, \n             Ed D. Wickes Supt. of Mines Low Moor usually employed labor agencies, one\n         of which was Atwood's Employment Agency. Often the Low Moor\n         Company would request certain nationalities, believing them\n         to be better workers than others. Sometimes the company\n         would request a gang of twenty made up of \"ten Greeks and\n         ten Italians.\" Many of the immigrants fled Low Moor and Kay\n         Moor when they learned that they would have to work\n         underground. There is a fair amount of material on\n         immigrant labor and its procurement in the collection, and\n         it is noted in the description of the box contents.","Low Moor Iron Company not only had trouble procuring\n         labor, but it also had trouble with labor already employed\n         in the mines and at the factory. Labor dissension and\n         strikes troubled the Kay Moor Mines through the 1900's. The\n         great coal strike of 1902 hurt the Low Moor Company's coal\n         mining operation, but by 1903 things were \"nearly back to\n         normal\" according to the mine superintendent. There was\n         still trouble at Kay Moor Mines, however. In a letter dated\n         April 26, 1906, to the treasurer of Low Moor Company, the\n         manager of the mines wrote about the trouble in \"trying to\n         get the agitators out.\" The mines were seventy-five men\n         short of the total labor force needed because many of the\n         coal miners returned to their farms during the spring.\n         There were rumblings of another strike at Kay Moor, the\n         result of which was to be a fourteen percent increase in\n         wages for the Kay Moor Mine workers via an agreement with\n         the United Mine Workers Union in December.","The Low Moor Iron Company grew along with the rest of\n         Virginia industry in the 1890's and 1900's. Starting with\n         only one furnace in the 1870's, it opened a second furnace\n         at Covington, Virginia, in 1891. In 1911 it opened a third\n         furnace, this time at Low Moor. Covington, with its heavy\n         industry, soon became known as the \"Pittsburgh of\n         Virginia.\" Virginia's pig iron production rose from 9,000\n         short tons in 1870 to 544,034 long tons in 1903. Judging\n         from the Low Moor Company's correspondence, the most\n         prosperous period for the company fell between the years\n         1895-1907. In the years between 1907-1917 problems befell\n         the Virginia pig iron industry. In a letter from William W.\n         Hearns, the president of the Virginia based Princess Pig\n         Iron Company, to U. S. Senator Thomas S. Martin, Hearns\n         writes of the problems of the Virginia pig iron industry:\n         \"There is not a blast furnace in Virginia that is making\n         any money from the manufacture of pig iron. The cause of\n         this is there is an exceedingly low price on pig iron in\n         the country at the present time, and the increased cost of\n         manufacturing is due to the increase in wages in all\n         lines.\" With the outbreak of World War I prices rose\n         dramatically, but in a market report to Low Moor dated\n         November 11, 1916, it was stated that: \"In spite of the\n         high prices, it is not a picnic to be in the iron industry.\n         There is a desperate shortage of cars and equipment in the\n         coal and iron districts, and in consequence there are\n         troubles of all kinds to get materials shipped. The\n         situation has grown serious.\"","When America became involved in the First World War, it\n         meant a boost for the Low Moor Iron Company. The government\n         helped it procure labor, and even helped it repair its\n         furnaces. The problem of supplies and cars for their\n         shipments, however, plagued the company more than ever. It\n         had a good deal of trouble getting all the raw materials it\n         needed due chiefly to the \"tight ship\" run by Harry F.\n         Byrd, Sr., U.S. Fuel Administrator for Virginia. After the\n         war very serious problems began to trouble the Low Moor\n         Iron Company. The demand for iron fell precipitously and a\n         short but severe depression ensued from 1919-1922. The\n         depression seemed to hit the iron industry especially hard.\n         Prices took a huge drop due to the lack of demand, and many\n         pre-war contracts had to be revalued. To compound the\n         company's problems, the Kay Moor Mines went on strike in\n         1919. This strike was quickly settled, as the market for\n         coal was so good that the Low Moor Company ceased taking\n         orders temporarily in 1921 as it could not fill the orders\n         it had on hand.","The Low Moor Company furnaces lay idle for some twenty\n         months. Finally, in November 1922 one of Low Moor's\n         furnaces was finally fired up. While prosperity gradually\n         returned to the rest of the country, the Low Moor Iron\n         Company never recovered. Production of pig iron in the\n         Virginia iron industry declined from 544,034 tons in 1903\n         to 148,053 tons in 1923, considered a good year for the\n         industry as a whole. In February 1926 Low Moor officials\n         talked of merging with two other iron companies in order to\n         revive the iron business for the three companies. The\n         merger, however, never occurred. By late 1926 the company\n         was in the process of liquidation. An advertisement in the\n         Charleston, West Virginia, Daily Mail dated April 30, 1927,\n         told of a huge warehouse sale at the Low Moor Iron Company.\n         The advertisement noted \"thousands of screws, pipe\n         fittings, valves, etc.\" The last piece of correspondence\n         from the Low Moor Iron Company in the collection is dated\n         1929. It deals with the sale of a machine.","Why did the iron industry in Virginia decline as it did?\n         Some say that lack of speed, efficiency, and a decent\n         transportation system for Alleghany County caused it. In a\n         letter from C. E. Bertie, secretary of the Virginia Pig\n         Iron Association, to the \n          Manufacturers Record dated 1925, Bertie claimed that it was the\n         tremendous rise in the cost of transportation. Virginia, he\n         claimed, had almost no home market. Over 80% of its normal\n         production was shipped out to other states. The failure of\n         the Interstate Commerce Commission to treat Virginia\n         furnaces as southern furnaces was the cause of much of the\n         trouble. From 1914-1925 there were four blanket increases\n         in freight rates in the country, of which only one applied\n         equally to all localities. Southern furnaces were received\n         only two increases--a 25% increase in 1918 and a 25%\n         increase in 1920--but northern furnaces had had 5%, 15%,\n         25%, and 40% increases in their transportation costs.\n         Virginia furnaces, although recognized as southern\n         furnaces, had had freight rates increased in line with the\n         northern furnaces. Prior to the war Virginia iron reached\n         all points in Ohio, Indiana, Michigan, and Illinois on a\n         competitive basis with southern furnaces. After World War I\n         the advantage was limited to a small portion of\n         southeastern Ohio. All of Indiana, Illinois, and Michigan\n         were now lost to the Virginia producers. The Virginia\n         producer, according to Bertie, felt that the freight rates\n         should be restored to a relationship with southern\n         furnaces. If what Bertie said was true, the other southern\n         states iron industries should not have been in the same\n         desperate economic straits as Virginia's, and statistics\n         should support this. In the 1920's production rose to new\n         heights in Alabama. In Tennessee, however, iron production\n         plunged to new lows during the 1920's. While the south\n         accounted for 10.2% of the entire U. S. production in the\n         years 1919-1924, Virginia accounted for less than 1% during\n         those years. In 1915 Virginia accounted for over 6% of the\n         U.S. iron production. One can see a decline in other areas\n         of the south than Virginia. While the discrepancies in the\n         freight rates may have helped cause the decline, clearly\n         there are other reasons.","During the 1900's there was a discovery of extremely\n         rich iron ore deposits in the mid-west. Much of this ore\n         was on or near the surface, making the mining of it both\n         easy and inexpensive. This in turn lowered production costs\n         of the pig iron. This caused iron production to shift to\n         that region, and resulted in a decline in the Virginia iron\n         industry. There was a sharp increase in iron production in\n         the mid-west through the 1920's. The iron ore in the\n         mid-west may have been of better quality than Virginia, but\n         the iron ore in Virginia was of sufficient quality to\n         produce a good pig iron. The western ore deposits were not\n         as conveniently located as Virginia deposits, but the\n         inexpensiveness of production more than made up for it.","In examining the rise and fall of the Low Moor Iron\n         Company, we can see a situation in which the conditions for\n         the manufacture of iron were nearly ideal. There was plenty\n         of land for expansion and resources for the manufacture of\n         the iron. The major internal problem faced by the Low Moor\n         Iron Company was that of transportation. External\n         developments, however, caused the final demise of the Low\n         Moor Iron Company.","Low Moor Iron Company Personnel:","Executive Staff: Managing Director, Colonel H. M.\n         Goodwin: ca. 1881. General Managers: H. G. Merry: ca.\n         1884-1902; E. C. Means: ca. 1905-1915; J. P. Guernsey: ca.\n         1915 (acting General Manager); F. U. Humbert: ca.\n         1916-1929. Assistant General Manager: E. B. Wilkinson: ca.\n         1909-1915. Treasurers and Assistant Treasurers: Edward Low:\n         ca. 1886-1898; Frank Lyman (in New York): ca. 1898-1919; S.\n         G. Cragill (Asst. Treasurer): ca. 1900-1915; H. A. Dalton:\n         ca. 1921-1929; John Lipscomb (Asst. Treasurer): ca.\n         1918-1928.","Factory and Mine Supervisors: Kay Moor Superintendents:\n         C. C. Cooke: ca. 1918; Ed. D. Wickes: ca. 1906; H. L.\n         Tansell: ca. 1903; A. H. Reed: ca. 1906. Kay Moor Managers:\n         J. W. Monteith: manager of mines. ca. 1918; promoted in\n         1925 to general superintendent in charge of mine plants,\n         coke ovens, shops, repairs, and construction; A. L.\n         Monteith: assistant superintendent of mines, ca. 1918;\n         George T. Wickes: manager of Covington mines, ca.\n         1906-1917; Ross Howell, ca. 1918. Stack Mines\n         Superintendents: J. H. Carpenter: ca. 1906; C. D.\n         Oberschain: ca. 1907; J. L. Harris: ca. 1903; John S. Ham:\n         ca. 1891-1901. Rich Patch Mines Superintendents: John R.\n         Thompson: foreman, ca. 1906. Low Moor assorted other\n         personnel: S. L. Tulley: trainmaster, ca. 1906; B. J.\n         Shenkley: foreman, Low Moor limestone quarries; L. Q. Wood:\n         assistant traffic manager, ca. 1919."],"scopecontent_html_tesm":["\u003cp\u003eThe Low Moor Iron Company papers consist of\n         approximately 280 four-inch Hollinger archives boxes (ca.\n         95 linear feet) of records, ca. 1885-1927, and some 1200\n         bound volumes of the company's accounting records,\n         1873-1927, of this iron producing company located in Low\n         Moor (four miles southwest of Clifton Forge), Alleghany\n         County, Virginia.\u003c/p\u003e","\u003cp\u003eThis material consists of records typical of those\n         produced by a firm of this type in the period, but as the\n         company owned its own coal and iron mines and limestone\n         quarries, there is considerable information about the\n         production of these raw materials. Large numbers of the\n         records that deal with the company's employees have\n         survived: time books, payroll books, hands ledgers, and the\n         like. Because these books sometimes include information\n         about the employee's trade or job with the company, and as\n         race is indicated in some of the records, these books\n         should provide date for studies of the structure and upward\n         mobility within the labor force, patterns of\n         ethnic--possibly racial--occupational penetration and\n         mobility, material conditions of the workers, and so on.\n         The papers should permit a range of studies detailing the\n         pattern and evolution of industrial organization in the\n         iron industry, and the evolution of markets and marketing\n         structures for the entire period. Because the company was\n         dependent upon railroads to move its raw materials to the\n         furnaces, and for the marketing of its products, there is\n         considerable information about railroads and their\n         relationship to their customers.\u003c/p\u003e"],"scopecontent_heading_ssm":["Scope and Content Information"],"scopecontent_tesim":["The Low Moor Iron Company papers consist of\n         approximately 280 four-inch Hollinger archives boxes (ca.\n         95 linear feet) of records, ca. 1885-1927, and some 1200\n         bound volumes of the company's accounting records,\n         1873-1927, of this iron producing company located in Low\n         Moor (four miles southwest of Clifton Forge), Alleghany\n         County, Virginia.","This material consists of records typical of those\n         produced by a firm of this type in the period, but as the\n         company owned its own coal and iron mines and limestone\n         quarries, there is considerable information about the\n         production of these raw materials. Large numbers of the\n         records that deal with the company's employees have\n         survived: time books, payroll books, hands ledgers, and the\n         like. Because these books sometimes include information\n         about the employee's trade or job with the company, and as\n         race is indicated in some of the records, these books\n         should provide date for studies of the structure and upward\n         mobility within the labor force, patterns of\n         ethnic--possibly racial--occupational penetration and\n         mobility, material conditions of the workers, and so on.\n         The papers should permit a range of studies detailing the\n         pattern and evolution of industrial organization in the\n         iron industry, and the evolution of markets and marketing\n         structures for the entire period. Because the company was\n         dependent upon railroads to move its raw materials to the\n         furnaces, and for the marketing of its products, there is\n         considerable information about railroads and their\n         relationship to their customers."],"language_ssim":["English"],"total_component_count_is":1879,"online_item_count_is":0,"component_level_isim":[0],"sort_isi":0,"timestamp":"2026-05-01T02:17:12.165Z"}]}},"label":"Breadcrumbs"}}},"links":{"self":"https://search.arvasarchive.org/catalog/viu_viu00917_c01_c17_c08"}},{"id":"viu_viu00917_c01_c10_c08","type":"Subseries","attributes":{"title":"H. Store #9-Kay Moor","breadcrumbs":{"id":"https://search.arvasarchive.org/catalog/viu_viu00917_c01_c10_c08#breadcrumbs","type":"document_value","attributes":{"value":{"ref_ssi":"viu_viu00917_c01_c10_c08","ref_ssm":["viu_viu00917_c01_c10_c08"],"id":"viu_viu00917_c01_c10_c08","ead_ssi":"viu_viu00917","_root_":"viu_viu00917","_nest_parent_":"viu_viu00917_c01_c10","parent_ssi":"viu_viu00917_c01_c10","parent_ssim":["viu_viu00917","viu_viu00917_c01","viu_viu00917_c01_c10"],"parent_ids_ssim":["viu_viu00917","viu_viu00917_c01","viu_viu00917_c01_c10"],"parent_unittitles_ssm":["Papers of the Low Moor Iron Company \n          1873-1927","Bound Volumes","Inventories"],"parent_unittitles_tesim":["Papers of the Low Moor Iron Company \n          1873-1927","Bound Volumes","Inventories"],"text":["Papers of the Low Moor Iron Company \n          1873-1927","Bound Volumes","Inventories","H. Store #9-Kay Moor","17 volumes"],"title_filing_ssi":"H. Store #9-Kay Moor","title_ssm":["H. Store #9-Kay Moor"],"title_tesim":["H. Store #9-Kay Moor"],"unitdate_other_ssim":["1906-1925"],"normalized_date_ssm":["1906/1925"],"normalized_title_ssm":["H. Store #9-Kay Moor"],"component_level_isim":[3],"repository_ssim":["University of Virginia, Special Collections Dept."],"collection_ssim":["Papers of the Low Moor Iron Company \n          1873-1927"],"physdesc_tesim":["17 volumes"],"has_online_content_ssim":["false"],"child_component_count_isi":0,"level_ssm":["Subseries"],"level_ssim":["Subseries"],"sort_isi":42,"date_range_isim":[1906,1907,1908,1909,1910,1911,1912,1913,1914,1915,1916,1917,1918,1919,1920,1921,1922,1923,1924,1925],"_nest_path_":"/components#0/components#9/components#7","timestamp":"2026-05-01T02:17:12.165Z","collection":{"numFound":1,"start":0,"numFoundExact":true,"docs":[{"id":"viu_viu00917","ead_ssi":"viu_viu00917","_root_":"viu_viu00917","_nest_parent_":"viu_viu00917","ead_source_url_ssi":"data/uva-sc/viu00917.xml","title_ssm":["Papers of the Low Moor Iron Company \n          1873-1927"],"title_tesim":["Papers of the Low Moor Iron Company \n          1873-1927"],"level_ssm":["collection"],"level_ssim":["Collection"],"unitid_ssm":["662"],"text":["662","Papers of the Low Moor Iron Company \n          1873-1927","95 linear feer + 1200\n         volumes","The word \"organization\" is used here with considerable\n         diffidence, for any researcher studying the container list\n         that follows will realize quickly that there is no\n         organization in the usual sense of the word.","As noted under \"Provenance,\" the Low Moor Iron Company\n         papers were subjected to a number of moves; when processing\n         began in the fall of 1976, no discernible scheme of\n         organization could be determined.","The first step was to review the series of coded numbers\n         placed on the bundles of papers before they were moved to\n         the dormitory attic, but these did not provide any sort of\n         useful organization. Next, the spine titles of the original\n         letter boxes were reviewed (they had been copied onto the\n         gray cardboard sheets before the move to the dormitory\n         attic), but they, too, proved useless.","These steps having provided no scheme, and after a\n         considerable hiatus due to a turnover in student processors\n         on the collection, the new student processors were\n         instructed to begin a box-by-box inventory of the contents\n         of the collection. During this inventory, old folders were\n         replaced with acid-free ones, and the original folder\n         headings were copied onto the new ones. Some removal of\n         paper clips was accomplished, and the materials were\n         reviewed and notes taken for the guide.","Some consolidation of materials was accomplished, and in\n         other cases, materials were moved. This work has created\n         some problems in the numbering of the boxes. Thus, the\n         researchers will find boxes marked \"6A\" and \"23C\"; he will\n         also discover that certain box numbers have been entirely\n         omitted. As the box numbers exist only to aid in the\n         location of material, it was not felt that the unusual\n         numbers and the omissions would cause problems in working\n         with the papers.","A certain amount of movement of boxes within the\n         collection, and of materials among boxes, probably would\n         ease use of it. But what processing was accomplished on\n         this project took far longer than had been anticipated, and\n         there was no time in the late spring of 1978, when the\n         processors had to complete their work with the project, to\n         undertake a mass movement of material. Thus, they stand in\n         the order in which we found them at the beginning of the\n         project.","The Low Moor Iron Company, the first producer of pig\n         iron in Virginia according to the company's claims, was a\n         self-contained manufacturing unit producing from its own\n         mines the coal, limestone, and iron ore needed for its iron\n         production. Located in Low Moor near Clifton Forge in\n         Alleghany County in western Virginia, an area rich in\n         mineral deposits, the company was in operation from\n         1872-1930, producing only pig iron; it never attempted to\n         produce finished iron products.","Coal came to the Low Moor furnaces from the Kay Moor\n         Mines at Kay Moor, West Virginia, about thirty miles from\n         Low Moor; limestone was produced from the Low Moor\n         limestone quarries; and iron ore came from the Fenwick,\n         Dolly Ann, Jordan, Rich Patch, Low Moor, and Longdale\n         Mines, most of them within twenty miles of Low Moor at\n         Covington or Clifton Forge.","The towns of Low Moor and Kay Moor were company towns in\n         every respect. Workers lived in company-owned houses,\n         bought food in company stores, worshiped at the company\n         church, saw movies in the company theater, were treated in\n         the company hospital, and were buried in the company\n         cemetery. Workers received part of their pay in scrip that\n         they exchanged for goods and services. According to a\n         statement from the Kay Moor Mines dated November 1904, Kay\n         Moor then employed 338 people, paid them an average wage of\n         $36.26 per month, and issued half of their pay in scrip.\n         Kay Moor had four stores; Low Moor had seven or eight. All\n         of these stores carried large inventories which are\n         detailed in the collection. These inventories are valuable\n         to anyone interested in determining the wants and needs of\n         a coal miner and his family.","In the late 1910's and 1920's Kay Moor had a company\n         theater called the Azure Theater which seated about 300\n         people. There were also plans for a company-owned social\n         center, to have pool tables, a soda fountain, and\n         provisions for dancing and skating. The company was in\n         tough economic straits by the 1920's, however, and there is\n         no evidence that the social center was built. The town of\n         Low Moor was so completely under the company's influence\n         that one of Low Moor Iron Company's assistant managers\n         served as the town sheriff. He often foreclosed on people\n         who did not pay their debts, and drove troublesome people\n         \"out of town on a rail\" as he put it.","The Low Moor Iron Company's fortunes fluctuated during\n         the various business cycles between the years 1880-1930.\n         Low Moor was one of the larger pig iron producers in\n         Virginia, but Virginia pig iron production was not\n         important nationally. Low Moor officials sometimes sold\n         their product themselves, but more often they used agents,\n         the prevalent method at the time. Low Moor Iron Company\n         used a variety of agents through the 1900's. James F. Bryan\n         acted as the exclusive agent for the sale of Kay Moor Coal\n         from September 21, 1903 to September, 1905. From about 1890\n         until about 1910 Dalton Nash and Company were the exclusive\n         eastern agents of Low Moor Iron. After that time the\n         exclusive agency went to Philips Isham and Company located\n         in New York. From about 1890 the western agency was handled\n         chiefly by Thomas Mack and Company. After 1902 Thomas Mack\n         and Company underwent a name change, becoming Walter\n         Wallingford and Company, with offices located in\n         Cincinnati, Pittsburgh, and Chicago.","Perhaps the Low Moor Iron Company's biggest problem over\n         the years was obtaining railroad cars for the\n         transportation of its finished product. Low Moor Iron\n         Company had its own cars for transporting its raw materials\n         among its various facilities. For the long haul necessary\n         for its finished goods, however, it depended upon the\n         services of the Chesapeake and Ohio Railroad, and the\n         relationship was not always a happy one. The Low Moor\n         Company complained many times to the C \u0026 O Railroad\n         about the discrepancies between long-and shorthaul freight\n         rates. Low Moor also had trouble getting cars from the C\n         \u0026 O. In a letter to one of Low Moor Company's agents\n         from an irate customer dated 1898, the customer wrote: \"We\n         wrote you on Saturday and endeavored to question upon your\n         mind the necessity of taking care of us with Low Moor iron.\n         We are on our uppers--there is not a pound of Low Moor iron\n         in the yard. Of the one hundred tons ordered some time ago,\n         not one pound of it has been received.\" This was, according\n         to the Low Moor Iron Company, because they could not get\n         the railroad cars. In a letter from Thomas Mack and Company\n         dated November 26, 1901, to General Manager E. C. Means:\n         \"We are hopeful that the car supply will get better because\n         of the number of orders you have of ours for prompt\n         shipment. Our customers are complaining that they are not\n         getting the iron fast enough. . . . We hope that the\n         railroad will be able to supply you with empty cars.\" In\n         another letter dated 1916 to John B. Guernsey, then acting\n         General Manager of the Low Moor Iron Company, \"We were not\n         supplied with coke cars for today's loading, and\n         consequently we have been practically down of Kay Moor\n         ovens all day.\"","The problem of procuring labor also plagued the Low Moor\n         Company. The company sometimes tried to hire immigrant\n         laborers and send the men directly to Low Moor from New\n         York City. There were problems with this, as is explained\n         in the following letter dated April 7, 1906: \n          To Mr. George Wickes \n             Supt. of Mines \n             Kay Moor, Virginia \n             Dear George, \n             Tony arrived with twenty one men last night. One\n            got away in Jersey two in Washington D.C., four in\n            Charlottesville. Some of the men are very good looking,\n            but taken as a whole they are the worst lot I have ever\n            seen: Irish, German-Jews, and Italians. . . . Our New\n            York transportations to this place have never been a\n            success. Signed, \n             Ed D. Wickes Supt. of Mines Low Moor usually employed labor agencies, one\n         of which was Atwood's Employment Agency. Often the Low Moor\n         Company would request certain nationalities, believing them\n         to be better workers than others. Sometimes the company\n         would request a gang of twenty made up of \"ten Greeks and\n         ten Italians.\" Many of the immigrants fled Low Moor and Kay\n         Moor when they learned that they would have to work\n         underground. There is a fair amount of material on\n         immigrant labor and its procurement in the collection, and\n         it is noted in the description of the box contents.","Low Moor Iron Company not only had trouble procuring\n         labor, but it also had trouble with labor already employed\n         in the mines and at the factory. Labor dissension and\n         strikes troubled the Kay Moor Mines through the 1900's. The\n         great coal strike of 1902 hurt the Low Moor Company's coal\n         mining operation, but by 1903 things were \"nearly back to\n         normal\" according to the mine superintendent. There was\n         still trouble at Kay Moor Mines, however. In a letter dated\n         April 26, 1906, to the treasurer of Low Moor Company, the\n         manager of the mines wrote about the trouble in \"trying to\n         get the agitators out.\" The mines were seventy-five men\n         short of the total labor force needed because many of the\n         coal miners returned to their farms during the spring.\n         There were rumblings of another strike at Kay Moor, the\n         result of which was to be a fourteen percent increase in\n         wages for the Kay Moor Mine workers via an agreement with\n         the United Mine Workers Union in December.","The Low Moor Iron Company grew along with the rest of\n         Virginia industry in the 1890's and 1900's. Starting with\n         only one furnace in the 1870's, it opened a second furnace\n         at Covington, Virginia, in 1891. In 1911 it opened a third\n         furnace, this time at Low Moor. Covington, with its heavy\n         industry, soon became known as the \"Pittsburgh of\n         Virginia.\" Virginia's pig iron production rose from 9,000\n         short tons in 1870 to 544,034 long tons in 1903. Judging\n         from the Low Moor Company's correspondence, the most\n         prosperous period for the company fell between the years\n         1895-1907. In the years between 1907-1917 problems befell\n         the Virginia pig iron industry. In a letter from William W.\n         Hearns, the president of the Virginia based Princess Pig\n         Iron Company, to U. S. Senator Thomas S. Martin, Hearns\n         writes of the problems of the Virginia pig iron industry:\n         \"There is not a blast furnace in Virginia that is making\n         any money from the manufacture of pig iron. The cause of\n         this is there is an exceedingly low price on pig iron in\n         the country at the present time, and the increased cost of\n         manufacturing is due to the increase in wages in all\n         lines.\" With the outbreak of World War I prices rose\n         dramatically, but in a market report to Low Moor dated\n         November 11, 1916, it was stated that: \"In spite of the\n         high prices, it is not a picnic to be in the iron industry.\n         There is a desperate shortage of cars and equipment in the\n         coal and iron districts, and in consequence there are\n         troubles of all kinds to get materials shipped. The\n         situation has grown serious.\"","When America became involved in the First World War, it\n         meant a boost for the Low Moor Iron Company. The government\n         helped it procure labor, and even helped it repair its\n         furnaces. The problem of supplies and cars for their\n         shipments, however, plagued the company more than ever. It\n         had a good deal of trouble getting all the raw materials it\n         needed due chiefly to the \"tight ship\" run by Harry F.\n         Byrd, Sr., U.S. Fuel Administrator for Virginia. After the\n         war very serious problems began to trouble the Low Moor\n         Iron Company. The demand for iron fell precipitously and a\n         short but severe depression ensued from 1919-1922. The\n         depression seemed to hit the iron industry especially hard.\n         Prices took a huge drop due to the lack of demand, and many\n         pre-war contracts had to be revalued. To compound the\n         company's problems, the Kay Moor Mines went on strike in\n         1919. This strike was quickly settled, as the market for\n         coal was so good that the Low Moor Company ceased taking\n         orders temporarily in 1921 as it could not fill the orders\n         it had on hand.","The Low Moor Company furnaces lay idle for some twenty\n         months. Finally, in November 1922 one of Low Moor's\n         furnaces was finally fired up. While prosperity gradually\n         returned to the rest of the country, the Low Moor Iron\n         Company never recovered. Production of pig iron in the\n         Virginia iron industry declined from 544,034 tons in 1903\n         to 148,053 tons in 1923, considered a good year for the\n         industry as a whole. In February 1926 Low Moor officials\n         talked of merging with two other iron companies in order to\n         revive the iron business for the three companies. The\n         merger, however, never occurred. By late 1926 the company\n         was in the process of liquidation. An advertisement in the\n         Charleston, West Virginia, Daily Mail dated April 30, 1927,\n         told of a huge warehouse sale at the Low Moor Iron Company.\n         The advertisement noted \"thousands of screws, pipe\n         fittings, valves, etc.\" The last piece of correspondence\n         from the Low Moor Iron Company in the collection is dated\n         1929. It deals with the sale of a machine.","Why did the iron industry in Virginia decline as it did?\n         Some say that lack of speed, efficiency, and a decent\n         transportation system for Alleghany County caused it. In a\n         letter from C. E. Bertie, secretary of the Virginia Pig\n         Iron Association, to the \n          Manufacturers Record dated 1925, Bertie claimed that it was the\n         tremendous rise in the cost of transportation. Virginia, he\n         claimed, had almost no home market. Over 80% of its normal\n         production was shipped out to other states. The failure of\n         the Interstate Commerce Commission to treat Virginia\n         furnaces as southern furnaces was the cause of much of the\n         trouble. From 1914-1925 there were four blanket increases\n         in freight rates in the country, of which only one applied\n         equally to all localities. Southern furnaces were received\n         only two increases--a 25% increase in 1918 and a 25%\n         increase in 1920--but northern furnaces had had 5%, 15%,\n         25%, and 40% increases in their transportation costs.\n         Virginia furnaces, although recognized as southern\n         furnaces, had had freight rates increased in line with the\n         northern furnaces. Prior to the war Virginia iron reached\n         all points in Ohio, Indiana, Michigan, and Illinois on a\n         competitive basis with southern furnaces. After World War I\n         the advantage was limited to a small portion of\n         southeastern Ohio. All of Indiana, Illinois, and Michigan\n         were now lost to the Virginia producers. The Virginia\n         producer, according to Bertie, felt that the freight rates\n         should be restored to a relationship with southern\n         furnaces. If what Bertie said was true, the other southern\n         states iron industries should not have been in the same\n         desperate economic straits as Virginia's, and statistics\n         should support this. In the 1920's production rose to new\n         heights in Alabama. In Tennessee, however, iron production\n         plunged to new lows during the 1920's. While the south\n         accounted for 10.2% of the entire U. S. production in the\n         years 1919-1924, Virginia accounted for less than 1% during\n         those years. In 1915 Virginia accounted for over 6% of the\n         U.S. iron production. One can see a decline in other areas\n         of the south than Virginia. While the discrepancies in the\n         freight rates may have helped cause the decline, clearly\n         there are other reasons.","During the 1900's there was a discovery of extremely\n         rich iron ore deposits in the mid-west. Much of this ore\n         was on or near the surface, making the mining of it both\n         easy and inexpensive. This in turn lowered production costs\n         of the pig iron. This caused iron production to shift to\n         that region, and resulted in a decline in the Virginia iron\n         industry. There was a sharp increase in iron production in\n         the mid-west through the 1920's. The iron ore in the\n         mid-west may have been of better quality than Virginia, but\n         the iron ore in Virginia was of sufficient quality to\n         produce a good pig iron. The western ore deposits were not\n         as conveniently located as Virginia deposits, but the\n         inexpensiveness of production more than made up for it.","In examining the rise and fall of the Low Moor Iron\n         Company, we can see a situation in which the conditions for\n         the manufacture of iron were nearly ideal. There was plenty\n         of land for expansion and resources for the manufacture of\n         the iron. The major internal problem faced by the Low Moor\n         Iron Company was that of transportation. External\n         developments, however, caused the final demise of the Low\n         Moor Iron Company.","Low Moor Iron Company Personnel:","Executive Staff: Managing Director, Colonel H. M.\n         Goodwin: ca. 1881. General Managers: H. G. Merry: ca.\n         1884-1902; E. C. Means: ca. 1905-1915; J. P. Guernsey: ca.\n         1915 (acting General Manager); F. U. Humbert: ca.\n         1916-1929. Assistant General Manager: E. B. Wilkinson: ca.\n         1909-1915. Treasurers and Assistant Treasurers: Edward Low:\n         ca. 1886-1898; Frank Lyman (in New York): ca. 1898-1919; S.\n         G. Cragill (Asst. Treasurer): ca. 1900-1915; H. A. Dalton:\n         ca. 1921-1929; John Lipscomb (Asst. Treasurer): ca.\n         1918-1928.","Factory and Mine Supervisors: Kay Moor Superintendents:\n         C. C. Cooke: ca. 1918; Ed. D. Wickes: ca. 1906; H. L.\n         Tansell: ca. 1903; A. H. Reed: ca. 1906. Kay Moor Managers:\n         J. W. Monteith: manager of mines. ca. 1918; promoted in\n         1925 to general superintendent in charge of mine plants,\n         coke ovens, shops, repairs, and construction; A. L.\n         Monteith: assistant superintendent of mines, ca. 1918;\n         George T. Wickes: manager of Covington mines, ca.\n         1906-1917; Ross Howell, ca. 1918. Stack Mines\n         Superintendents: J. H. Carpenter: ca. 1906; C. D.\n         Oberschain: ca. 1907; J. L. Harris: ca. 1903; John S. Ham:\n         ca. 1891-1901. Rich Patch Mines Superintendents: John R.\n         Thompson: foreman, ca. 1906. Low Moor assorted other\n         personnel: S. L. Tulley: trainmaster, ca. 1906; B. J.\n         Shenkley: foreman, Low Moor limestone quarries; L. Q. Wood:\n         assistant traffic manager, ca. 1919.","The Low Moor Iron Company papers consist of\n         approximately 280 four-inch Hollinger archives boxes (ca.\n         95 linear feet) of records, ca. 1885-1927, and some 1200\n         bound volumes of the company's accounting records,\n         1873-1927, of this iron producing company located in Low\n         Moor (four miles southwest of Clifton Forge), Alleghany\n         County, Virginia.","This material consists of records typical of those\n         produced by a firm of this type in the period, but as the\n         company owned its own coal and iron mines and limestone\n         quarries, there is considerable information about the\n         production of these raw materials. Large numbers of the\n         records that deal with the company's employees have\n         survived: time books, payroll books, hands ledgers, and the\n         like. Because these books sometimes include information\n         about the employee's trade or job with the company, and as\n         race is indicated in some of the records, these books\n         should provide date for studies of the structure and upward\n         mobility within the labor force, patterns of\n         ethnic--possibly racial--occupational penetration and\n         mobility, material conditions of the workers, and so on.\n         The papers should permit a range of studies detailing the\n         pattern and evolution of industrial organization in the\n         iron industry, and the evolution of markets and marketing\n         structures for the entire period. Because the company was\n         dependent upon railroads to move its raw materials to the\n         furnaces, and for the marketing of its products, there is\n         considerable information about railroads and their\n         relationship to their customers.","English"],"unitid_tesim":["662"],"normalized_title_ssm":["Papers of the Low Moor Iron Company \n          1873-1927"],"collection_title_tesim":["Papers of the Low Moor Iron Company \n          1873-1927"],"collection_ssim":["Papers of the Low Moor Iron Company \n          1873-1927"],"repository_ssm":["University of Virginia, Special Collections Dept."],"repository_ssim":["University of Virginia, Special Collections Dept."],"acqinfo_ssim":["This collection was purchased from Green Bookman in\n            1939."],"has_online_content_ssim":["false"],"physdesc_tesim":["95 linear feer + 1200\n         volumes"],"arrangement_html_tesm":["\u003cp\u003eThe word \"organization\" is used here with considerable\n         diffidence, for any researcher studying the container list\n         that follows will realize quickly that there is no\n         organization in the usual sense of the word.\u003c/p\u003e","\u003cp\u003eAs noted under \"Provenance,\" the Low Moor Iron Company\n         papers were subjected to a number of moves; when processing\n         began in the fall of 1976, no discernible scheme of\n         organization could be determined.\u003c/p\u003e","\u003cp\u003eThe first step was to review the series of coded numbers\n         placed on the bundles of papers before they were moved to\n         the dormitory attic, but these did not provide any sort of\n         useful organization. Next, the spine titles of the original\n         letter boxes were reviewed (they had been copied onto the\n         gray cardboard sheets before the move to the dormitory\n         attic), but they, too, proved useless.\u003c/p\u003e","\u003cp\u003eThese steps having provided no scheme, and after a\n         considerable hiatus due to a turnover in student processors\n         on the collection, the new student processors were\n         instructed to begin a box-by-box inventory of the contents\n         of the collection. During this inventory, old folders were\n         replaced with acid-free ones, and the original folder\n         headings were copied onto the new ones. Some removal of\n         paper clips was accomplished, and the materials were\n         reviewed and notes taken for the guide.\u003c/p\u003e","\u003cp\u003eSome consolidation of materials was accomplished, and in\n         other cases, materials were moved. This work has created\n         some problems in the numbering of the boxes. Thus, the\n         researchers will find boxes marked \"6A\" and \"23C\"; he will\n         also discover that certain box numbers have been entirely\n         omitted. As the box numbers exist only to aid in the\n         location of material, it was not felt that the unusual\n         numbers and the omissions would cause problems in working\n         with the papers.\u003c/p\u003e","\u003cp\u003eA certain amount of movement of boxes within the\n         collection, and of materials among boxes, probably would\n         ease use of it. But what processing was accomplished on\n         this project took far longer than had been anticipated, and\n         there was no time in the late spring of 1978, when the\n         processors had to complete their work with the project, to\n         undertake a mass movement of material. Thus, they stand in\n         the order in which we found them at the beginning of the\n         project.\u003c/p\u003e"],"arrangement_heading_ssm":["Organization"],"arrangement_tesim":["The word \"organization\" is used here with considerable\n         diffidence, for any researcher studying the container list\n         that follows will realize quickly that there is no\n         organization in the usual sense of the word.","As noted under \"Provenance,\" the Low Moor Iron Company\n         papers were subjected to a number of moves; when processing\n         began in the fall of 1976, no discernible scheme of\n         organization could be determined.","The first step was to review the series of coded numbers\n         placed on the bundles of papers before they were moved to\n         the dormitory attic, but these did not provide any sort of\n         useful organization. Next, the spine titles of the original\n         letter boxes were reviewed (they had been copied onto the\n         gray cardboard sheets before the move to the dormitory\n         attic), but they, too, proved useless.","These steps having provided no scheme, and after a\n         considerable hiatus due to a turnover in student processors\n         on the collection, the new student processors were\n         instructed to begin a box-by-box inventory of the contents\n         of the collection. During this inventory, old folders were\n         replaced with acid-free ones, and the original folder\n         headings were copied onto the new ones. Some removal of\n         paper clips was accomplished, and the materials were\n         reviewed and notes taken for the guide.","Some consolidation of materials was accomplished, and in\n         other cases, materials were moved. This work has created\n         some problems in the numbering of the boxes. Thus, the\n         researchers will find boxes marked \"6A\" and \"23C\"; he will\n         also discover that certain box numbers have been entirely\n         omitted. As the box numbers exist only to aid in the\n         location of material, it was not felt that the unusual\n         numbers and the omissions would cause problems in working\n         with the papers.","A certain amount of movement of boxes within the\n         collection, and of materials among boxes, probably would\n         ease use of it. But what processing was accomplished on\n         this project took far longer than had been anticipated, and\n         there was no time in the late spring of 1978, when the\n         processors had to complete their work with the project, to\n         undertake a mass movement of material. Thus, they stand in\n         the order in which we found them at the beginning of the\n         project."],"bioghist_html_tesm":["\u003cp\u003eThe Low Moor Iron Company, the first producer of pig\n         iron in Virginia according to the company's claims, was a\n         self-contained manufacturing unit producing from its own\n         mines the coal, limestone, and iron ore needed for its iron\n         production. Located in Low Moor near Clifton Forge in\n         Alleghany County in western Virginia, an area rich in\n         mineral deposits, the company was in operation from\n         1872-1930, producing only pig iron; it never attempted to\n         produce finished iron products.\u003c/p\u003e","\u003cp\u003eCoal came to the Low Moor furnaces from the Kay Moor\n         Mines at Kay Moor, West Virginia, about thirty miles from\n         Low Moor; limestone was produced from the Low Moor\n         limestone quarries; and iron ore came from the Fenwick,\n         Dolly Ann, Jordan, Rich Patch, Low Moor, and Longdale\n         Mines, most of them within twenty miles of Low Moor at\n         Covington or Clifton Forge.\u003c/p\u003e","\u003cp\u003eThe towns of Low Moor and Kay Moor were company towns in\n         every respect. Workers lived in company-owned houses,\n         bought food in company stores, worshiped at the company\n         church, saw movies in the company theater, were treated in\n         the company hospital, and were buried in the company\n         cemetery. Workers received part of their pay in scrip that\n         they exchanged for goods and services. According to a\n         statement from the Kay Moor Mines dated November 1904, Kay\n         Moor then employed 338 people, paid them an average wage of\n         $36.26 per month, and issued half of their pay in scrip.\n         Kay Moor had four stores; Low Moor had seven or eight. All\n         of these stores carried large inventories which are\n         detailed in the collection. These inventories are valuable\n         to anyone interested in determining the wants and needs of\n         a coal miner and his family.\u003c/p\u003e","\u003cp\u003eIn the late 1910's and 1920's Kay Moor had a company\n         theater called the Azure Theater which seated about 300\n         people. There were also plans for a company-owned social\n         center, to have pool tables, a soda fountain, and\n         provisions for dancing and skating. The company was in\n         tough economic straits by the 1920's, however, and there is\n         no evidence that the social center was built. The town of\n         Low Moor was so completely under the company's influence\n         that one of Low Moor Iron Company's assistant managers\n         served as the town sheriff. He often foreclosed on people\n         who did not pay their debts, and drove troublesome people\n         \"out of town on a rail\" as he put it.\u003c/p\u003e","\u003cp\u003eThe Low Moor Iron Company's fortunes fluctuated during\n         the various business cycles between the years 1880-1930.\n         Low Moor was one of the larger pig iron producers in\n         Virginia, but Virginia pig iron production was not\n         important nationally. Low Moor officials sometimes sold\n         their product themselves, but more often they used agents,\n         the prevalent method at the time. Low Moor Iron Company\n         used a variety of agents through the 1900's. James F. Bryan\n         acted as the exclusive agent for the sale of Kay Moor Coal\n         from September 21, 1903 to September, 1905. From about 1890\n         until about 1910 Dalton Nash and Company were the exclusive\n         eastern agents of Low Moor Iron. After that time the\n         exclusive agency went to Philips Isham and Company located\n         in New York. From about 1890 the western agency was handled\n         chiefly by Thomas Mack and Company. After 1902 Thomas Mack\n         and Company underwent a name change, becoming Walter\n         Wallingford and Company, with offices located in\n         Cincinnati, Pittsburgh, and Chicago.\u003c/p\u003e","\u003cp\u003ePerhaps the Low Moor Iron Company's biggest problem over\n         the years was obtaining railroad cars for the\n         transportation of its finished product. Low Moor Iron\n         Company had its own cars for transporting its raw materials\n         among its various facilities. For the long haul necessary\n         for its finished goods, however, it depended upon the\n         services of the Chesapeake and Ohio Railroad, and the\n         relationship was not always a happy one. The Low Moor\n         Company complained many times to the C \u0026amp; O Railroad\n         about the discrepancies between long-and shorthaul freight\n         rates. Low Moor also had trouble getting cars from the C\n         \u0026amp; O. In a letter to one of Low Moor Company's agents\n         from an irate customer dated 1898, the customer wrote: \"We\n         wrote you on Saturday and endeavored to question upon your\n         mind the necessity of taking care of us with Low Moor iron.\n         We are on our uppers--there is not a pound of Low Moor iron\n         in the yard. Of the one hundred tons ordered some time ago,\n         not one pound of it has been received.\" This was, according\n         to the Low Moor Iron Company, because they could not get\n         the railroad cars. In a letter from Thomas Mack and Company\n         dated November 26, 1901, to General Manager E. C. Means:\n         \"We are hopeful that the car supply will get better because\n         of the number of orders you have of ours for prompt\n         shipment. Our customers are complaining that they are not\n         getting the iron fast enough. . . . We hope that the\n         railroad will be able to supply you with empty cars.\" In\n         another letter dated 1916 to John B. Guernsey, then acting\n         General Manager of the Low Moor Iron Company, \"We were not\n         supplied with coke cars for today's loading, and\n         consequently we have been practically down of Kay Moor\n         ovens all day.\"\u003c/p\u003e","\u003cp\u003eThe problem of procuring labor also plagued the Low Moor\n         Company. The company sometimes tried to hire immigrant\n         laborers and send the men directly to Low Moor from New\n         York City. There were problems with this, as is explained\n         in the following letter dated April 7, 1906: \n         \u003cblockquote\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eTo Mr. George Wickes \n            \u003clb\u003e\u003c/lb\u003eSupt. of Mines \n            \u003clb\u003e\u003c/lb\u003eKay Moor, Virginia \n            \u003clb\u003e\u003c/lb\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eDear George, \n            \u003clb\u003e\u003c/lb\u003eTony arrived with twenty one men last night. One\n            got away in Jersey two in Washington D.C., four in\n            Charlottesville. Some of the men are very good looking,\n            but taken as a whole they are the worst lot I have ever\n            seen: Irish, German-Jews, and Italians. . . . Our New\n            York transportations to this place have never been a\n            success.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eSigned, \n            \u003clb\u003e\u003c/lb\u003eEd D. Wickes Supt. of Mines\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/blockquote\u003eLow Moor usually employed labor agencies, one\n         of which was Atwood's Employment Agency. Often the Low Moor\n         Company would request certain nationalities, believing them\n         to be better workers than others. Sometimes the company\n         would request a gang of twenty made up of \"ten Greeks and\n         ten Italians.\" Many of the immigrants fled Low Moor and Kay\n         Moor when they learned that they would have to work\n         underground. There is a fair amount of material on\n         immigrant labor and its procurement in the collection, and\n         it is noted in the description of the box contents.\u003c/p\u003e","\u003cp\u003eLow Moor Iron Company not only had trouble procuring\n         labor, but it also had trouble with labor already employed\n         in the mines and at the factory. Labor dissension and\n         strikes troubled the Kay Moor Mines through the 1900's. The\n         great coal strike of 1902 hurt the Low Moor Company's coal\n         mining operation, but by 1903 things were \"nearly back to\n         normal\" according to the mine superintendent. There was\n         still trouble at Kay Moor Mines, however. In a letter dated\n         April 26, 1906, to the treasurer of Low Moor Company, the\n         manager of the mines wrote about the trouble in \"trying to\n         get the agitators out.\" The mines were seventy-five men\n         short of the total labor force needed because many of the\n         coal miners returned to their farms during the spring.\n         There were rumblings of another strike at Kay Moor, the\n         result of which was to be a fourteen percent increase in\n         wages for the Kay Moor Mine workers via an agreement with\n         the United Mine Workers Union in December.\u003c/p\u003e","\u003cp\u003eThe Low Moor Iron Company grew along with the rest of\n         Virginia industry in the 1890's and 1900's. Starting with\n         only one furnace in the 1870's, it opened a second furnace\n         at Covington, Virginia, in 1891. In 1911 it opened a third\n         furnace, this time at Low Moor. Covington, with its heavy\n         industry, soon became known as the \"Pittsburgh of\n         Virginia.\" Virginia's pig iron production rose from 9,000\n         short tons in 1870 to 544,034 long tons in 1903. Judging\n         from the Low Moor Company's correspondence, the most\n         prosperous period for the company fell between the years\n         1895-1907. In the years between 1907-1917 problems befell\n         the Virginia pig iron industry. In a letter from William W.\n         Hearns, the president of the Virginia based Princess Pig\n         Iron Company, to U. S. Senator Thomas S. Martin, Hearns\n         writes of the problems of the Virginia pig iron industry:\n         \"There is not a blast furnace in Virginia that is making\n         any money from the manufacture of pig iron. The cause of\n         this is there is an exceedingly low price on pig iron in\n         the country at the present time, and the increased cost of\n         manufacturing is due to the increase in wages in all\n         lines.\" With the outbreak of World War I prices rose\n         dramatically, but in a market report to Low Moor dated\n         November 11, 1916, it was stated that: \"In spite of the\n         high prices, it is not a picnic to be in the iron industry.\n         There is a desperate shortage of cars and equipment in the\n         coal and iron districts, and in consequence there are\n         troubles of all kinds to get materials shipped. The\n         situation has grown serious.\"\u003c/p\u003e","\u003cp\u003eWhen America became involved in the First World War, it\n         meant a boost for the Low Moor Iron Company. The government\n         helped it procure labor, and even helped it repair its\n         furnaces. The problem of supplies and cars for their\n         shipments, however, plagued the company more than ever. It\n         had a good deal of trouble getting all the raw materials it\n         needed due chiefly to the \"tight ship\" run by Harry F.\n         Byrd, Sr., U.S. Fuel Administrator for Virginia. After the\n         war very serious problems began to trouble the Low Moor\n         Iron Company. The demand for iron fell precipitously and a\n         short but severe depression ensued from 1919-1922. The\n         depression seemed to hit the iron industry especially hard.\n         Prices took a huge drop due to the lack of demand, and many\n         pre-war contracts had to be revalued. To compound the\n         company's problems, the Kay Moor Mines went on strike in\n         1919. This strike was quickly settled, as the market for\n         coal was so good that the Low Moor Company ceased taking\n         orders temporarily in 1921 as it could not fill the orders\n         it had on hand.\u003c/p\u003e","\u003cp\u003eThe Low Moor Company furnaces lay idle for some twenty\n         months. Finally, in November 1922 one of Low Moor's\n         furnaces was finally fired up. While prosperity gradually\n         returned to the rest of the country, the Low Moor Iron\n         Company never recovered. Production of pig iron in the\n         Virginia iron industry declined from 544,034 tons in 1903\n         to 148,053 tons in 1923, considered a good year for the\n         industry as a whole. In February 1926 Low Moor officials\n         talked of merging with two other iron companies in order to\n         revive the iron business for the three companies. The\n         merger, however, never occurred. By late 1926 the company\n         was in the process of liquidation. An advertisement in the\n         Charleston, West Virginia, Daily Mail dated April 30, 1927,\n         told of a huge warehouse sale at the Low Moor Iron Company.\n         The advertisement noted \"thousands of screws, pipe\n         fittings, valves, etc.\" The last piece of correspondence\n         from the Low Moor Iron Company in the collection is dated\n         1929. It deals with the sale of a machine.\u003c/p\u003e","\u003cp\u003eWhy did the iron industry in Virginia decline as it did?\n         Some say that lack of speed, efficiency, and a decent\n         transportation system for Alleghany County caused it. In a\n         letter from C. E. Bertie, secretary of the Virginia Pig\n         Iron Association, to the \n         \u003cbibref type=\"simple\" href=\"\"\u003e\u003ctitle type=\"simple\" href=\"\"\u003eManufacturers Record\u003c/title\u003e\u003c/bibref\u003edated 1925, Bertie claimed that it was the\n         tremendous rise in the cost of transportation. Virginia, he\n         claimed, had almost no home market. Over 80% of its normal\n         production was shipped out to other states. The failure of\n         the Interstate Commerce Commission to treat Virginia\n         furnaces as southern furnaces was the cause of much of the\n         trouble. From 1914-1925 there were four blanket increases\n         in freight rates in the country, of which only one applied\n         equally to all localities. Southern furnaces were received\n         only two increases--a 25% increase in 1918 and a 25%\n         increase in 1920--but northern furnaces had had 5%, 15%,\n         25%, and 40% increases in their transportation costs.\n         Virginia furnaces, although recognized as southern\n         furnaces, had had freight rates increased in line with the\n         northern furnaces. Prior to the war Virginia iron reached\n         all points in Ohio, Indiana, Michigan, and Illinois on a\n         competitive basis with southern furnaces. After World War I\n         the advantage was limited to a small portion of\n         southeastern Ohio. All of Indiana, Illinois, and Michigan\n         were now lost to the Virginia producers. The Virginia\n         producer, according to Bertie, felt that the freight rates\n         should be restored to a relationship with southern\n         furnaces. If what Bertie said was true, the other southern\n         states iron industries should not have been in the same\n         desperate economic straits as Virginia's, and statistics\n         should support this. In the 1920's production rose to new\n         heights in Alabama. In Tennessee, however, iron production\n         plunged to new lows during the 1920's. While the south\n         accounted for 10.2% of the entire U. S. production in the\n         years 1919-1924, Virginia accounted for less than 1% during\n         those years. In 1915 Virginia accounted for over 6% of the\n         U.S. iron production. One can see a decline in other areas\n         of the south than Virginia. While the discrepancies in the\n         freight rates may have helped cause the decline, clearly\n         there are other reasons.\u003c/p\u003e","\u003cp\u003eDuring the 1900's there was a discovery of extremely\n         rich iron ore deposits in the mid-west. Much of this ore\n         was on or near the surface, making the mining of it both\n         easy and inexpensive. This in turn lowered production costs\n         of the pig iron. This caused iron production to shift to\n         that region, and resulted in a decline in the Virginia iron\n         industry. There was a sharp increase in iron production in\n         the mid-west through the 1920's. The iron ore in the\n         mid-west may have been of better quality than Virginia, but\n         the iron ore in Virginia was of sufficient quality to\n         produce a good pig iron. The western ore deposits were not\n         as conveniently located as Virginia deposits, but the\n         inexpensiveness of production more than made up for it.\u003c/p\u003e","\u003cp\u003eIn examining the rise and fall of the Low Moor Iron\n         Company, we can see a situation in which the conditions for\n         the manufacture of iron were nearly ideal. There was plenty\n         of land for expansion and resources for the manufacture of\n         the iron. The major internal problem faced by the Low Moor\n         Iron Company was that of transportation. External\n         developments, however, caused the final demise of the Low\n         Moor Iron Company.\u003c/p\u003e","\u003cp\u003eLow Moor Iron Company Personnel:\u003c/p\u003e","\u003cp\u003eExecutive Staff: Managing Director, Colonel H. M.\n         Goodwin: ca. 1881. General Managers: H. G. Merry: ca.\n         1884-1902; E. C. Means: ca. 1905-1915; J. P. Guernsey: ca.\n         1915 (acting General Manager); F. U. Humbert: ca.\n         1916-1929. Assistant General Manager: E. B. Wilkinson: ca.\n         1909-1915. Treasurers and Assistant Treasurers: Edward Low:\n         ca. 1886-1898; Frank Lyman (in New York): ca. 1898-1919; S.\n         G. Cragill (Asst. Treasurer): ca. 1900-1915; H. A. Dalton:\n         ca. 1921-1929; John Lipscomb (Asst. Treasurer): ca.\n         1918-1928.\u003c/p\u003e","\u003cp\u003eFactory and Mine Supervisors: Kay Moor Superintendents:\n         C. C. Cooke: ca. 1918; Ed. D. Wickes: ca. 1906; H. L.\n         Tansell: ca. 1903; A. H. Reed: ca. 1906. Kay Moor Managers:\n         J. W. Monteith: manager of mines. ca. 1918; promoted in\n         1925 to general superintendent in charge of mine plants,\n         coke ovens, shops, repairs, and construction; A. L.\n         Monteith: assistant superintendent of mines, ca. 1918;\n         George T. Wickes: manager of Covington mines, ca.\n         1906-1917; Ross Howell, ca. 1918. Stack Mines\n         Superintendents: J. H. Carpenter: ca. 1906; C. D.\n         Oberschain: ca. 1907; J. L. Harris: ca. 1903; John S. Ham:\n         ca. 1891-1901. Rich Patch Mines Superintendents: John R.\n         Thompson: foreman, ca. 1906. Low Moor assorted other\n         personnel: S. L. Tulley: trainmaster, ca. 1906; B. J.\n         Shenkley: foreman, Low Moor limestone quarries; L. Q. Wood:\n         assistant traffic manager, ca. 1919.\u003c/p\u003e"],"bioghist_heading_ssm":["Biographical/Historical Information"],"bioghist_tesim":["The Low Moor Iron Company, the first producer of pig\n         iron in Virginia according to the company's claims, was a\n         self-contained manufacturing unit producing from its own\n         mines the coal, limestone, and iron ore needed for its iron\n         production. Located in Low Moor near Clifton Forge in\n         Alleghany County in western Virginia, an area rich in\n         mineral deposits, the company was in operation from\n         1872-1930, producing only pig iron; it never attempted to\n         produce finished iron products.","Coal came to the Low Moor furnaces from the Kay Moor\n         Mines at Kay Moor, West Virginia, about thirty miles from\n         Low Moor; limestone was produced from the Low Moor\n         limestone quarries; and iron ore came from the Fenwick,\n         Dolly Ann, Jordan, Rich Patch, Low Moor, and Longdale\n         Mines, most of them within twenty miles of Low Moor at\n         Covington or Clifton Forge.","The towns of Low Moor and Kay Moor were company towns in\n         every respect. Workers lived in company-owned houses,\n         bought food in company stores, worshiped at the company\n         church, saw movies in the company theater, were treated in\n         the company hospital, and were buried in the company\n         cemetery. Workers received part of their pay in scrip that\n         they exchanged for goods and services. According to a\n         statement from the Kay Moor Mines dated November 1904, Kay\n         Moor then employed 338 people, paid them an average wage of\n         $36.26 per month, and issued half of their pay in scrip.\n         Kay Moor had four stores; Low Moor had seven or eight. All\n         of these stores carried large inventories which are\n         detailed in the collection. These inventories are valuable\n         to anyone interested in determining the wants and needs of\n         a coal miner and his family.","In the late 1910's and 1920's Kay Moor had a company\n         theater called the Azure Theater which seated about 300\n         people. There were also plans for a company-owned social\n         center, to have pool tables, a soda fountain, and\n         provisions for dancing and skating. The company was in\n         tough economic straits by the 1920's, however, and there is\n         no evidence that the social center was built. The town of\n         Low Moor was so completely under the company's influence\n         that one of Low Moor Iron Company's assistant managers\n         served as the town sheriff. He often foreclosed on people\n         who did not pay their debts, and drove troublesome people\n         \"out of town on a rail\" as he put it.","The Low Moor Iron Company's fortunes fluctuated during\n         the various business cycles between the years 1880-1930.\n         Low Moor was one of the larger pig iron producers in\n         Virginia, but Virginia pig iron production was not\n         important nationally. Low Moor officials sometimes sold\n         their product themselves, but more often they used agents,\n         the prevalent method at the time. Low Moor Iron Company\n         used a variety of agents through the 1900's. James F. Bryan\n         acted as the exclusive agent for the sale of Kay Moor Coal\n         from September 21, 1903 to September, 1905. From about 1890\n         until about 1910 Dalton Nash and Company were the exclusive\n         eastern agents of Low Moor Iron. After that time the\n         exclusive agency went to Philips Isham and Company located\n         in New York. From about 1890 the western agency was handled\n         chiefly by Thomas Mack and Company. After 1902 Thomas Mack\n         and Company underwent a name change, becoming Walter\n         Wallingford and Company, with offices located in\n         Cincinnati, Pittsburgh, and Chicago.","Perhaps the Low Moor Iron Company's biggest problem over\n         the years was obtaining railroad cars for the\n         transportation of its finished product. Low Moor Iron\n         Company had its own cars for transporting its raw materials\n         among its various facilities. For the long haul necessary\n         for its finished goods, however, it depended upon the\n         services of the Chesapeake and Ohio Railroad, and the\n         relationship was not always a happy one. The Low Moor\n         Company complained many times to the C \u0026 O Railroad\n         about the discrepancies between long-and shorthaul freight\n         rates. Low Moor also had trouble getting cars from the C\n         \u0026 O. In a letter to one of Low Moor Company's agents\n         from an irate customer dated 1898, the customer wrote: \"We\n         wrote you on Saturday and endeavored to question upon your\n         mind the necessity of taking care of us with Low Moor iron.\n         We are on our uppers--there is not a pound of Low Moor iron\n         in the yard. Of the one hundred tons ordered some time ago,\n         not one pound of it has been received.\" This was, according\n         to the Low Moor Iron Company, because they could not get\n         the railroad cars. In a letter from Thomas Mack and Company\n         dated November 26, 1901, to General Manager E. C. Means:\n         \"We are hopeful that the car supply will get better because\n         of the number of orders you have of ours for prompt\n         shipment. Our customers are complaining that they are not\n         getting the iron fast enough. . . . We hope that the\n         railroad will be able to supply you with empty cars.\" In\n         another letter dated 1916 to John B. Guernsey, then acting\n         General Manager of the Low Moor Iron Company, \"We were not\n         supplied with coke cars for today's loading, and\n         consequently we have been practically down of Kay Moor\n         ovens all day.\"","The problem of procuring labor also plagued the Low Moor\n         Company. The company sometimes tried to hire immigrant\n         laborers and send the men directly to Low Moor from New\n         York City. There were problems with this, as is explained\n         in the following letter dated April 7, 1906: \n          To Mr. George Wickes \n             Supt. of Mines \n             Kay Moor, Virginia \n             Dear George, \n             Tony arrived with twenty one men last night. One\n            got away in Jersey two in Washington D.C., four in\n            Charlottesville. Some of the men are very good looking,\n            but taken as a whole they are the worst lot I have ever\n            seen: Irish, German-Jews, and Italians. . . . Our New\n            York transportations to this place have never been a\n            success. Signed, \n             Ed D. Wickes Supt. of Mines Low Moor usually employed labor agencies, one\n         of which was Atwood's Employment Agency. Often the Low Moor\n         Company would request certain nationalities, believing them\n         to be better workers than others. Sometimes the company\n         would request a gang of twenty made up of \"ten Greeks and\n         ten Italians.\" Many of the immigrants fled Low Moor and Kay\n         Moor when they learned that they would have to work\n         underground. There is a fair amount of material on\n         immigrant labor and its procurement in the collection, and\n         it is noted in the description of the box contents.","Low Moor Iron Company not only had trouble procuring\n         labor, but it also had trouble with labor already employed\n         in the mines and at the factory. Labor dissension and\n         strikes troubled the Kay Moor Mines through the 1900's. The\n         great coal strike of 1902 hurt the Low Moor Company's coal\n         mining operation, but by 1903 things were \"nearly back to\n         normal\" according to the mine superintendent. There was\n         still trouble at Kay Moor Mines, however. In a letter dated\n         April 26, 1906, to the treasurer of Low Moor Company, the\n         manager of the mines wrote about the trouble in \"trying to\n         get the agitators out.\" The mines were seventy-five men\n         short of the total labor force needed because many of the\n         coal miners returned to their farms during the spring.\n         There were rumblings of another strike at Kay Moor, the\n         result of which was to be a fourteen percent increase in\n         wages for the Kay Moor Mine workers via an agreement with\n         the United Mine Workers Union in December.","The Low Moor Iron Company grew along with the rest of\n         Virginia industry in the 1890's and 1900's. Starting with\n         only one furnace in the 1870's, it opened a second furnace\n         at Covington, Virginia, in 1891. In 1911 it opened a third\n         furnace, this time at Low Moor. Covington, with its heavy\n         industry, soon became known as the \"Pittsburgh of\n         Virginia.\" Virginia's pig iron production rose from 9,000\n         short tons in 1870 to 544,034 long tons in 1903. Judging\n         from the Low Moor Company's correspondence, the most\n         prosperous period for the company fell between the years\n         1895-1907. In the years between 1907-1917 problems befell\n         the Virginia pig iron industry. In a letter from William W.\n         Hearns, the president of the Virginia based Princess Pig\n         Iron Company, to U. S. Senator Thomas S. Martin, Hearns\n         writes of the problems of the Virginia pig iron industry:\n         \"There is not a blast furnace in Virginia that is making\n         any money from the manufacture of pig iron. The cause of\n         this is there is an exceedingly low price on pig iron in\n         the country at the present time, and the increased cost of\n         manufacturing is due to the increase in wages in all\n         lines.\" With the outbreak of World War I prices rose\n         dramatically, but in a market report to Low Moor dated\n         November 11, 1916, it was stated that: \"In spite of the\n         high prices, it is not a picnic to be in the iron industry.\n         There is a desperate shortage of cars and equipment in the\n         coal and iron districts, and in consequence there are\n         troubles of all kinds to get materials shipped. The\n         situation has grown serious.\"","When America became involved in the First World War, it\n         meant a boost for the Low Moor Iron Company. The government\n         helped it procure labor, and even helped it repair its\n         furnaces. The problem of supplies and cars for their\n         shipments, however, plagued the company more than ever. It\n         had a good deal of trouble getting all the raw materials it\n         needed due chiefly to the \"tight ship\" run by Harry F.\n         Byrd, Sr., U.S. Fuel Administrator for Virginia. After the\n         war very serious problems began to trouble the Low Moor\n         Iron Company. The demand for iron fell precipitously and a\n         short but severe depression ensued from 1919-1922. The\n         depression seemed to hit the iron industry especially hard.\n         Prices took a huge drop due to the lack of demand, and many\n         pre-war contracts had to be revalued. To compound the\n         company's problems, the Kay Moor Mines went on strike in\n         1919. This strike was quickly settled, as the market for\n         coal was so good that the Low Moor Company ceased taking\n         orders temporarily in 1921 as it could not fill the orders\n         it had on hand.","The Low Moor Company furnaces lay idle for some twenty\n         months. Finally, in November 1922 one of Low Moor's\n         furnaces was finally fired up. While prosperity gradually\n         returned to the rest of the country, the Low Moor Iron\n         Company never recovered. Production of pig iron in the\n         Virginia iron industry declined from 544,034 tons in 1903\n         to 148,053 tons in 1923, considered a good year for the\n         industry as a whole. In February 1926 Low Moor officials\n         talked of merging with two other iron companies in order to\n         revive the iron business for the three companies. The\n         merger, however, never occurred. By late 1926 the company\n         was in the process of liquidation. An advertisement in the\n         Charleston, West Virginia, Daily Mail dated April 30, 1927,\n         told of a huge warehouse sale at the Low Moor Iron Company.\n         The advertisement noted \"thousands of screws, pipe\n         fittings, valves, etc.\" The last piece of correspondence\n         from the Low Moor Iron Company in the collection is dated\n         1929. It deals with the sale of a machine.","Why did the iron industry in Virginia decline as it did?\n         Some say that lack of speed, efficiency, and a decent\n         transportation system for Alleghany County caused it. In a\n         letter from C. E. Bertie, secretary of the Virginia Pig\n         Iron Association, to the \n          Manufacturers Record dated 1925, Bertie claimed that it was the\n         tremendous rise in the cost of transportation. Virginia, he\n         claimed, had almost no home market. Over 80% of its normal\n         production was shipped out to other states. The failure of\n         the Interstate Commerce Commission to treat Virginia\n         furnaces as southern furnaces was the cause of much of the\n         trouble. From 1914-1925 there were four blanket increases\n         in freight rates in the country, of which only one applied\n         equally to all localities. Southern furnaces were received\n         only two increases--a 25% increase in 1918 and a 25%\n         increase in 1920--but northern furnaces had had 5%, 15%,\n         25%, and 40% increases in their transportation costs.\n         Virginia furnaces, although recognized as southern\n         furnaces, had had freight rates increased in line with the\n         northern furnaces. Prior to the war Virginia iron reached\n         all points in Ohio, Indiana, Michigan, and Illinois on a\n         competitive basis with southern furnaces. After World War I\n         the advantage was limited to a small portion of\n         southeastern Ohio. All of Indiana, Illinois, and Michigan\n         were now lost to the Virginia producers. The Virginia\n         producer, according to Bertie, felt that the freight rates\n         should be restored to a relationship with southern\n         furnaces. If what Bertie said was true, the other southern\n         states iron industries should not have been in the same\n         desperate economic straits as Virginia's, and statistics\n         should support this. In the 1920's production rose to new\n         heights in Alabama. In Tennessee, however, iron production\n         plunged to new lows during the 1920's. While the south\n         accounted for 10.2% of the entire U. S. production in the\n         years 1919-1924, Virginia accounted for less than 1% during\n         those years. In 1915 Virginia accounted for over 6% of the\n         U.S. iron production. One can see a decline in other areas\n         of the south than Virginia. While the discrepancies in the\n         freight rates may have helped cause the decline, clearly\n         there are other reasons.","During the 1900's there was a discovery of extremely\n         rich iron ore deposits in the mid-west. Much of this ore\n         was on or near the surface, making the mining of it both\n         easy and inexpensive. This in turn lowered production costs\n         of the pig iron. This caused iron production to shift to\n         that region, and resulted in a decline in the Virginia iron\n         industry. There was a sharp increase in iron production in\n         the mid-west through the 1920's. The iron ore in the\n         mid-west may have been of better quality than Virginia, but\n         the iron ore in Virginia was of sufficient quality to\n         produce a good pig iron. The western ore deposits were not\n         as conveniently located as Virginia deposits, but the\n         inexpensiveness of production more than made up for it.","In examining the rise and fall of the Low Moor Iron\n         Company, we can see a situation in which the conditions for\n         the manufacture of iron were nearly ideal. There was plenty\n         of land for expansion and resources for the manufacture of\n         the iron. The major internal problem faced by the Low Moor\n         Iron Company was that of transportation. External\n         developments, however, caused the final demise of the Low\n         Moor Iron Company.","Low Moor Iron Company Personnel:","Executive Staff: Managing Director, Colonel H. M.\n         Goodwin: ca. 1881. General Managers: H. G. Merry: ca.\n         1884-1902; E. C. Means: ca. 1905-1915; J. P. Guernsey: ca.\n         1915 (acting General Manager); F. U. Humbert: ca.\n         1916-1929. Assistant General Manager: E. B. Wilkinson: ca.\n         1909-1915. Treasurers and Assistant Treasurers: Edward Low:\n         ca. 1886-1898; Frank Lyman (in New York): ca. 1898-1919; S.\n         G. Cragill (Asst. Treasurer): ca. 1900-1915; H. A. Dalton:\n         ca. 1921-1929; John Lipscomb (Asst. Treasurer): ca.\n         1918-1928.","Factory and Mine Supervisors: Kay Moor Superintendents:\n         C. C. Cooke: ca. 1918; Ed. D. Wickes: ca. 1906; H. L.\n         Tansell: ca. 1903; A. H. Reed: ca. 1906. Kay Moor Managers:\n         J. W. Monteith: manager of mines. ca. 1918; promoted in\n         1925 to general superintendent in charge of mine plants,\n         coke ovens, shops, repairs, and construction; A. L.\n         Monteith: assistant superintendent of mines, ca. 1918;\n         George T. Wickes: manager of Covington mines, ca.\n         1906-1917; Ross Howell, ca. 1918. Stack Mines\n         Superintendents: J. H. Carpenter: ca. 1906; C. D.\n         Oberschain: ca. 1907; J. L. Harris: ca. 1903; John S. Ham:\n         ca. 1891-1901. Rich Patch Mines Superintendents: John R.\n         Thompson: foreman, ca. 1906. Low Moor assorted other\n         personnel: S. L. Tulley: trainmaster, ca. 1906; B. J.\n         Shenkley: foreman, Low Moor limestone quarries; L. Q. Wood:\n         assistant traffic manager, ca. 1919."],"scopecontent_html_tesm":["\u003cp\u003eThe Low Moor Iron Company papers consist of\n         approximately 280 four-inch Hollinger archives boxes (ca.\n         95 linear feet) of records, ca. 1885-1927, and some 1200\n         bound volumes of the company's accounting records,\n         1873-1927, of this iron producing company located in Low\n         Moor (four miles southwest of Clifton Forge), Alleghany\n         County, Virginia.\u003c/p\u003e","\u003cp\u003eThis material consists of records typical of those\n         produced by a firm of this type in the period, but as the\n         company owned its own coal and iron mines and limestone\n         quarries, there is considerable information about the\n         production of these raw materials. Large numbers of the\n         records that deal with the company's employees have\n         survived: time books, payroll books, hands ledgers, and the\n         like. Because these books sometimes include information\n         about the employee's trade or job with the company, and as\n         race is indicated in some of the records, these books\n         should provide date for studies of the structure and upward\n         mobility within the labor force, patterns of\n         ethnic--possibly racial--occupational penetration and\n         mobility, material conditions of the workers, and so on.\n         The papers should permit a range of studies detailing the\n         pattern and evolution of industrial organization in the\n         iron industry, and the evolution of markets and marketing\n         structures for the entire period. Because the company was\n         dependent upon railroads to move its raw materials to the\n         furnaces, and for the marketing of its products, there is\n         considerable information about railroads and their\n         relationship to their customers.\u003c/p\u003e"],"scopecontent_heading_ssm":["Scope and Content Information"],"scopecontent_tesim":["The Low Moor Iron Company papers consist of\n         approximately 280 four-inch Hollinger archives boxes (ca.\n         95 linear feet) of records, ca. 1885-1927, and some 1200\n         bound volumes of the company's accounting records,\n         1873-1927, of this iron producing company located in Low\n         Moor (four miles southwest of Clifton Forge), Alleghany\n         County, Virginia.","This material consists of records typical of those\n         produced by a firm of this type in the period, but as the\n         company owned its own coal and iron mines and limestone\n         quarries, there is considerable information about the\n         production of these raw materials. Large numbers of the\n         records that deal with the company's employees have\n         survived: time books, payroll books, hands ledgers, and the\n         like. Because these books sometimes include information\n         about the employee's trade or job with the company, and as\n         race is indicated in some of the records, these books\n         should provide date for studies of the structure and upward\n         mobility within the labor force, patterns of\n         ethnic--possibly racial--occupational penetration and\n         mobility, material conditions of the workers, and so on.\n         The papers should permit a range of studies detailing the\n         pattern and evolution of industrial organization in the\n         iron industry, and the evolution of markets and marketing\n         structures for the entire period. Because the company was\n         dependent upon railroads to move its raw materials to the\n         furnaces, and for the marketing of its products, there is\n         considerable information about railroads and their\n         relationship to their customers."],"language_ssim":["English"],"total_component_count_is":1879,"online_item_count_is":0,"component_level_isim":[0],"sort_isi":0,"timestamp":"2026-05-01T02:17:12.165Z"}]}},"label":"Breadcrumbs"}}},"links":{"self":"https://search.arvasarchive.org/catalog/viu_viu00917_c01_c10_c08"}},{"id":"viu_viu00917_c01_c28_c09","type":"Subseries","attributes":{"title":"I. Furnace","breadcrumbs":{"id":"https://search.arvasarchive.org/catalog/viu_viu00917_c01_c28_c09#breadcrumbs","type":"document_value","attributes":{"value":{"ref_ssi":"viu_viu00917_c01_c28_c09","ref_ssm":["viu_viu00917_c01_c28_c09"],"id":"viu_viu00917_c01_c28_c09","ead_ssi":"viu_viu00917","_root_":"viu_viu00917","_nest_parent_":"viu_viu00917_c01_c28","parent_ssi":"viu_viu00917_c01_c28","parent_ssim":["viu_viu00917","viu_viu00917_c01","viu_viu00917_c01_c28"],"parent_ids_ssim":["viu_viu00917","viu_viu00917_c01","viu_viu00917_c01_c28"],"parent_unittitles_ssm":["Papers of the Low Moor Iron Company \n          1873-1927","Bound Volumes","Time Books"],"parent_unittitles_tesim":["Papers of the Low Moor Iron Company \n          1873-1927","Bound Volumes","Time Books"],"text":["Papers of the Low Moor Iron Company \n          1873-1927","Bound Volumes","Time Books","I. Furnace","19 volumes"],"title_filing_ssi":"I. Furnace","title_ssm":["I. Furnace"],"title_tesim":["I. Furnace"],"unitdate_other_ssim":["1880-1926"],"normalized_date_ssm":["1880/1926"],"normalized_title_ssm":["I. Furnace"],"component_level_isim":[3],"repository_ssim":["University of Virginia, Special Collections Dept."],"collection_ssim":["Papers of the Low Moor Iron Company \n          1873-1927"],"physdesc_tesim":["19 volumes"],"has_online_content_ssim":["false"],"child_component_count_isi":0,"level_ssm":["Subseries"],"level_ssim":["Subseries"],"sort_isi":157,"date_range_isim":[1880,1881,1882,1883,1884,1885,1886,1887,1888,1889,1890,1891,1892,1893,1894,1895,1896,1897,1898,1899,1900,1901,1902,1903,1904,1905,1906,1907,1908,1909,1910,1911,1912,1913,1914,1915,1916,1917,1918,1919,1920,1921,1922,1923,1924,1925,1926],"_nest_path_":"/components#0/components#27/components#8","timestamp":"2026-05-01T02:17:12.165Z","collection":{"numFound":1,"start":0,"numFoundExact":true,"docs":[{"id":"viu_viu00917","ead_ssi":"viu_viu00917","_root_":"viu_viu00917","_nest_parent_":"viu_viu00917","ead_source_url_ssi":"data/uva-sc/viu00917.xml","title_ssm":["Papers of the Low Moor Iron Company \n          1873-1927"],"title_tesim":["Papers of the Low Moor Iron Company \n          1873-1927"],"level_ssm":["collection"],"level_ssim":["Collection"],"unitid_ssm":["662"],"text":["662","Papers of the Low Moor Iron Company \n          1873-1927","95 linear feer + 1200\n         volumes","The word \"organization\" is used here with considerable\n         diffidence, for any researcher studying the container list\n         that follows will realize quickly that there is no\n         organization in the usual sense of the word.","As noted under \"Provenance,\" the Low Moor Iron Company\n         papers were subjected to a number of moves; when processing\n         began in the fall of 1976, no discernible scheme of\n         organization could be determined.","The first step was to review the series of coded numbers\n         placed on the bundles of papers before they were moved to\n         the dormitory attic, but these did not provide any sort of\n         useful organization. Next, the spine titles of the original\n         letter boxes were reviewed (they had been copied onto the\n         gray cardboard sheets before the move to the dormitory\n         attic), but they, too, proved useless.","These steps having provided no scheme, and after a\n         considerable hiatus due to a turnover in student processors\n         on the collection, the new student processors were\n         instructed to begin a box-by-box inventory of the contents\n         of the collection. During this inventory, old folders were\n         replaced with acid-free ones, and the original folder\n         headings were copied onto the new ones. Some removal of\n         paper clips was accomplished, and the materials were\n         reviewed and notes taken for the guide.","Some consolidation of materials was accomplished, and in\n         other cases, materials were moved. This work has created\n         some problems in the numbering of the boxes. Thus, the\n         researchers will find boxes marked \"6A\" and \"23C\"; he will\n         also discover that certain box numbers have been entirely\n         omitted. As the box numbers exist only to aid in the\n         location of material, it was not felt that the unusual\n         numbers and the omissions would cause problems in working\n         with the papers.","A certain amount of movement of boxes within the\n         collection, and of materials among boxes, probably would\n         ease use of it. But what processing was accomplished on\n         this project took far longer than had been anticipated, and\n         there was no time in the late spring of 1978, when the\n         processors had to complete their work with the project, to\n         undertake a mass movement of material. Thus, they stand in\n         the order in which we found them at the beginning of the\n         project.","The Low Moor Iron Company, the first producer of pig\n         iron in Virginia according to the company's claims, was a\n         self-contained manufacturing unit producing from its own\n         mines the coal, limestone, and iron ore needed for its iron\n         production. Located in Low Moor near Clifton Forge in\n         Alleghany County in western Virginia, an area rich in\n         mineral deposits, the company was in operation from\n         1872-1930, producing only pig iron; it never attempted to\n         produce finished iron products.","Coal came to the Low Moor furnaces from the Kay Moor\n         Mines at Kay Moor, West Virginia, about thirty miles from\n         Low Moor; limestone was produced from the Low Moor\n         limestone quarries; and iron ore came from the Fenwick,\n         Dolly Ann, Jordan, Rich Patch, Low Moor, and Longdale\n         Mines, most of them within twenty miles of Low Moor at\n         Covington or Clifton Forge.","The towns of Low Moor and Kay Moor were company towns in\n         every respect. Workers lived in company-owned houses,\n         bought food in company stores, worshiped at the company\n         church, saw movies in the company theater, were treated in\n         the company hospital, and were buried in the company\n         cemetery. Workers received part of their pay in scrip that\n         they exchanged for goods and services. According to a\n         statement from the Kay Moor Mines dated November 1904, Kay\n         Moor then employed 338 people, paid them an average wage of\n         $36.26 per month, and issued half of their pay in scrip.\n         Kay Moor had four stores; Low Moor had seven or eight. All\n         of these stores carried large inventories which are\n         detailed in the collection. These inventories are valuable\n         to anyone interested in determining the wants and needs of\n         a coal miner and his family.","In the late 1910's and 1920's Kay Moor had a company\n         theater called the Azure Theater which seated about 300\n         people. There were also plans for a company-owned social\n         center, to have pool tables, a soda fountain, and\n         provisions for dancing and skating. The company was in\n         tough economic straits by the 1920's, however, and there is\n         no evidence that the social center was built. The town of\n         Low Moor was so completely under the company's influence\n         that one of Low Moor Iron Company's assistant managers\n         served as the town sheriff. He often foreclosed on people\n         who did not pay their debts, and drove troublesome people\n         \"out of town on a rail\" as he put it.","The Low Moor Iron Company's fortunes fluctuated during\n         the various business cycles between the years 1880-1930.\n         Low Moor was one of the larger pig iron producers in\n         Virginia, but Virginia pig iron production was not\n         important nationally. Low Moor officials sometimes sold\n         their product themselves, but more often they used agents,\n         the prevalent method at the time. Low Moor Iron Company\n         used a variety of agents through the 1900's. James F. Bryan\n         acted as the exclusive agent for the sale of Kay Moor Coal\n         from September 21, 1903 to September, 1905. From about 1890\n         until about 1910 Dalton Nash and Company were the exclusive\n         eastern agents of Low Moor Iron. After that time the\n         exclusive agency went to Philips Isham and Company located\n         in New York. From about 1890 the western agency was handled\n         chiefly by Thomas Mack and Company. After 1902 Thomas Mack\n         and Company underwent a name change, becoming Walter\n         Wallingford and Company, with offices located in\n         Cincinnati, Pittsburgh, and Chicago.","Perhaps the Low Moor Iron Company's biggest problem over\n         the years was obtaining railroad cars for the\n         transportation of its finished product. Low Moor Iron\n         Company had its own cars for transporting its raw materials\n         among its various facilities. For the long haul necessary\n         for its finished goods, however, it depended upon the\n         services of the Chesapeake and Ohio Railroad, and the\n         relationship was not always a happy one. The Low Moor\n         Company complained many times to the C \u0026 O Railroad\n         about the discrepancies between long-and shorthaul freight\n         rates. Low Moor also had trouble getting cars from the C\n         \u0026 O. In a letter to one of Low Moor Company's agents\n         from an irate customer dated 1898, the customer wrote: \"We\n         wrote you on Saturday and endeavored to question upon your\n         mind the necessity of taking care of us with Low Moor iron.\n         We are on our uppers--there is not a pound of Low Moor iron\n         in the yard. Of the one hundred tons ordered some time ago,\n         not one pound of it has been received.\" This was, according\n         to the Low Moor Iron Company, because they could not get\n         the railroad cars. In a letter from Thomas Mack and Company\n         dated November 26, 1901, to General Manager E. C. Means:\n         \"We are hopeful that the car supply will get better because\n         of the number of orders you have of ours for prompt\n         shipment. Our customers are complaining that they are not\n         getting the iron fast enough. . . . We hope that the\n         railroad will be able to supply you with empty cars.\" In\n         another letter dated 1916 to John B. Guernsey, then acting\n         General Manager of the Low Moor Iron Company, \"We were not\n         supplied with coke cars for today's loading, and\n         consequently we have been practically down of Kay Moor\n         ovens all day.\"","The problem of procuring labor also plagued the Low Moor\n         Company. The company sometimes tried to hire immigrant\n         laborers and send the men directly to Low Moor from New\n         York City. There were problems with this, as is explained\n         in the following letter dated April 7, 1906: \n          To Mr. George Wickes \n             Supt. of Mines \n             Kay Moor, Virginia \n             Dear George, \n             Tony arrived with twenty one men last night. One\n            got away in Jersey two in Washington D.C., four in\n            Charlottesville. Some of the men are very good looking,\n            but taken as a whole they are the worst lot I have ever\n            seen: Irish, German-Jews, and Italians. . . . Our New\n            York transportations to this place have never been a\n            success. Signed, \n             Ed D. Wickes Supt. of Mines Low Moor usually employed labor agencies, one\n         of which was Atwood's Employment Agency. Often the Low Moor\n         Company would request certain nationalities, believing them\n         to be better workers than others. Sometimes the company\n         would request a gang of twenty made up of \"ten Greeks and\n         ten Italians.\" Many of the immigrants fled Low Moor and Kay\n         Moor when they learned that they would have to work\n         underground. There is a fair amount of material on\n         immigrant labor and its procurement in the collection, and\n         it is noted in the description of the box contents.","Low Moor Iron Company not only had trouble procuring\n         labor, but it also had trouble with labor already employed\n         in the mines and at the factory. Labor dissension and\n         strikes troubled the Kay Moor Mines through the 1900's. The\n         great coal strike of 1902 hurt the Low Moor Company's coal\n         mining operation, but by 1903 things were \"nearly back to\n         normal\" according to the mine superintendent. There was\n         still trouble at Kay Moor Mines, however. In a letter dated\n         April 26, 1906, to the treasurer of Low Moor Company, the\n         manager of the mines wrote about the trouble in \"trying to\n         get the agitators out.\" The mines were seventy-five men\n         short of the total labor force needed because many of the\n         coal miners returned to their farms during the spring.\n         There were rumblings of another strike at Kay Moor, the\n         result of which was to be a fourteen percent increase in\n         wages for the Kay Moor Mine workers via an agreement with\n         the United Mine Workers Union in December.","The Low Moor Iron Company grew along with the rest of\n         Virginia industry in the 1890's and 1900's. Starting with\n         only one furnace in the 1870's, it opened a second furnace\n         at Covington, Virginia, in 1891. In 1911 it opened a third\n         furnace, this time at Low Moor. Covington, with its heavy\n         industry, soon became known as the \"Pittsburgh of\n         Virginia.\" Virginia's pig iron production rose from 9,000\n         short tons in 1870 to 544,034 long tons in 1903. Judging\n         from the Low Moor Company's correspondence, the most\n         prosperous period for the company fell between the years\n         1895-1907. In the years between 1907-1917 problems befell\n         the Virginia pig iron industry. In a letter from William W.\n         Hearns, the president of the Virginia based Princess Pig\n         Iron Company, to U. S. Senator Thomas S. Martin, Hearns\n         writes of the problems of the Virginia pig iron industry:\n         \"There is not a blast furnace in Virginia that is making\n         any money from the manufacture of pig iron. The cause of\n         this is there is an exceedingly low price on pig iron in\n         the country at the present time, and the increased cost of\n         manufacturing is due to the increase in wages in all\n         lines.\" With the outbreak of World War I prices rose\n         dramatically, but in a market report to Low Moor dated\n         November 11, 1916, it was stated that: \"In spite of the\n         high prices, it is not a picnic to be in the iron industry.\n         There is a desperate shortage of cars and equipment in the\n         coal and iron districts, and in consequence there are\n         troubles of all kinds to get materials shipped. The\n         situation has grown serious.\"","When America became involved in the First World War, it\n         meant a boost for the Low Moor Iron Company. The government\n         helped it procure labor, and even helped it repair its\n         furnaces. The problem of supplies and cars for their\n         shipments, however, plagued the company more than ever. It\n         had a good deal of trouble getting all the raw materials it\n         needed due chiefly to the \"tight ship\" run by Harry F.\n         Byrd, Sr., U.S. Fuel Administrator for Virginia. After the\n         war very serious problems began to trouble the Low Moor\n         Iron Company. The demand for iron fell precipitously and a\n         short but severe depression ensued from 1919-1922. The\n         depression seemed to hit the iron industry especially hard.\n         Prices took a huge drop due to the lack of demand, and many\n         pre-war contracts had to be revalued. To compound the\n         company's problems, the Kay Moor Mines went on strike in\n         1919. This strike was quickly settled, as the market for\n         coal was so good that the Low Moor Company ceased taking\n         orders temporarily in 1921 as it could not fill the orders\n         it had on hand.","The Low Moor Company furnaces lay idle for some twenty\n         months. Finally, in November 1922 one of Low Moor's\n         furnaces was finally fired up. While prosperity gradually\n         returned to the rest of the country, the Low Moor Iron\n         Company never recovered. Production of pig iron in the\n         Virginia iron industry declined from 544,034 tons in 1903\n         to 148,053 tons in 1923, considered a good year for the\n         industry as a whole. In February 1926 Low Moor officials\n         talked of merging with two other iron companies in order to\n         revive the iron business for the three companies. The\n         merger, however, never occurred. By late 1926 the company\n         was in the process of liquidation. An advertisement in the\n         Charleston, West Virginia, Daily Mail dated April 30, 1927,\n         told of a huge warehouse sale at the Low Moor Iron Company.\n         The advertisement noted \"thousands of screws, pipe\n         fittings, valves, etc.\" The last piece of correspondence\n         from the Low Moor Iron Company in the collection is dated\n         1929. It deals with the sale of a machine.","Why did the iron industry in Virginia decline as it did?\n         Some say that lack of speed, efficiency, and a decent\n         transportation system for Alleghany County caused it. In a\n         letter from C. E. Bertie, secretary of the Virginia Pig\n         Iron Association, to the \n          Manufacturers Record dated 1925, Bertie claimed that it was the\n         tremendous rise in the cost of transportation. Virginia, he\n         claimed, had almost no home market. Over 80% of its normal\n         production was shipped out to other states. The failure of\n         the Interstate Commerce Commission to treat Virginia\n         furnaces as southern furnaces was the cause of much of the\n         trouble. From 1914-1925 there were four blanket increases\n         in freight rates in the country, of which only one applied\n         equally to all localities. Southern furnaces were received\n         only two increases--a 25% increase in 1918 and a 25%\n         increase in 1920--but northern furnaces had had 5%, 15%,\n         25%, and 40% increases in their transportation costs.\n         Virginia furnaces, although recognized as southern\n         furnaces, had had freight rates increased in line with the\n         northern furnaces. Prior to the war Virginia iron reached\n         all points in Ohio, Indiana, Michigan, and Illinois on a\n         competitive basis with southern furnaces. After World War I\n         the advantage was limited to a small portion of\n         southeastern Ohio. All of Indiana, Illinois, and Michigan\n         were now lost to the Virginia producers. The Virginia\n         producer, according to Bertie, felt that the freight rates\n         should be restored to a relationship with southern\n         furnaces. If what Bertie said was true, the other southern\n         states iron industries should not have been in the same\n         desperate economic straits as Virginia's, and statistics\n         should support this. In the 1920's production rose to new\n         heights in Alabama. In Tennessee, however, iron production\n         plunged to new lows during the 1920's. While the south\n         accounted for 10.2% of the entire U. S. production in the\n         years 1919-1924, Virginia accounted for less than 1% during\n         those years. In 1915 Virginia accounted for over 6% of the\n         U.S. iron production. One can see a decline in other areas\n         of the south than Virginia. While the discrepancies in the\n         freight rates may have helped cause the decline, clearly\n         there are other reasons.","During the 1900's there was a discovery of extremely\n         rich iron ore deposits in the mid-west. Much of this ore\n         was on or near the surface, making the mining of it both\n         easy and inexpensive. This in turn lowered production costs\n         of the pig iron. This caused iron production to shift to\n         that region, and resulted in a decline in the Virginia iron\n         industry. There was a sharp increase in iron production in\n         the mid-west through the 1920's. The iron ore in the\n         mid-west may have been of better quality than Virginia, but\n         the iron ore in Virginia was of sufficient quality to\n         produce a good pig iron. The western ore deposits were not\n         as conveniently located as Virginia deposits, but the\n         inexpensiveness of production more than made up for it.","In examining the rise and fall of the Low Moor Iron\n         Company, we can see a situation in which the conditions for\n         the manufacture of iron were nearly ideal. There was plenty\n         of land for expansion and resources for the manufacture of\n         the iron. The major internal problem faced by the Low Moor\n         Iron Company was that of transportation. External\n         developments, however, caused the final demise of the Low\n         Moor Iron Company.","Low Moor Iron Company Personnel:","Executive Staff: Managing Director, Colonel H. M.\n         Goodwin: ca. 1881. General Managers: H. G. Merry: ca.\n         1884-1902; E. C. Means: ca. 1905-1915; J. P. Guernsey: ca.\n         1915 (acting General Manager); F. U. Humbert: ca.\n         1916-1929. Assistant General Manager: E. B. Wilkinson: ca.\n         1909-1915. Treasurers and Assistant Treasurers: Edward Low:\n         ca. 1886-1898; Frank Lyman (in New York): ca. 1898-1919; S.\n         G. Cragill (Asst. Treasurer): ca. 1900-1915; H. A. Dalton:\n         ca. 1921-1929; John Lipscomb (Asst. Treasurer): ca.\n         1918-1928.","Factory and Mine Supervisors: Kay Moor Superintendents:\n         C. C. Cooke: ca. 1918; Ed. D. Wickes: ca. 1906; H. L.\n         Tansell: ca. 1903; A. H. Reed: ca. 1906. Kay Moor Managers:\n         J. W. Monteith: manager of mines. ca. 1918; promoted in\n         1925 to general superintendent in charge of mine plants,\n         coke ovens, shops, repairs, and construction; A. L.\n         Monteith: assistant superintendent of mines, ca. 1918;\n         George T. Wickes: manager of Covington mines, ca.\n         1906-1917; Ross Howell, ca. 1918. Stack Mines\n         Superintendents: J. H. Carpenter: ca. 1906; C. D.\n         Oberschain: ca. 1907; J. L. Harris: ca. 1903; John S. Ham:\n         ca. 1891-1901. Rich Patch Mines Superintendents: John R.\n         Thompson: foreman, ca. 1906. Low Moor assorted other\n         personnel: S. L. Tulley: trainmaster, ca. 1906; B. J.\n         Shenkley: foreman, Low Moor limestone quarries; L. Q. Wood:\n         assistant traffic manager, ca. 1919.","The Low Moor Iron Company papers consist of\n         approximately 280 four-inch Hollinger archives boxes (ca.\n         95 linear feet) of records, ca. 1885-1927, and some 1200\n         bound volumes of the company's accounting records,\n         1873-1927, of this iron producing company located in Low\n         Moor (four miles southwest of Clifton Forge), Alleghany\n         County, Virginia.","This material consists of records typical of those\n         produced by a firm of this type in the period, but as the\n         company owned its own coal and iron mines and limestone\n         quarries, there is considerable information about the\n         production of these raw materials. Large numbers of the\n         records that deal with the company's employees have\n         survived: time books, payroll books, hands ledgers, and the\n         like. Because these books sometimes include information\n         about the employee's trade or job with the company, and as\n         race is indicated in some of the records, these books\n         should provide date for studies of the structure and upward\n         mobility within the labor force, patterns of\n         ethnic--possibly racial--occupational penetration and\n         mobility, material conditions of the workers, and so on.\n         The papers should permit a range of studies detailing the\n         pattern and evolution of industrial organization in the\n         iron industry, and the evolution of markets and marketing\n         structures for the entire period. Because the company was\n         dependent upon railroads to move its raw materials to the\n         furnaces, and for the marketing of its products, there is\n         considerable information about railroads and their\n         relationship to their customers.","English"],"unitid_tesim":["662"],"normalized_title_ssm":["Papers of the Low Moor Iron Company \n          1873-1927"],"collection_title_tesim":["Papers of the Low Moor Iron Company \n          1873-1927"],"collection_ssim":["Papers of the Low Moor Iron Company \n          1873-1927"],"repository_ssm":["University of Virginia, Special Collections Dept."],"repository_ssim":["University of Virginia, Special Collections Dept."],"acqinfo_ssim":["This collection was purchased from Green Bookman in\n            1939."],"has_online_content_ssim":["false"],"physdesc_tesim":["95 linear feer + 1200\n         volumes"],"arrangement_html_tesm":["\u003cp\u003eThe word \"organization\" is used here with considerable\n         diffidence, for any researcher studying the container list\n         that follows will realize quickly that there is no\n         organization in the usual sense of the word.\u003c/p\u003e","\u003cp\u003eAs noted under \"Provenance,\" the Low Moor Iron Company\n         papers were subjected to a number of moves; when processing\n         began in the fall of 1976, no discernible scheme of\n         organization could be determined.\u003c/p\u003e","\u003cp\u003eThe first step was to review the series of coded numbers\n         placed on the bundles of papers before they were moved to\n         the dormitory attic, but these did not provide any sort of\n         useful organization. Next, the spine titles of the original\n         letter boxes were reviewed (they had been copied onto the\n         gray cardboard sheets before the move to the dormitory\n         attic), but they, too, proved useless.\u003c/p\u003e","\u003cp\u003eThese steps having provided no scheme, and after a\n         considerable hiatus due to a turnover in student processors\n         on the collection, the new student processors were\n         instructed to begin a box-by-box inventory of the contents\n         of the collection. During this inventory, old folders were\n         replaced with acid-free ones, and the original folder\n         headings were copied onto the new ones. Some removal of\n         paper clips was accomplished, and the materials were\n         reviewed and notes taken for the guide.\u003c/p\u003e","\u003cp\u003eSome consolidation of materials was accomplished, and in\n         other cases, materials were moved. This work has created\n         some problems in the numbering of the boxes. Thus, the\n         researchers will find boxes marked \"6A\" and \"23C\"; he will\n         also discover that certain box numbers have been entirely\n         omitted. As the box numbers exist only to aid in the\n         location of material, it was not felt that the unusual\n         numbers and the omissions would cause problems in working\n         with the papers.\u003c/p\u003e","\u003cp\u003eA certain amount of movement of boxes within the\n         collection, and of materials among boxes, probably would\n         ease use of it. But what processing was accomplished on\n         this project took far longer than had been anticipated, and\n         there was no time in the late spring of 1978, when the\n         processors had to complete their work with the project, to\n         undertake a mass movement of material. Thus, they stand in\n         the order in which we found them at the beginning of the\n         project.\u003c/p\u003e"],"arrangement_heading_ssm":["Organization"],"arrangement_tesim":["The word \"organization\" is used here with considerable\n         diffidence, for any researcher studying the container list\n         that follows will realize quickly that there is no\n         organization in the usual sense of the word.","As noted under \"Provenance,\" the Low Moor Iron Company\n         papers were subjected to a number of moves; when processing\n         began in the fall of 1976, no discernible scheme of\n         organization could be determined.","The first step was to review the series of coded numbers\n         placed on the bundles of papers before they were moved to\n         the dormitory attic, but these did not provide any sort of\n         useful organization. Next, the spine titles of the original\n         letter boxes were reviewed (they had been copied onto the\n         gray cardboard sheets before the move to the dormitory\n         attic), but they, too, proved useless.","These steps having provided no scheme, and after a\n         considerable hiatus due to a turnover in student processors\n         on the collection, the new student processors were\n         instructed to begin a box-by-box inventory of the contents\n         of the collection. During this inventory, old folders were\n         replaced with acid-free ones, and the original folder\n         headings were copied onto the new ones. Some removal of\n         paper clips was accomplished, and the materials were\n         reviewed and notes taken for the guide.","Some consolidation of materials was accomplished, and in\n         other cases, materials were moved. This work has created\n         some problems in the numbering of the boxes. Thus, the\n         researchers will find boxes marked \"6A\" and \"23C\"; he will\n         also discover that certain box numbers have been entirely\n         omitted. As the box numbers exist only to aid in the\n         location of material, it was not felt that the unusual\n         numbers and the omissions would cause problems in working\n         with the papers.","A certain amount of movement of boxes within the\n         collection, and of materials among boxes, probably would\n         ease use of it. But what processing was accomplished on\n         this project took far longer than had been anticipated, and\n         there was no time in the late spring of 1978, when the\n         processors had to complete their work with the project, to\n         undertake a mass movement of material. Thus, they stand in\n         the order in which we found them at the beginning of the\n         project."],"bioghist_html_tesm":["\u003cp\u003eThe Low Moor Iron Company, the first producer of pig\n         iron in Virginia according to the company's claims, was a\n         self-contained manufacturing unit producing from its own\n         mines the coal, limestone, and iron ore needed for its iron\n         production. Located in Low Moor near Clifton Forge in\n         Alleghany County in western Virginia, an area rich in\n         mineral deposits, the company was in operation from\n         1872-1930, producing only pig iron; it never attempted to\n         produce finished iron products.\u003c/p\u003e","\u003cp\u003eCoal came to the Low Moor furnaces from the Kay Moor\n         Mines at Kay Moor, West Virginia, about thirty miles from\n         Low Moor; limestone was produced from the Low Moor\n         limestone quarries; and iron ore came from the Fenwick,\n         Dolly Ann, Jordan, Rich Patch, Low Moor, and Longdale\n         Mines, most of them within twenty miles of Low Moor at\n         Covington or Clifton Forge.\u003c/p\u003e","\u003cp\u003eThe towns of Low Moor and Kay Moor were company towns in\n         every respect. Workers lived in company-owned houses,\n         bought food in company stores, worshiped at the company\n         church, saw movies in the company theater, were treated in\n         the company hospital, and were buried in the company\n         cemetery. Workers received part of their pay in scrip that\n         they exchanged for goods and services. According to a\n         statement from the Kay Moor Mines dated November 1904, Kay\n         Moor then employed 338 people, paid them an average wage of\n         $36.26 per month, and issued half of their pay in scrip.\n         Kay Moor had four stores; Low Moor had seven or eight. All\n         of these stores carried large inventories which are\n         detailed in the collection. These inventories are valuable\n         to anyone interested in determining the wants and needs of\n         a coal miner and his family.\u003c/p\u003e","\u003cp\u003eIn the late 1910's and 1920's Kay Moor had a company\n         theater called the Azure Theater which seated about 300\n         people. There were also plans for a company-owned social\n         center, to have pool tables, a soda fountain, and\n         provisions for dancing and skating. The company was in\n         tough economic straits by the 1920's, however, and there is\n         no evidence that the social center was built. The town of\n         Low Moor was so completely under the company's influence\n         that one of Low Moor Iron Company's assistant managers\n         served as the town sheriff. He often foreclosed on people\n         who did not pay their debts, and drove troublesome people\n         \"out of town on a rail\" as he put it.\u003c/p\u003e","\u003cp\u003eThe Low Moor Iron Company's fortunes fluctuated during\n         the various business cycles between the years 1880-1930.\n         Low Moor was one of the larger pig iron producers in\n         Virginia, but Virginia pig iron production was not\n         important nationally. Low Moor officials sometimes sold\n         their product themselves, but more often they used agents,\n         the prevalent method at the time. Low Moor Iron Company\n         used a variety of agents through the 1900's. James F. Bryan\n         acted as the exclusive agent for the sale of Kay Moor Coal\n         from September 21, 1903 to September, 1905. From about 1890\n         until about 1910 Dalton Nash and Company were the exclusive\n         eastern agents of Low Moor Iron. After that time the\n         exclusive agency went to Philips Isham and Company located\n         in New York. From about 1890 the western agency was handled\n         chiefly by Thomas Mack and Company. After 1902 Thomas Mack\n         and Company underwent a name change, becoming Walter\n         Wallingford and Company, with offices located in\n         Cincinnati, Pittsburgh, and Chicago.\u003c/p\u003e","\u003cp\u003ePerhaps the Low Moor Iron Company's biggest problem over\n         the years was obtaining railroad cars for the\n         transportation of its finished product. Low Moor Iron\n         Company had its own cars for transporting its raw materials\n         among its various facilities. For the long haul necessary\n         for its finished goods, however, it depended upon the\n         services of the Chesapeake and Ohio Railroad, and the\n         relationship was not always a happy one. The Low Moor\n         Company complained many times to the C \u0026amp; O Railroad\n         about the discrepancies between long-and shorthaul freight\n         rates. Low Moor also had trouble getting cars from the C\n         \u0026amp; O. In a letter to one of Low Moor Company's agents\n         from an irate customer dated 1898, the customer wrote: \"We\n         wrote you on Saturday and endeavored to question upon your\n         mind the necessity of taking care of us with Low Moor iron.\n         We are on our uppers--there is not a pound of Low Moor iron\n         in the yard. Of the one hundred tons ordered some time ago,\n         not one pound of it has been received.\" This was, according\n         to the Low Moor Iron Company, because they could not get\n         the railroad cars. In a letter from Thomas Mack and Company\n         dated November 26, 1901, to General Manager E. C. Means:\n         \"We are hopeful that the car supply will get better because\n         of the number of orders you have of ours for prompt\n         shipment. Our customers are complaining that they are not\n         getting the iron fast enough. . . . We hope that the\n         railroad will be able to supply you with empty cars.\" In\n         another letter dated 1916 to John B. Guernsey, then acting\n         General Manager of the Low Moor Iron Company, \"We were not\n         supplied with coke cars for today's loading, and\n         consequently we have been practically down of Kay Moor\n         ovens all day.\"\u003c/p\u003e","\u003cp\u003eThe problem of procuring labor also plagued the Low Moor\n         Company. The company sometimes tried to hire immigrant\n         laborers and send the men directly to Low Moor from New\n         York City. There were problems with this, as is explained\n         in the following letter dated April 7, 1906: \n         \u003cblockquote\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eTo Mr. George Wickes \n            \u003clb\u003e\u003c/lb\u003eSupt. of Mines \n            \u003clb\u003e\u003c/lb\u003eKay Moor, Virginia \n            \u003clb\u003e\u003c/lb\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eDear George, \n            \u003clb\u003e\u003c/lb\u003eTony arrived with twenty one men last night. One\n            got away in Jersey two in Washington D.C., four in\n            Charlottesville. Some of the men are very good looking,\n            but taken as a whole they are the worst lot I have ever\n            seen: Irish, German-Jews, and Italians. . . . Our New\n            York transportations to this place have never been a\n            success.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eSigned, \n            \u003clb\u003e\u003c/lb\u003eEd D. Wickes Supt. of Mines\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/blockquote\u003eLow Moor usually employed labor agencies, one\n         of which was Atwood's Employment Agency. Often the Low Moor\n         Company would request certain nationalities, believing them\n         to be better workers than others. Sometimes the company\n         would request a gang of twenty made up of \"ten Greeks and\n         ten Italians.\" Many of the immigrants fled Low Moor and Kay\n         Moor when they learned that they would have to work\n         underground. There is a fair amount of material on\n         immigrant labor and its procurement in the collection, and\n         it is noted in the description of the box contents.\u003c/p\u003e","\u003cp\u003eLow Moor Iron Company not only had trouble procuring\n         labor, but it also had trouble with labor already employed\n         in the mines and at the factory. Labor dissension and\n         strikes troubled the Kay Moor Mines through the 1900's. The\n         great coal strike of 1902 hurt the Low Moor Company's coal\n         mining operation, but by 1903 things were \"nearly back to\n         normal\" according to the mine superintendent. There was\n         still trouble at Kay Moor Mines, however. In a letter dated\n         April 26, 1906, to the treasurer of Low Moor Company, the\n         manager of the mines wrote about the trouble in \"trying to\n         get the agitators out.\" The mines were seventy-five men\n         short of the total labor force needed because many of the\n         coal miners returned to their farms during the spring.\n         There were rumblings of another strike at Kay Moor, the\n         result of which was to be a fourteen percent increase in\n         wages for the Kay Moor Mine workers via an agreement with\n         the United Mine Workers Union in December.\u003c/p\u003e","\u003cp\u003eThe Low Moor Iron Company grew along with the rest of\n         Virginia industry in the 1890's and 1900's. Starting with\n         only one furnace in the 1870's, it opened a second furnace\n         at Covington, Virginia, in 1891. In 1911 it opened a third\n         furnace, this time at Low Moor. Covington, with its heavy\n         industry, soon became known as the \"Pittsburgh of\n         Virginia.\" Virginia's pig iron production rose from 9,000\n         short tons in 1870 to 544,034 long tons in 1903. Judging\n         from the Low Moor Company's correspondence, the most\n         prosperous period for the company fell between the years\n         1895-1907. In the years between 1907-1917 problems befell\n         the Virginia pig iron industry. In a letter from William W.\n         Hearns, the president of the Virginia based Princess Pig\n         Iron Company, to U. S. Senator Thomas S. Martin, Hearns\n         writes of the problems of the Virginia pig iron industry:\n         \"There is not a blast furnace in Virginia that is making\n         any money from the manufacture of pig iron. The cause of\n         this is there is an exceedingly low price on pig iron in\n         the country at the present time, and the increased cost of\n         manufacturing is due to the increase in wages in all\n         lines.\" With the outbreak of World War I prices rose\n         dramatically, but in a market report to Low Moor dated\n         November 11, 1916, it was stated that: \"In spite of the\n         high prices, it is not a picnic to be in the iron industry.\n         There is a desperate shortage of cars and equipment in the\n         coal and iron districts, and in consequence there are\n         troubles of all kinds to get materials shipped. The\n         situation has grown serious.\"\u003c/p\u003e","\u003cp\u003eWhen America became involved in the First World War, it\n         meant a boost for the Low Moor Iron Company. The government\n         helped it procure labor, and even helped it repair its\n         furnaces. The problem of supplies and cars for their\n         shipments, however, plagued the company more than ever. It\n         had a good deal of trouble getting all the raw materials it\n         needed due chiefly to the \"tight ship\" run by Harry F.\n         Byrd, Sr., U.S. Fuel Administrator for Virginia. After the\n         war very serious problems began to trouble the Low Moor\n         Iron Company. The demand for iron fell precipitously and a\n         short but severe depression ensued from 1919-1922. The\n         depression seemed to hit the iron industry especially hard.\n         Prices took a huge drop due to the lack of demand, and many\n         pre-war contracts had to be revalued. To compound the\n         company's problems, the Kay Moor Mines went on strike in\n         1919. This strike was quickly settled, as the market for\n         coal was so good that the Low Moor Company ceased taking\n         orders temporarily in 1921 as it could not fill the orders\n         it had on hand.\u003c/p\u003e","\u003cp\u003eThe Low Moor Company furnaces lay idle for some twenty\n         months. Finally, in November 1922 one of Low Moor's\n         furnaces was finally fired up. While prosperity gradually\n         returned to the rest of the country, the Low Moor Iron\n         Company never recovered. Production of pig iron in the\n         Virginia iron industry declined from 544,034 tons in 1903\n         to 148,053 tons in 1923, considered a good year for the\n         industry as a whole. In February 1926 Low Moor officials\n         talked of merging with two other iron companies in order to\n         revive the iron business for the three companies. The\n         merger, however, never occurred. By late 1926 the company\n         was in the process of liquidation. An advertisement in the\n         Charleston, West Virginia, Daily Mail dated April 30, 1927,\n         told of a huge warehouse sale at the Low Moor Iron Company.\n         The advertisement noted \"thousands of screws, pipe\n         fittings, valves, etc.\" The last piece of correspondence\n         from the Low Moor Iron Company in the collection is dated\n         1929. It deals with the sale of a machine.\u003c/p\u003e","\u003cp\u003eWhy did the iron industry in Virginia decline as it did?\n         Some say that lack of speed, efficiency, and a decent\n         transportation system for Alleghany County caused it. In a\n         letter from C. E. Bertie, secretary of the Virginia Pig\n         Iron Association, to the \n         \u003cbibref type=\"simple\" href=\"\"\u003e\u003ctitle type=\"simple\" href=\"\"\u003eManufacturers Record\u003c/title\u003e\u003c/bibref\u003edated 1925, Bertie claimed that it was the\n         tremendous rise in the cost of transportation. Virginia, he\n         claimed, had almost no home market. Over 80% of its normal\n         production was shipped out to other states. The failure of\n         the Interstate Commerce Commission to treat Virginia\n         furnaces as southern furnaces was the cause of much of the\n         trouble. From 1914-1925 there were four blanket increases\n         in freight rates in the country, of which only one applied\n         equally to all localities. Southern furnaces were received\n         only two increases--a 25% increase in 1918 and a 25%\n         increase in 1920--but northern furnaces had had 5%, 15%,\n         25%, and 40% increases in their transportation costs.\n         Virginia furnaces, although recognized as southern\n         furnaces, had had freight rates increased in line with the\n         northern furnaces. Prior to the war Virginia iron reached\n         all points in Ohio, Indiana, Michigan, and Illinois on a\n         competitive basis with southern furnaces. After World War I\n         the advantage was limited to a small portion of\n         southeastern Ohio. All of Indiana, Illinois, and Michigan\n         were now lost to the Virginia producers. The Virginia\n         producer, according to Bertie, felt that the freight rates\n         should be restored to a relationship with southern\n         furnaces. If what Bertie said was true, the other southern\n         states iron industries should not have been in the same\n         desperate economic straits as Virginia's, and statistics\n         should support this. In the 1920's production rose to new\n         heights in Alabama. In Tennessee, however, iron production\n         plunged to new lows during the 1920's. While the south\n         accounted for 10.2% of the entire U. S. production in the\n         years 1919-1924, Virginia accounted for less than 1% during\n         those years. In 1915 Virginia accounted for over 6% of the\n         U.S. iron production. One can see a decline in other areas\n         of the south than Virginia. While the discrepancies in the\n         freight rates may have helped cause the decline, clearly\n         there are other reasons.\u003c/p\u003e","\u003cp\u003eDuring the 1900's there was a discovery of extremely\n         rich iron ore deposits in the mid-west. Much of this ore\n         was on or near the surface, making the mining of it both\n         easy and inexpensive. This in turn lowered production costs\n         of the pig iron. This caused iron production to shift to\n         that region, and resulted in a decline in the Virginia iron\n         industry. There was a sharp increase in iron production in\n         the mid-west through the 1920's. The iron ore in the\n         mid-west may have been of better quality than Virginia, but\n         the iron ore in Virginia was of sufficient quality to\n         produce a good pig iron. The western ore deposits were not\n         as conveniently located as Virginia deposits, but the\n         inexpensiveness of production more than made up for it.\u003c/p\u003e","\u003cp\u003eIn examining the rise and fall of the Low Moor Iron\n         Company, we can see a situation in which the conditions for\n         the manufacture of iron were nearly ideal. There was plenty\n         of land for expansion and resources for the manufacture of\n         the iron. The major internal problem faced by the Low Moor\n         Iron Company was that of transportation. External\n         developments, however, caused the final demise of the Low\n         Moor Iron Company.\u003c/p\u003e","\u003cp\u003eLow Moor Iron Company Personnel:\u003c/p\u003e","\u003cp\u003eExecutive Staff: Managing Director, Colonel H. M.\n         Goodwin: ca. 1881. General Managers: H. G. Merry: ca.\n         1884-1902; E. C. Means: ca. 1905-1915; J. P. Guernsey: ca.\n         1915 (acting General Manager); F. U. Humbert: ca.\n         1916-1929. Assistant General Manager: E. B. Wilkinson: ca.\n         1909-1915. Treasurers and Assistant Treasurers: Edward Low:\n         ca. 1886-1898; Frank Lyman (in New York): ca. 1898-1919; S.\n         G. Cragill (Asst. Treasurer): ca. 1900-1915; H. A. Dalton:\n         ca. 1921-1929; John Lipscomb (Asst. Treasurer): ca.\n         1918-1928.\u003c/p\u003e","\u003cp\u003eFactory and Mine Supervisors: Kay Moor Superintendents:\n         C. C. Cooke: ca. 1918; Ed. D. Wickes: ca. 1906; H. L.\n         Tansell: ca. 1903; A. H. Reed: ca. 1906. Kay Moor Managers:\n         J. W. Monteith: manager of mines. ca. 1918; promoted in\n         1925 to general superintendent in charge of mine plants,\n         coke ovens, shops, repairs, and construction; A. L.\n         Monteith: assistant superintendent of mines, ca. 1918;\n         George T. Wickes: manager of Covington mines, ca.\n         1906-1917; Ross Howell, ca. 1918. Stack Mines\n         Superintendents: J. H. Carpenter: ca. 1906; C. D.\n         Oberschain: ca. 1907; J. L. Harris: ca. 1903; John S. Ham:\n         ca. 1891-1901. Rich Patch Mines Superintendents: John R.\n         Thompson: foreman, ca. 1906. Low Moor assorted other\n         personnel: S. L. Tulley: trainmaster, ca. 1906; B. J.\n         Shenkley: foreman, Low Moor limestone quarries; L. Q. Wood:\n         assistant traffic manager, ca. 1919.\u003c/p\u003e"],"bioghist_heading_ssm":["Biographical/Historical Information"],"bioghist_tesim":["The Low Moor Iron Company, the first producer of pig\n         iron in Virginia according to the company's claims, was a\n         self-contained manufacturing unit producing from its own\n         mines the coal, limestone, and iron ore needed for its iron\n         production. Located in Low Moor near Clifton Forge in\n         Alleghany County in western Virginia, an area rich in\n         mineral deposits, the company was in operation from\n         1872-1930, producing only pig iron; it never attempted to\n         produce finished iron products.","Coal came to the Low Moor furnaces from the Kay Moor\n         Mines at Kay Moor, West Virginia, about thirty miles from\n         Low Moor; limestone was produced from the Low Moor\n         limestone quarries; and iron ore came from the Fenwick,\n         Dolly Ann, Jordan, Rich Patch, Low Moor, and Longdale\n         Mines, most of them within twenty miles of Low Moor at\n         Covington or Clifton Forge.","The towns of Low Moor and Kay Moor were company towns in\n         every respect. Workers lived in company-owned houses,\n         bought food in company stores, worshiped at the company\n         church, saw movies in the company theater, were treated in\n         the company hospital, and were buried in the company\n         cemetery. Workers received part of their pay in scrip that\n         they exchanged for goods and services. According to a\n         statement from the Kay Moor Mines dated November 1904, Kay\n         Moor then employed 338 people, paid them an average wage of\n         $36.26 per month, and issued half of their pay in scrip.\n         Kay Moor had four stores; Low Moor had seven or eight. All\n         of these stores carried large inventories which are\n         detailed in the collection. These inventories are valuable\n         to anyone interested in determining the wants and needs of\n         a coal miner and his family.","In the late 1910's and 1920's Kay Moor had a company\n         theater called the Azure Theater which seated about 300\n         people. There were also plans for a company-owned social\n         center, to have pool tables, a soda fountain, and\n         provisions for dancing and skating. The company was in\n         tough economic straits by the 1920's, however, and there is\n         no evidence that the social center was built. The town of\n         Low Moor was so completely under the company's influence\n         that one of Low Moor Iron Company's assistant managers\n         served as the town sheriff. He often foreclosed on people\n         who did not pay their debts, and drove troublesome people\n         \"out of town on a rail\" as he put it.","The Low Moor Iron Company's fortunes fluctuated during\n         the various business cycles between the years 1880-1930.\n         Low Moor was one of the larger pig iron producers in\n         Virginia, but Virginia pig iron production was not\n         important nationally. Low Moor officials sometimes sold\n         their product themselves, but more often they used agents,\n         the prevalent method at the time. Low Moor Iron Company\n         used a variety of agents through the 1900's. James F. Bryan\n         acted as the exclusive agent for the sale of Kay Moor Coal\n         from September 21, 1903 to September, 1905. From about 1890\n         until about 1910 Dalton Nash and Company were the exclusive\n         eastern agents of Low Moor Iron. After that time the\n         exclusive agency went to Philips Isham and Company located\n         in New York. From about 1890 the western agency was handled\n         chiefly by Thomas Mack and Company. After 1902 Thomas Mack\n         and Company underwent a name change, becoming Walter\n         Wallingford and Company, with offices located in\n         Cincinnati, Pittsburgh, and Chicago.","Perhaps the Low Moor Iron Company's biggest problem over\n         the years was obtaining railroad cars for the\n         transportation of its finished product. Low Moor Iron\n         Company had its own cars for transporting its raw materials\n         among its various facilities. For the long haul necessary\n         for its finished goods, however, it depended upon the\n         services of the Chesapeake and Ohio Railroad, and the\n         relationship was not always a happy one. The Low Moor\n         Company complained many times to the C \u0026 O Railroad\n         about the discrepancies between long-and shorthaul freight\n         rates. Low Moor also had trouble getting cars from the C\n         \u0026 O. In a letter to one of Low Moor Company's agents\n         from an irate customer dated 1898, the customer wrote: \"We\n         wrote you on Saturday and endeavored to question upon your\n         mind the necessity of taking care of us with Low Moor iron.\n         We are on our uppers--there is not a pound of Low Moor iron\n         in the yard. Of the one hundred tons ordered some time ago,\n         not one pound of it has been received.\" This was, according\n         to the Low Moor Iron Company, because they could not get\n         the railroad cars. In a letter from Thomas Mack and Company\n         dated November 26, 1901, to General Manager E. C. Means:\n         \"We are hopeful that the car supply will get better because\n         of the number of orders you have of ours for prompt\n         shipment. Our customers are complaining that they are not\n         getting the iron fast enough. . . . We hope that the\n         railroad will be able to supply you with empty cars.\" In\n         another letter dated 1916 to John B. Guernsey, then acting\n         General Manager of the Low Moor Iron Company, \"We were not\n         supplied with coke cars for today's loading, and\n         consequently we have been practically down of Kay Moor\n         ovens all day.\"","The problem of procuring labor also plagued the Low Moor\n         Company. The company sometimes tried to hire immigrant\n         laborers and send the men directly to Low Moor from New\n         York City. There were problems with this, as is explained\n         in the following letter dated April 7, 1906: \n          To Mr. George Wickes \n             Supt. of Mines \n             Kay Moor, Virginia \n             Dear George, \n             Tony arrived with twenty one men last night. One\n            got away in Jersey two in Washington D.C., four in\n            Charlottesville. Some of the men are very good looking,\n            but taken as a whole they are the worst lot I have ever\n            seen: Irish, German-Jews, and Italians. . . . Our New\n            York transportations to this place have never been a\n            success. Signed, \n             Ed D. Wickes Supt. of Mines Low Moor usually employed labor agencies, one\n         of which was Atwood's Employment Agency. Often the Low Moor\n         Company would request certain nationalities, believing them\n         to be better workers than others. Sometimes the company\n         would request a gang of twenty made up of \"ten Greeks and\n         ten Italians.\" Many of the immigrants fled Low Moor and Kay\n         Moor when they learned that they would have to work\n         underground. There is a fair amount of material on\n         immigrant labor and its procurement in the collection, and\n         it is noted in the description of the box contents.","Low Moor Iron Company not only had trouble procuring\n         labor, but it also had trouble with labor already employed\n         in the mines and at the factory. Labor dissension and\n         strikes troubled the Kay Moor Mines through the 1900's. The\n         great coal strike of 1902 hurt the Low Moor Company's coal\n         mining operation, but by 1903 things were \"nearly back to\n         normal\" according to the mine superintendent. There was\n         still trouble at Kay Moor Mines, however. In a letter dated\n         April 26, 1906, to the treasurer of Low Moor Company, the\n         manager of the mines wrote about the trouble in \"trying to\n         get the agitators out.\" The mines were seventy-five men\n         short of the total labor force needed because many of the\n         coal miners returned to their farms during the spring.\n         There were rumblings of another strike at Kay Moor, the\n         result of which was to be a fourteen percent increase in\n         wages for the Kay Moor Mine workers via an agreement with\n         the United Mine Workers Union in December.","The Low Moor Iron Company grew along with the rest of\n         Virginia industry in the 1890's and 1900's. Starting with\n         only one furnace in the 1870's, it opened a second furnace\n         at Covington, Virginia, in 1891. In 1911 it opened a third\n         furnace, this time at Low Moor. Covington, with its heavy\n         industry, soon became known as the \"Pittsburgh of\n         Virginia.\" Virginia's pig iron production rose from 9,000\n         short tons in 1870 to 544,034 long tons in 1903. Judging\n         from the Low Moor Company's correspondence, the most\n         prosperous period for the company fell between the years\n         1895-1907. In the years between 1907-1917 problems befell\n         the Virginia pig iron industry. In a letter from William W.\n         Hearns, the president of the Virginia based Princess Pig\n         Iron Company, to U. S. Senator Thomas S. Martin, Hearns\n         writes of the problems of the Virginia pig iron industry:\n         \"There is not a blast furnace in Virginia that is making\n         any money from the manufacture of pig iron. The cause of\n         this is there is an exceedingly low price on pig iron in\n         the country at the present time, and the increased cost of\n         manufacturing is due to the increase in wages in all\n         lines.\" With the outbreak of World War I prices rose\n         dramatically, but in a market report to Low Moor dated\n         November 11, 1916, it was stated that: \"In spite of the\n         high prices, it is not a picnic to be in the iron industry.\n         There is a desperate shortage of cars and equipment in the\n         coal and iron districts, and in consequence there are\n         troubles of all kinds to get materials shipped. The\n         situation has grown serious.\"","When America became involved in the First World War, it\n         meant a boost for the Low Moor Iron Company. The government\n         helped it procure labor, and even helped it repair its\n         furnaces. The problem of supplies and cars for their\n         shipments, however, plagued the company more than ever. It\n         had a good deal of trouble getting all the raw materials it\n         needed due chiefly to the \"tight ship\" run by Harry F.\n         Byrd, Sr., U.S. Fuel Administrator for Virginia. After the\n         war very serious problems began to trouble the Low Moor\n         Iron Company. The demand for iron fell precipitously and a\n         short but severe depression ensued from 1919-1922. The\n         depression seemed to hit the iron industry especially hard.\n         Prices took a huge drop due to the lack of demand, and many\n         pre-war contracts had to be revalued. To compound the\n         company's problems, the Kay Moor Mines went on strike in\n         1919. This strike was quickly settled, as the market for\n         coal was so good that the Low Moor Company ceased taking\n         orders temporarily in 1921 as it could not fill the orders\n         it had on hand.","The Low Moor Company furnaces lay idle for some twenty\n         months. Finally, in November 1922 one of Low Moor's\n         furnaces was finally fired up. While prosperity gradually\n         returned to the rest of the country, the Low Moor Iron\n         Company never recovered. Production of pig iron in the\n         Virginia iron industry declined from 544,034 tons in 1903\n         to 148,053 tons in 1923, considered a good year for the\n         industry as a whole. In February 1926 Low Moor officials\n         talked of merging with two other iron companies in order to\n         revive the iron business for the three companies. The\n         merger, however, never occurred. By late 1926 the company\n         was in the process of liquidation. An advertisement in the\n         Charleston, West Virginia, Daily Mail dated April 30, 1927,\n         told of a huge warehouse sale at the Low Moor Iron Company.\n         The advertisement noted \"thousands of screws, pipe\n         fittings, valves, etc.\" The last piece of correspondence\n         from the Low Moor Iron Company in the collection is dated\n         1929. It deals with the sale of a machine.","Why did the iron industry in Virginia decline as it did?\n         Some say that lack of speed, efficiency, and a decent\n         transportation system for Alleghany County caused it. In a\n         letter from C. E. Bertie, secretary of the Virginia Pig\n         Iron Association, to the \n          Manufacturers Record dated 1925, Bertie claimed that it was the\n         tremendous rise in the cost of transportation. Virginia, he\n         claimed, had almost no home market. Over 80% of its normal\n         production was shipped out to other states. The failure of\n         the Interstate Commerce Commission to treat Virginia\n         furnaces as southern furnaces was the cause of much of the\n         trouble. From 1914-1925 there were four blanket increases\n         in freight rates in the country, of which only one applied\n         equally to all localities. Southern furnaces were received\n         only two increases--a 25% increase in 1918 and a 25%\n         increase in 1920--but northern furnaces had had 5%, 15%,\n         25%, and 40% increases in their transportation costs.\n         Virginia furnaces, although recognized as southern\n         furnaces, had had freight rates increased in line with the\n         northern furnaces. Prior to the war Virginia iron reached\n         all points in Ohio, Indiana, Michigan, and Illinois on a\n         competitive basis with southern furnaces. After World War I\n         the advantage was limited to a small portion of\n         southeastern Ohio. All of Indiana, Illinois, and Michigan\n         were now lost to the Virginia producers. The Virginia\n         producer, according to Bertie, felt that the freight rates\n         should be restored to a relationship with southern\n         furnaces. If what Bertie said was true, the other southern\n         states iron industries should not have been in the same\n         desperate economic straits as Virginia's, and statistics\n         should support this. In the 1920's production rose to new\n         heights in Alabama. In Tennessee, however, iron production\n         plunged to new lows during the 1920's. While the south\n         accounted for 10.2% of the entire U. S. production in the\n         years 1919-1924, Virginia accounted for less than 1% during\n         those years. In 1915 Virginia accounted for over 6% of the\n         U.S. iron production. One can see a decline in other areas\n         of the south than Virginia. While the discrepancies in the\n         freight rates may have helped cause the decline, clearly\n         there are other reasons.","During the 1900's there was a discovery of extremely\n         rich iron ore deposits in the mid-west. Much of this ore\n         was on or near the surface, making the mining of it both\n         easy and inexpensive. This in turn lowered production costs\n         of the pig iron. This caused iron production to shift to\n         that region, and resulted in a decline in the Virginia iron\n         industry. There was a sharp increase in iron production in\n         the mid-west through the 1920's. The iron ore in the\n         mid-west may have been of better quality than Virginia, but\n         the iron ore in Virginia was of sufficient quality to\n         produce a good pig iron. The western ore deposits were not\n         as conveniently located as Virginia deposits, but the\n         inexpensiveness of production more than made up for it.","In examining the rise and fall of the Low Moor Iron\n         Company, we can see a situation in which the conditions for\n         the manufacture of iron were nearly ideal. There was plenty\n         of land for expansion and resources for the manufacture of\n         the iron. The major internal problem faced by the Low Moor\n         Iron Company was that of transportation. External\n         developments, however, caused the final demise of the Low\n         Moor Iron Company.","Low Moor Iron Company Personnel:","Executive Staff: Managing Director, Colonel H. M.\n         Goodwin: ca. 1881. General Managers: H. G. Merry: ca.\n         1884-1902; E. C. Means: ca. 1905-1915; J. P. Guernsey: ca.\n         1915 (acting General Manager); F. U. Humbert: ca.\n         1916-1929. Assistant General Manager: E. B. Wilkinson: ca.\n         1909-1915. Treasurers and Assistant Treasurers: Edward Low:\n         ca. 1886-1898; Frank Lyman (in New York): ca. 1898-1919; S.\n         G. Cragill (Asst. Treasurer): ca. 1900-1915; H. A. Dalton:\n         ca. 1921-1929; John Lipscomb (Asst. Treasurer): ca.\n         1918-1928.","Factory and Mine Supervisors: Kay Moor Superintendents:\n         C. C. Cooke: ca. 1918; Ed. D. Wickes: ca. 1906; H. L.\n         Tansell: ca. 1903; A. H. Reed: ca. 1906. Kay Moor Managers:\n         J. W. Monteith: manager of mines. ca. 1918; promoted in\n         1925 to general superintendent in charge of mine plants,\n         coke ovens, shops, repairs, and construction; A. L.\n         Monteith: assistant superintendent of mines, ca. 1918;\n         George T. Wickes: manager of Covington mines, ca.\n         1906-1917; Ross Howell, ca. 1918. Stack Mines\n         Superintendents: J. H. Carpenter: ca. 1906; C. D.\n         Oberschain: ca. 1907; J. L. Harris: ca. 1903; John S. Ham:\n         ca. 1891-1901. Rich Patch Mines Superintendents: John R.\n         Thompson: foreman, ca. 1906. Low Moor assorted other\n         personnel: S. L. Tulley: trainmaster, ca. 1906; B. J.\n         Shenkley: foreman, Low Moor limestone quarries; L. Q. Wood:\n         assistant traffic manager, ca. 1919."],"scopecontent_html_tesm":["\u003cp\u003eThe Low Moor Iron Company papers consist of\n         approximately 280 four-inch Hollinger archives boxes (ca.\n         95 linear feet) of records, ca. 1885-1927, and some 1200\n         bound volumes of the company's accounting records,\n         1873-1927, of this iron producing company located in Low\n         Moor (four miles southwest of Clifton Forge), Alleghany\n         County, Virginia.\u003c/p\u003e","\u003cp\u003eThis material consists of records typical of those\n         produced by a firm of this type in the period, but as the\n         company owned its own coal and iron mines and limestone\n         quarries, there is considerable information about the\n         production of these raw materials. Large numbers of the\n         records that deal with the company's employees have\n         survived: time books, payroll books, hands ledgers, and the\n         like. Because these books sometimes include information\n         about the employee's trade or job with the company, and as\n         race is indicated in some of the records, these books\n         should provide date for studies of the structure and upward\n         mobility within the labor force, patterns of\n         ethnic--possibly racial--occupational penetration and\n         mobility, material conditions of the workers, and so on.\n         The papers should permit a range of studies detailing the\n         pattern and evolution of industrial organization in the\n         iron industry, and the evolution of markets and marketing\n         structures for the entire period. Because the company was\n         dependent upon railroads to move its raw materials to the\n         furnaces, and for the marketing of its products, there is\n         considerable information about railroads and their\n         relationship to their customers.\u003c/p\u003e"],"scopecontent_heading_ssm":["Scope and Content Information"],"scopecontent_tesim":["The Low Moor Iron Company papers consist of\n         approximately 280 four-inch Hollinger archives boxes (ca.\n         95 linear feet) of records, ca. 1885-1927, and some 1200\n         bound volumes of the company's accounting records,\n         1873-1927, of this iron producing company located in Low\n         Moor (four miles southwest of Clifton Forge), Alleghany\n         County, Virginia.","This material consists of records typical of those\n         produced by a firm of this type in the period, but as the\n         company owned its own coal and iron mines and limestone\n         quarries, there is considerable information about the\n         production of these raw materials. Large numbers of the\n         records that deal with the company's employees have\n         survived: time books, payroll books, hands ledgers, and the\n         like. Because these books sometimes include information\n         about the employee's trade or job with the company, and as\n         race is indicated in some of the records, these books\n         should provide date for studies of the structure and upward\n         mobility within the labor force, patterns of\n         ethnic--possibly racial--occupational penetration and\n         mobility, material conditions of the workers, and so on.\n         The papers should permit a range of studies detailing the\n         pattern and evolution of industrial organization in the\n         iron industry, and the evolution of markets and marketing\n         structures for the entire period. Because the company was\n         dependent upon railroads to move its raw materials to the\n         furnaces, and for the marketing of its products, there is\n         considerable information about railroads and their\n         relationship to their customers."],"language_ssim":["English"],"total_component_count_is":1879,"online_item_count_is":0,"component_level_isim":[0],"sort_isi":0,"timestamp":"2026-05-01T02:17:12.165Z"}]}},"label":"Breadcrumbs"}}},"links":{"self":"https://search.arvasarchive.org/catalog/viu_viu00917_c01_c28_c09"}}],"included":[{"type":"facet","id":"repository_ssim","attributes":{"label":"Repository","items":[{"attributes":{"label":"Alexandria Library","value":"Alexandria Library","hits":7},"links":{"self":"https://search.arvasarchive.org/catalog.json?f%5Bdate_range%5D%5B%5D=1909\u0026f%5Blevel%5D%5B%5D=Subseries\u0026f%5Brepository%5D%5B%5D=Alexandria+Library"}},{"attributes":{"label":"College of William and Mary","value":"College of William and 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