{"links":{"self":"https://search.arvasarchive.org/catalog.json?f%5Blevel%5D%5B%5D=File\u0026f%5Brepository%5D%5B%5D=Virginia+Historical+Society\u0026page=5","prev":"https://search.arvasarchive.org/catalog.json?f%5Blevel%5D%5B%5D=File\u0026f%5Brepository%5D%5B%5D=Virginia+Historical+Society\u0026page=4","next":"https://search.arvasarchive.org/catalog.json?f%5Blevel%5D%5B%5D=File\u0026f%5Brepository%5D%5B%5D=Virginia+Historical+Society\u0026page=6","last":"https://search.arvasarchive.org/catalog.json?f%5Blevel%5D%5B%5D=File\u0026f%5Brepository%5D%5B%5D=Virginia+Historical+Society\u0026page=64"},"meta":{"pages":{"current_page":5,"next_page":6,"prev_page":4,"total_pages":64,"limit_value":10,"offset_value":40,"total_count":635,"first_page?":false,"last_page?":false}},"data":[{"id":"vihi_vih00021_c02_c03","type":"File","attributes":{"title":"Correspondence, \n\t1961-1963","breadcrumbs":{"id":"https://search.arvasarchive.org/catalog/vihi_vih00021_c02_c03#breadcrumbs","type":"document_value","attributes":{"value":{"ref_ssi":"vihi_vih00021_c02_c03","ref_ssm":["vihi_vih00021_c02_c03"],"id":"vihi_vih00021_c02_c03","ead_ssi":"vihi_vih00021","_root_":"vihi_vih00021","_nest_parent_":"vihi_vih00021_c02","parent_ssi":"vihi_vih00021_c02","parent_ssim":["Arvonia-Buckingham Slate Company, Inc., Records, \n1913–1990","Series 2. President's Files, \n1929–1986"],"parent_ids_ssim":["vihi_vih00021","vihi_vih00021_c02"],"title_filing_ssi":"Correspondence, \n\t1961-1963","title_ssm":["Correspondence, \n\t1961-1963"],"title_tesim":["Correspondence, \n\t1961-1963"],"normalized_title_ssm":["Correspondence, \n\t1961-1963"],"text":["Correspondence, \n\t1961-1963","Arvonia-Buckingham Slate Company, Inc., Records, \n1913–1990","Series 2. President's Files, \n1929–1986","box-folder 2:16"],"parent_unittitles_ssm":["Arvonia-Buckingham Slate Company, Inc., Records, \n1913–1990","Series 2. President's Files, \n1929–1986"],"parent_unittitles_tesim":["Arvonia-Buckingham Slate Company, Inc., Records, \n1913–1990","Series 2. President's Files, \n1929–1986"],"level_ssm":["File"],"level_ssim":["File"],"component_level_isim":[2],"sort_isi":18,"repository_ssim":["Virginia Historical Society"],"collection_ssim":["Arvonia-Buckingham Slate Company, Inc., Records, \n1913–1990"],"containers_ssim":["box-folder 2:16"],"has_online_content_ssim":["false"],"child_component_count_isi":0,"_nest_path_":"/components#1/components#2","timestamp":"2026-06-23T06:58:25.153Z","collection":{"numFound":1,"start":0,"numFoundExact":true,"docs":[{"id":"vihi_vih00021","ead_ssi":"vihi_vih00021","_root_":"vihi_vih00021","_nest_parent_":"vihi_vih00021","ead_source_url_ssi":"data/vhs/vih00021.xml","title_ssm":["Arvonia-Buckingham Slate Company, Inc., Records, \n1913–1990"],"title_tesim":["Arvonia-Buckingham Slate Company, Inc., Records, \n1913–1990"],"normalized_title_ssm":["Arvonia-Buckingham Slate Company, Inc., Records, \n1913–1990"],"text":["Arvonia-Buckingham Slate Company, Inc., Records, \n1913–1990","Mss3 Ar896 a FA2","Arvonia (Va.) - Commerce - History - 20th century.","Buckingham County (Va.) - Economic conditions - 20th century.","Virginia - Commerce - History - 20th century.","Slate industry - Virginia - History - 20th century.",".","Collection is open to research.","The records of Arvonia-Buckingham Slate Company, Inc. are divided into four series that reflect the overall history of the firm but are strongly focused on \nthe dissolution of the company and the termination of the pension program. In \neach series description, there are notes about the record series overall, \ngenerally with some reference to specific materials within the series. The \ncollection primarily consists of a mixture of bound volumes and loose papers, \nall grouped and designated by folder labels and numbers.","Arvonia-Buckingham Slate Corporation, incorporated in 1913, was founded through the efforts of James Turner Sloan, a major land manager and developer, and his \ncolleague Owen Robert Jeffrey, from a local mining family in Buckingham. They \nwere joined by Thomas Aubrey Yancey, who also served for many years as the \nfirm's president, and Robert Gamble Cabell, III, of Branch \u0026 Co., the firm that \nhanded much of Arvonia-Buckingham's financial and investments affairs. In fact, \nwhile operations centered in the Arvonia region of Buckingham County, corporate \nactivities were largely run out of offices at Branch \u0026 Co. in Richmond. The firm \njoined with Williams Slate Company, Inc., and LeSueur-Richmond Slate Corporation \nto create Buckingham-Virginia Slate Corporation in 1929 as the marketing and \nsales arm of these three firms. For many years these firms shared a major market \nfor roofing and structural slate products, but in the mid-1980s the directors \nrecommended to the company's stockholders that Arvonia-Buckingham's assets to be \nsold and the company dissolved, which occurred in 1985. The firm remained on the \nbooks while the company pension plan was terminated and assets distributed \ndirectly or into annuities for former qualified employees. In the meantime, the \nassets of Arvonia-Buckingham (quarries and mining and production facilities and \nequipment) were eventually acquired by LeSueur-Richmond Slate Corporation, which \nremains the only firm currently maintaining slate quarrying and production \noperations in Buckingham County.","Branch and Company Records, 1837–1976 (Mss3 B7327 a FA1), Virginia Historical \nSociety, Richmond.","LeSueur-Richmond Slate Corporation Records, 1834–1998 (Mss3 L5673 a FA2), \nVirginia Historical Society, Richmond.","The records in this collection consist of two main categories: operational records primarily comprised of minute books of meetings of the board of \ndirectors and stockholders, as well as two series of loose records; and \nmaterials relating to the dissolution of the firm and sale of its assets, and \nthe related matter of distribution of assets of the company's pension plan to \nentitled beneficiaries. The company remained an entity some three years beyond \nits official dissolution in order to handle the latter matter, although all its \nassets had by then been sold and all funding of activities was covered by escrow \nfunds established through the sale of those assets merged with those of the \npreviously funded pension plan.","Minute books cover meetings of the board of directors and stockholders of the company, and include copies of by-laws, resolutions, and inserted materials \nrelating to company operations, policy, and corporate decision-making. All \nminute books are bound but some minutes (duplicate copies) were also maintained \nloose in files by the secretary-treasurer.","A scattering of files created or compiled by the president of Arvonia-Buckingham Slate Company, Inc., survive in this collection and are listed below. Gathered \nby various successive presidents, James Turner Sloan, Owen Robert Jeffrey, and \nThomas Aubrey Yancey, the files include materials also created by or directed to \nthe secretary/treasurer, Charles Evans Wingo, III. Primarily, these files \nconcern various aspects of mining and production operations.","Of particular interest in this series is an article in a 1961 issue of Mineral \nIndustries Journal entitled \"Slate in Virginia,\" which largely concerns \nArvonia-Buckingham and features a likeness of Thomas Aubrey Yancey (Folder 26).","Created or compiled by Robert Gamble Cabell, III, or Charles Evans Wingo, III, these files generally cover financial aspects of the company's history or \nmatters relating to stockholders or actions of the Board of Directors. For a \ntime, the firm invested proceeds from its operations in stock or United States \nTreasury bills, and some files trace the purchase and sale of those instruments \nin the 1950s and 1960s.","Once the Board of Directors had determined that the assets of Arvonia-Buckingham should be sold and the corporation dissolved, a series of important actions took \nplace. The sale was negotiated with Buckingham Slate Company, Inc., a subsidiary \nof Hi-Test Laboratories, Inc., of Buckingham, Virginia, that appears to have \nbeen created specifically for this purpose, perhaps as a holding company. \nAlthough papers in this collection do not reveal the process, within a few years \nthose assets had been acquired by LeSueur-Richmond Slate Corporation, a company \nthat had literally operated alongside Arvonia-Buckingham for many years and that \nhad joined with it and Williams Slate Company, Inc., in forming \nBuckingham-Virginia Slate Corporation in 1929 to market and sell slate products \nfrom these various firms.","Proceeds from the sale of assets were placed in escrow, partly to fund the final \nactivities of company executives in dissolving the corporation and partly to \nsupplement the previously funded pension plan. With the dissolution of the firm, \nqualified participants in the pension plan were offered lump sum distributions \nof benefits (if they had less than $3,500 invested in the plan) or could elect \nlump-sum payments or the establishment of annuities with regular benefits \npayments. Much of the second half of this series concerns the termination of the \npension plan, management of assets briefly by State Mutual Assurance Company of \nAmerica, of Worchester, Mass., the creation of a trust to manage assets, \noversight of the plan termination and distribution of assets by the Pension \nBenefit Guaranty Corporation, and dealings of the company with the U.S. Internal \nRevenue Service.","(Articles of Dissolution, Unanimous Consent of Directors)","There are no restrictions.","Historical and operational materials relating to Arvonia-Buckingham Slate Corporation compiled by its last secretary-treasurer, Charles E. Wingo, \nIII. Arvonia-Buckingham had a long history in Buckingham County, Virginia, as \none of the largest slate quarrying and production companies in the twentieth \ncentury. Founded by members of the Richmond-based Branch \u0026 Co. investment \nbanking firm, or persons closely associated in business with Branch's \nprincipals, the company operated successfully until the mid-1980s, when its \nassets were sold to a subsidiary of Hi-Test Laboratories, Inc., called \nBuckingham Slate Company, Inc., and later absorbed by LeSueur-Richmond Slate \nCorporation, which is now the only remaining slate quarrying and production \ncompany operating in Buckingham County.","Arvonia Buckingham Slate Corporation (Buckingham County, Va.)","Buckingham-Virginia Slate Corporation (Buckingham County, Va.)","Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation.","State Mutual Assurance Company (Worchester, Mass.)","Cabell, Robert Gamble, 1881–1968.","Jeffrey, Owen Robert, 1878–1954.","Sloan, James Turner, d. 1934.","Wingo, Charles Evans, 1917–2005.","Yancey, Thomas Aubrey.","English"],"collection_title_tesim":["Arvonia-Buckingham Slate Company, Inc., Records, \n1913–1990"],"collection_ssim":["Arvonia-Buckingham Slate Company, Inc., Records, \n1913–1990"],"level_ssm":["collection"],"level_ssim":["Collection"],"unitid_ssm":["Mss3 Ar896 a FA2"],"unitid_tesim":["Mss3 Ar896 a FA2"],"repository_ssm":["Virginia Historical Society"],"repository_ssim":["Virginia Historical Society"],"geogname_ssm":["Arvonia (Va.) - Commerce - History - 20th century.","Buckingham County (Va.) - Economic conditions - 20th century.","Virginia - Commerce - History - 20th century."],"geogname_ssim":["Arvonia (Va.) - Commerce - History - 20th century.","Buckingham County (Va.) - Economic conditions - 20th century.","Virginia - Commerce - History - 20th century."],"places_ssim":["Arvonia (Va.) - Commerce - History - 20th century.","Buckingham County (Va.) - Economic conditions - 20th century.","Virginia - Commerce - History - 20th century."],"creator_persname_ssim":["Cabell, Robert Gamble, 1881–1968.","Jeffrey, Owen Robert, 1878–1954.","Sloan, James Turner, d. 1934.","Wingo, Charles Evans, 1917–2005.","Yancey, Thomas Aubrey."],"creator_corpname_ssim":["Arvonia Buckingham Slate Corporation (Buckingham County, Va.)","Buckingham-Virginia Slate Corporation (Buckingham County, Va.)","Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation.","State Mutual Assurance Company (Worchester, Mass.)"],"creators_ssim":["Cabell, Robert Gamble, 1881–1968.","Jeffrey, Owen Robert, 1878–1954.","Sloan, James Turner, d. 1934.","Wingo, Charles Evans, 1917–2005.","Yancey, Thomas Aubrey.","Arvonia Buckingham Slate Corporation (Buckingham County, Va.)","Buckingham-Virginia Slate Corporation (Buckingham County, Va.)","Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation.","State Mutual Assurance Company (Worchester, Mass.)"],"acqinfo_ssim":["Gift of Charles E. Wingo, III, Richmond, Va., in 1997. Accessioned 4 January 2012."],"access_subjects_ssim":["Slate industry - Virginia - History - 20th century."],"access_subjects_ssm":["Slate industry - Virginia - History - 20th century."],"has_online_content_ssim":["false"],"physdesc_tesim":["."],"extent_ssm":["71 folders"],"extent_tesim":["71 folders"],"accessrestrict_html_tesm":["\u003cp\u003eCollection is open to research.\n\u003c/p\u003e\n"],"accessrestrict_heading_ssm":["Access Restrictions"],"accessrestrict_tesim":["Collection is open to research."],"arrangement_html_tesm":["\u003cp\u003eThe records of Arvonia-Buckingham Slate Company, Inc. are divided into four series that reflect the overall history of the firm but are strongly focused on \nthe dissolution of the company and the termination of the pension program. In \neach series description, there are notes about the record series overall, \ngenerally with some reference to specific materials within the series. The \ncollection primarily consists of a mixture of bound volumes and loose papers, \nall grouped and designated by folder labels and numbers.\n\u003c/p\u003e\n"],"arrangement_heading_ssm":["Arrangement"],"arrangement_tesim":["The records of Arvonia-Buckingham Slate Company, Inc. are divided into four series that reflect the overall history of the firm but are strongly focused on \nthe dissolution of the company and the termination of the pension program. In \neach series description, there are notes about the record series overall, \ngenerally with some reference to specific materials within the series. The \ncollection primarily consists of a mixture of bound volumes and loose papers, \nall grouped and designated by folder labels and numbers."],"bioghist_html_tesm":["\u003cp\u003eArvonia-Buckingham Slate Corporation, incorporated in 1913, was founded through the efforts of James Turner Sloan, a major land manager and developer, and his \ncolleague Owen Robert Jeffrey, from a local mining family in Buckingham. They \nwere joined by Thomas Aubrey Yancey, who also served for many years as the \nfirm's president, and Robert Gamble Cabell, III, of Branch \u0026amp; Co., the firm that \nhanded much of Arvonia-Buckingham's financial and investments affairs. In fact, \nwhile operations centered in the Arvonia region of Buckingham County, corporate \nactivities were largely run out of offices at Branch \u0026amp; Co. in Richmond. The firm \njoined with Williams Slate Company, Inc., and LeSueur-Richmond Slate Corporation \nto create Buckingham-Virginia Slate Corporation in 1929 as the marketing and \nsales arm of these three firms. For many years these firms shared a major market \nfor roofing and structural slate products, but in the mid-1980s the directors \nrecommended to the company's stockholders that Arvonia-Buckingham's assets to be \nsold and the company dissolved, which occurred in 1985. The firm remained on the \nbooks while the company pension plan was terminated and assets distributed \ndirectly or into annuities for former qualified employees. In the meantime, the \nassets of Arvonia-Buckingham (quarries and mining and production facilities and \nequipment) were eventually acquired by LeSueur-Richmond Slate Corporation, which \nremains the only firm currently maintaining slate quarrying and production \noperations in Buckingham County.\n\u003c/p\u003e\n"],"bioghist_heading_ssm":["Biographical/Historical Information"],"bioghist_tesim":["Arvonia-Buckingham Slate Corporation, incorporated in 1913, was founded through the efforts of James Turner Sloan, a major land manager and developer, and his \ncolleague Owen Robert Jeffrey, from a local mining family in Buckingham. They \nwere joined by Thomas Aubrey Yancey, who also served for many years as the \nfirm's president, and Robert Gamble Cabell, III, of Branch \u0026 Co., the firm that \nhanded much of Arvonia-Buckingham's financial and investments affairs. In fact, \nwhile operations centered in the Arvonia region of Buckingham County, corporate \nactivities were largely run out of offices at Branch \u0026 Co. in Richmond. The firm \njoined with Williams Slate Company, Inc., and LeSueur-Richmond Slate Corporation \nto create Buckingham-Virginia Slate Corporation in 1929 as the marketing and \nsales arm of these three firms. For many years these firms shared a major market \nfor roofing and structural slate products, but in the mid-1980s the directors \nrecommended to the company's stockholders that Arvonia-Buckingham's assets to be \nsold and the company dissolved, which occurred in 1985. The firm remained on the \nbooks while the company pension plan was terminated and assets distributed \ndirectly or into annuities for former qualified employees. In the meantime, the \nassets of Arvonia-Buckingham (quarries and mining and production facilities and \nequipment) were eventually acquired by LeSueur-Richmond Slate Corporation, which \nremains the only firm currently maintaining slate quarrying and production \noperations in Buckingham County."],"prefercite_html_tesm":["\u003cp\u003eArvonia-Buckingham Slate Company, Inc., Records, 1913–1990 (Mss3 Ar896 a FA2), Virginia Historical Society, Richmond, VA.\n\u003c/p\u003e\n"],"prefercite_tesim":["Arvonia-Buckingham Slate Company, Inc., Records, 1913–1990 (Mss3 Ar896 a FA2), Virginia Historical Society, Richmond, VA."],"relatedmaterial_html_tesm":["\u003cp\u003eBranch and Company Records, 1837–1976 (Mss3 B7327 a FA1), Virginia Historical \nSociety, Richmond.\n\u003c/p\u003e\n","\u003cp\u003eLeSueur-Richmond Slate Corporation Records, 1834–1998 (Mss3 L5673 a FA2), \nVirginia Historical Society, Richmond.\n\u003c/p\u003e\n"],"relatedmaterial_heading_ssm":["Related Material"],"relatedmaterial_tesim":["Branch and Company Records, 1837–1976 (Mss3 B7327 a FA1), Virginia Historical \nSociety, Richmond.","LeSueur-Richmond Slate Corporation Records, 1834–1998 (Mss3 L5673 a FA2), \nVirginia Historical Society, Richmond."],"scopecontent_html_tesm":["\u003cp\u003eThe records in this collection consist of two main categories: operational records primarily comprised of minute books of meetings of the board of \ndirectors and stockholders, as well as two series of loose records; and \nmaterials relating to the dissolution of the firm and sale of its assets, and \nthe related matter of distribution of assets of the company's pension plan to \nentitled beneficiaries. The company remained an entity some three years beyond \nits official dissolution in order to handle the latter matter, although all its \nassets had by then been sold and all funding of activities was covered by escrow \nfunds established through the sale of those assets merged with those of the \npreviously funded pension plan.\n\u003c/p\u003e\n","\u003cp\u003eMinute books cover meetings of the board of directors and stockholders of the company, and include copies of by-laws, resolutions, and inserted materials \nrelating to company operations, policy, and corporate decision-making. All \nminute books are bound but some minutes (duplicate copies) were also maintained \nloose in files by the secretary-treasurer.\n\u003c/p\u003e\n","\u003cp\u003eA scattering of files created or compiled by the president of Arvonia-Buckingham Slate Company, Inc., survive in this collection and are listed below. Gathered \nby various successive presidents, James Turner Sloan, Owen Robert Jeffrey, and \nThomas Aubrey Yancey, the files include materials also created by or directed to \nthe secretary/treasurer, Charles Evans Wingo, III. Primarily, these files \nconcern various aspects of mining and production operations.\u003c/p\u003e\n","\u003cp\u003eOf particular interest in this series is an article in a 1961 issue of Mineral \nIndustries Journal entitled \"Slate in Virginia,\" which largely concerns \nArvonia-Buckingham and features a likeness of Thomas Aubrey Yancey (Folder 26).\n\u003c/p\u003e\n","\u003cp\u003eCreated or compiled by Robert Gamble Cabell, III, or Charles Evans Wingo, III, these files generally cover financial aspects of the company's history or \nmatters relating to stockholders or actions of the Board of Directors. For a \ntime, the firm invested proceeds from its operations in stock or United States \nTreasury bills, and some files trace the purchase and sale of those instruments \nin the 1950s and 1960s.\n\u003c/p\u003e\n","\u003cp\u003eOnce the Board of Directors had determined that the assets of Arvonia-Buckingham should be sold and the corporation dissolved, a series of important actions took \nplace. The sale was negotiated with Buckingham Slate Company, Inc., a subsidiary \nof Hi-Test Laboratories, Inc., of Buckingham, Virginia, that appears to have \nbeen created specifically for this purpose, perhaps as a holding company. \nAlthough papers in this collection do not reveal the process, within a few years \nthose assets had been acquired by LeSueur-Richmond Slate Corporation, a company \nthat had literally operated alongside Arvonia-Buckingham for many years and that \nhad joined with it and Williams Slate Company, Inc., in forming \nBuckingham-Virginia Slate Corporation in 1929 to market and sell slate products \nfrom these various firms.\u003c/p\u003e\n","\u003cp\u003eProceeds from the sale of assets were placed in escrow, partly to fund the final \nactivities of company executives in dissolving the corporation and partly to \nsupplement the previously funded pension plan. With the dissolution of the firm, \nqualified participants in the pension plan were offered lump sum distributions \nof benefits (if they had less than $3,500 invested in the plan) or could elect \nlump-sum payments or the establishment of annuities with regular benefits \npayments. Much of the second half of this series concerns the termination of the \npension plan, management of assets briefly by State Mutual Assurance Company of \nAmerica, of Worchester, Mass., the creation of a trust to manage assets, \noversight of the plan termination and distribution of assets by the Pension \nBenefit Guaranty Corporation, and dealings of the company with the U.S. Internal \nRevenue Service. \n\u003c/p\u003e\n","\u003cp\u003e(Articles of Dissolution, Unanimous Consent of Directors)\n\t\u003c/p\u003e\n\t"],"scopecontent_heading_ssm":["Scope and Content"],"scopecontent_tesim":["The records in this collection consist of two main categories: operational records primarily comprised of minute books of meetings of the board of \ndirectors and stockholders, as well as two series of loose records; and \nmaterials relating to the dissolution of the firm and sale of its assets, and \nthe related matter of distribution of assets of the company's pension plan to \nentitled beneficiaries. The company remained an entity some three years beyond \nits official dissolution in order to handle the latter matter, although all its \nassets had by then been sold and all funding of activities was covered by escrow \nfunds established through the sale of those assets merged with those of the \npreviously funded pension plan.","Minute books cover meetings of the board of directors and stockholders of the company, and include copies of by-laws, resolutions, and inserted materials \nrelating to company operations, policy, and corporate decision-making. All \nminute books are bound but some minutes (duplicate copies) were also maintained \nloose in files by the secretary-treasurer.","A scattering of files created or compiled by the president of Arvonia-Buckingham Slate Company, Inc., survive in this collection and are listed below. Gathered \nby various successive presidents, James Turner Sloan, Owen Robert Jeffrey, and \nThomas Aubrey Yancey, the files include materials also created by or directed to \nthe secretary/treasurer, Charles Evans Wingo, III. Primarily, these files \nconcern various aspects of mining and production operations.","Of particular interest in this series is an article in a 1961 issue of Mineral \nIndustries Journal entitled \"Slate in Virginia,\" which largely concerns \nArvonia-Buckingham and features a likeness of Thomas Aubrey Yancey (Folder 26).","Created or compiled by Robert Gamble Cabell, III, or Charles Evans Wingo, III, these files generally cover financial aspects of the company's history or \nmatters relating to stockholders or actions of the Board of Directors. For a \ntime, the firm invested proceeds from its operations in stock or United States \nTreasury bills, and some files trace the purchase and sale of those instruments \nin the 1950s and 1960s.","Once the Board of Directors had determined that the assets of Arvonia-Buckingham should be sold and the corporation dissolved, a series of important actions took \nplace. The sale was negotiated with Buckingham Slate Company, Inc., a subsidiary \nof Hi-Test Laboratories, Inc., of Buckingham, Virginia, that appears to have \nbeen created specifically for this purpose, perhaps as a holding company. \nAlthough papers in this collection do not reveal the process, within a few years \nthose assets had been acquired by LeSueur-Richmond Slate Corporation, a company \nthat had literally operated alongside Arvonia-Buckingham for many years and that \nhad joined with it and Williams Slate Company, Inc., in forming \nBuckingham-Virginia Slate Corporation in 1929 to market and sell slate products \nfrom these various firms.","Proceeds from the sale of assets were placed in escrow, partly to fund the final \nactivities of company executives in dissolving the corporation and partly to \nsupplement the previously funded pension plan. With the dissolution of the firm, \nqualified participants in the pension plan were offered lump sum distributions \nof benefits (if they had less than $3,500 invested in the plan) or could elect \nlump-sum payments or the establishment of annuities with regular benefits \npayments. Much of the second half of this series concerns the termination of the \npension plan, management of assets briefly by State Mutual Assurance Company of \nAmerica, of Worchester, Mass., the creation of a trust to manage assets, \noversight of the plan termination and distribution of assets by the Pension \nBenefit Guaranty Corporation, and dealings of the company with the U.S. Internal \nRevenue Service.","(Articles of Dissolution, Unanimous Consent of Directors)"],"userestrict_html_tesm":["\u003cp\u003eThere are no restrictions.\n\u003c/p\u003e\n"],"userestrict_heading_ssm":["Use Restrictions"],"userestrict_tesim":["There are no restrictions."],"abstract_html_tesm":["\u003cabstract label=\"Abstract\"\u003eHistorical and operational materials relating to Arvonia-Buckingham Slate Corporation compiled by its last secretary-treasurer, Charles E. Wingo, \nIII. Arvonia-Buckingham had a long history in Buckingham County, Virginia, as \none of the largest slate quarrying and production companies in the twentieth \ncentury. Founded by members of the Richmond-based Branch \u0026amp; Co. investment \nbanking firm, or persons closely associated in business with Branch's \nprincipals, the company operated successfully until the mid-1980s, when its \nassets were sold to a subsidiary of Hi-Test Laboratories, Inc., called \nBuckingham Slate Company, Inc., and later absorbed by LeSueur-Richmond Slate \nCorporation, which is now the only remaining slate quarrying and production \ncompany operating in Buckingham County.\n\u003c/abstract\u003e\n"],"abstract_tesim":["Historical and operational materials relating to Arvonia-Buckingham Slate Corporation compiled by its last secretary-treasurer, Charles E. Wingo, \nIII. Arvonia-Buckingham had a long history in Buckingham County, Virginia, as \none of the largest slate quarrying and production companies in the twentieth \ncentury. Founded by members of the Richmond-based Branch \u0026 Co. investment \nbanking firm, or persons closely associated in business with Branch's \nprincipals, the company operated successfully until the mid-1980s, when its \nassets were sold to a subsidiary of Hi-Test Laboratories, Inc., called \nBuckingham Slate Company, Inc., and later absorbed by LeSueur-Richmond Slate \nCorporation, which is now the only remaining slate quarrying and production \ncompany operating in Buckingham County."],"corpname_ssim":["Arvonia Buckingham Slate Corporation (Buckingham County, Va.)","Buckingham-Virginia Slate Corporation (Buckingham County, Va.)","Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation.","State Mutual Assurance Company (Worchester, Mass.)"],"names_coll_ssim":["Arvonia Buckingham Slate Corporation (Buckingham County, Va.)","Buckingham-Virginia Slate Corporation (Buckingham County, Va.)","Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation.","State Mutual Assurance Company (Worchester, Mass.)","Cabell, Robert Gamble, 1881–1968.","Jeffrey, Owen Robert, 1878–1954.","Sloan, James Turner, d. 1934.","Wingo, Charles Evans, 1917–2005.","Yancey, Thomas Aubrey."],"persname_ssim":["Cabell, Robert Gamble, 1881–1968.","Jeffrey, Owen Robert, 1878–1954.","Sloan, James Turner, d. 1934.","Wingo, Charles Evans, 1917–2005.","Yancey, Thomas Aubrey."],"names_ssim":["Arvonia Buckingham Slate Corporation (Buckingham County, Va.)","Buckingham-Virginia Slate Corporation (Buckingham County, Va.)","Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation.","State Mutual Assurance Company (Worchester, Mass.)","Cabell, Robert Gamble, 1881–1968.","Jeffrey, Owen Robert, 1878–1954.","Sloan, James Turner, d. 1934.","Wingo, Charles Evans, 1917–2005.","Yancey, Thomas Aubrey."],"language_ssim":["English"],"total_component_count_is":75,"online_item_count_is":0,"component_level_isim":[0],"sort_isi":0,"timestamp":"2026-06-23T06:58:25.153Z"}]}},"label":"Breadcrumbs"}}},"links":{"self":"https://search.arvasarchive.org/catalog/vihi_vih00021_c02_c03"}},{"id":"vihi_vih00021_c02_c04","type":"File","attributes":{"title":"Correspondence, \n\t1964-1965","breadcrumbs":{"id":"https://search.arvasarchive.org/catalog/vihi_vih00021_c02_c04#breadcrumbs","type":"document_value","attributes":{"value":{"ref_ssi":"vihi_vih00021_c02_c04","ref_ssm":["vihi_vih00021_c02_c04"],"id":"vihi_vih00021_c02_c04","ead_ssi":"vihi_vih00021","_root_":"vihi_vih00021","_nest_parent_":"vihi_vih00021_c02","parent_ssi":"vihi_vih00021_c02","parent_ssim":["Arvonia-Buckingham Slate Company, Inc., Records, \n1913–1990","Series 2. President's Files, \n1929–1986"],"parent_ids_ssim":["vihi_vih00021","vihi_vih00021_c02"],"title_filing_ssi":"Correspondence, \n\t1964-1965","title_ssm":["Correspondence, \n\t1964-1965"],"title_tesim":["Correspondence, \n\t1964-1965"],"normalized_title_ssm":["Correspondence, \n\t1964-1965"],"text":["Correspondence, \n\t1964-1965","Arvonia-Buckingham Slate Company, Inc., Records, \n1913–1990","Series 2. President's Files, \n1929–1986","box-folder 2:17"],"parent_unittitles_ssm":["Arvonia-Buckingham Slate Company, Inc., Records, \n1913–1990","Series 2. President's Files, \n1929–1986"],"parent_unittitles_tesim":["Arvonia-Buckingham Slate Company, Inc., Records, \n1913–1990","Series 2. President's Files, \n1929–1986"],"level_ssm":["File"],"level_ssim":["File"],"component_level_isim":[2],"sort_isi":19,"repository_ssim":["Virginia Historical Society"],"collection_ssim":["Arvonia-Buckingham Slate Company, Inc., Records, \n1913–1990"],"containers_ssim":["box-folder 2:17"],"has_online_content_ssim":["false"],"child_component_count_isi":0,"_nest_path_":"/components#1/components#3","timestamp":"2026-06-23T06:58:25.153Z","collection":{"numFound":1,"start":0,"numFoundExact":true,"docs":[{"id":"vihi_vih00021","ead_ssi":"vihi_vih00021","_root_":"vihi_vih00021","_nest_parent_":"vihi_vih00021","ead_source_url_ssi":"data/vhs/vih00021.xml","title_ssm":["Arvonia-Buckingham Slate Company, Inc., Records, \n1913–1990"],"title_tesim":["Arvonia-Buckingham Slate Company, Inc., Records, \n1913–1990"],"normalized_title_ssm":["Arvonia-Buckingham Slate Company, Inc., Records, \n1913–1990"],"text":["Arvonia-Buckingham Slate Company, Inc., Records, \n1913–1990","Mss3 Ar896 a FA2","Arvonia (Va.) - Commerce - History - 20th century.","Buckingham County (Va.) - Economic conditions - 20th century.","Virginia - Commerce - History - 20th century.","Slate industry - Virginia - History - 20th century.",".","Collection is open to research.","The records of Arvonia-Buckingham Slate Company, Inc. are divided into four series that reflect the overall history of the firm but are strongly focused on \nthe dissolution of the company and the termination of the pension program. In \neach series description, there are notes about the record series overall, \ngenerally with some reference to specific materials within the series. The \ncollection primarily consists of a mixture of bound volumes and loose papers, \nall grouped and designated by folder labels and numbers.","Arvonia-Buckingham Slate Corporation, incorporated in 1913, was founded through the efforts of James Turner Sloan, a major land manager and developer, and his \ncolleague Owen Robert Jeffrey, from a local mining family in Buckingham. They \nwere joined by Thomas Aubrey Yancey, who also served for many years as the \nfirm's president, and Robert Gamble Cabell, III, of Branch \u0026 Co., the firm that \nhanded much of Arvonia-Buckingham's financial and investments affairs. In fact, \nwhile operations centered in the Arvonia region of Buckingham County, corporate \nactivities were largely run out of offices at Branch \u0026 Co. in Richmond. The firm \njoined with Williams Slate Company, Inc., and LeSueur-Richmond Slate Corporation \nto create Buckingham-Virginia Slate Corporation in 1929 as the marketing and \nsales arm of these three firms. For many years these firms shared a major market \nfor roofing and structural slate products, but in the mid-1980s the directors \nrecommended to the company's stockholders that Arvonia-Buckingham's assets to be \nsold and the company dissolved, which occurred in 1985. The firm remained on the \nbooks while the company pension plan was terminated and assets distributed \ndirectly or into annuities for former qualified employees. In the meantime, the \nassets of Arvonia-Buckingham (quarries and mining and production facilities and \nequipment) were eventually acquired by LeSueur-Richmond Slate Corporation, which \nremains the only firm currently maintaining slate quarrying and production \noperations in Buckingham County.","Branch and Company Records, 1837–1976 (Mss3 B7327 a FA1), Virginia Historical \nSociety, Richmond.","LeSueur-Richmond Slate Corporation Records, 1834–1998 (Mss3 L5673 a FA2), \nVirginia Historical Society, Richmond.","The records in this collection consist of two main categories: operational records primarily comprised of minute books of meetings of the board of \ndirectors and stockholders, as well as two series of loose records; and \nmaterials relating to the dissolution of the firm and sale of its assets, and \nthe related matter of distribution of assets of the company's pension plan to \nentitled beneficiaries. The company remained an entity some three years beyond \nits official dissolution in order to handle the latter matter, although all its \nassets had by then been sold and all funding of activities was covered by escrow \nfunds established through the sale of those assets merged with those of the \npreviously funded pension plan.","Minute books cover meetings of the board of directors and stockholders of the company, and include copies of by-laws, resolutions, and inserted materials \nrelating to company operations, policy, and corporate decision-making. All \nminute books are bound but some minutes (duplicate copies) were also maintained \nloose in files by the secretary-treasurer.","A scattering of files created or compiled by the president of Arvonia-Buckingham Slate Company, Inc., survive in this collection and are listed below. Gathered \nby various successive presidents, James Turner Sloan, Owen Robert Jeffrey, and \nThomas Aubrey Yancey, the files include materials also created by or directed to \nthe secretary/treasurer, Charles Evans Wingo, III. Primarily, these files \nconcern various aspects of mining and production operations.","Of particular interest in this series is an article in a 1961 issue of Mineral \nIndustries Journal entitled \"Slate in Virginia,\" which largely concerns \nArvonia-Buckingham and features a likeness of Thomas Aubrey Yancey (Folder 26).","Created or compiled by Robert Gamble Cabell, III, or Charles Evans Wingo, III, these files generally cover financial aspects of the company's history or \nmatters relating to stockholders or actions of the Board of Directors. For a \ntime, the firm invested proceeds from its operations in stock or United States \nTreasury bills, and some files trace the purchase and sale of those instruments \nin the 1950s and 1960s.","Once the Board of Directors had determined that the assets of Arvonia-Buckingham should be sold and the corporation dissolved, a series of important actions took \nplace. The sale was negotiated with Buckingham Slate Company, Inc., a subsidiary \nof Hi-Test Laboratories, Inc., of Buckingham, Virginia, that appears to have \nbeen created specifically for this purpose, perhaps as a holding company. \nAlthough papers in this collection do not reveal the process, within a few years \nthose assets had been acquired by LeSueur-Richmond Slate Corporation, a company \nthat had literally operated alongside Arvonia-Buckingham for many years and that \nhad joined with it and Williams Slate Company, Inc., in forming \nBuckingham-Virginia Slate Corporation in 1929 to market and sell slate products \nfrom these various firms.","Proceeds from the sale of assets were placed in escrow, partly to fund the final \nactivities of company executives in dissolving the corporation and partly to \nsupplement the previously funded pension plan. With the dissolution of the firm, \nqualified participants in the pension plan were offered lump sum distributions \nof benefits (if they had less than $3,500 invested in the plan) or could elect \nlump-sum payments or the establishment of annuities with regular benefits \npayments. Much of the second half of this series concerns the termination of the \npension plan, management of assets briefly by State Mutual Assurance Company of \nAmerica, of Worchester, Mass., the creation of a trust to manage assets, \noversight of the plan termination and distribution of assets by the Pension \nBenefit Guaranty Corporation, and dealings of the company with the U.S. Internal \nRevenue Service.","(Articles of Dissolution, Unanimous Consent of Directors)","There are no restrictions.","Historical and operational materials relating to Arvonia-Buckingham Slate Corporation compiled by its last secretary-treasurer, Charles E. Wingo, \nIII. Arvonia-Buckingham had a long history in Buckingham County, Virginia, as \none of the largest slate quarrying and production companies in the twentieth \ncentury. Founded by members of the Richmond-based Branch \u0026 Co. investment \nbanking firm, or persons closely associated in business with Branch's \nprincipals, the company operated successfully until the mid-1980s, when its \nassets were sold to a subsidiary of Hi-Test Laboratories, Inc., called \nBuckingham Slate Company, Inc., and later absorbed by LeSueur-Richmond Slate \nCorporation, which is now the only remaining slate quarrying and production \ncompany operating in Buckingham County.","Arvonia Buckingham Slate Corporation (Buckingham County, Va.)","Buckingham-Virginia Slate Corporation (Buckingham County, Va.)","Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation.","State Mutual Assurance Company (Worchester, Mass.)","Cabell, Robert Gamble, 1881–1968.","Jeffrey, Owen Robert, 1878–1954.","Sloan, James Turner, d. 1934.","Wingo, Charles Evans, 1917–2005.","Yancey, Thomas Aubrey.","English"],"collection_title_tesim":["Arvonia-Buckingham Slate Company, Inc., Records, \n1913–1990"],"collection_ssim":["Arvonia-Buckingham Slate Company, Inc., Records, \n1913–1990"],"level_ssm":["collection"],"level_ssim":["Collection"],"unitid_ssm":["Mss3 Ar896 a FA2"],"unitid_tesim":["Mss3 Ar896 a FA2"],"repository_ssm":["Virginia Historical Society"],"repository_ssim":["Virginia Historical Society"],"geogname_ssm":["Arvonia (Va.) - Commerce - History - 20th century.","Buckingham County (Va.) - Economic conditions - 20th century.","Virginia - Commerce - History - 20th century."],"geogname_ssim":["Arvonia (Va.) - Commerce - History - 20th century.","Buckingham County (Va.) - Economic conditions - 20th century.","Virginia - Commerce - History - 20th century."],"places_ssim":["Arvonia (Va.) - Commerce - History - 20th century.","Buckingham County (Va.) - Economic conditions - 20th century.","Virginia - Commerce - History - 20th century."],"creator_persname_ssim":["Cabell, Robert Gamble, 1881–1968.","Jeffrey, Owen Robert, 1878–1954.","Sloan, James Turner, d. 1934.","Wingo, Charles Evans, 1917–2005.","Yancey, Thomas Aubrey."],"creator_corpname_ssim":["Arvonia Buckingham Slate Corporation (Buckingham County, Va.)","Buckingham-Virginia Slate Corporation (Buckingham County, Va.)","Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation.","State Mutual Assurance Company (Worchester, Mass.)"],"creators_ssim":["Cabell, Robert Gamble, 1881–1968.","Jeffrey, Owen Robert, 1878–1954.","Sloan, James Turner, d. 1934.","Wingo, Charles Evans, 1917–2005.","Yancey, Thomas Aubrey.","Arvonia Buckingham Slate Corporation (Buckingham County, Va.)","Buckingham-Virginia Slate Corporation (Buckingham County, Va.)","Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation.","State Mutual Assurance Company (Worchester, Mass.)"],"acqinfo_ssim":["Gift of Charles E. Wingo, III, Richmond, Va., in 1997. Accessioned 4 January 2012."],"access_subjects_ssim":["Slate industry - Virginia - History - 20th century."],"access_subjects_ssm":["Slate industry - Virginia - History - 20th century."],"has_online_content_ssim":["false"],"physdesc_tesim":["."],"extent_ssm":["71 folders"],"extent_tesim":["71 folders"],"accessrestrict_html_tesm":["\u003cp\u003eCollection is open to research.\n\u003c/p\u003e\n"],"accessrestrict_heading_ssm":["Access Restrictions"],"accessrestrict_tesim":["Collection is open to research."],"arrangement_html_tesm":["\u003cp\u003eThe records of Arvonia-Buckingham Slate Company, Inc. are divided into four series that reflect the overall history of the firm but are strongly focused on \nthe dissolution of the company and the termination of the pension program. In \neach series description, there are notes about the record series overall, \ngenerally with some reference to specific materials within the series. The \ncollection primarily consists of a mixture of bound volumes and loose papers, \nall grouped and designated by folder labels and numbers.\n\u003c/p\u003e\n"],"arrangement_heading_ssm":["Arrangement"],"arrangement_tesim":["The records of Arvonia-Buckingham Slate Company, Inc. are divided into four series that reflect the overall history of the firm but are strongly focused on \nthe dissolution of the company and the termination of the pension program. In \neach series description, there are notes about the record series overall, \ngenerally with some reference to specific materials within the series. The \ncollection primarily consists of a mixture of bound volumes and loose papers, \nall grouped and designated by folder labels and numbers."],"bioghist_html_tesm":["\u003cp\u003eArvonia-Buckingham Slate Corporation, incorporated in 1913, was founded through the efforts of James Turner Sloan, a major land manager and developer, and his \ncolleague Owen Robert Jeffrey, from a local mining family in Buckingham. They \nwere joined by Thomas Aubrey Yancey, who also served for many years as the \nfirm's president, and Robert Gamble Cabell, III, of Branch \u0026amp; Co., the firm that \nhanded much of Arvonia-Buckingham's financial and investments affairs. In fact, \nwhile operations centered in the Arvonia region of Buckingham County, corporate \nactivities were largely run out of offices at Branch \u0026amp; Co. in Richmond. The firm \njoined with Williams Slate Company, Inc., and LeSueur-Richmond Slate Corporation \nto create Buckingham-Virginia Slate Corporation in 1929 as the marketing and \nsales arm of these three firms. For many years these firms shared a major market \nfor roofing and structural slate products, but in the mid-1980s the directors \nrecommended to the company's stockholders that Arvonia-Buckingham's assets to be \nsold and the company dissolved, which occurred in 1985. The firm remained on the \nbooks while the company pension plan was terminated and assets distributed \ndirectly or into annuities for former qualified employees. In the meantime, the \nassets of Arvonia-Buckingham (quarries and mining and production facilities and \nequipment) were eventually acquired by LeSueur-Richmond Slate Corporation, which \nremains the only firm currently maintaining slate quarrying and production \noperations in Buckingham County.\n\u003c/p\u003e\n"],"bioghist_heading_ssm":["Biographical/Historical Information"],"bioghist_tesim":["Arvonia-Buckingham Slate Corporation, incorporated in 1913, was founded through the efforts of James Turner Sloan, a major land manager and developer, and his \ncolleague Owen Robert Jeffrey, from a local mining family in Buckingham. They \nwere joined by Thomas Aubrey Yancey, who also served for many years as the \nfirm's president, and Robert Gamble Cabell, III, of Branch \u0026 Co., the firm that \nhanded much of Arvonia-Buckingham's financial and investments affairs. In fact, \nwhile operations centered in the Arvonia region of Buckingham County, corporate \nactivities were largely run out of offices at Branch \u0026 Co. in Richmond. The firm \njoined with Williams Slate Company, Inc., and LeSueur-Richmond Slate Corporation \nto create Buckingham-Virginia Slate Corporation in 1929 as the marketing and \nsales arm of these three firms. For many years these firms shared a major market \nfor roofing and structural slate products, but in the mid-1980s the directors \nrecommended to the company's stockholders that Arvonia-Buckingham's assets to be \nsold and the company dissolved, which occurred in 1985. The firm remained on the \nbooks while the company pension plan was terminated and assets distributed \ndirectly or into annuities for former qualified employees. In the meantime, the \nassets of Arvonia-Buckingham (quarries and mining and production facilities and \nequipment) were eventually acquired by LeSueur-Richmond Slate Corporation, which \nremains the only firm currently maintaining slate quarrying and production \noperations in Buckingham County."],"prefercite_html_tesm":["\u003cp\u003eArvonia-Buckingham Slate Company, Inc., Records, 1913–1990 (Mss3 Ar896 a FA2), Virginia Historical Society, Richmond, VA.\n\u003c/p\u003e\n"],"prefercite_tesim":["Arvonia-Buckingham Slate Company, Inc., Records, 1913–1990 (Mss3 Ar896 a FA2), Virginia Historical Society, Richmond, VA."],"relatedmaterial_html_tesm":["\u003cp\u003eBranch and Company Records, 1837–1976 (Mss3 B7327 a FA1), Virginia Historical \nSociety, Richmond.\n\u003c/p\u003e\n","\u003cp\u003eLeSueur-Richmond Slate Corporation Records, 1834–1998 (Mss3 L5673 a FA2), \nVirginia Historical Society, Richmond.\n\u003c/p\u003e\n"],"relatedmaterial_heading_ssm":["Related Material"],"relatedmaterial_tesim":["Branch and Company Records, 1837–1976 (Mss3 B7327 a FA1), Virginia Historical \nSociety, Richmond.","LeSueur-Richmond Slate Corporation Records, 1834–1998 (Mss3 L5673 a FA2), \nVirginia Historical Society, Richmond."],"scopecontent_html_tesm":["\u003cp\u003eThe records in this collection consist of two main categories: operational records primarily comprised of minute books of meetings of the board of \ndirectors and stockholders, as well as two series of loose records; and \nmaterials relating to the dissolution of the firm and sale of its assets, and \nthe related matter of distribution of assets of the company's pension plan to \nentitled beneficiaries. The company remained an entity some three years beyond \nits official dissolution in order to handle the latter matter, although all its \nassets had by then been sold and all funding of activities was covered by escrow \nfunds established through the sale of those assets merged with those of the \npreviously funded pension plan.\n\u003c/p\u003e\n","\u003cp\u003eMinute books cover meetings of the board of directors and stockholders of the company, and include copies of by-laws, resolutions, and inserted materials \nrelating to company operations, policy, and corporate decision-making. All \nminute books are bound but some minutes (duplicate copies) were also maintained \nloose in files by the secretary-treasurer.\n\u003c/p\u003e\n","\u003cp\u003eA scattering of files created or compiled by the president of Arvonia-Buckingham Slate Company, Inc., survive in this collection and are listed below. Gathered \nby various successive presidents, James Turner Sloan, Owen Robert Jeffrey, and \nThomas Aubrey Yancey, the files include materials also created by or directed to \nthe secretary/treasurer, Charles Evans Wingo, III. Primarily, these files \nconcern various aspects of mining and production operations.\u003c/p\u003e\n","\u003cp\u003eOf particular interest in this series is an article in a 1961 issue of Mineral \nIndustries Journal entitled \"Slate in Virginia,\" which largely concerns \nArvonia-Buckingham and features a likeness of Thomas Aubrey Yancey (Folder 26).\n\u003c/p\u003e\n","\u003cp\u003eCreated or compiled by Robert Gamble Cabell, III, or Charles Evans Wingo, III, these files generally cover financial aspects of the company's history or \nmatters relating to stockholders or actions of the Board of Directors. For a \ntime, the firm invested proceeds from its operations in stock or United States \nTreasury bills, and some files trace the purchase and sale of those instruments \nin the 1950s and 1960s.\n\u003c/p\u003e\n","\u003cp\u003eOnce the Board of Directors had determined that the assets of Arvonia-Buckingham should be sold and the corporation dissolved, a series of important actions took \nplace. The sale was negotiated with Buckingham Slate Company, Inc., a subsidiary \nof Hi-Test Laboratories, Inc., of Buckingham, Virginia, that appears to have \nbeen created specifically for this purpose, perhaps as a holding company. \nAlthough papers in this collection do not reveal the process, within a few years \nthose assets had been acquired by LeSueur-Richmond Slate Corporation, a company \nthat had literally operated alongside Arvonia-Buckingham for many years and that \nhad joined with it and Williams Slate Company, Inc., in forming \nBuckingham-Virginia Slate Corporation in 1929 to market and sell slate products \nfrom these various firms.\u003c/p\u003e\n","\u003cp\u003eProceeds from the sale of assets were placed in escrow, partly to fund the final \nactivities of company executives in dissolving the corporation and partly to \nsupplement the previously funded pension plan. With the dissolution of the firm, \nqualified participants in the pension plan were offered lump sum distributions \nof benefits (if they had less than $3,500 invested in the plan) or could elect \nlump-sum payments or the establishment of annuities with regular benefits \npayments. Much of the second half of this series concerns the termination of the \npension plan, management of assets briefly by State Mutual Assurance Company of \nAmerica, of Worchester, Mass., the creation of a trust to manage assets, \noversight of the plan termination and distribution of assets by the Pension \nBenefit Guaranty Corporation, and dealings of the company with the U.S. Internal \nRevenue Service. \n\u003c/p\u003e\n","\u003cp\u003e(Articles of Dissolution, Unanimous Consent of Directors)\n\t\u003c/p\u003e\n\t"],"scopecontent_heading_ssm":["Scope and Content"],"scopecontent_tesim":["The records in this collection consist of two main categories: operational records primarily comprised of minute books of meetings of the board of \ndirectors and stockholders, as well as two series of loose records; and \nmaterials relating to the dissolution of the firm and sale of its assets, and \nthe related matter of distribution of assets of the company's pension plan to \nentitled beneficiaries. The company remained an entity some three years beyond \nits official dissolution in order to handle the latter matter, although all its \nassets had by then been sold and all funding of activities was covered by escrow \nfunds established through the sale of those assets merged with those of the \npreviously funded pension plan.","Minute books cover meetings of the board of directors and stockholders of the company, and include copies of by-laws, resolutions, and inserted materials \nrelating to company operations, policy, and corporate decision-making. All \nminute books are bound but some minutes (duplicate copies) were also maintained \nloose in files by the secretary-treasurer.","A scattering of files created or compiled by the president of Arvonia-Buckingham Slate Company, Inc., survive in this collection and are listed below. Gathered \nby various successive presidents, James Turner Sloan, Owen Robert Jeffrey, and \nThomas Aubrey Yancey, the files include materials also created by or directed to \nthe secretary/treasurer, Charles Evans Wingo, III. Primarily, these files \nconcern various aspects of mining and production operations.","Of particular interest in this series is an article in a 1961 issue of Mineral \nIndustries Journal entitled \"Slate in Virginia,\" which largely concerns \nArvonia-Buckingham and features a likeness of Thomas Aubrey Yancey (Folder 26).","Created or compiled by Robert Gamble Cabell, III, or Charles Evans Wingo, III, these files generally cover financial aspects of the company's history or \nmatters relating to stockholders or actions of the Board of Directors. For a \ntime, the firm invested proceeds from its operations in stock or United States \nTreasury bills, and some files trace the purchase and sale of those instruments \nin the 1950s and 1960s.","Once the Board of Directors had determined that the assets of Arvonia-Buckingham should be sold and the corporation dissolved, a series of important actions took \nplace. The sale was negotiated with Buckingham Slate Company, Inc., a subsidiary \nof Hi-Test Laboratories, Inc., of Buckingham, Virginia, that appears to have \nbeen created specifically for this purpose, perhaps as a holding company. \nAlthough papers in this collection do not reveal the process, within a few years \nthose assets had been acquired by LeSueur-Richmond Slate Corporation, a company \nthat had literally operated alongside Arvonia-Buckingham for many years and that \nhad joined with it and Williams Slate Company, Inc., in forming \nBuckingham-Virginia Slate Corporation in 1929 to market and sell slate products \nfrom these various firms.","Proceeds from the sale of assets were placed in escrow, partly to fund the final \nactivities of company executives in dissolving the corporation and partly to \nsupplement the previously funded pension plan. With the dissolution of the firm, \nqualified participants in the pension plan were offered lump sum distributions \nof benefits (if they had less than $3,500 invested in the plan) or could elect \nlump-sum payments or the establishment of annuities with regular benefits \npayments. Much of the second half of this series concerns the termination of the \npension plan, management of assets briefly by State Mutual Assurance Company of \nAmerica, of Worchester, Mass., the creation of a trust to manage assets, \noversight of the plan termination and distribution of assets by the Pension \nBenefit Guaranty Corporation, and dealings of the company with the U.S. Internal \nRevenue Service.","(Articles of Dissolution, Unanimous Consent of Directors)"],"userestrict_html_tesm":["\u003cp\u003eThere are no restrictions.\n\u003c/p\u003e\n"],"userestrict_heading_ssm":["Use Restrictions"],"userestrict_tesim":["There are no restrictions."],"abstract_html_tesm":["\u003cabstract label=\"Abstract\"\u003eHistorical and operational materials relating to Arvonia-Buckingham Slate Corporation compiled by its last secretary-treasurer, Charles E. Wingo, \nIII. Arvonia-Buckingham had a long history in Buckingham County, Virginia, as \none of the largest slate quarrying and production companies in the twentieth \ncentury. Founded by members of the Richmond-based Branch \u0026amp; Co. investment \nbanking firm, or persons closely associated in business with Branch's \nprincipals, the company operated successfully until the mid-1980s, when its \nassets were sold to a subsidiary of Hi-Test Laboratories, Inc., called \nBuckingham Slate Company, Inc., and later absorbed by LeSueur-Richmond Slate \nCorporation, which is now the only remaining slate quarrying and production \ncompany operating in Buckingham County.\n\u003c/abstract\u003e\n"],"abstract_tesim":["Historical and operational materials relating to Arvonia-Buckingham Slate Corporation compiled by its last secretary-treasurer, Charles E. Wingo, \nIII. Arvonia-Buckingham had a long history in Buckingham County, Virginia, as \none of the largest slate quarrying and production companies in the twentieth \ncentury. Founded by members of the Richmond-based Branch \u0026 Co. investment \nbanking firm, or persons closely associated in business with Branch's \nprincipals, the company operated successfully until the mid-1980s, when its \nassets were sold to a subsidiary of Hi-Test Laboratories, Inc., called \nBuckingham Slate Company, Inc., and later absorbed by LeSueur-Richmond Slate \nCorporation, which is now the only remaining slate quarrying and production \ncompany operating in Buckingham County."],"corpname_ssim":["Arvonia Buckingham Slate Corporation (Buckingham County, Va.)","Buckingham-Virginia Slate Corporation (Buckingham County, Va.)","Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation.","State Mutual Assurance Company (Worchester, Mass.)"],"names_coll_ssim":["Arvonia Buckingham Slate Corporation (Buckingham County, Va.)","Buckingham-Virginia Slate Corporation (Buckingham County, Va.)","Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation.","State Mutual Assurance Company (Worchester, Mass.)","Cabell, Robert Gamble, 1881–1968.","Jeffrey, Owen Robert, 1878–1954.","Sloan, James Turner, d. 1934.","Wingo, Charles Evans, 1917–2005.","Yancey, Thomas Aubrey."],"persname_ssim":["Cabell, Robert Gamble, 1881–1968.","Jeffrey, Owen Robert, 1878–1954.","Sloan, James Turner, d. 1934.","Wingo, Charles Evans, 1917–2005.","Yancey, Thomas Aubrey."],"names_ssim":["Arvonia Buckingham Slate Corporation (Buckingham County, Va.)","Buckingham-Virginia Slate Corporation (Buckingham County, Va.)","Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation.","State Mutual Assurance Company (Worchester, Mass.)","Cabell, Robert Gamble, 1881–1968.","Jeffrey, Owen Robert, 1878–1954.","Sloan, James Turner, d. 1934.","Wingo, Charles Evans, 1917–2005.","Yancey, Thomas Aubrey."],"language_ssim":["English"],"total_component_count_is":75,"online_item_count_is":0,"component_level_isim":[0],"sort_isi":0,"timestamp":"2026-06-23T06:58:25.153Z"}]}},"label":"Breadcrumbs"}}},"links":{"self":"https://search.arvasarchive.org/catalog/vihi_vih00021_c02_c04"}},{"id":"vihi_vih00021_c03_c08","type":"File","attributes":{"title":"Correspondence with Branch \u0026 Company, Richmond, concerning stock purchases, \n\t1962–1967","breadcrumbs":{"id":"https://search.arvasarchive.org/catalog/vihi_vih00021_c03_c08#breadcrumbs","type":"document_value","attributes":{"value":{"ref_ssi":"vihi_vih00021_c03_c08","ref_ssm":["vihi_vih00021_c03_c08"],"id":"vihi_vih00021_c03_c08","ead_ssi":"vihi_vih00021","_root_":"vihi_vih00021","_nest_parent_":"vihi_vih00021_c03","parent_ssi":"vihi_vih00021_c03","parent_ssim":["Arvonia-Buckingham Slate Company, Inc., Records, \n1913–1990","Series 3. Secretary/Treasurer's Files, \n1931–1985"],"parent_ids_ssim":["vihi_vih00021","vihi_vih00021_c03"],"title_filing_ssi":"Correspondence with Branch \u0026 Company, Richmond, concerning stock purchases, \n\t1962–1967","title_ssm":["Correspondence with Branch \u0026 Company, Richmond, concerning stock purchases, \n\t1962–1967"],"title_tesim":["Correspondence with Branch \u0026 Company, Richmond, concerning stock purchases, \n\t1962–1967"],"normalized_title_ssm":["Correspondence with Branch \u0026 Company, Richmond, concerning stock purchases, \n\t1962–1967"],"text":["Correspondence with Branch \u0026 Company, Richmond, concerning stock purchases, \n\t1962–1967","Arvonia-Buckingham Slate Company, Inc., Records, \n1913–1990","Series 3. Secretary/Treasurer's Files, \n1931–1985","box-folder 2:35"],"parent_unittitles_ssm":["Arvonia-Buckingham Slate Company, Inc., Records, \n1913–1990","Series 3. Secretary/Treasurer's Files, \n1931–1985"],"parent_unittitles_tesim":["Arvonia-Buckingham Slate Company, Inc., Records, \n1913–1990","Series 3. Secretary/Treasurer's Files, \n1931–1985"],"level_ssm":["File"],"level_ssim":["File"],"component_level_isim":[2],"sort_isi":38,"repository_ssim":["Virginia Historical Society"],"collection_ssim":["Arvonia-Buckingham Slate Company, Inc., Records, \n1913–1990"],"containers_ssim":["box-folder 2:35"],"has_online_content_ssim":["false"],"child_component_count_isi":0,"_nest_path_":"/components#2/components#7","timestamp":"2026-06-23T06:58:25.153Z","collection":{"numFound":1,"start":0,"numFoundExact":true,"docs":[{"id":"vihi_vih00021","ead_ssi":"vihi_vih00021","_root_":"vihi_vih00021","_nest_parent_":"vihi_vih00021","ead_source_url_ssi":"data/vhs/vih00021.xml","title_ssm":["Arvonia-Buckingham Slate Company, Inc., Records, \n1913–1990"],"title_tesim":["Arvonia-Buckingham Slate Company, Inc., Records, \n1913–1990"],"normalized_title_ssm":["Arvonia-Buckingham Slate Company, Inc., Records, \n1913–1990"],"text":["Arvonia-Buckingham Slate Company, Inc., Records, \n1913–1990","Mss3 Ar896 a FA2","Arvonia (Va.) - Commerce - History - 20th century.","Buckingham County (Va.) - Economic conditions - 20th century.","Virginia - Commerce - History - 20th century.","Slate industry - Virginia - History - 20th century.",".","Collection is open to research.","The records of Arvonia-Buckingham Slate Company, Inc. are divided into four series that reflect the overall history of the firm but are strongly focused on \nthe dissolution of the company and the termination of the pension program. In \neach series description, there are notes about the record series overall, \ngenerally with some reference to specific materials within the series. The \ncollection primarily consists of a mixture of bound volumes and loose papers, \nall grouped and designated by folder labels and numbers.","Arvonia-Buckingham Slate Corporation, incorporated in 1913, was founded through the efforts of James Turner Sloan, a major land manager and developer, and his \ncolleague Owen Robert Jeffrey, from a local mining family in Buckingham. They \nwere joined by Thomas Aubrey Yancey, who also served for many years as the \nfirm's president, and Robert Gamble Cabell, III, of Branch \u0026 Co., the firm that \nhanded much of Arvonia-Buckingham's financial and investments affairs. In fact, \nwhile operations centered in the Arvonia region of Buckingham County, corporate \nactivities were largely run out of offices at Branch \u0026 Co. in Richmond. The firm \njoined with Williams Slate Company, Inc., and LeSueur-Richmond Slate Corporation \nto create Buckingham-Virginia Slate Corporation in 1929 as the marketing and \nsales arm of these three firms. For many years these firms shared a major market \nfor roofing and structural slate products, but in the mid-1980s the directors \nrecommended to the company's stockholders that Arvonia-Buckingham's assets to be \nsold and the company dissolved, which occurred in 1985. The firm remained on the \nbooks while the company pension plan was terminated and assets distributed \ndirectly or into annuities for former qualified employees. In the meantime, the \nassets of Arvonia-Buckingham (quarries and mining and production facilities and \nequipment) were eventually acquired by LeSueur-Richmond Slate Corporation, which \nremains the only firm currently maintaining slate quarrying and production \noperations in Buckingham County.","Branch and Company Records, 1837–1976 (Mss3 B7327 a FA1), Virginia Historical \nSociety, Richmond.","LeSueur-Richmond Slate Corporation Records, 1834–1998 (Mss3 L5673 a FA2), \nVirginia Historical Society, Richmond.","The records in this collection consist of two main categories: operational records primarily comprised of minute books of meetings of the board of \ndirectors and stockholders, as well as two series of loose records; and \nmaterials relating to the dissolution of the firm and sale of its assets, and \nthe related matter of distribution of assets of the company's pension plan to \nentitled beneficiaries. The company remained an entity some three years beyond \nits official dissolution in order to handle the latter matter, although all its \nassets had by then been sold and all funding of activities was covered by escrow \nfunds established through the sale of those assets merged with those of the \npreviously funded pension plan.","Minute books cover meetings of the board of directors and stockholders of the company, and include copies of by-laws, resolutions, and inserted materials \nrelating to company operations, policy, and corporate decision-making. All \nminute books are bound but some minutes (duplicate copies) were also maintained \nloose in files by the secretary-treasurer.","A scattering of files created or compiled by the president of Arvonia-Buckingham Slate Company, Inc., survive in this collection and are listed below. Gathered \nby various successive presidents, James Turner Sloan, Owen Robert Jeffrey, and \nThomas Aubrey Yancey, the files include materials also created by or directed to \nthe secretary/treasurer, Charles Evans Wingo, III. Primarily, these files \nconcern various aspects of mining and production operations.","Of particular interest in this series is an article in a 1961 issue of Mineral \nIndustries Journal entitled \"Slate in Virginia,\" which largely concerns \nArvonia-Buckingham and features a likeness of Thomas Aubrey Yancey (Folder 26).","Created or compiled by Robert Gamble Cabell, III, or Charles Evans Wingo, III, these files generally cover financial aspects of the company's history or \nmatters relating to stockholders or actions of the Board of Directors. For a \ntime, the firm invested proceeds from its operations in stock or United States \nTreasury bills, and some files trace the purchase and sale of those instruments \nin the 1950s and 1960s.","Once the Board of Directors had determined that the assets of Arvonia-Buckingham should be sold and the corporation dissolved, a series of important actions took \nplace. The sale was negotiated with Buckingham Slate Company, Inc., a subsidiary \nof Hi-Test Laboratories, Inc., of Buckingham, Virginia, that appears to have \nbeen created specifically for this purpose, perhaps as a holding company. \nAlthough papers in this collection do not reveal the process, within a few years \nthose assets had been acquired by LeSueur-Richmond Slate Corporation, a company \nthat had literally operated alongside Arvonia-Buckingham for many years and that \nhad joined with it and Williams Slate Company, Inc., in forming \nBuckingham-Virginia Slate Corporation in 1929 to market and sell slate products \nfrom these various firms.","Proceeds from the sale of assets were placed in escrow, partly to fund the final \nactivities of company executives in dissolving the corporation and partly to \nsupplement the previously funded pension plan. With the dissolution of the firm, \nqualified participants in the pension plan were offered lump sum distributions \nof benefits (if they had less than $3,500 invested in the plan) or could elect \nlump-sum payments or the establishment of annuities with regular benefits \npayments. Much of the second half of this series concerns the termination of the \npension plan, management of assets briefly by State Mutual Assurance Company of \nAmerica, of Worchester, Mass., the creation of a trust to manage assets, \noversight of the plan termination and distribution of assets by the Pension \nBenefit Guaranty Corporation, and dealings of the company with the U.S. Internal \nRevenue Service.","(Articles of Dissolution, Unanimous Consent of Directors)","There are no restrictions.","Historical and operational materials relating to Arvonia-Buckingham Slate Corporation compiled by its last secretary-treasurer, Charles E. Wingo, \nIII. Arvonia-Buckingham had a long history in Buckingham County, Virginia, as \none of the largest slate quarrying and production companies in the twentieth \ncentury. Founded by members of the Richmond-based Branch \u0026 Co. investment \nbanking firm, or persons closely associated in business with Branch's \nprincipals, the company operated successfully until the mid-1980s, when its \nassets were sold to a subsidiary of Hi-Test Laboratories, Inc., called \nBuckingham Slate Company, Inc., and later absorbed by LeSueur-Richmond Slate \nCorporation, which is now the only remaining slate quarrying and production \ncompany operating in Buckingham County.","Arvonia Buckingham Slate Corporation (Buckingham County, Va.)","Buckingham-Virginia Slate Corporation (Buckingham County, Va.)","Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation.","State Mutual Assurance Company (Worchester, Mass.)","Cabell, Robert Gamble, 1881–1968.","Jeffrey, Owen Robert, 1878–1954.","Sloan, James Turner, d. 1934.","Wingo, Charles Evans, 1917–2005.","Yancey, Thomas Aubrey.","English"],"collection_title_tesim":["Arvonia-Buckingham Slate Company, Inc., Records, \n1913–1990"],"collection_ssim":["Arvonia-Buckingham Slate Company, Inc., Records, \n1913–1990"],"level_ssm":["collection"],"level_ssim":["Collection"],"unitid_ssm":["Mss3 Ar896 a FA2"],"unitid_tesim":["Mss3 Ar896 a FA2"],"repository_ssm":["Virginia Historical Society"],"repository_ssim":["Virginia Historical Society"],"geogname_ssm":["Arvonia (Va.) - Commerce - History - 20th century.","Buckingham County (Va.) - Economic conditions - 20th century.","Virginia - Commerce - History - 20th century."],"geogname_ssim":["Arvonia (Va.) - Commerce - History - 20th century.","Buckingham County (Va.) - Economic conditions - 20th century.","Virginia - Commerce - History - 20th century."],"places_ssim":["Arvonia (Va.) - Commerce - History - 20th century.","Buckingham County (Va.) - Economic conditions - 20th century.","Virginia - Commerce - History - 20th century."],"creator_persname_ssim":["Cabell, Robert Gamble, 1881–1968.","Jeffrey, Owen Robert, 1878–1954.","Sloan, James Turner, d. 1934.","Wingo, Charles Evans, 1917–2005.","Yancey, Thomas Aubrey."],"creator_corpname_ssim":["Arvonia Buckingham Slate Corporation (Buckingham County, Va.)","Buckingham-Virginia Slate Corporation (Buckingham County, Va.)","Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation.","State Mutual Assurance Company (Worchester, Mass.)"],"creators_ssim":["Cabell, Robert Gamble, 1881–1968.","Jeffrey, Owen Robert, 1878–1954.","Sloan, James Turner, d. 1934.","Wingo, Charles Evans, 1917–2005.","Yancey, Thomas Aubrey.","Arvonia Buckingham Slate Corporation (Buckingham County, Va.)","Buckingham-Virginia Slate Corporation (Buckingham County, Va.)","Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation.","State Mutual Assurance Company (Worchester, Mass.)"],"acqinfo_ssim":["Gift of Charles E. Wingo, III, Richmond, Va., in 1997. Accessioned 4 January 2012."],"access_subjects_ssim":["Slate industry - Virginia - History - 20th century."],"access_subjects_ssm":["Slate industry - Virginia - History - 20th century."],"has_online_content_ssim":["false"],"physdesc_tesim":["."],"extent_ssm":["71 folders"],"extent_tesim":["71 folders"],"accessrestrict_html_tesm":["\u003cp\u003eCollection is open to research.\n\u003c/p\u003e\n"],"accessrestrict_heading_ssm":["Access Restrictions"],"accessrestrict_tesim":["Collection is open to research."],"arrangement_html_tesm":["\u003cp\u003eThe records of Arvonia-Buckingham Slate Company, Inc. are divided into four series that reflect the overall history of the firm but are strongly focused on \nthe dissolution of the company and the termination of the pension program. In \neach series description, there are notes about the record series overall, \ngenerally with some reference to specific materials within the series. The \ncollection primarily consists of a mixture of bound volumes and loose papers, \nall grouped and designated by folder labels and numbers.\n\u003c/p\u003e\n"],"arrangement_heading_ssm":["Arrangement"],"arrangement_tesim":["The records of Arvonia-Buckingham Slate Company, Inc. are divided into four series that reflect the overall history of the firm but are strongly focused on \nthe dissolution of the company and the termination of the pension program. In \neach series description, there are notes about the record series overall, \ngenerally with some reference to specific materials within the series. The \ncollection primarily consists of a mixture of bound volumes and loose papers, \nall grouped and designated by folder labels and numbers."],"bioghist_html_tesm":["\u003cp\u003eArvonia-Buckingham Slate Corporation, incorporated in 1913, was founded through the efforts of James Turner Sloan, a major land manager and developer, and his \ncolleague Owen Robert Jeffrey, from a local mining family in Buckingham. They \nwere joined by Thomas Aubrey Yancey, who also served for many years as the \nfirm's president, and Robert Gamble Cabell, III, of Branch \u0026amp; Co., the firm that \nhanded much of Arvonia-Buckingham's financial and investments affairs. In fact, \nwhile operations centered in the Arvonia region of Buckingham County, corporate \nactivities were largely run out of offices at Branch \u0026amp; Co. in Richmond. The firm \njoined with Williams Slate Company, Inc., and LeSueur-Richmond Slate Corporation \nto create Buckingham-Virginia Slate Corporation in 1929 as the marketing and \nsales arm of these three firms. For many years these firms shared a major market \nfor roofing and structural slate products, but in the mid-1980s the directors \nrecommended to the company's stockholders that Arvonia-Buckingham's assets to be \nsold and the company dissolved, which occurred in 1985. The firm remained on the \nbooks while the company pension plan was terminated and assets distributed \ndirectly or into annuities for former qualified employees. In the meantime, the \nassets of Arvonia-Buckingham (quarries and mining and production facilities and \nequipment) were eventually acquired by LeSueur-Richmond Slate Corporation, which \nremains the only firm currently maintaining slate quarrying and production \noperations in Buckingham County.\n\u003c/p\u003e\n"],"bioghist_heading_ssm":["Biographical/Historical Information"],"bioghist_tesim":["Arvonia-Buckingham Slate Corporation, incorporated in 1913, was founded through the efforts of James Turner Sloan, a major land manager and developer, and his \ncolleague Owen Robert Jeffrey, from a local mining family in Buckingham. They \nwere joined by Thomas Aubrey Yancey, who also served for many years as the \nfirm's president, and Robert Gamble Cabell, III, of Branch \u0026 Co., the firm that \nhanded much of Arvonia-Buckingham's financial and investments affairs. In fact, \nwhile operations centered in the Arvonia region of Buckingham County, corporate \nactivities were largely run out of offices at Branch \u0026 Co. in Richmond. The firm \njoined with Williams Slate Company, Inc., and LeSueur-Richmond Slate Corporation \nto create Buckingham-Virginia Slate Corporation in 1929 as the marketing and \nsales arm of these three firms. For many years these firms shared a major market \nfor roofing and structural slate products, but in the mid-1980s the directors \nrecommended to the company's stockholders that Arvonia-Buckingham's assets to be \nsold and the company dissolved, which occurred in 1985. The firm remained on the \nbooks while the company pension plan was terminated and assets distributed \ndirectly or into annuities for former qualified employees. In the meantime, the \nassets of Arvonia-Buckingham (quarries and mining and production facilities and \nequipment) were eventually acquired by LeSueur-Richmond Slate Corporation, which \nremains the only firm currently maintaining slate quarrying and production \noperations in Buckingham County."],"prefercite_html_tesm":["\u003cp\u003eArvonia-Buckingham Slate Company, Inc., Records, 1913–1990 (Mss3 Ar896 a FA2), Virginia Historical Society, Richmond, VA.\n\u003c/p\u003e\n"],"prefercite_tesim":["Arvonia-Buckingham Slate Company, Inc., Records, 1913–1990 (Mss3 Ar896 a FA2), Virginia Historical Society, Richmond, VA."],"relatedmaterial_html_tesm":["\u003cp\u003eBranch and Company Records, 1837–1976 (Mss3 B7327 a FA1), Virginia Historical \nSociety, Richmond.\n\u003c/p\u003e\n","\u003cp\u003eLeSueur-Richmond Slate Corporation Records, 1834–1998 (Mss3 L5673 a FA2), \nVirginia Historical Society, Richmond.\n\u003c/p\u003e\n"],"relatedmaterial_heading_ssm":["Related Material"],"relatedmaterial_tesim":["Branch and Company Records, 1837–1976 (Mss3 B7327 a FA1), Virginia Historical \nSociety, Richmond.","LeSueur-Richmond Slate Corporation Records, 1834–1998 (Mss3 L5673 a FA2), \nVirginia Historical Society, Richmond."],"scopecontent_html_tesm":["\u003cp\u003eThe records in this collection consist of two main categories: operational records primarily comprised of minute books of meetings of the board of \ndirectors and stockholders, as well as two series of loose records; and \nmaterials relating to the dissolution of the firm and sale of its assets, and \nthe related matter of distribution of assets of the company's pension plan to \nentitled beneficiaries. The company remained an entity some three years beyond \nits official dissolution in order to handle the latter matter, although all its \nassets had by then been sold and all funding of activities was covered by escrow \nfunds established through the sale of those assets merged with those of the \npreviously funded pension plan.\n\u003c/p\u003e\n","\u003cp\u003eMinute books cover meetings of the board of directors and stockholders of the company, and include copies of by-laws, resolutions, and inserted materials \nrelating to company operations, policy, and corporate decision-making. All \nminute books are bound but some minutes (duplicate copies) were also maintained \nloose in files by the secretary-treasurer.\n\u003c/p\u003e\n","\u003cp\u003eA scattering of files created or compiled by the president of Arvonia-Buckingham Slate Company, Inc., survive in this collection and are listed below. Gathered \nby various successive presidents, James Turner Sloan, Owen Robert Jeffrey, and \nThomas Aubrey Yancey, the files include materials also created by or directed to \nthe secretary/treasurer, Charles Evans Wingo, III. Primarily, these files \nconcern various aspects of mining and production operations.\u003c/p\u003e\n","\u003cp\u003eOf particular interest in this series is an article in a 1961 issue of Mineral \nIndustries Journal entitled \"Slate in Virginia,\" which largely concerns \nArvonia-Buckingham and features a likeness of Thomas Aubrey Yancey (Folder 26).\n\u003c/p\u003e\n","\u003cp\u003eCreated or compiled by Robert Gamble Cabell, III, or Charles Evans Wingo, III, these files generally cover financial aspects of the company's history or \nmatters relating to stockholders or actions of the Board of Directors. For a \ntime, the firm invested proceeds from its operations in stock or United States \nTreasury bills, and some files trace the purchase and sale of those instruments \nin the 1950s and 1960s.\n\u003c/p\u003e\n","\u003cp\u003eOnce the Board of Directors had determined that the assets of Arvonia-Buckingham should be sold and the corporation dissolved, a series of important actions took \nplace. The sale was negotiated with Buckingham Slate Company, Inc., a subsidiary \nof Hi-Test Laboratories, Inc., of Buckingham, Virginia, that appears to have \nbeen created specifically for this purpose, perhaps as a holding company. \nAlthough papers in this collection do not reveal the process, within a few years \nthose assets had been acquired by LeSueur-Richmond Slate Corporation, a company \nthat had literally operated alongside Arvonia-Buckingham for many years and that \nhad joined with it and Williams Slate Company, Inc., in forming \nBuckingham-Virginia Slate Corporation in 1929 to market and sell slate products \nfrom these various firms.\u003c/p\u003e\n","\u003cp\u003eProceeds from the sale of assets were placed in escrow, partly to fund the final \nactivities of company executives in dissolving the corporation and partly to \nsupplement the previously funded pension plan. With the dissolution of the firm, \nqualified participants in the pension plan were offered lump sum distributions \nof benefits (if they had less than $3,500 invested in the plan) or could elect \nlump-sum payments or the establishment of annuities with regular benefits \npayments. Much of the second half of this series concerns the termination of the \npension plan, management of assets briefly by State Mutual Assurance Company of \nAmerica, of Worchester, Mass., the creation of a trust to manage assets, \noversight of the plan termination and distribution of assets by the Pension \nBenefit Guaranty Corporation, and dealings of the company with the U.S. Internal \nRevenue Service. \n\u003c/p\u003e\n","\u003cp\u003e(Articles of Dissolution, Unanimous Consent of Directors)\n\t\u003c/p\u003e\n\t"],"scopecontent_heading_ssm":["Scope and Content"],"scopecontent_tesim":["The records in this collection consist of two main categories: operational records primarily comprised of minute books of meetings of the board of \ndirectors and stockholders, as well as two series of loose records; and \nmaterials relating to the dissolution of the firm and sale of its assets, and \nthe related matter of distribution of assets of the company's pension plan to \nentitled beneficiaries. The company remained an entity some three years beyond \nits official dissolution in order to handle the latter matter, although all its \nassets had by then been sold and all funding of activities was covered by escrow \nfunds established through the sale of those assets merged with those of the \npreviously funded pension plan.","Minute books cover meetings of the board of directors and stockholders of the company, and include copies of by-laws, resolutions, and inserted materials \nrelating to company operations, policy, and corporate decision-making. All \nminute books are bound but some minutes (duplicate copies) were also maintained \nloose in files by the secretary-treasurer.","A scattering of files created or compiled by the president of Arvonia-Buckingham Slate Company, Inc., survive in this collection and are listed below. Gathered \nby various successive presidents, James Turner Sloan, Owen Robert Jeffrey, and \nThomas Aubrey Yancey, the files include materials also created by or directed to \nthe secretary/treasurer, Charles Evans Wingo, III. Primarily, these files \nconcern various aspects of mining and production operations.","Of particular interest in this series is an article in a 1961 issue of Mineral \nIndustries Journal entitled \"Slate in Virginia,\" which largely concerns \nArvonia-Buckingham and features a likeness of Thomas Aubrey Yancey (Folder 26).","Created or compiled by Robert Gamble Cabell, III, or Charles Evans Wingo, III, these files generally cover financial aspects of the company's history or \nmatters relating to stockholders or actions of the Board of Directors. For a \ntime, the firm invested proceeds from its operations in stock or United States \nTreasury bills, and some files trace the purchase and sale of those instruments \nin the 1950s and 1960s.","Once the Board of Directors had determined that the assets of Arvonia-Buckingham should be sold and the corporation dissolved, a series of important actions took \nplace. The sale was negotiated with Buckingham Slate Company, Inc., a subsidiary \nof Hi-Test Laboratories, Inc., of Buckingham, Virginia, that appears to have \nbeen created specifically for this purpose, perhaps as a holding company. \nAlthough papers in this collection do not reveal the process, within a few years \nthose assets had been acquired by LeSueur-Richmond Slate Corporation, a company \nthat had literally operated alongside Arvonia-Buckingham for many years and that \nhad joined with it and Williams Slate Company, Inc., in forming \nBuckingham-Virginia Slate Corporation in 1929 to market and sell slate products \nfrom these various firms.","Proceeds from the sale of assets were placed in escrow, partly to fund the final \nactivities of company executives in dissolving the corporation and partly to \nsupplement the previously funded pension plan. With the dissolution of the firm, \nqualified participants in the pension plan were offered lump sum distributions \nof benefits (if they had less than $3,500 invested in the plan) or could elect \nlump-sum payments or the establishment of annuities with regular benefits \npayments. Much of the second half of this series concerns the termination of the \npension plan, management of assets briefly by State Mutual Assurance Company of \nAmerica, of Worchester, Mass., the creation of a trust to manage assets, \noversight of the plan termination and distribution of assets by the Pension \nBenefit Guaranty Corporation, and dealings of the company with the U.S. Internal \nRevenue Service.","(Articles of Dissolution, Unanimous Consent of Directors)"],"userestrict_html_tesm":["\u003cp\u003eThere are no restrictions.\n\u003c/p\u003e\n"],"userestrict_heading_ssm":["Use Restrictions"],"userestrict_tesim":["There are no restrictions."],"abstract_html_tesm":["\u003cabstract label=\"Abstract\"\u003eHistorical and operational materials relating to Arvonia-Buckingham Slate Corporation compiled by its last secretary-treasurer, Charles E. Wingo, \nIII. Arvonia-Buckingham had a long history in Buckingham County, Virginia, as \none of the largest slate quarrying and production companies in the twentieth \ncentury. Founded by members of the Richmond-based Branch \u0026amp; Co. investment \nbanking firm, or persons closely associated in business with Branch's \nprincipals, the company operated successfully until the mid-1980s, when its \nassets were sold to a subsidiary of Hi-Test Laboratories, Inc., called \nBuckingham Slate Company, Inc., and later absorbed by LeSueur-Richmond Slate \nCorporation, which is now the only remaining slate quarrying and production \ncompany operating in Buckingham County.\n\u003c/abstract\u003e\n"],"abstract_tesim":["Historical and operational materials relating to Arvonia-Buckingham Slate Corporation compiled by its last secretary-treasurer, Charles E. Wingo, \nIII. Arvonia-Buckingham had a long history in Buckingham County, Virginia, as \none of the largest slate quarrying and production companies in the twentieth \ncentury. Founded by members of the Richmond-based Branch \u0026 Co. investment \nbanking firm, or persons closely associated in business with Branch's \nprincipals, the company operated successfully until the mid-1980s, when its \nassets were sold to a subsidiary of Hi-Test Laboratories, Inc., called \nBuckingham Slate Company, Inc., and later absorbed by LeSueur-Richmond Slate \nCorporation, which is now the only remaining slate quarrying and production \ncompany operating in Buckingham County."],"corpname_ssim":["Arvonia Buckingham Slate Corporation (Buckingham County, Va.)","Buckingham-Virginia Slate Corporation (Buckingham County, Va.)","Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation.","State Mutual Assurance Company (Worchester, Mass.)"],"names_coll_ssim":["Arvonia Buckingham Slate Corporation (Buckingham County, Va.)","Buckingham-Virginia Slate Corporation (Buckingham County, Va.)","Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation.","State Mutual Assurance Company (Worchester, Mass.)","Cabell, Robert Gamble, 1881–1968.","Jeffrey, Owen Robert, 1878–1954.","Sloan, James Turner, d. 1934.","Wingo, Charles Evans, 1917–2005.","Yancey, Thomas Aubrey."],"persname_ssim":["Cabell, Robert Gamble, 1881–1968.","Jeffrey, Owen Robert, 1878–1954.","Sloan, James Turner, d. 1934.","Wingo, Charles Evans, 1917–2005.","Yancey, Thomas Aubrey."],"names_ssim":["Arvonia Buckingham Slate Corporation (Buckingham County, Va.)","Buckingham-Virginia Slate Corporation (Buckingham County, Va.)","Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation.","State Mutual Assurance Company (Worchester, Mass.)","Cabell, Robert Gamble, 1881–1968.","Jeffrey, Owen Robert, 1878–1954.","Sloan, James Turner, d. 1934.","Wingo, Charles Evans, 1917–2005.","Yancey, Thomas Aubrey."],"language_ssim":["English"],"total_component_count_is":75,"online_item_count_is":0,"component_level_isim":[0],"sort_isi":0,"timestamp":"2026-06-23T06:58:25.153Z"}]}},"label":"Breadcrumbs"}}},"links":{"self":"https://search.arvasarchive.org/catalog/vihi_vih00021_c03_c08"}},{"id":"vihi_vih00010_c04_c01_c02","type":"File","attributes":{"title":"Correspondence with Nora Houston, \n                     \n                     1916-1940","breadcrumbs":{"id":"https://search.arvasarchive.org/catalog/vihi_vih00010_c04_c01_c02#breadcrumbs","type":"document_value","attributes":{"value":{"ref_ssi":"vihi_vih00010_c04_c01_c02","ref_ssm":["vihi_vih00010_c04_c01_c02"],"id":"vihi_vih00010_c04_c01_c02","ead_ssi":"vihi_vih00010","_root_":"vihi_vih00010","_nest_parent_":"vihi_vih00010_c04_c01","parent_ssi":"vihi_vih00010_c04_c01","parent_ssim":["Adele Clark Papers \n         \n         1855-1976","Series 4: Adele Clark (1882-1983),\n               Richmond, Va.","Subseries 4.1: General and\n                  Financial Materials \n                  \n                  1916-1970"],"parent_ids_ssim":["vihi_vih00010","vihi_vih00010_c04","vihi_vih00010_c04_c01"],"title_filing_ssi":"Correspondence with Nora Houston, \n                     \n                     1916-1940","title_ssm":["Correspondence with Nora Houston, \n                     \n                     1916-1940"],"title_tesim":["Correspondence with Nora Houston, \n                     \n                     1916-1940"],"normalized_title_ssm":["Correspondence with Nora Houston, \n                     \n                     1916-1940"],"text":["Correspondence with Nora Houston, \n                     \n                     1916-1940","Adele Clark Papers \n         \n         1855-1976","Series 4: Adele Clark (1882-1983),\n               Richmond, Va.","Subseries 4.1: General and\n                  Financial Materials \n                  \n                  1916-1970"],"parent_unittitles_ssm":["Adele Clark Papers \n         \n         1855-1976","Series 4: Adele Clark (1882-1983),\n               Richmond, Va.","Subseries 4.1: General and\n                  Financial Materials \n                  \n                  1916-1970"],"parent_unittitles_tesim":["Adele Clark Papers \n         \n         1855-1976","Series 4: Adele Clark (1882-1983),\n               Richmond, Va.","Subseries 4.1: General and\n                  Financial Materials \n                  \n                  1916-1970"],"level_ssm":["File"],"level_ssim":["File"],"component_level_isim":[3],"sort_isi":7,"repository_ssim":["Virginia Historical Society"],"collection_ssim":["Adele Clark Papers \n         \n         1855-1976"],"has_online_content_ssim":["false"],"child_component_count_isi":0,"_nest_path_":"/components#3/components#0/components#1","timestamp":"2026-06-23T06:58:25.153Z","collection":{"numFound":1,"start":0,"numFoundExact":true,"docs":[{"id":"vihi_vih00010","ead_ssi":"vihi_vih00010","_root_":"vihi_vih00010","_nest_parent_":"vihi_vih00010","ead_source_url_ssi":"data/vhs/vih00010.xml","title_ssm":["Adele Clark Papers \n         \n         1855-1976"],"title_tesim":["Adele Clark Papers \n         \n         1855-1976"],"normalized_title_ssm":["Adele Clark Papers \n         \n         1855-1976"],"text":["Adele Clark Papers \n         \n         1855-1976","Mss1 C5472 a FA2","Art and state -- Virginia.","Art -- Study and teaching.","Clark,Adele, 1882-1983.","Clark, Estelle Goodman, 1847-1937.","Equal Suffrage League of Virginia.","Federal art Project (Va.)","Houston, Nora, 1883-1942.","Ions, Willoughby, 1881-1977.","League of Women Voters of Virginia.","Mothers and daughters.","Richmond(Va.) -- Intellectual life -- 20th\n         century.","Suffrage.","Women artists -- Virginia.","Women -- Family relationships.","Women in politics -- Virginia.","Women -- Suffrage.","900 (ca.) items. (2 archival and 1\n         oversize box).","Collection is open for research.","The papers of Adele Clark are arranged into seven series by\n         individual and further subdivided by subject or material\n         type.","Adele Clark was a major figure in Richmond's art scene and\n         political life for nearly three-quarters of a century. Born in\n         Montgomery, Ala., she spent her childhood in New Orleans, La.,\n         before moving to Richmond in 1894. Seven years later she\n         graduated from the Miss Virginia Randolph Ellen School (now\n         St. Catherine's). While working as a stenographer for the\n         chamber of commerce, Miss Clark studied art with Lily Logan at\n         the Art Club of Richmond. In 1906, Miss Clark received a\n         scholarship to the Chase School of Art in New York, where she\n         studied under Robert Henri and Kenneth Hays Miller. Shortly\n         after her return to Richmond to teach at the Art Club, she\n         became involved in the women's suffrage movement.","This collection begins with the papers of Robert Clark\n         (1832?-1906) and his wife, Estelle (Goodman) Clark\n         (1847-1937). His papers consist of three letters written by a\n         brother Tom Clark and miscellany; hers include correspondence,\n         accounts, and miscellany. A folder of her general\n         correspondence precedes individual folders of letters with her\n         three daughters, Adele Clark, Edith (Clark) Cowles, and\n         Gertrude (Clark) Dew, as well as one containing two letters\n         from President Franklin Delano Roosevelt. Accounts and letters\n         concerning the deaths of two family members follow.","Correspondence of Edith (Clark) Cowles includes letters\n         with her sister, Adele Clark, and illustrator Dugald Stewart\n         Walker. Adele Clark (1882-1983) was a major figure in\n         Richmond's art society and political life for nearly\n         three-quarters of a century. Born Adele Goodman Clark in\n         Montgomery, Ala., she spent most of her childhood in New\n         Orleans, La., before moving to Richmond in 1894. Seven years\n         later Clark graduated from the Miss Virginia Randolph Ellett\n         School (now St. Catherine's). While working as a stenographer\n         for the chamber of commerce she studied art with Lily Logan at\n         the Art Club of Richmond. In 1906, Adele Clark received a\n         scholarship to the Chase School of Art in New York where she\n         studied under Robert Henri and Kenneth Hays Miller. Shortly\n         after her return to Richmond to teach at the Art Club, she\n         became involved in the women's suffrage movement","Adele Clark's papers reflect her varied careers and\n         avocations, yet mostly pertain to her personal life and art\n         activities. Major collections of her papers documenting her\n         work with the Equal Suffrage League, the Virginia League of\n         Women Voters, and the U.S. Work Projects Administration have\n         been given to the Virginia State Library, the University of\n         Virginia, Virginia Commonwealth University, and other\n         institutions.","Adele Clark's papers begin with a section of general\n         correspondence, which consists of letters with family members,\n         artists, politicians, and suffragists. Among the more\n         prominent are: Ella Graham Agnew, Edmund Minor Archer, Harry\n         Flood Byrd (1887-1966), Colgate Whitehead Darden, Marion\n         Montague Junkin, Elizabeth Dabney (Langhorne) Lewis, Theresa\n         Pollak, and Roberta Wellford. Separate folders contain\n         correspondence with Richmond artist Nora Houston and artist\n         and designer Willoughby Ions, Adele Clark's first cousin.","Accounts precede financial records, which include materials\n         concerning \"Swannanoa,\" the summer home of James Henry Dooley,\n         uncle of Nora Houston. Adele Clark was helping the Dooley\n         family dispose of this property after the death of Sallie\n         (May) Dooley in 1925. A few items documenting Adele Clark's\n         brief tenure as acting dean of women at the College of William\n         and Mary precede materials concerning her uncle, Edward Samuel\n         Goodman, who died in 1931. These include inquiries concerning\n         his health, sympathy letters and trust information. Sympathy\n         letters concerning the death of Nora Houston, recipes,\n         miscellaneous newspaper clippings and personal miscellany\n         conclude this section.","Materials pertaining to Adele Clark's art career and\n         political activities are located in box 2. These begin with a\n         folder of general art correspondence, arranged alphabetically,\n         which mostly consists of portrait requests, commissions,\n         inquiries, and letters with miscellaneous art institutions.\n         Clark was treasurer and member of the board of directors of\n         the Richmond Art Club as well as a student and instructor\n         there. A minute book, loose minutes, correspondence, loose\n         clippings and a scrapbook of clippings, located with oversized\n         materials in box 3, document her affiliation with the club. An\n         unsigned appeal from James H. Dooley, the club's president, is\n         found among the loose minutes.","In 1919, Adele Clark and Nora Houston, with whom she shared\n         a studio, founded the Virginia League of Fine Arts and\n         Handicrafts in an attempt to revive the Chevalier Quesnay de\n         Beaurepaire's Academy of Sciences and Fine Arts. This soon\n         became the Virginia League of Fine Arts, which merged with the\n         Richmond Academy of Arts in 1931. This collection contains a\n         copy of the league's constitution, amendments and reports as\n         well as a few items of correspondence. Minutes of the board of\n         trustees of the Richmond Academy of Arts document the merger\n         and the two years following. Lecture notes and student papers\n         from the College of William and Mary extension in Richmond\n         (Richmond Professional Institute) precede WPA materials. The\n         latter mainly consists of letters with Campbell Bascom Slemp\n         about the Southwest Virginia Museum at Big Stone Gap, but also\n         include a scrapbook, located in box 3, and the transcript of a\n         1963 interview.","From 1941 to 1964, Adele Clark served on the State Art\n         Commission, an organization she helped establish in 1916.\n         Materials, primarily reports and minutes, span her entire\n         affiliation with the commission, but mostly pertain to her\n         last three years of service. Materials of the Virginia Society\n         for Crippled Children and Adults include correspondence,\n         reports and notes on patients and demonstrate Clark's interest\n         in using art in rehabilitation. In 1947, a portrait gallery of\n         state police officers who died in the line of duty was\n         established at state police headquarters in Chesterfield\n         County. Adele Clark was commissioned to paint one of these\n         portraits. Materials concerning the dedication include\n         clippings and a program that contains biographical sketches of\n         artists and subjects.","In 1956, the Richmond Artists Association was founded to\n         encourage local appreciation and patronage of contemporary\n         art. Among these materials are copies of the constitution,\n         by-laws, rosters, and a directory. Materials concerning the\n         dedication of the Nora Houston Gallery at St. Paul's School in\n         1972 follow. A copy of the dedication address by Edmund Minor\n         Archer recounts Nora Houston's contributions to Richmond art.\n         Notes and articles, invitations, announcements and exhibition\n         information, a visitor's roster to a 1946 exhibition, two\n         sketchbooks and loose sketches, and miscellany conclude this\n         section.","The rest of Adele Clark's papers concern her role as a\n         political activist. These materials are relatively few in\n         number and often individual folders contain only several items\n         that span a large date range. For example, the first folder in\n         this section contains materials concerning women's rights\n         (excluding the League of Women Voters) from 1912 to 1976. This\n         material includes correspondence, clippings, notes, and\n         miscellany concerning various women's issues from suffrage to\n         the Equal Rights Amendment. As previously mentioned Adele\n         Clark's Equal Suffrage League and Virginia League of Women\n         Voters papers were given to another institution. An index to\n         those papers donated to the James Branch Cabell Library at\n         Virginia Commonwealth University in Richmond follows folders\n         on the Richmond and Virginia Leagues. In 1923, the Virginia\n         League of Women Voters established the Virginia Women's\n         Council of Legislative Chairmen of State Organizations to\n         coordinate lobbying efforts among like-minded organizations.\n         In the mid-1950's this became the Virginia Council on State\n         Legislation. Materials concerning these organizations mainly\n         include bulletins and reports. In 1921, Governor E. Lee\n         Trinkle appointed Adele Clark to the Commission on\n         Simplification of state Government. A few items of\n         correspondence, reports and bulletins, mostly from budget\n         director LeRoy Hodges, document the commission's work.","Materials that pertain to Prohibition and the National\n         recovery Administration consist almost entirely of newspaper\n         clippings. Minutes and resolutions from a meeting on economic\n         security held in Richmond on March 7, 1935, with Secretary of\n         Labor Frances Perkins precede miscellaneous information\n         concerning a variety of labor and racial issues. A transcript\n         of an interview (ca. 1920) with an ex-slave from Maryland is\n         found with this material. A folder of political miscellany and\n         one concerning Adele Clark's activities on behalf of the\n         Diocesan Council of Catholic Women conclude Adele Clark's\n         papers.","The papers of Adeline Harmon (Cowles) Cox (1907- ) and\n         miscellaneous family items are located at the end of box\n         2.","Correspondence, 1855; miscellany.","General correspondence, 1903-1936; correspondence\n               with daughters, 1906-1929; correspondence with Franklin\n               Delano Roosevelt, 1933, 1937; accounts, 1928-1930,\n               1935-1937;","Correspondence, 1917-1938","1933-1941, 1960-1961","Miscellany.","Correspondence and miscellany","Adele Clark: Art Club scrapbook, 1907-1917; WPA\n               scrapbook, 1940; certificates and posters.","There are no restrictions.","Include scattered business and\n         personal correspondence, ca. 1916-1950, as well as newspaper\n         clippings, organizational minutes, notes and other published\n         and manuscript materials pertaining to a wide array of Clark's\n         political and artistic interests. Among the organizations with\n         which Miss Clark worked were the Equal Suffrage League of\n         Virginia, the League of Women Voters of Virginia, and the\n         Federal Art Project in Virginia. Correspondence, 1916-1940 and\n         1926-1939, with Nora Houston (1883-1942) and Willoughby Ions\n         (1881-1977) illuminates the relationship between women's\n         personal and professional networks and their political\n         activities. The correspondence, 1906-1929, of Clark's mother,\n         Estelle (Goodman) Clark (1847-1893) with her three daughters\n         offers insights into relationships between mothers and their\n         adult children. The collection also contains information on\n         teaching art history in a variety of contexts, on women's\n         suffrage and women's rights, and on other civic and political\n         activities.","English"],"collection_title_tesim":["Adele Clark Papers \n         \n         1855-1976"],"collection_ssim":["Adele Clark Papers \n         \n         1855-1976"],"level_ssm":["collection"],"level_ssim":["Collection"],"unitid_ssm":["Mss1 C5472 a FA2"],"unitid_tesim":["Mss1 C5472 a FA2"],"repository_ssm":["Virginia Historical Society"],"repository_ssim":["Virginia Historical Society"],"acqinfo_ssim":["Gift of Adele Clark in 1979. Accessioned 7 July\n            1986."],"access_subjects_ssim":["Art and state -- Virginia.","Art -- Study and teaching.","Clark,Adele, 1882-1983.","Clark, Estelle Goodman, 1847-1937.","Equal Suffrage League of Virginia.","Federal art Project (Va.)","Houston, Nora, 1883-1942.","Ions, Willoughby, 1881-1977.","League of Women Voters of Virginia.","Mothers and daughters.","Richmond(Va.) -- Intellectual life -- 20th\n         century.","Suffrage.","Women artists -- Virginia.","Women -- Family relationships.","Women in politics -- Virginia.","Women -- Suffrage."],"access_subjects_ssm":["Art and state -- Virginia.","Art -- Study and teaching.","Clark,Adele, 1882-1983.","Clark, Estelle Goodman, 1847-1937.","Equal Suffrage League of Virginia.","Federal art Project (Va.)","Houston, Nora, 1883-1942.","Ions, Willoughby, 1881-1977.","League of Women Voters of Virginia.","Mothers and daughters.","Richmond(Va.) -- Intellectual life -- 20th\n         century.","Suffrage.","Women artists -- Virginia.","Women -- Family relationships.","Women in politics -- Virginia.","Women -- Suffrage."],"has_online_content_ssim":["false"],"physdesc_tesim":["900 (ca.) items. (2 archival and 1\n         oversize box)."],"accessrestrict_html_tesm":["\u003cp\u003eCollection is open for research.\u003c/p\u003e\n      "],"accessrestrict_heading_ssm":["Access"],"accessrestrict_tesim":["Collection is open for research."],"arrangement_html_tesm":["\u003cp\u003eThe papers of Adele Clark are arranged into seven series by\n         individual and further subdivided by subject or material\n         type.\u003c/p\u003e\n    "],"arrangement_heading_ssm":["Arrangement"],"arrangement_tesim":["The papers of Adele Clark are arranged into seven series by\n         individual and further subdivided by subject or material\n         type."],"bioghist_html_tesm":["\u003cp\u003eAdele Clark was a major figure in Richmond's art scene and\n         political life for nearly three-quarters of a century. Born in\n         Montgomery, Ala., she spent her childhood in New Orleans, La.,\n         before moving to Richmond in 1894. Seven years later she\n         graduated from the Miss Virginia Randolph Ellen School (now\n         St. Catherine's). While working as a stenographer for the\n         chamber of commerce, Miss Clark studied art with Lily Logan at\n         the Art Club of Richmond. In 1906, Miss Clark received a\n         scholarship to the Chase School of Art in New York, where she\n         studied under Robert Henri and Kenneth Hays Miller. Shortly\n         after her return to Richmond to teach at the Art Club, she\n         became involved in the women's suffrage movement.\u003c/p\u003e\n    "],"bioghist_heading_ssm":["Biographical/Historical Information"],"bioghist_tesim":["Adele Clark was a major figure in Richmond's art scene and\n         political life for nearly three-quarters of a century. Born in\n         Montgomery, Ala., she spent her childhood in New Orleans, La.,\n         before moving to Richmond in 1894. Seven years later she\n         graduated from the Miss Virginia Randolph Ellen School (now\n         St. Catherine's). While working as a stenographer for the\n         chamber of commerce, Miss Clark studied art with Lily Logan at\n         the Art Club of Richmond. In 1906, Miss Clark received a\n         scholarship to the Chase School of Art in New York, where she\n         studied under Robert Henri and Kenneth Hays Miller. Shortly\n         after her return to Richmond to teach at the Art Club, she\n         became involved in the women's suffrage movement."],"prefercite_html_tesm":["\u003cp\u003eAdele Clark Papers, 1855-1976 (Mss1 C5472 a FA2),\n            Virginia Historical Society, Richmond, Va.\u003c/p\u003e\n      "],"prefercite_tesim":["Adele Clark Papers, 1855-1976 (Mss1 C5472 a FA2),\n            Virginia Historical Society, Richmond, Va."],"scopecontent_html_tesm":["\u003cp\u003eThis collection begins with the papers of Robert Clark\n         (1832?-1906) and his wife, Estelle (Goodman) Clark\n         (1847-1937). His papers consist of three letters written by a\n         brother Tom Clark and miscellany; hers include correspondence,\n         accounts, and miscellany. A folder of her general\n         correspondence precedes individual folders of letters with her\n         three daughters, Adele Clark, Edith (Clark) Cowles, and\n         Gertrude (Clark) Dew, as well as one containing two letters\n         from President Franklin Delano Roosevelt. Accounts and letters\n         concerning the deaths of two family members follow.\u003c/p\u003e\n      ","\u003cp\u003eCorrespondence of Edith (Clark) Cowles includes letters\n         with her sister, Adele Clark, and illustrator Dugald Stewart\n         Walker. Adele Clark (1882-1983) was a major figure in\n         Richmond's art society and political life for nearly\n         three-quarters of a century. Born Adele Goodman Clark in\n         Montgomery, Ala., she spent most of her childhood in New\n         Orleans, La., before moving to Richmond in 1894. Seven years\n         later Clark graduated from the Miss Virginia Randolph Ellett\n         School (now St. Catherine's). While working as a stenographer\n         for the chamber of commerce she studied art with Lily Logan at\n         the Art Club of Richmond. In 1906, Adele Clark received a\n         scholarship to the Chase School of Art in New York where she\n         studied under Robert Henri and Kenneth Hays Miller. Shortly\n         after her return to Richmond to teach at the Art Club, she\n         became involved in the women's suffrage movement\u003c/p\u003e\n      ","\u003cp\u003eAdele Clark's papers reflect her varied careers and\n         avocations, yet mostly pertain to her personal life and art\n         activities. Major collections of her papers documenting her\n         work with the Equal Suffrage League, the Virginia League of\n         Women Voters, and the U.S. Work Projects Administration have\n         been given to the Virginia State Library, the University of\n         Virginia, Virginia Commonwealth University, and other\n         institutions.\u003c/p\u003e\n      ","\u003cp\u003eAdele Clark's papers begin with a section of general\n         correspondence, which consists of letters with family members,\n         artists, politicians, and suffragists. Among the more\n         prominent are: Ella Graham Agnew, Edmund Minor Archer, Harry\n         Flood Byrd (1887-1966), Colgate Whitehead Darden, Marion\n         Montague Junkin, Elizabeth Dabney (Langhorne) Lewis, Theresa\n         Pollak, and Roberta Wellford. Separate folders contain\n         correspondence with Richmond artist Nora Houston and artist\n         and designer Willoughby Ions, Adele Clark's first cousin.\u003c/p\u003e\n      ","\u003cp\u003eAccounts precede financial records, which include materials\n         concerning \"Swannanoa,\" the summer home of James Henry Dooley,\n         uncle of Nora Houston. Adele Clark was helping the Dooley\n         family dispose of this property after the death of Sallie\n         (May) Dooley in 1925. A few items documenting Adele Clark's\n         brief tenure as acting dean of women at the College of William\n         and Mary precede materials concerning her uncle, Edward Samuel\n         Goodman, who died in 1931. These include inquiries concerning\n         his health, sympathy letters and trust information. Sympathy\n         letters concerning the death of Nora Houston, recipes,\n         miscellaneous newspaper clippings and personal miscellany\n         conclude this section.\u003c/p\u003e\n      ","\u003cp\u003eMaterials pertaining to Adele Clark's art career and\n         political activities are located in box 2. These begin with a\n         folder of general art correspondence, arranged alphabetically,\n         which mostly consists of portrait requests, commissions,\n         inquiries, and letters with miscellaneous art institutions.\n         Clark was treasurer and member of the board of directors of\n         the Richmond Art Club as well as a student and instructor\n         there. A minute book, loose minutes, correspondence, loose\n         clippings and a scrapbook of clippings, located with oversized\n         materials in box 3, document her affiliation with the club. An\n         unsigned appeal from James H. Dooley, the club's president, is\n         found among the loose minutes.\u003c/p\u003e\n      ","\u003cp\u003eIn 1919, Adele Clark and Nora Houston, with whom she shared\n         a studio, founded the Virginia League of Fine Arts and\n         Handicrafts in an attempt to revive the Chevalier Quesnay de\n         Beaurepaire's Academy of Sciences and Fine Arts. This soon\n         became the Virginia League of Fine Arts, which merged with the\n         Richmond Academy of Arts in 1931. This collection contains a\n         copy of the league's constitution, amendments and reports as\n         well as a few items of correspondence. Minutes of the board of\n         trustees of the Richmond Academy of Arts document the merger\n         and the two years following. Lecture notes and student papers\n         from the College of William and Mary extension in Richmond\n         (Richmond Professional Institute) precede WPA materials. The\n         latter mainly consists of letters with Campbell Bascom Slemp\n         about the Southwest Virginia Museum at Big Stone Gap, but also\n         include a scrapbook, located in box 3, and the transcript of a\n         1963 interview.\u003c/p\u003e\n      ","\u003cp\u003eFrom 1941 to 1964, Adele Clark served on the State Art\n         Commission, an organization she helped establish in 1916.\n         Materials, primarily reports and minutes, span her entire\n         affiliation with the commission, but mostly pertain to her\n         last three years of service. Materials of the Virginia Society\n         for Crippled Children and Adults include correspondence,\n         reports and notes on patients and demonstrate Clark's interest\n         in using art in rehabilitation. In 1947, a portrait gallery of\n         state police officers who died in the line of duty was\n         established at state police headquarters in Chesterfield\n         County. Adele Clark was commissioned to paint one of these\n         portraits. Materials concerning the dedication include\n         clippings and a program that contains biographical sketches of\n         artists and subjects.\u003c/p\u003e\n      ","\u003cp\u003eIn 1956, the Richmond Artists Association was founded to\n         encourage local appreciation and patronage of contemporary\n         art. Among these materials are copies of the constitution,\n         by-laws, rosters, and a directory. Materials concerning the\n         dedication of the Nora Houston Gallery at St. Paul's School in\n         1972 follow. A copy of the dedication address by Edmund Minor\n         Archer recounts Nora Houston's contributions to Richmond art.\n         Notes and articles, invitations, announcements and exhibition\n         information, a visitor's roster to a 1946 exhibition, two\n         sketchbooks and loose sketches, and miscellany conclude this\n         section.\u003c/p\u003e\n      ","\u003cp\u003eThe rest of Adele Clark's papers concern her role as a\n         political activist. These materials are relatively few in\n         number and often individual folders contain only several items\n         that span a large date range. For example, the first folder in\n         this section contains materials concerning women's rights\n         (excluding the League of Women Voters) from 1912 to 1976. This\n         material includes correspondence, clippings, notes, and\n         miscellany concerning various women's issues from suffrage to\n         the Equal Rights Amendment. As previously mentioned Adele\n         Clark's Equal Suffrage League and Virginia League of Women\n         Voters papers were given to another institution. An index to\n         those papers donated to the James Branch Cabell Library at\n         Virginia Commonwealth University in Richmond follows folders\n         on the Richmond and Virginia Leagues. In 1923, the Virginia\n         League of Women Voters established the Virginia Women's\n         Council of Legislative Chairmen of State Organizations to\n         coordinate lobbying efforts among like-minded organizations.\n         In the mid-1950's this became the Virginia Council on State\n         Legislation. Materials concerning these organizations mainly\n         include bulletins and reports. In 1921, Governor E. Lee\n         Trinkle appointed Adele Clark to the Commission on\n         Simplification of state Government. A few items of\n         correspondence, reports and bulletins, mostly from budget\n         director LeRoy Hodges, document the commission's work.\u003c/p\u003e\n      ","\u003cp\u003eMaterials that pertain to Prohibition and the National\n         recovery Administration consist almost entirely of newspaper\n         clippings. Minutes and resolutions from a meeting on economic\n         security held in Richmond on March 7, 1935, with Secretary of\n         Labor Frances Perkins precede miscellaneous information\n         concerning a variety of labor and racial issues. A transcript\n         of an interview (ca. 1920) with an ex-slave from Maryland is\n         found with this material. A folder of political miscellany and\n         one concerning Adele Clark's activities on behalf of the\n         Diocesan Council of Catholic Women conclude Adele Clark's\n         papers.\u003c/p\u003e\n      ","\u003cp\u003eThe papers of Adeline Harmon (Cowles) Cox (1907- ) and\n         miscellaneous family items are located at the end of box\n         2.\u003c/p\u003e\n    ","\u003cp\u003eCorrespondence, 1855; miscellany.\u003c/p\u003e\n        ","\u003cp\u003eGeneral correspondence, 1903-1936; correspondence\n               with daughters, 1906-1929; correspondence with Franklin\n               Delano Roosevelt, 1933, 1937; accounts, 1928-1930,\n               1935-1937;\u003c/p\u003e\n        ","\u003cp\u003eCorrespondence, 1917-1938\u003c/p\u003e\n        ","\u003cp\u003e1933-1941, 1960-1961\u003c/p\u003e\n            ","\u003cp\u003eMiscellany.\u003c/p\u003e\n        ","\u003cp\u003eCorrespondence and miscellany\u003c/p\u003e\n        ","\u003cp\u003eAdele Clark: Art Club scrapbook, 1907-1917; WPA\n               scrapbook, 1940; certificates and posters.\u003c/p\u003e\n        "],"scopecontent_heading_ssm":["Scope and Content Information"],"scopecontent_tesim":["This collection begins with the papers of Robert Clark\n         (1832?-1906) and his wife, Estelle (Goodman) Clark\n         (1847-1937). His papers consist of three letters written by a\n         brother Tom Clark and miscellany; hers include correspondence,\n         accounts, and miscellany. A folder of her general\n         correspondence precedes individual folders of letters with her\n         three daughters, Adele Clark, Edith (Clark) Cowles, and\n         Gertrude (Clark) Dew, as well as one containing two letters\n         from President Franklin Delano Roosevelt. Accounts and letters\n         concerning the deaths of two family members follow.","Correspondence of Edith (Clark) Cowles includes letters\n         with her sister, Adele Clark, and illustrator Dugald Stewart\n         Walker. Adele Clark (1882-1983) was a major figure in\n         Richmond's art society and political life for nearly\n         three-quarters of a century. Born Adele Goodman Clark in\n         Montgomery, Ala., she spent most of her childhood in New\n         Orleans, La., before moving to Richmond in 1894. Seven years\n         later Clark graduated from the Miss Virginia Randolph Ellett\n         School (now St. Catherine's). While working as a stenographer\n         for the chamber of commerce she studied art with Lily Logan at\n         the Art Club of Richmond. In 1906, Adele Clark received a\n         scholarship to the Chase School of Art in New York where she\n         studied under Robert Henri and Kenneth Hays Miller. Shortly\n         after her return to Richmond to teach at the Art Club, she\n         became involved in the women's suffrage movement","Adele Clark's papers reflect her varied careers and\n         avocations, yet mostly pertain to her personal life and art\n         activities. Major collections of her papers documenting her\n         work with the Equal Suffrage League, the Virginia League of\n         Women Voters, and the U.S. Work Projects Administration have\n         been given to the Virginia State Library, the University of\n         Virginia, Virginia Commonwealth University, and other\n         institutions.","Adele Clark's papers begin with a section of general\n         correspondence, which consists of letters with family members,\n         artists, politicians, and suffragists. Among the more\n         prominent are: Ella Graham Agnew, Edmund Minor Archer, Harry\n         Flood Byrd (1887-1966), Colgate Whitehead Darden, Marion\n         Montague Junkin, Elizabeth Dabney (Langhorne) Lewis, Theresa\n         Pollak, and Roberta Wellford. Separate folders contain\n         correspondence with Richmond artist Nora Houston and artist\n         and designer Willoughby Ions, Adele Clark's first cousin.","Accounts precede financial records, which include materials\n         concerning \"Swannanoa,\" the summer home of James Henry Dooley,\n         uncle of Nora Houston. Adele Clark was helping the Dooley\n         family dispose of this property after the death of Sallie\n         (May) Dooley in 1925. A few items documenting Adele Clark's\n         brief tenure as acting dean of women at the College of William\n         and Mary precede materials concerning her uncle, Edward Samuel\n         Goodman, who died in 1931. These include inquiries concerning\n         his health, sympathy letters and trust information. Sympathy\n         letters concerning the death of Nora Houston, recipes,\n         miscellaneous newspaper clippings and personal miscellany\n         conclude this section.","Materials pertaining to Adele Clark's art career and\n         political activities are located in box 2. These begin with a\n         folder of general art correspondence, arranged alphabetically,\n         which mostly consists of portrait requests, commissions,\n         inquiries, and letters with miscellaneous art institutions.\n         Clark was treasurer and member of the board of directors of\n         the Richmond Art Club as well as a student and instructor\n         there. A minute book, loose minutes, correspondence, loose\n         clippings and a scrapbook of clippings, located with oversized\n         materials in box 3, document her affiliation with the club. An\n         unsigned appeal from James H. Dooley, the club's president, is\n         found among the loose minutes.","In 1919, Adele Clark and Nora Houston, with whom she shared\n         a studio, founded the Virginia League of Fine Arts and\n         Handicrafts in an attempt to revive the Chevalier Quesnay de\n         Beaurepaire's Academy of Sciences and Fine Arts. This soon\n         became the Virginia League of Fine Arts, which merged with the\n         Richmond Academy of Arts in 1931. This collection contains a\n         copy of the league's constitution, amendments and reports as\n         well as a few items of correspondence. Minutes of the board of\n         trustees of the Richmond Academy of Arts document the merger\n         and the two years following. Lecture notes and student papers\n         from the College of William and Mary extension in Richmond\n         (Richmond Professional Institute) precede WPA materials. The\n         latter mainly consists of letters with Campbell Bascom Slemp\n         about the Southwest Virginia Museum at Big Stone Gap, but also\n         include a scrapbook, located in box 3, and the transcript of a\n         1963 interview.","From 1941 to 1964, Adele Clark served on the State Art\n         Commission, an organization she helped establish in 1916.\n         Materials, primarily reports and minutes, span her entire\n         affiliation with the commission, but mostly pertain to her\n         last three years of service. Materials of the Virginia Society\n         for Crippled Children and Adults include correspondence,\n         reports and notes on patients and demonstrate Clark's interest\n         in using art in rehabilitation. In 1947, a portrait gallery of\n         state police officers who died in the line of duty was\n         established at state police headquarters in Chesterfield\n         County. Adele Clark was commissioned to paint one of these\n         portraits. Materials concerning the dedication include\n         clippings and a program that contains biographical sketches of\n         artists and subjects.","In 1956, the Richmond Artists Association was founded to\n         encourage local appreciation and patronage of contemporary\n         art. Among these materials are copies of the constitution,\n         by-laws, rosters, and a directory. Materials concerning the\n         dedication of the Nora Houston Gallery at St. Paul's School in\n         1972 follow. A copy of the dedication address by Edmund Minor\n         Archer recounts Nora Houston's contributions to Richmond art.\n         Notes and articles, invitations, announcements and exhibition\n         information, a visitor's roster to a 1946 exhibition, two\n         sketchbooks and loose sketches, and miscellany conclude this\n         section.","The rest of Adele Clark's papers concern her role as a\n         political activist. These materials are relatively few in\n         number and often individual folders contain only several items\n         that span a large date range. For example, the first folder in\n         this section contains materials concerning women's rights\n         (excluding the League of Women Voters) from 1912 to 1976. This\n         material includes correspondence, clippings, notes, and\n         miscellany concerning various women's issues from suffrage to\n         the Equal Rights Amendment. As previously mentioned Adele\n         Clark's Equal Suffrage League and Virginia League of Women\n         Voters papers were given to another institution. An index to\n         those papers donated to the James Branch Cabell Library at\n         Virginia Commonwealth University in Richmond follows folders\n         on the Richmond and Virginia Leagues. In 1923, the Virginia\n         League of Women Voters established the Virginia Women's\n         Council of Legislative Chairmen of State Organizations to\n         coordinate lobbying efforts among like-minded organizations.\n         In the mid-1950's this became the Virginia Council on State\n         Legislation. Materials concerning these organizations mainly\n         include bulletins and reports. In 1921, Governor E. Lee\n         Trinkle appointed Adele Clark to the Commission on\n         Simplification of state Government. A few items of\n         correspondence, reports and bulletins, mostly from budget\n         director LeRoy Hodges, document the commission's work.","Materials that pertain to Prohibition and the National\n         recovery Administration consist almost entirely of newspaper\n         clippings. Minutes and resolutions from a meeting on economic\n         security held in Richmond on March 7, 1935, with Secretary of\n         Labor Frances Perkins precede miscellaneous information\n         concerning a variety of labor and racial issues. A transcript\n         of an interview (ca. 1920) with an ex-slave from Maryland is\n         found with this material. A folder of political miscellany and\n         one concerning Adele Clark's activities on behalf of the\n         Diocesan Council of Catholic Women conclude Adele Clark's\n         papers.","The papers of Adeline Harmon (Cowles) Cox (1907- ) and\n         miscellaneous family items are located at the end of box\n         2.","Correspondence, 1855; miscellany.","General correspondence, 1903-1936; correspondence\n               with daughters, 1906-1929; correspondence with Franklin\n               Delano Roosevelt, 1933, 1937; accounts, 1928-1930,\n               1935-1937;","Correspondence, 1917-1938","1933-1941, 1960-1961","Miscellany.","Correspondence and miscellany","Adele Clark: Art Club scrapbook, 1907-1917; WPA\n               scrapbook, 1940; certificates and posters."],"userestrict_html_tesm":["\u003cp\u003eThere are no restrictions.\u003c/p\u003e\n      "],"userestrict_heading_ssm":["Use Restrictions"],"userestrict_tesim":["There are no restrictions."],"abstract_html_tesm":["\u003cabstract label=\"Abstract\"\u003eInclude scattered business and\n         personal correspondence, ca. 1916-1950, as well as newspaper\n         clippings, organizational minutes, notes and other published\n         and manuscript materials pertaining to a wide array of Clark's\n         political and artistic interests. Among the organizations with\n         which Miss Clark worked were the Equal Suffrage League of\n         Virginia, the League of Women Voters of Virginia, and the\n         Federal Art Project in Virginia. Correspondence, 1916-1940 and\n         1926-1939, with Nora Houston (1883-1942) and Willoughby Ions\n         (1881-1977) illuminates the relationship between women's\n         personal and professional networks and their political\n         activities. The correspondence, 1906-1929, of Clark's mother,\n         Estelle (Goodman) Clark (1847-1893) with her three daughters\n         offers insights into relationships between mothers and their\n         adult children. The collection also contains information on\n         teaching art history in a variety of contexts, on women's\n         suffrage and women's rights, and on other civic and political\n         activities.\u003c/abstract\u003e\n    "],"abstract_tesim":["Include scattered business and\n         personal correspondence, ca. 1916-1950, as well as newspaper\n         clippings, organizational minutes, notes and other published\n         and manuscript materials pertaining to a wide array of Clark's\n         political and artistic interests. Among the organizations with\n         which Miss Clark worked were the Equal Suffrage League of\n         Virginia, the League of Women Voters of Virginia, and the\n         Federal Art Project in Virginia. Correspondence, 1916-1940 and\n         1926-1939, with Nora Houston (1883-1942) and Willoughby Ions\n         (1881-1977) illuminates the relationship between women's\n         personal and professional networks and their political\n         activities. The correspondence, 1906-1929, of Clark's mother,\n         Estelle (Goodman) Clark (1847-1893) with her three daughters\n         offers insights into relationships between mothers and their\n         adult children. The collection also contains information on\n         teaching art history in a variety of contexts, on women's\n         suffrage and women's rights, and on other civic and political\n         activities."],"language_ssim":["English"],"total_component_count_is":45,"online_item_count_is":0,"component_level_isim":[0],"sort_isi":0,"timestamp":"2026-06-23T06:58:25.153Z"}]}},"label":"Breadcrumbs"}}},"links":{"self":"https://search.arvasarchive.org/catalog/vihi_vih00010_c04_c01_c02"}},{"id":"vihi_vih00010_c04_c01_c03","type":"File","attributes":{"title":"Correspondence with Willoughby Ions, \n                     \n                     1926-1939","breadcrumbs":{"id":"https://search.arvasarchive.org/catalog/vihi_vih00010_c04_c01_c03#breadcrumbs","type":"document_value","attributes":{"value":{"ref_ssi":"vihi_vih00010_c04_c01_c03","ref_ssm":["vihi_vih00010_c04_c01_c03"],"id":"vihi_vih00010_c04_c01_c03","ead_ssi":"vihi_vih00010","_root_":"vihi_vih00010","_nest_parent_":"vihi_vih00010_c04_c01","parent_ssi":"vihi_vih00010_c04_c01","parent_ssim":["Adele Clark Papers \n         \n         1855-1976","Series 4: Adele Clark (1882-1983),\n               Richmond, Va.","Subseries 4.1: General and\n                  Financial Materials \n                  \n                  1916-1970"],"parent_ids_ssim":["vihi_vih00010","vihi_vih00010_c04","vihi_vih00010_c04_c01"],"title_filing_ssi":"Correspondence with Willoughby Ions, \n                     \n                     1926-1939","title_ssm":["Correspondence with Willoughby Ions, \n                     \n                     1926-1939"],"title_tesim":["Correspondence with Willoughby Ions, \n                     \n                     1926-1939"],"normalized_title_ssm":["Correspondence with Willoughby Ions, \n                     \n                     1926-1939"],"text":["Correspondence with Willoughby Ions, \n                     \n                     1926-1939","Adele Clark Papers \n         \n         1855-1976","Series 4: Adele Clark (1882-1983),\n               Richmond, Va.","Subseries 4.1: General and\n                  Financial Materials \n                  \n                  1916-1970"],"parent_unittitles_ssm":["Adele Clark Papers \n         \n         1855-1976","Series 4: Adele Clark (1882-1983),\n               Richmond, Va.","Subseries 4.1: General and\n                  Financial Materials \n                  \n                  1916-1970"],"parent_unittitles_tesim":["Adele Clark Papers \n         \n         1855-1976","Series 4: Adele Clark (1882-1983),\n               Richmond, Va.","Subseries 4.1: General and\n                  Financial Materials \n                  \n                  1916-1970"],"level_ssm":["File"],"level_ssim":["File"],"component_level_isim":[3],"sort_isi":8,"repository_ssim":["Virginia Historical Society"],"collection_ssim":["Adele Clark Papers \n         \n         1855-1976"],"has_online_content_ssim":["false"],"child_component_count_isi":0,"_nest_path_":"/components#3/components#0/components#2","timestamp":"2026-06-23T06:58:25.153Z","collection":{"numFound":1,"start":0,"numFoundExact":true,"docs":[{"id":"vihi_vih00010","ead_ssi":"vihi_vih00010","_root_":"vihi_vih00010","_nest_parent_":"vihi_vih00010","ead_source_url_ssi":"data/vhs/vih00010.xml","title_ssm":["Adele Clark Papers \n         \n         1855-1976"],"title_tesim":["Adele Clark Papers \n         \n         1855-1976"],"normalized_title_ssm":["Adele Clark Papers \n         \n         1855-1976"],"text":["Adele Clark Papers \n         \n         1855-1976","Mss1 C5472 a FA2","Art and state -- Virginia.","Art -- Study and teaching.","Clark,Adele, 1882-1983.","Clark, Estelle Goodman, 1847-1937.","Equal Suffrage League of Virginia.","Federal art Project (Va.)","Houston, Nora, 1883-1942.","Ions, Willoughby, 1881-1977.","League of Women Voters of Virginia.","Mothers and daughters.","Richmond(Va.) -- Intellectual life -- 20th\n         century.","Suffrage.","Women artists -- Virginia.","Women -- Family relationships.","Women in politics -- Virginia.","Women -- Suffrage.","900 (ca.) items. (2 archival and 1\n         oversize box).","Collection is open for research.","The papers of Adele Clark are arranged into seven series by\n         individual and further subdivided by subject or material\n         type.","Adele Clark was a major figure in Richmond's art scene and\n         political life for nearly three-quarters of a century. Born in\n         Montgomery, Ala., she spent her childhood in New Orleans, La.,\n         before moving to Richmond in 1894. Seven years later she\n         graduated from the Miss Virginia Randolph Ellen School (now\n         St. Catherine's). While working as a stenographer for the\n         chamber of commerce, Miss Clark studied art with Lily Logan at\n         the Art Club of Richmond. In 1906, Miss Clark received a\n         scholarship to the Chase School of Art in New York, where she\n         studied under Robert Henri and Kenneth Hays Miller. Shortly\n         after her return to Richmond to teach at the Art Club, she\n         became involved in the women's suffrage movement.","This collection begins with the papers of Robert Clark\n         (1832?-1906) and his wife, Estelle (Goodman) Clark\n         (1847-1937). His papers consist of three letters written by a\n         brother Tom Clark and miscellany; hers include correspondence,\n         accounts, and miscellany. A folder of her general\n         correspondence precedes individual folders of letters with her\n         three daughters, Adele Clark, Edith (Clark) Cowles, and\n         Gertrude (Clark) Dew, as well as one containing two letters\n         from President Franklin Delano Roosevelt. Accounts and letters\n         concerning the deaths of two family members follow.","Correspondence of Edith (Clark) Cowles includes letters\n         with her sister, Adele Clark, and illustrator Dugald Stewart\n         Walker. Adele Clark (1882-1983) was a major figure in\n         Richmond's art society and political life for nearly\n         three-quarters of a century. Born Adele Goodman Clark in\n         Montgomery, Ala., she spent most of her childhood in New\n         Orleans, La., before moving to Richmond in 1894. Seven years\n         later Clark graduated from the Miss Virginia Randolph Ellett\n         School (now St. Catherine's). While working as a stenographer\n         for the chamber of commerce she studied art with Lily Logan at\n         the Art Club of Richmond. In 1906, Adele Clark received a\n         scholarship to the Chase School of Art in New York where she\n         studied under Robert Henri and Kenneth Hays Miller. Shortly\n         after her return to Richmond to teach at the Art Club, she\n         became involved in the women's suffrage movement","Adele Clark's papers reflect her varied careers and\n         avocations, yet mostly pertain to her personal life and art\n         activities. Major collections of her papers documenting her\n         work with the Equal Suffrage League, the Virginia League of\n         Women Voters, and the U.S. Work Projects Administration have\n         been given to the Virginia State Library, the University of\n         Virginia, Virginia Commonwealth University, and other\n         institutions.","Adele Clark's papers begin with a section of general\n         correspondence, which consists of letters with family members,\n         artists, politicians, and suffragists. Among the more\n         prominent are: Ella Graham Agnew, Edmund Minor Archer, Harry\n         Flood Byrd (1887-1966), Colgate Whitehead Darden, Marion\n         Montague Junkin, Elizabeth Dabney (Langhorne) Lewis, Theresa\n         Pollak, and Roberta Wellford. Separate folders contain\n         correspondence with Richmond artist Nora Houston and artist\n         and designer Willoughby Ions, Adele Clark's first cousin.","Accounts precede financial records, which include materials\n         concerning \"Swannanoa,\" the summer home of James Henry Dooley,\n         uncle of Nora Houston. Adele Clark was helping the Dooley\n         family dispose of this property after the death of Sallie\n         (May) Dooley in 1925. A few items documenting Adele Clark's\n         brief tenure as acting dean of women at the College of William\n         and Mary precede materials concerning her uncle, Edward Samuel\n         Goodman, who died in 1931. These include inquiries concerning\n         his health, sympathy letters and trust information. Sympathy\n         letters concerning the death of Nora Houston, recipes,\n         miscellaneous newspaper clippings and personal miscellany\n         conclude this section.","Materials pertaining to Adele Clark's art career and\n         political activities are located in box 2. These begin with a\n         folder of general art correspondence, arranged alphabetically,\n         which mostly consists of portrait requests, commissions,\n         inquiries, and letters with miscellaneous art institutions.\n         Clark was treasurer and member of the board of directors of\n         the Richmond Art Club as well as a student and instructor\n         there. A minute book, loose minutes, correspondence, loose\n         clippings and a scrapbook of clippings, located with oversized\n         materials in box 3, document her affiliation with the club. An\n         unsigned appeal from James H. Dooley, the club's president, is\n         found among the loose minutes.","In 1919, Adele Clark and Nora Houston, with whom she shared\n         a studio, founded the Virginia League of Fine Arts and\n         Handicrafts in an attempt to revive the Chevalier Quesnay de\n         Beaurepaire's Academy of Sciences and Fine Arts. This soon\n         became the Virginia League of Fine Arts, which merged with the\n         Richmond Academy of Arts in 1931. This collection contains a\n         copy of the league's constitution, amendments and reports as\n         well as a few items of correspondence. Minutes of the board of\n         trustees of the Richmond Academy of Arts document the merger\n         and the two years following. Lecture notes and student papers\n         from the College of William and Mary extension in Richmond\n         (Richmond Professional Institute) precede WPA materials. The\n         latter mainly consists of letters with Campbell Bascom Slemp\n         about the Southwest Virginia Museum at Big Stone Gap, but also\n         include a scrapbook, located in box 3, and the transcript of a\n         1963 interview.","From 1941 to 1964, Adele Clark served on the State Art\n         Commission, an organization she helped establish in 1916.\n         Materials, primarily reports and minutes, span her entire\n         affiliation with the commission, but mostly pertain to her\n         last three years of service. Materials of the Virginia Society\n         for Crippled Children and Adults include correspondence,\n         reports and notes on patients and demonstrate Clark's interest\n         in using art in rehabilitation. In 1947, a portrait gallery of\n         state police officers who died in the line of duty was\n         established at state police headquarters in Chesterfield\n         County. Adele Clark was commissioned to paint one of these\n         portraits. Materials concerning the dedication include\n         clippings and a program that contains biographical sketches of\n         artists and subjects.","In 1956, the Richmond Artists Association was founded to\n         encourage local appreciation and patronage of contemporary\n         art. Among these materials are copies of the constitution,\n         by-laws, rosters, and a directory. Materials concerning the\n         dedication of the Nora Houston Gallery at St. Paul's School in\n         1972 follow. A copy of the dedication address by Edmund Minor\n         Archer recounts Nora Houston's contributions to Richmond art.\n         Notes and articles, invitations, announcements and exhibition\n         information, a visitor's roster to a 1946 exhibition, two\n         sketchbooks and loose sketches, and miscellany conclude this\n         section.","The rest of Adele Clark's papers concern her role as a\n         political activist. These materials are relatively few in\n         number and often individual folders contain only several items\n         that span a large date range. For example, the first folder in\n         this section contains materials concerning women's rights\n         (excluding the League of Women Voters) from 1912 to 1976. This\n         material includes correspondence, clippings, notes, and\n         miscellany concerning various women's issues from suffrage to\n         the Equal Rights Amendment. As previously mentioned Adele\n         Clark's Equal Suffrage League and Virginia League of Women\n         Voters papers were given to another institution. An index to\n         those papers donated to the James Branch Cabell Library at\n         Virginia Commonwealth University in Richmond follows folders\n         on the Richmond and Virginia Leagues. In 1923, the Virginia\n         League of Women Voters established the Virginia Women's\n         Council of Legislative Chairmen of State Organizations to\n         coordinate lobbying efforts among like-minded organizations.\n         In the mid-1950's this became the Virginia Council on State\n         Legislation. Materials concerning these organizations mainly\n         include bulletins and reports. In 1921, Governor E. Lee\n         Trinkle appointed Adele Clark to the Commission on\n         Simplification of state Government. A few items of\n         correspondence, reports and bulletins, mostly from budget\n         director LeRoy Hodges, document the commission's work.","Materials that pertain to Prohibition and the National\n         recovery Administration consist almost entirely of newspaper\n         clippings. Minutes and resolutions from a meeting on economic\n         security held in Richmond on March 7, 1935, with Secretary of\n         Labor Frances Perkins precede miscellaneous information\n         concerning a variety of labor and racial issues. A transcript\n         of an interview (ca. 1920) with an ex-slave from Maryland is\n         found with this material. A folder of political miscellany and\n         one concerning Adele Clark's activities on behalf of the\n         Diocesan Council of Catholic Women conclude Adele Clark's\n         papers.","The papers of Adeline Harmon (Cowles) Cox (1907- ) and\n         miscellaneous family items are located at the end of box\n         2.","Correspondence, 1855; miscellany.","General correspondence, 1903-1936; correspondence\n               with daughters, 1906-1929; correspondence with Franklin\n               Delano Roosevelt, 1933, 1937; accounts, 1928-1930,\n               1935-1937;","Correspondence, 1917-1938","1933-1941, 1960-1961","Miscellany.","Correspondence and miscellany","Adele Clark: Art Club scrapbook, 1907-1917; WPA\n               scrapbook, 1940; certificates and posters.","There are no restrictions.","Include scattered business and\n         personal correspondence, ca. 1916-1950, as well as newspaper\n         clippings, organizational minutes, notes and other published\n         and manuscript materials pertaining to a wide array of Clark's\n         political and artistic interests. Among the organizations with\n         which Miss Clark worked were the Equal Suffrage League of\n         Virginia, the League of Women Voters of Virginia, and the\n         Federal Art Project in Virginia. Correspondence, 1916-1940 and\n         1926-1939, with Nora Houston (1883-1942) and Willoughby Ions\n         (1881-1977) illuminates the relationship between women's\n         personal and professional networks and their political\n         activities. The correspondence, 1906-1929, of Clark's mother,\n         Estelle (Goodman) Clark (1847-1893) with her three daughters\n         offers insights into relationships between mothers and their\n         adult children. The collection also contains information on\n         teaching art history in a variety of contexts, on women's\n         suffrage and women's rights, and on other civic and political\n         activities.","English"],"collection_title_tesim":["Adele Clark Papers \n         \n         1855-1976"],"collection_ssim":["Adele Clark Papers \n         \n         1855-1976"],"level_ssm":["collection"],"level_ssim":["Collection"],"unitid_ssm":["Mss1 C5472 a FA2"],"unitid_tesim":["Mss1 C5472 a FA2"],"repository_ssm":["Virginia Historical Society"],"repository_ssim":["Virginia Historical Society"],"acqinfo_ssim":["Gift of Adele Clark in 1979. Accessioned 7 July\n            1986."],"access_subjects_ssim":["Art and state -- Virginia.","Art -- Study and teaching.","Clark,Adele, 1882-1983.","Clark, Estelle Goodman, 1847-1937.","Equal Suffrage League of Virginia.","Federal art Project (Va.)","Houston, Nora, 1883-1942.","Ions, Willoughby, 1881-1977.","League of Women Voters of Virginia.","Mothers and daughters.","Richmond(Va.) -- Intellectual life -- 20th\n         century.","Suffrage.","Women artists -- Virginia.","Women -- Family relationships.","Women in politics -- Virginia.","Women -- Suffrage."],"access_subjects_ssm":["Art and state -- Virginia.","Art -- Study and teaching.","Clark,Adele, 1882-1983.","Clark, Estelle Goodman, 1847-1937.","Equal Suffrage League of Virginia.","Federal art Project (Va.)","Houston, Nora, 1883-1942.","Ions, Willoughby, 1881-1977.","League of Women Voters of Virginia.","Mothers and daughters.","Richmond(Va.) -- Intellectual life -- 20th\n         century.","Suffrage.","Women artists -- Virginia.","Women -- Family relationships.","Women in politics -- Virginia.","Women -- Suffrage."],"has_online_content_ssim":["false"],"physdesc_tesim":["900 (ca.) items. (2 archival and 1\n         oversize box)."],"accessrestrict_html_tesm":["\u003cp\u003eCollection is open for research.\u003c/p\u003e\n      "],"accessrestrict_heading_ssm":["Access"],"accessrestrict_tesim":["Collection is open for research."],"arrangement_html_tesm":["\u003cp\u003eThe papers of Adele Clark are arranged into seven series by\n         individual and further subdivided by subject or material\n         type.\u003c/p\u003e\n    "],"arrangement_heading_ssm":["Arrangement"],"arrangement_tesim":["The papers of Adele Clark are arranged into seven series by\n         individual and further subdivided by subject or material\n         type."],"bioghist_html_tesm":["\u003cp\u003eAdele Clark was a major figure in Richmond's art scene and\n         political life for nearly three-quarters of a century. Born in\n         Montgomery, Ala., she spent her childhood in New Orleans, La.,\n         before moving to Richmond in 1894. Seven years later she\n         graduated from the Miss Virginia Randolph Ellen School (now\n         St. Catherine's). While working as a stenographer for the\n         chamber of commerce, Miss Clark studied art with Lily Logan at\n         the Art Club of Richmond. In 1906, Miss Clark received a\n         scholarship to the Chase School of Art in New York, where she\n         studied under Robert Henri and Kenneth Hays Miller. Shortly\n         after her return to Richmond to teach at the Art Club, she\n         became involved in the women's suffrage movement.\u003c/p\u003e\n    "],"bioghist_heading_ssm":["Biographical/Historical Information"],"bioghist_tesim":["Adele Clark was a major figure in Richmond's art scene and\n         political life for nearly three-quarters of a century. Born in\n         Montgomery, Ala., she spent her childhood in New Orleans, La.,\n         before moving to Richmond in 1894. Seven years later she\n         graduated from the Miss Virginia Randolph Ellen School (now\n         St. Catherine's). While working as a stenographer for the\n         chamber of commerce, Miss Clark studied art with Lily Logan at\n         the Art Club of Richmond. In 1906, Miss Clark received a\n         scholarship to the Chase School of Art in New York, where she\n         studied under Robert Henri and Kenneth Hays Miller. Shortly\n         after her return to Richmond to teach at the Art Club, she\n         became involved in the women's suffrage movement."],"prefercite_html_tesm":["\u003cp\u003eAdele Clark Papers, 1855-1976 (Mss1 C5472 a FA2),\n            Virginia Historical Society, Richmond, Va.\u003c/p\u003e\n      "],"prefercite_tesim":["Adele Clark Papers, 1855-1976 (Mss1 C5472 a FA2),\n            Virginia Historical Society, Richmond, Va."],"scopecontent_html_tesm":["\u003cp\u003eThis collection begins with the papers of Robert Clark\n         (1832?-1906) and his wife, Estelle (Goodman) Clark\n         (1847-1937). His papers consist of three letters written by a\n         brother Tom Clark and miscellany; hers include correspondence,\n         accounts, and miscellany. A folder of her general\n         correspondence precedes individual folders of letters with her\n         three daughters, Adele Clark, Edith (Clark) Cowles, and\n         Gertrude (Clark) Dew, as well as one containing two letters\n         from President Franklin Delano Roosevelt. Accounts and letters\n         concerning the deaths of two family members follow.\u003c/p\u003e\n      ","\u003cp\u003eCorrespondence of Edith (Clark) Cowles includes letters\n         with her sister, Adele Clark, and illustrator Dugald Stewart\n         Walker. Adele Clark (1882-1983) was a major figure in\n         Richmond's art society and political life for nearly\n         three-quarters of a century. Born Adele Goodman Clark in\n         Montgomery, Ala., she spent most of her childhood in New\n         Orleans, La., before moving to Richmond in 1894. Seven years\n         later Clark graduated from the Miss Virginia Randolph Ellett\n         School (now St. Catherine's). While working as a stenographer\n         for the chamber of commerce she studied art with Lily Logan at\n         the Art Club of Richmond. In 1906, Adele Clark received a\n         scholarship to the Chase School of Art in New York where she\n         studied under Robert Henri and Kenneth Hays Miller. Shortly\n         after her return to Richmond to teach at the Art Club, she\n         became involved in the women's suffrage movement\u003c/p\u003e\n      ","\u003cp\u003eAdele Clark's papers reflect her varied careers and\n         avocations, yet mostly pertain to her personal life and art\n         activities. Major collections of her papers documenting her\n         work with the Equal Suffrage League, the Virginia League of\n         Women Voters, and the U.S. Work Projects Administration have\n         been given to the Virginia State Library, the University of\n         Virginia, Virginia Commonwealth University, and other\n         institutions.\u003c/p\u003e\n      ","\u003cp\u003eAdele Clark's papers begin with a section of general\n         correspondence, which consists of letters with family members,\n         artists, politicians, and suffragists. Among the more\n         prominent are: Ella Graham Agnew, Edmund Minor Archer, Harry\n         Flood Byrd (1887-1966), Colgate Whitehead Darden, Marion\n         Montague Junkin, Elizabeth Dabney (Langhorne) Lewis, Theresa\n         Pollak, and Roberta Wellford. Separate folders contain\n         correspondence with Richmond artist Nora Houston and artist\n         and designer Willoughby Ions, Adele Clark's first cousin.\u003c/p\u003e\n      ","\u003cp\u003eAccounts precede financial records, which include materials\n         concerning \"Swannanoa,\" the summer home of James Henry Dooley,\n         uncle of Nora Houston. Adele Clark was helping the Dooley\n         family dispose of this property after the death of Sallie\n         (May) Dooley in 1925. A few items documenting Adele Clark's\n         brief tenure as acting dean of women at the College of William\n         and Mary precede materials concerning her uncle, Edward Samuel\n         Goodman, who died in 1931. These include inquiries concerning\n         his health, sympathy letters and trust information. Sympathy\n         letters concerning the death of Nora Houston, recipes,\n         miscellaneous newspaper clippings and personal miscellany\n         conclude this section.\u003c/p\u003e\n      ","\u003cp\u003eMaterials pertaining to Adele Clark's art career and\n         political activities are located in box 2. These begin with a\n         folder of general art correspondence, arranged alphabetically,\n         which mostly consists of portrait requests, commissions,\n         inquiries, and letters with miscellaneous art institutions.\n         Clark was treasurer and member of the board of directors of\n         the Richmond Art Club as well as a student and instructor\n         there. A minute book, loose minutes, correspondence, loose\n         clippings and a scrapbook of clippings, located with oversized\n         materials in box 3, document her affiliation with the club. An\n         unsigned appeal from James H. Dooley, the club's president, is\n         found among the loose minutes.\u003c/p\u003e\n      ","\u003cp\u003eIn 1919, Adele Clark and Nora Houston, with whom she shared\n         a studio, founded the Virginia League of Fine Arts and\n         Handicrafts in an attempt to revive the Chevalier Quesnay de\n         Beaurepaire's Academy of Sciences and Fine Arts. This soon\n         became the Virginia League of Fine Arts, which merged with the\n         Richmond Academy of Arts in 1931. This collection contains a\n         copy of the league's constitution, amendments and reports as\n         well as a few items of correspondence. Minutes of the board of\n         trustees of the Richmond Academy of Arts document the merger\n         and the two years following. Lecture notes and student papers\n         from the College of William and Mary extension in Richmond\n         (Richmond Professional Institute) precede WPA materials. The\n         latter mainly consists of letters with Campbell Bascom Slemp\n         about the Southwest Virginia Museum at Big Stone Gap, but also\n         include a scrapbook, located in box 3, and the transcript of a\n         1963 interview.\u003c/p\u003e\n      ","\u003cp\u003eFrom 1941 to 1964, Adele Clark served on the State Art\n         Commission, an organization she helped establish in 1916.\n         Materials, primarily reports and minutes, span her entire\n         affiliation with the commission, but mostly pertain to her\n         last three years of service. Materials of the Virginia Society\n         for Crippled Children and Adults include correspondence,\n         reports and notes on patients and demonstrate Clark's interest\n         in using art in rehabilitation. In 1947, a portrait gallery of\n         state police officers who died in the line of duty was\n         established at state police headquarters in Chesterfield\n         County. Adele Clark was commissioned to paint one of these\n         portraits. Materials concerning the dedication include\n         clippings and a program that contains biographical sketches of\n         artists and subjects.\u003c/p\u003e\n      ","\u003cp\u003eIn 1956, the Richmond Artists Association was founded to\n         encourage local appreciation and patronage of contemporary\n         art. Among these materials are copies of the constitution,\n         by-laws, rosters, and a directory. Materials concerning the\n         dedication of the Nora Houston Gallery at St. Paul's School in\n         1972 follow. A copy of the dedication address by Edmund Minor\n         Archer recounts Nora Houston's contributions to Richmond art.\n         Notes and articles, invitations, announcements and exhibition\n         information, a visitor's roster to a 1946 exhibition, two\n         sketchbooks and loose sketches, and miscellany conclude this\n         section.\u003c/p\u003e\n      ","\u003cp\u003eThe rest of Adele Clark's papers concern her role as a\n         political activist. These materials are relatively few in\n         number and often individual folders contain only several items\n         that span a large date range. For example, the first folder in\n         this section contains materials concerning women's rights\n         (excluding the League of Women Voters) from 1912 to 1976. This\n         material includes correspondence, clippings, notes, and\n         miscellany concerning various women's issues from suffrage to\n         the Equal Rights Amendment. As previously mentioned Adele\n         Clark's Equal Suffrage League and Virginia League of Women\n         Voters papers were given to another institution. An index to\n         those papers donated to the James Branch Cabell Library at\n         Virginia Commonwealth University in Richmond follows folders\n         on the Richmond and Virginia Leagues. In 1923, the Virginia\n         League of Women Voters established the Virginia Women's\n         Council of Legislative Chairmen of State Organizations to\n         coordinate lobbying efforts among like-minded organizations.\n         In the mid-1950's this became the Virginia Council on State\n         Legislation. Materials concerning these organizations mainly\n         include bulletins and reports. In 1921, Governor E. Lee\n         Trinkle appointed Adele Clark to the Commission on\n         Simplification of state Government. A few items of\n         correspondence, reports and bulletins, mostly from budget\n         director LeRoy Hodges, document the commission's work.\u003c/p\u003e\n      ","\u003cp\u003eMaterials that pertain to Prohibition and the National\n         recovery Administration consist almost entirely of newspaper\n         clippings. Minutes and resolutions from a meeting on economic\n         security held in Richmond on March 7, 1935, with Secretary of\n         Labor Frances Perkins precede miscellaneous information\n         concerning a variety of labor and racial issues. A transcript\n         of an interview (ca. 1920) with an ex-slave from Maryland is\n         found with this material. A folder of political miscellany and\n         one concerning Adele Clark's activities on behalf of the\n         Diocesan Council of Catholic Women conclude Adele Clark's\n         papers.\u003c/p\u003e\n      ","\u003cp\u003eThe papers of Adeline Harmon (Cowles) Cox (1907- ) and\n         miscellaneous family items are located at the end of box\n         2.\u003c/p\u003e\n    ","\u003cp\u003eCorrespondence, 1855; miscellany.\u003c/p\u003e\n        ","\u003cp\u003eGeneral correspondence, 1903-1936; correspondence\n               with daughters, 1906-1929; correspondence with Franklin\n               Delano Roosevelt, 1933, 1937; accounts, 1928-1930,\n               1935-1937;\u003c/p\u003e\n        ","\u003cp\u003eCorrespondence, 1917-1938\u003c/p\u003e\n        ","\u003cp\u003e1933-1941, 1960-1961\u003c/p\u003e\n            ","\u003cp\u003eMiscellany.\u003c/p\u003e\n        ","\u003cp\u003eCorrespondence and miscellany\u003c/p\u003e\n        ","\u003cp\u003eAdele Clark: Art Club scrapbook, 1907-1917; WPA\n               scrapbook, 1940; certificates and posters.\u003c/p\u003e\n        "],"scopecontent_heading_ssm":["Scope and Content Information"],"scopecontent_tesim":["This collection begins with the papers of Robert Clark\n         (1832?-1906) and his wife, Estelle (Goodman) Clark\n         (1847-1937). His papers consist of three letters written by a\n         brother Tom Clark and miscellany; hers include correspondence,\n         accounts, and miscellany. A folder of her general\n         correspondence precedes individual folders of letters with her\n         three daughters, Adele Clark, Edith (Clark) Cowles, and\n         Gertrude (Clark) Dew, as well as one containing two letters\n         from President Franklin Delano Roosevelt. Accounts and letters\n         concerning the deaths of two family members follow.","Correspondence of Edith (Clark) Cowles includes letters\n         with her sister, Adele Clark, and illustrator Dugald Stewart\n         Walker. Adele Clark (1882-1983) was a major figure in\n         Richmond's art society and political life for nearly\n         three-quarters of a century. Born Adele Goodman Clark in\n         Montgomery, Ala., she spent most of her childhood in New\n         Orleans, La., before moving to Richmond in 1894. Seven years\n         later Clark graduated from the Miss Virginia Randolph Ellett\n         School (now St. Catherine's). While working as a stenographer\n         for the chamber of commerce she studied art with Lily Logan at\n         the Art Club of Richmond. In 1906, Adele Clark received a\n         scholarship to the Chase School of Art in New York where she\n         studied under Robert Henri and Kenneth Hays Miller. Shortly\n         after her return to Richmond to teach at the Art Club, she\n         became involved in the women's suffrage movement","Adele Clark's papers reflect her varied careers and\n         avocations, yet mostly pertain to her personal life and art\n         activities. Major collections of her papers documenting her\n         work with the Equal Suffrage League, the Virginia League of\n         Women Voters, and the U.S. Work Projects Administration have\n         been given to the Virginia State Library, the University of\n         Virginia, Virginia Commonwealth University, and other\n         institutions.","Adele Clark's papers begin with a section of general\n         correspondence, which consists of letters with family members,\n         artists, politicians, and suffragists. Among the more\n         prominent are: Ella Graham Agnew, Edmund Minor Archer, Harry\n         Flood Byrd (1887-1966), Colgate Whitehead Darden, Marion\n         Montague Junkin, Elizabeth Dabney (Langhorne) Lewis, Theresa\n         Pollak, and Roberta Wellford. Separate folders contain\n         correspondence with Richmond artist Nora Houston and artist\n         and designer Willoughby Ions, Adele Clark's first cousin.","Accounts precede financial records, which include materials\n         concerning \"Swannanoa,\" the summer home of James Henry Dooley,\n         uncle of Nora Houston. Adele Clark was helping the Dooley\n         family dispose of this property after the death of Sallie\n         (May) Dooley in 1925. A few items documenting Adele Clark's\n         brief tenure as acting dean of women at the College of William\n         and Mary precede materials concerning her uncle, Edward Samuel\n         Goodman, who died in 1931. These include inquiries concerning\n         his health, sympathy letters and trust information. Sympathy\n         letters concerning the death of Nora Houston, recipes,\n         miscellaneous newspaper clippings and personal miscellany\n         conclude this section.","Materials pertaining to Adele Clark's art career and\n         political activities are located in box 2. These begin with a\n         folder of general art correspondence, arranged alphabetically,\n         which mostly consists of portrait requests, commissions,\n         inquiries, and letters with miscellaneous art institutions.\n         Clark was treasurer and member of the board of directors of\n         the Richmond Art Club as well as a student and instructor\n         there. A minute book, loose minutes, correspondence, loose\n         clippings and a scrapbook of clippings, located with oversized\n         materials in box 3, document her affiliation with the club. An\n         unsigned appeal from James H. Dooley, the club's president, is\n         found among the loose minutes.","In 1919, Adele Clark and Nora Houston, with whom she shared\n         a studio, founded the Virginia League of Fine Arts and\n         Handicrafts in an attempt to revive the Chevalier Quesnay de\n         Beaurepaire's Academy of Sciences and Fine Arts. This soon\n         became the Virginia League of Fine Arts, which merged with the\n         Richmond Academy of Arts in 1931. This collection contains a\n         copy of the league's constitution, amendments and reports as\n         well as a few items of correspondence. Minutes of the board of\n         trustees of the Richmond Academy of Arts document the merger\n         and the two years following. Lecture notes and student papers\n         from the College of William and Mary extension in Richmond\n         (Richmond Professional Institute) precede WPA materials. The\n         latter mainly consists of letters with Campbell Bascom Slemp\n         about the Southwest Virginia Museum at Big Stone Gap, but also\n         include a scrapbook, located in box 3, and the transcript of a\n         1963 interview.","From 1941 to 1964, Adele Clark served on the State Art\n         Commission, an organization she helped establish in 1916.\n         Materials, primarily reports and minutes, span her entire\n         affiliation with the commission, but mostly pertain to her\n         last three years of service. Materials of the Virginia Society\n         for Crippled Children and Adults include correspondence,\n         reports and notes on patients and demonstrate Clark's interest\n         in using art in rehabilitation. In 1947, a portrait gallery of\n         state police officers who died in the line of duty was\n         established at state police headquarters in Chesterfield\n         County. Adele Clark was commissioned to paint one of these\n         portraits. Materials concerning the dedication include\n         clippings and a program that contains biographical sketches of\n         artists and subjects.","In 1956, the Richmond Artists Association was founded to\n         encourage local appreciation and patronage of contemporary\n         art. Among these materials are copies of the constitution,\n         by-laws, rosters, and a directory. Materials concerning the\n         dedication of the Nora Houston Gallery at St. Paul's School in\n         1972 follow. A copy of the dedication address by Edmund Minor\n         Archer recounts Nora Houston's contributions to Richmond art.\n         Notes and articles, invitations, announcements and exhibition\n         information, a visitor's roster to a 1946 exhibition, two\n         sketchbooks and loose sketches, and miscellany conclude this\n         section.","The rest of Adele Clark's papers concern her role as a\n         political activist. These materials are relatively few in\n         number and often individual folders contain only several items\n         that span a large date range. For example, the first folder in\n         this section contains materials concerning women's rights\n         (excluding the League of Women Voters) from 1912 to 1976. This\n         material includes correspondence, clippings, notes, and\n         miscellany concerning various women's issues from suffrage to\n         the Equal Rights Amendment. As previously mentioned Adele\n         Clark's Equal Suffrage League and Virginia League of Women\n         Voters papers were given to another institution. An index to\n         those papers donated to the James Branch Cabell Library at\n         Virginia Commonwealth University in Richmond follows folders\n         on the Richmond and Virginia Leagues. In 1923, the Virginia\n         League of Women Voters established the Virginia Women's\n         Council of Legislative Chairmen of State Organizations to\n         coordinate lobbying efforts among like-minded organizations.\n         In the mid-1950's this became the Virginia Council on State\n         Legislation. Materials concerning these organizations mainly\n         include bulletins and reports. In 1921, Governor E. Lee\n         Trinkle appointed Adele Clark to the Commission on\n         Simplification of state Government. A few items of\n         correspondence, reports and bulletins, mostly from budget\n         director LeRoy Hodges, document the commission's work.","Materials that pertain to Prohibition and the National\n         recovery Administration consist almost entirely of newspaper\n         clippings. Minutes and resolutions from a meeting on economic\n         security held in Richmond on March 7, 1935, with Secretary of\n         Labor Frances Perkins precede miscellaneous information\n         concerning a variety of labor and racial issues. A transcript\n         of an interview (ca. 1920) with an ex-slave from Maryland is\n         found with this material. A folder of political miscellany and\n         one concerning Adele Clark's activities on behalf of the\n         Diocesan Council of Catholic Women conclude Adele Clark's\n         papers.","The papers of Adeline Harmon (Cowles) Cox (1907- ) and\n         miscellaneous family items are located at the end of box\n         2.","Correspondence, 1855; miscellany.","General correspondence, 1903-1936; correspondence\n               with daughters, 1906-1929; correspondence with Franklin\n               Delano Roosevelt, 1933, 1937; accounts, 1928-1930,\n               1935-1937;","Correspondence, 1917-1938","1933-1941, 1960-1961","Miscellany.","Correspondence and miscellany","Adele Clark: Art Club scrapbook, 1907-1917; WPA\n               scrapbook, 1940; certificates and posters."],"userestrict_html_tesm":["\u003cp\u003eThere are no restrictions.\u003c/p\u003e\n      "],"userestrict_heading_ssm":["Use Restrictions"],"userestrict_tesim":["There are no restrictions."],"abstract_html_tesm":["\u003cabstract label=\"Abstract\"\u003eInclude scattered business and\n         personal correspondence, ca. 1916-1950, as well as newspaper\n         clippings, organizational minutes, notes and other published\n         and manuscript materials pertaining to a wide array of Clark's\n         political and artistic interests. Among the organizations with\n         which Miss Clark worked were the Equal Suffrage League of\n         Virginia, the League of Women Voters of Virginia, and the\n         Federal Art Project in Virginia. Correspondence, 1916-1940 and\n         1926-1939, with Nora Houston (1883-1942) and Willoughby Ions\n         (1881-1977) illuminates the relationship between women's\n         personal and professional networks and their political\n         activities. The correspondence, 1906-1929, of Clark's mother,\n         Estelle (Goodman) Clark (1847-1893) with her three daughters\n         offers insights into relationships between mothers and their\n         adult children. The collection also contains information on\n         teaching art history in a variety of contexts, on women's\n         suffrage and women's rights, and on other civic and political\n         activities.\u003c/abstract\u003e\n    "],"abstract_tesim":["Include scattered business and\n         personal correspondence, ca. 1916-1950, as well as newspaper\n         clippings, organizational minutes, notes and other published\n         and manuscript materials pertaining to a wide array of Clark's\n         political and artistic interests. Among the organizations with\n         which Miss Clark worked were the Equal Suffrage League of\n         Virginia, the League of Women Voters of Virginia, and the\n         Federal Art Project in Virginia. Correspondence, 1916-1940 and\n         1926-1939, with Nora Houston (1883-1942) and Willoughby Ions\n         (1881-1977) illuminates the relationship between women's\n         personal and professional networks and their political\n         activities. The correspondence, 1906-1929, of Clark's mother,\n         Estelle (Goodman) Clark (1847-1893) with her three daughters\n         offers insights into relationships between mothers and their\n         adult children. The collection also contains information on\n         teaching art history in a variety of contexts, on women's\n         suffrage and women's rights, and on other civic and political\n         activities."],"language_ssim":["English"],"total_component_count_is":45,"online_item_count_is":0,"component_level_isim":[0],"sort_isi":0,"timestamp":"2026-06-23T06:58:25.153Z"}]}},"label":"Breadcrumbs"}}},"links":{"self":"https://search.arvasarchive.org/catalog/vihi_vih00010_c04_c01_c03"}},{"id":"vihi_vih00020_c03_c01","type":"File","attributes":{"title":"Creosoted Timber: Its Preparation and Uses, (booklet),\n         1900","breadcrumbs":{"id":"https://search.arvasarchive.org/catalog/vihi_vih00020_c03_c01#breadcrumbs","type":"document_value","attributes":{"value":{"ref_ssi":"vihi_vih00020_c03_c01","ref_ssm":["vihi_vih00020_c03_c01"],"id":"vihi_vih00020_c03_c01","ead_ssi":"vihi_vih00020","_root_":"vihi_vih00020","_nest_parent_":"vihi_vih00020_c03","parent_ssi":"vihi_vih00020_c03","parent_ssim":["Edwin Fisher Conger Papers,\n1900-1979","Series 3: Norfolk Creosoting Company,\n1900-1950"],"parent_ids_ssim":["vihi_vih00020","vihi_vih00020_c03"],"title_filing_ssi":"Creosoted Timber: Its Preparation and Uses, (booklet),\n         1900","title_ssm":["Creosoted Timber: Its Preparation and Uses, (booklet),\n         1900"],"title_tesim":["Creosoted Timber: Its Preparation and Uses, (booklet),\n         1900"],"normalized_title_ssm":["Creosoted Timber: Its Preparation and Uses, (booklet),\n         1900"],"text":["Creosoted Timber: Its Preparation and Uses, (booklet),\n         1900","Edwin Fisher Conger Papers,\n1900-1979","Series 3: Norfolk Creosoting Company,\n1900-1950","box-folder 1:20"],"parent_unittitles_ssm":["Edwin Fisher Conger Papers,\n1900-1979","Series 3: Norfolk Creosoting Company,\n1900-1950"],"parent_unittitles_tesim":["Edwin Fisher Conger Papers,\n1900-1979","Series 3: Norfolk Creosoting Company,\n1900-1950"],"level_ssm":["File"],"level_ssim":["File"],"component_level_isim":[2],"sort_isi":23,"repository_ssim":["Virginia Historical Society"],"collection_ssim":["Edwin Fisher Conger Papers,\n1900-1979"],"containers_ssim":["box-folder 1:20"],"has_online_content_ssim":["false"],"child_component_count_isi":0,"_nest_path_":"/components#2/components#0","timestamp":"2026-06-23T06:58:25.153Z","collection":{"numFound":1,"start":0,"numFoundExact":true,"docs":[{"id":"vihi_vih00020","ead_ssi":"vihi_vih00020","_root_":"vihi_vih00020","_nest_parent_":"vihi_vih00020","ead_source_url_ssi":"data/vhs/vih00020.xml","title_ssm":["Edwin Fisher Conger Papers,\n1900-1979"],"title_tesim":["Edwin Fisher Conger Papers,\n1900-1979"],"normalized_title_ssm":["Edwin Fisher Conger Papers,\n1900-1979"],"text":["Edwin Fisher Conger Papers,\n1900-1979","Mss1 C7604 a","Creosote.",".","Collection is open to research.","Divided into series as follows: Series 1. Edwin F. Conger, Education and\nProfessional Life; Series 2. E.F. Conger Company; Series 3. Norfolk Creosoting\nCompany; Series 4. Piedmont Company; Series 5. Edwin F. Conger personal files;\nand Series 6. Conger Family Personal Files","New Jersey native Edwin Fisher Conger became intrigued with forestry as a child\nand learned much from his lumberman father, especially in regard to the growth,\nharvesting and uses of chestnut poles and timber. Beginning in 1909, he attended\nthe Biltmore Forest School, on the famous Biltmore Estate in North Carolina,\nwhere he came under the life-long influence of German forester Dr. Charles Alwin\nSchenck, the chief instructor there. Graduating in 1910, Conger secured a\nposition with the Western Electric Company, where he put in long hours as a\nchestnut pole inspector. During this period he also became acquainted with the\nprocesses of pole and timber preservation through the application of a mixture\nof chemicals known as creosote.","Around 1915 he went to work for Lowesville\nLumber Company in Lynchburg, and eventually took over the firm and recreated it\nas E. F. Conger Creosoting Company, whose main client initially proved to be\nelements of the Bell Telephone System. Conger set up treatment plants in Shipman\nand Natural Bridge, Virginia, and eventually in Waynesboro, which ultimately led\nto his purchase of the Virginia Creosoting Company in Culpeper. A chestnut\nblight in the 1920s led to the closing of two of the treating plants in\nVirginia, but with continued demand from the telephone and power companies\noperating on the east coast of the United States, Conger purchased the Piedmont\nWood Preserving Company, which operated a pressure-treating plant in Augusta,\nGeorgia, in 1930, followed by the purchase of the Norfolk Creosoting Company in\n1936, giving Conger a facility on deep water with the potential for coastwise\nand export trade. The latter he sold in the 1940s and used the proceeds to\npurchase Hitchcock Woods and the Cedar Creek Farm near Aiken, South Carolina.\nThese 14,000 acres provided Conger with ample resources for his products, but he\nharvested wisely and committed to reforestation well before that was a general\nenvironmental practice.","He also developed contracts with the U.S. government to\nharvest chestnut poles from national forests in the eastern part of the country.\nGradually, Conger got out of the creosoting business, having already converted\nPiedmont Wood Preserving simply to the Piedmont Company, divesting himself of\nthe plant in Augusta and the company's extensive series of contracts in 1951,\nand converting the operation largely into an investments holding firm. He\nlikewise sold off the E. F. Conger Company in the early 1950s to a newly\nconstituted Piedmont Wood Preserving Company headquartered in Spartanburg, S.C.,\nincluding distribution yards in Connecticut, Georgia, and Virginia; became a\nforestry consultant living in Staunton, Virginia; and developed a forestry\ncenter on his lands in South Carolina, partly in tribute to the work of his\nmentor, Dr. Charles Schenck. In later life, he served as a bank president in\nCharlottesville and was a generous philanthropist, supporting a number of\norganizations in Piedmont Virginia before his death in 1974.","Processed under the auspices of a grant from the National Historical Publications and Records Commission (NHPRC)","This collection contains materials regarding the education and career in\nforestry and treated pole production of Edwin F. Conger, including an\nautobiography, research materials, and a photograph album relating to pole\nharvesting and preservation treatment (including images of operations at the\nVirginia Creosoting Company plant in Culpeper, Va., Norfolk Creosoting Company\nat Norfolk, Va., E.F. Conger Creosoting Company at Waynesboro, Va., and the\nPiedmont Company at Augusta, Ga., as well as pictures of Conger's teacher and\nlifelong mentor, Dr. Carl Alwin Schenck).","Also, includes materials (primarily photographs of operations and\npole-production plants) of E. F. Conger Creosoting Company (later simply the E.\nF. Conger Company), headquartered in Staunton, Va., but with chief operations at\nWaynesboro, Va. Files include images of Edwin F. Conger at the company\nheadquarters in Staunton.","Also, includes records of the Norfolk Creosoting Company, with its plant and\nshipping facility at Norfolk, Va., including images of the plant and operations\nat Norfolk, materials concerning the acquisition of the Hitchcock Woods property\nat Aiken, S.C., title abstract to \"Breezy Hill,\" residence of E. F. Conger and\nfamily and company headquarters in Staunton, Va., and materials concerning sale\nand dissolution of the company.","Also, includes records of the Piedmont Company, formed by E.F. Conger through\nhis purchase of the Piedmont Wood Preserving Company of Augusta, Ga. The company\nwas headquartered in Staunton but most of its operations were in Georgia and\nNorth Carolina, and its largest customer was Southeastern New England Telephone\nCompany. Materials include a minute book of meetings of the Board of Directors\n(largely a family owned and operated business), records of the purchase and\ndissolution of Piedmont Wood Preserving Company of Augusta, Ga., photographs of\nplants, operations and workers (some African American), a scrapbook documenting\npole production, treatment and shipping, records concerning the sale of the\ncompany assets to a newly re-constituted Piedmont Wood Preserving Company\nheadquartered in Spartanburg, S.C., and records relating to the later operations\nof the Piedmont Company as an investments holding firm.","Also, include personal and family papers of Edwin F. Conger relating to his\ndaughters, Dorothea (Conger) Eager Grand Sverker and Vivion Randolph (Conger)\nLeBow, his surviving grandchildren, Howard Lloyd Eager and Edwin F. Eager, for\nwhom he served for a time as guardian; his interests in reforestation; and his\nphilanthropic support of local Staunton historic sites and social organizations.\nAmong these materials are also numerous photographs of family members,\nvacations, and other travel; materials concerning Conger's purchase and\noperation of a resort property at Horse Point Estates in Middlesex County, Va.;\nand a special file on the efforts of Mrs. James A. Higgs to secure the release\nof Lilly Redmond from Western State Hospital in Staunton in order to have her\nreside in an early prototype \"halfway house\" for patients recovering from bouts\nof mental illness.","Lastly, the collection includes some financial records of Conger's wife,\nDorothea Lloyd (Tatum) Conger, as well as genealogical materials she collected\nprimarily on the Randolph and Tatum families; and some late financial records of\nthe Congers' daughter, Vivion (Conger) LeBow.","The first series in this collection provides background materials on the life and career of Edwin Fisher Conger (New Jersey native but long-time Staunton,\nVa., resident). His autobiography provides many helpful details on his education\nand entry into the pole-producing and treating business, introduces information\non several of the companies he acquired and operated, and presents useful\nmaterial on his lifelong interest in and support of American forestry and the\ninfluence of his forestry mentor, Dr. Carl A. Schenck (who is extensively\nfeatured later in the collection).","Among the most important pieces in this series is the photograph album (folder\n4) compiled throughout Conger's business career (now disassembled for\npreservation purposes)-it contains important imagery of the pole-treatment\nbusiness and the operations of Conger's various companies (detailed below),\nincluding images of creosoting operations, timber lands, the Virginia Creosoting\nCompany plant in Culpeper, the Norfolk Creosoting Company plant, E.F. Conger\nCompany plant in Waynesboro, Piedmont Company plants and yards, general\noperations, and tributes to Dr. Carl A. Schenck, Conger's longtime friend and\nforestry mentor (see Series 5.2)","Edwin F. Conger's first truly successful venture into business began with the conversion of a lumber business in Lynchburg into the E. F. Conger Creosoting\nCompany (later simply known as the E. F. Conger Company). Like several of the\ncompanies he owned and operated, E. F. Conger Company over time become\nessentially a holding company for his investments, but for almost thirty years\nthis firm produced treated poles for telephone and utilities companies\nthroughout the eastern United States, his steadiest and most notable customer\nbeing Southeastern New England Telephone Company.","Although there are only limited records about the operations of the company\nhere, this series contains numerous images of the company's large treatment\nplant built and maintained at Waynesboro, Va.","Edwin F. Conger purchased and operated the Norfolk Creosoting Company for a relatively short time, but it proved to be one of his most successful ventures. Motivated by the success of E. F. Conger Company, Conger sought a facility with deep water access in order to move his operations more significantly into the coastwise trade in and supply of treated poles. The operations at Norfolk proved as important to shipping as they did to pole production and treatment.","The files here include a booklet produced by the Norfolk Creosoting Company long before Conger acquired it, along with another valuable photograph album documenting pole installation in the New York metropolitan area in the 1930s. Conger both collected writings about and wrote himself regarding pole treatment. Perhaps most interesting are the photographs showing the plant at Norfolk and its various operations. Because of the success of this venture, Conger was able to acquire a large number of acres of timber outside of Aiken, South Carolina (known by the name of one of its previous owners, the Hitchcock Woods). This provided him with an abundant supply of chestnut poles and also figured significantly in his future commitments to re-forestry and philanthropy. Through this company, Conger also purchased a stately residence in Staunton, Va. (\"Breezy Hill\"), which he used as a corporate headquarters (his wife served as treasurer of the company). Although the plant and some company assets were sold during World War II, the company itself did not actually dissolve until around 1950.","Perhaps the largest venture Conger operated during his lengthy career, Piedmont Creosoting Company (later simply the Piedmont Company) had its headquarters in Staunton, Virginia, but largest plant and operations in Augusta, Georgia. Conger acquired the Piedmont Wood Preserving Company of Augusta in the early 1930s, dissolved the existing company, and reconstituted operations as the Piedmont Creosoting Company. This company utilized pole collection yards in Connecticut to supply New England customers, and some images of those yards are included here.","The files in this series contain the most detailed information about any of the companies Conger operated, most importantly represented by the surviving minute book of Board of Directors' meetings for most the company's history. One of the most valuable pieces in terms of knowing the nature and extent, as well as the details, of Conger's various pole ventures comes in the form of a scrapbook (now disassembled for preservation purposes). Entitled \"From Forest to Field,\" it was prepared for Conger's eldest daughter, Dorothea, by A. B. Carlson, in June 1951. It carefully documents through text and images the operations of the Piedmont Company, using the work operations of the Company to supply an order of southern Yellow Pine poles for the Southern New England Telephone Company. The photographs were taken in the spring of 1949 and the text was drafted subsequently by Carlson of Southern New England Telephone. Poles were acquired from the \"Hitchcock Forest\" near Aiken, South Carolina, owned by E. F. Conger. The company plant in Augusta at that time shipped 100,000 poles per year. Images here show the plant and forest operations and some include depictions of African American workers. Also includes images of the treatment of poles with creosote (a mixture of oils) for preservation, as well as arrangements for shipping.","As noted above, this was one of Conger's firms that eventually became a holding company for investments, and some of the last files in this series document how Conger finally got out of the pole-producing and treatment business for good in the 1950s. The pole-treatment operations in Augusta and at other facilities throughout the eastern United States were eventually sold to a new company with an old name, Piedmont Wood Preserving Company, newly headquartered in Spartanburg, S.C. The file concerning the sale contains detailed materials on existing, often long-standing, company contracts that were transferred to Piedmont Wood Preserving Company, as well as materials on the sale of other assets and business contracts to Piedmont Wood Preserving Company.","The materials in this series primarily focus on Edwin F. Conger's personal life and family, documenting the life a successful businessman of the first half of the twentieth century might lead and the interests his fortune might encourage and support.","Edwin F. Conger personally retained a large amount of acreage in South Carolina that the success of the Norfolk Creosoting Company had enabled him to purchase. Some of the acreage was eventually sold to local interests for housing projects, some used to support the operations of the School of Forestry at the University of North Carolina (including the establishment of a professorship and scholarships), some set aside to honor Conger's lifelong friend and mentor, Dr. Carl A. Schenck, through the creation of a memorial forest and reforestation program (see also Series 5.2).","Edwin F. Conger studied under German forestry specialist Dr. Carl Alwin Schenck (1868-1955) before World War I and considered him a friend and mentor throughout his life. Conger's financial successes allowed him to join with other of his fellow alumni from the Biltmore Forestry School (where Schenck operated his original school on the grounds of the Biltmore estate in North Carolina) in the years immediately preceding his mentor's passing. The files here document some of those activities through a combination of text documents and photographs. One particularly interesting and unusual item is an album (with phonograph records) documenting Dr. Schenck's return visit to America: The Cavalcade of Trees for the Great: Being the Tour of Carl Alwin Schenck in America, 1951, under the Sponsorship of the American Forestry Association and graduates of the Biltmore Forest School.","The largest portion of this series of Edwin Conger's papers relates to his family and his personal affairs. These include financial records; files on local philanthropy in Staunton; activities involving his purchase and operation of a resort property in Middlesex County, Va., called Horse Point Estates; vacation trips and other travel; correspondence with, extensive photographs of, and files concerning trusts established for his two daughters and his grandchildren (most notably files on the divorce and remarriages of his eldest daughter, Dorothea Lloyd (Conger) Eager Grand Sverker, and the guardianship of her two surviving children, Howard Lloyd Eager and Edwin F. Eager).","One of the particularly interesting and unexpected files here concerns the Higgs/Redmond case: the attempt of Mrs. James A. Higgs to secure release of Lilly Redmond from Western State Hospital in Staunton in order to have her reside in an early prototype \"halfway house\" for patients with mental illness who had partially recovered (folder 95).","This series contains just a few files of the wife and second daughter of Edwin\nF. Conger. Dorothea Lloyd (Tatum) Conger (1893-1961) worked most of her years of\nmarriage as treasurer of companies her husband acquired and operated. Some of\nher letters to her two daughters are found in Conger's correspondence files. The\nfile of genealogical materials, primarily focused on her Tatum family ancestors\nand relations, is the largest grouping of materials of or about Mrs. Conger. A\nsmall amount of financial material relating to Vivion Randolph (Conger) LeBow\n(1923-2006), who left her father's papers to the Virginia Historical Society,\ncompletes the collection.","There are no restrictions.","The Edwin Fisher Conger papers focus primarily on several of Conger's business operations, specifically the production of treated telephone and\nelectrical poles. Two of Conger's chief operations, Norfolk Creosoting Company\nand the Piedmont Wood Preserving Company (later simply the Piedmont Company)\nfigure most heavily in the collection, along with information regarding Conger's\nfirst endeavor in this field, E.F. Conger Creosoting Company, his extensive\ntimber holdings near Aiken, South Carolina, and his financial, social, and\nphilanthropic dealings as a wealthy businessman living in Virginia.","E.F. Conger Company - Records and correspondence.","Conger, Edwin Fisher, 1887-1974.","English"],"collection_title_tesim":["Edwin Fisher Conger Papers,\n1900-1979"],"collection_ssim":["Edwin Fisher Conger Papers,\n1900-1979"],"level_ssm":["collection"],"level_ssim":["Collection"],"unitid_ssm":["Mss1 C7604 a"],"unitid_tesim":["Mss1 C7604 a"],"repository_ssm":["Virginia Historical Society"],"repository_ssim":["Virginia Historical Society"],"creator_ssm":["Conger, Edwin Fisher"],"creator_ssim":["Conger, Edwin Fisher"],"creator_persname_ssim":["Conger, Edwin Fisher, 1887-1974."],"creator_corpname_ssim":["E.F. Conger Company - Records and correspondence."],"creators_ssim":["Conger, Edwin Fisher, 1887-1974.","E.F. Conger Company - Records and correspondence."],"acqinfo_ssim":["Gift of the estate of Vivion Conger LeBow, Arlington, Va., in 2007. Accessioned September 30, 2013."],"access_subjects_ssim":["Creosote."],"access_subjects_ssm":["Creosote."],"has_online_content_ssim":["false"],"physdesc_tesim":["."],"extent_ssm":["3 linear feet (165 Folders)"],"extent_tesim":["3 linear feet (165 Folders)"],"accessrestrict_html_tesm":["\u003cp\u003eCollection is open to research.\n\u003c/p\u003e\n"],"accessrestrict_heading_ssm":["Access Restrictions"],"accessrestrict_tesim":["Collection is open to research."],"arrangement_html_tesm":["\u003cp\u003e\nDivided into series as follows: Series 1. Edwin F. Conger, Education and\nProfessional Life; Series 2. E.F. Conger Company; Series 3. Norfolk Creosoting\nCompany; Series 4. Piedmont Company; Series 5. Edwin F. Conger personal files;\nand Series 6. Conger Family Personal Files\n\u003c/p\u003e\n"],"arrangement_heading_ssm":["Arrangement"],"arrangement_tesim":["Divided into series as follows: Series 1. Edwin F. Conger, Education and\nProfessional Life; Series 2. E.F. Conger Company; Series 3. Norfolk Creosoting\nCompany; Series 4. Piedmont Company; Series 5. Edwin F. Conger personal files;\nand Series 6. Conger Family Personal Files"],"bioghist_html_tesm":["\u003cp\u003e\nNew Jersey native Edwin Fisher Conger became intrigued with forestry as a child\nand learned much from his lumberman father, especially in regard to the growth,\nharvesting and uses of chestnut poles and timber. Beginning in 1909, he attended\nthe Biltmore Forest School, on the famous Biltmore Estate in North Carolina,\nwhere he came under the life-long influence of German forester Dr. Charles Alwin\nSchenck, the chief instructor there. Graduating in 1910, Conger secured a\nposition with the Western Electric Company, where he put in long hours as a\nchestnut pole inspector. During this period he also became acquainted with the\nprocesses of pole and timber preservation through the application of a mixture\nof chemicals known as creosote. \u003c/p\u003e\n","\u003cp\u003e Around 1915 he went to work for Lowesville\nLumber Company in Lynchburg, and eventually took over the firm and recreated it\nas E. F. Conger Creosoting Company, whose main client initially proved to be\nelements of the Bell Telephone System. Conger set up treatment plants in Shipman\nand Natural Bridge, Virginia, and eventually in Waynesboro, which ultimately led\nto his purchase of the Virginia Creosoting Company in Culpeper. A chestnut\nblight in the 1920s led to the closing of two of the treating plants in\nVirginia, but with continued demand from the telephone and power companies\noperating on the east coast of the United States, Conger purchased the Piedmont\nWood Preserving Company, which operated a pressure-treating plant in Augusta,\nGeorgia, in 1930, followed by the purchase of the Norfolk Creosoting Company in\n1936, giving Conger a facility on deep water with the potential for coastwise\nand export trade. The latter he sold in the 1940s and used the proceeds to\npurchase Hitchcock Woods and the Cedar Creek Farm near Aiken, South Carolina.\nThese 14,000 acres provided Conger with ample resources for his products, but he\nharvested wisely and committed to reforestation well before that was a general\nenvironmental practice.\u003c/p\u003e\n","\u003cp\u003e He also developed contracts with the U.S. government to\nharvest chestnut poles from national forests in the eastern part of the country.\nGradually, Conger got out of the creosoting business, having already converted\nPiedmont Wood Preserving simply to the Piedmont Company, divesting himself of\nthe plant in Augusta and the company's extensive series of contracts in 1951,\nand converting the operation largely into an investments holding firm. He\nlikewise sold off the E. F. Conger Company in the early 1950s to a newly\nconstituted Piedmont Wood Preserving Company headquartered in Spartanburg, S.C.,\nincluding distribution yards in Connecticut, Georgia, and Virginia; became a\nforestry consultant living in Staunton, Virginia; and developed a forestry\ncenter on his lands in South Carolina, partly in tribute to the work of his\nmentor, Dr. Charles Schenck. In later life, he served as a bank president in\nCharlottesville and was a generous philanthropist, supporting a number of\norganizations in Piedmont Virginia before his death in 1974.\u003c/p\u003e\n"],"bioghist_heading_ssm":["Biographical/Historical Information"],"bioghist_tesim":["New Jersey native Edwin Fisher Conger became intrigued with forestry as a child\nand learned much from his lumberman father, especially in regard to the growth,\nharvesting and uses of chestnut poles and timber. Beginning in 1909, he attended\nthe Biltmore Forest School, on the famous Biltmore Estate in North Carolina,\nwhere he came under the life-long influence of German forester Dr. Charles Alwin\nSchenck, the chief instructor there. Graduating in 1910, Conger secured a\nposition with the Western Electric Company, where he put in long hours as a\nchestnut pole inspector. During this period he also became acquainted with the\nprocesses of pole and timber preservation through the application of a mixture\nof chemicals known as creosote.","Around 1915 he went to work for Lowesville\nLumber Company in Lynchburg, and eventually took over the firm and recreated it\nas E. F. Conger Creosoting Company, whose main client initially proved to be\nelements of the Bell Telephone System. Conger set up treatment plants in Shipman\nand Natural Bridge, Virginia, and eventually in Waynesboro, which ultimately led\nto his purchase of the Virginia Creosoting Company in Culpeper. A chestnut\nblight in the 1920s led to the closing of two of the treating plants in\nVirginia, but with continued demand from the telephone and power companies\noperating on the east coast of the United States, Conger purchased the Piedmont\nWood Preserving Company, which operated a pressure-treating plant in Augusta,\nGeorgia, in 1930, followed by the purchase of the Norfolk Creosoting Company in\n1936, giving Conger a facility on deep water with the potential for coastwise\nand export trade. The latter he sold in the 1940s and used the proceeds to\npurchase Hitchcock Woods and the Cedar Creek Farm near Aiken, South Carolina.\nThese 14,000 acres provided Conger with ample resources for his products, but he\nharvested wisely and committed to reforestation well before that was a general\nenvironmental practice.","He also developed contracts with the U.S. government to\nharvest chestnut poles from national forests in the eastern part of the country.\nGradually, Conger got out of the creosoting business, having already converted\nPiedmont Wood Preserving simply to the Piedmont Company, divesting himself of\nthe plant in Augusta and the company's extensive series of contracts in 1951,\nand converting the operation largely into an investments holding firm. He\nlikewise sold off the E. F. Conger Company in the early 1950s to a newly\nconstituted Piedmont Wood Preserving Company headquartered in Spartanburg, S.C.,\nincluding distribution yards in Connecticut, Georgia, and Virginia; became a\nforestry consultant living in Staunton, Virginia; and developed a forestry\ncenter on his lands in South Carolina, partly in tribute to the work of his\nmentor, Dr. Charles Schenck. In later life, he served as a bank president in\nCharlottesville and was a generous philanthropist, supporting a number of\norganizations in Piedmont Virginia before his death in 1974."],"prefercite_html_tesm":["\u003cp\u003eEdwin Fisher Conger papers, 1900-1979 (Mss1 C7604 a), Virginia Historical  , Accession # Mss1 C7604 a, Virginia Historical Society, Richmond, VA.\u003c!-- Add your institution's citation information --\u003e\n\u003c/p\u003e\n"],"prefercite_tesim":["Edwin Fisher Conger papers, 1900-1979 (Mss1 C7604 a), Virginia Historical  , Accession # Mss1 C7604 a, Virginia Historical Society, Richmond, VA."],"processinfo_html_tesm":["\u003cp\u003eProcessed under the auspices of a grant from the National Historical Publications and Records Commission (NHPRC)\n\u003c/p\u003e\n"],"processinfo_heading_ssm":["Processing Information"],"processinfo_tesim":["Processed under the auspices of a grant from the National Historical Publications and Records Commission (NHPRC)"],"scopecontent_html_tesm":["\u003cp\u003e\nThis collection contains materials regarding the education and career in\nforestry and treated pole production of Edwin F. Conger, including an\nautobiography, research materials, and a photograph album relating to pole\nharvesting and preservation treatment (including images of operations at the\nVirginia Creosoting Company plant in Culpeper, Va., Norfolk Creosoting Company\nat Norfolk, Va., E.F. Conger Creosoting Company at Waynesboro, Va., and the\nPiedmont Company at Augusta, Ga., as well as pictures of Conger's teacher and\nlifelong mentor, Dr. Carl Alwin Schenck).\u003c/p\u003e\n","\u003cp\u003e\nAlso, includes materials (primarily photographs of operations and\npole-production plants) of E. F. Conger Creosoting Company (later simply the E.\nF. Conger Company), headquartered in Staunton, Va., but with chief operations at\nWaynesboro, Va. Files include images of Edwin F. Conger at the company\nheadquarters in Staunton.\u003c/p\u003e\n","\u003cp\u003eAlso, includes records of the Norfolk Creosoting Company, with its plant and\nshipping facility at Norfolk, Va., including images of the plant and operations\nat Norfolk, materials concerning the acquisition of the Hitchcock Woods property\nat Aiken, S.C., title abstract to \"Breezy Hill,\" residence of E. F. Conger and\nfamily and company headquarters in Staunton, Va., and materials concerning sale\nand dissolution of the company.\u003c/p\u003e\n","\u003cp\u003eAlso, includes records of the Piedmont Company, formed by E.F. Conger through\nhis purchase of the Piedmont Wood Preserving Company of Augusta, Ga. The company\nwas headquartered in Staunton but most of its operations were in Georgia and\nNorth Carolina, and its largest customer was Southeastern New England Telephone\nCompany. Materials include a minute book of meetings of the Board of Directors\n(largely a family owned and operated business), records of the purchase and\ndissolution of Piedmont Wood Preserving Company of Augusta, Ga., photographs of\nplants, operations and workers (some African American), a scrapbook documenting\npole production, treatment and shipping, records concerning the sale of the\ncompany assets to a newly re-constituted Piedmont Wood Preserving Company\nheadquartered in Spartanburg, S.C., and records relating to the later operations\nof the Piedmont Company as an investments holding firm.\u003c/p\u003e\n","\u003cp\u003eAlso, include personal and family papers of Edwin F. Conger relating to his\ndaughters, Dorothea (Conger) Eager Grand Sverker and Vivion Randolph (Conger)\nLeBow, his surviving grandchildren, Howard Lloyd Eager and Edwin F. Eager, for\nwhom he served for a time as guardian; his interests in reforestation; and his\nphilanthropic support of local Staunton historic sites and social organizations.\nAmong these materials are also numerous photographs of family members,\nvacations, and other travel; materials concerning Conger's purchase and\noperation of a resort property at Horse Point Estates in Middlesex County, Va.;\nand a special file on the efforts of Mrs. James A. Higgs to secure the release\nof Lilly Redmond from Western State Hospital in Staunton in order to have her\nreside in an early prototype \"halfway house\" for patients recovering from bouts\nof mental illness.\u003c/p\u003e\n","\u003cp\u003eLastly, the collection includes some financial records of Conger's wife,\nDorothea Lloyd (Tatum) Conger, as well as genealogical materials she collected\nprimarily on the Randolph and Tatum families; and some late financial records of\nthe Congers' daughter, Vivion (Conger) LeBow.\u003c/p\u003e\n","\u003cp\u003eThe first series in this collection provides background materials on the life and career of Edwin Fisher Conger (New Jersey native but long-time Staunton,\nVa., resident). His autobiography provides many helpful details on his education\nand entry into the pole-producing and treating business, introduces information\non several of the companies he acquired and operated, and presents useful\nmaterial on his lifelong interest in and support of American forestry and the\ninfluence of his forestry mentor, Dr. Carl A. Schenck (who is extensively\nfeatured later in the collection). \u003c/p\u003e\n","\u003cp\u003e Among the most important pieces in this series is the photograph album (folder\n4) compiled throughout Conger's business career (now disassembled for\npreservation purposes)-it contains important imagery of the pole-treatment\nbusiness and the operations of Conger's various companies (detailed below),\nincluding images of creosoting operations, timber lands, the Virginia Creosoting\nCompany plant in Culpeper, the Norfolk Creosoting Company plant, E.F. Conger\nCompany plant in Waynesboro, Piedmont Company plants and yards, general\noperations, and tributes to Dr. Carl A. Schenck, Conger's longtime friend and\nforestry mentor (see Series 5.2)\u003c/p\u003e\n","\u003cp\u003eEdwin F. Conger's first truly successful venture into business began with the conversion of a lumber business in Lynchburg into the E. F. Conger Creosoting\nCompany (later simply known as the E. F. Conger Company). Like several of the\ncompanies he owned and operated, E. F. Conger Company over time become\nessentially a holding company for his investments, but for almost thirty years\nthis firm produced treated poles for telephone and utilities companies\nthroughout the eastern United States, his steadiest and most notable customer\nbeing Southeastern New England Telephone Company.\u003c/p\u003e\n","\u003cp\u003e\nAlthough there are only limited records about the operations of the company\nhere, this series contains numerous images of the company's large treatment\nplant built and maintained at Waynesboro, Va.\u003c/p\u003e\n","\u003cp\u003eEdwin F. Conger purchased and operated the Norfolk Creosoting Company for a relatively short time, but it proved to be one of his most successful ventures. Motivated by the success of E. F. Conger Company, Conger sought a facility with deep water access in order to move his operations more significantly into the coastwise trade in and supply of treated poles. The operations at Norfolk proved as important to shipping as they did to pole production and treatment.\n\u003c/p\u003e\n","\u003cp\u003eThe files here include a booklet produced by the Norfolk Creosoting Company long before Conger acquired it, along with another valuable photograph album documenting pole installation in the New York metropolitan area in the 1930s. Conger both collected writings about and wrote himself regarding pole treatment. Perhaps most interesting are the photographs showing the plant at Norfolk and its various operations. Because of the success of this venture, Conger was able to acquire a large number of acres of timber outside of Aiken, South Carolina (known by the name of one of its previous owners, the Hitchcock Woods). This provided him with an abundant supply of chestnut poles and also figured significantly in his future commitments to re-forestry and philanthropy. Through this company, Conger also purchased a stately residence in Staunton, Va. (\"Breezy Hill\"), which he used as a corporate headquarters (his wife served as treasurer of the company). Although the plant and some company assets were sold during World War II, the company itself did not actually dissolve until around 1950.\n\u003c/p\u003e\n","\u003cp\u003ePerhaps the largest venture Conger operated during his lengthy career, Piedmont Creosoting Company (later simply the Piedmont Company) had its headquarters in Staunton, Virginia, but largest plant and operations in Augusta, Georgia. Conger acquired the Piedmont Wood Preserving Company of Augusta in the early 1930s, dissolved the existing company, and reconstituted operations as the Piedmont Creosoting Company. This company utilized pole collection yards in Connecticut to supply New England customers, and some images of those yards are included here.\n\u003c/p\u003e\n","\u003cp\u003eThe files in this series contain the most detailed information about any of the companies Conger operated, most importantly represented by the surviving minute book of Board of Directors' meetings for most the company's history. One of the most valuable pieces in terms of knowing the nature and extent, as well as the details, of Conger's various pole ventures comes in the form of a scrapbook (now disassembled for preservation purposes). Entitled \"From Forest to Field,\" it was prepared for Conger's eldest daughter, Dorothea, by A. B. Carlson, in June 1951. It carefully documents through text and images the operations of the Piedmont Company, using the work operations of the Company to supply an order of southern Yellow Pine poles for the Southern New England Telephone Company. The photographs were taken in the spring of 1949 and the text was drafted subsequently by Carlson of Southern New England Telephone. Poles were acquired from the \"Hitchcock Forest\" near Aiken, South Carolina, owned by E. F. Conger. The company plant in Augusta at that time shipped 100,000 poles per year. Images here show the plant and forest operations and some include depictions of African American workers. Also includes images of the treatment of poles with creosote (a mixture of oils) for preservation, as well as arrangements for shipping.\n\u003c/p\u003e\n","\u003cp\u003eAs noted above, this was one of Conger's firms that eventually became a holding company for investments, and some of the last files in this series document how Conger finally got out of the pole-producing and treatment business for good in the 1950s. The pole-treatment operations in Augusta and at other facilities throughout the eastern United States were eventually sold to a new company with an old name, Piedmont Wood Preserving Company, newly headquartered in Spartanburg, S.C. The file concerning the sale contains detailed materials on existing, often long-standing, company contracts that were transferred to Piedmont Wood Preserving Company, as well as materials on the sale of other assets and business contracts to Piedmont Wood Preserving Company.\n\u003c/p\u003e\n","\u003cp\u003eThe materials in this series primarily focus on Edwin F. Conger's personal life and family, documenting the life a successful businessman of the first half of the twentieth century might lead and the interests his fortune might encourage and support.\n\u003c/p\u003e\n","\u003cp\u003eEdwin F. Conger personally retained a large amount of acreage in South Carolina that the success of the Norfolk Creosoting Company had enabled him to purchase. Some of the acreage was eventually sold to local interests for housing projects, some used to support the operations of the School of Forestry at the University of North Carolina (including the establishment of a professorship and scholarships), some set aside to honor Conger's lifelong friend and mentor, Dr. Carl A. Schenck, through the creation of a memorial forest and reforestation program (see also Series 5.2).\n        \u003c/p\u003e\n        ","\u003cp\u003eEdwin F. Conger studied under German forestry specialist Dr. Carl Alwin Schenck (1868-1955) before World War I and considered him a friend and mentor throughout his life. Conger's financial successes allowed him to join with other of his fellow alumni from the Biltmore Forestry School (where Schenck operated his original school on the grounds of the Biltmore estate in North Carolina) in the years immediately preceding his mentor's passing. The files here document some of those activities through a combination of text documents and photographs. One particularly interesting and unusual item is an album (with phonograph records) documenting Dr. Schenck's return visit to America: The Cavalcade of Trees for the Great: Being the Tour of Carl Alwin Schenck in America, 1951, under the Sponsorship of the American Forestry Association and graduates of the Biltmore Forest School.\n        \u003c/p\u003e\n        ","\u003cp\u003eThe largest portion of this series of Edwin Conger's papers relates to his family and his personal affairs. These include financial records; files on local philanthropy in Staunton; activities involving his purchase and operation of a resort property in Middlesex County, Va., called Horse Point Estates; vacation trips and other travel; correspondence with, extensive photographs of, and files concerning trusts established for his two daughters and his grandchildren (most notably files on the divorce and remarriages of his eldest daughter, Dorothea Lloyd (Conger) Eager Grand Sverker, and the guardianship of her two surviving children, Howard Lloyd Eager and Edwin F. Eager).\n        \u003c/p\u003e\n","\u003cp\u003eOne of the particularly interesting and unexpected files here concerns the Higgs/Redmond case: the attempt of Mrs. James A. Higgs to secure release of Lilly Redmond from Western State Hospital in Staunton in order to have her reside in an early prototype \"halfway house\" for patients with mental illness who had partially recovered (folder 95).\n        \u003c/p\u003e\n","\u003cp\u003eThis series contains just a few files of the wife and second daughter of Edwin\nF. Conger. Dorothea Lloyd (Tatum) Conger (1893-1961) worked most of her years of\nmarriage as treasurer of companies her husband acquired and operated. Some of\nher letters to her two daughters are found in Conger's correspondence files. The\nfile of genealogical materials, primarily focused on her Tatum family ancestors\nand relations, is the largest grouping of materials of or about Mrs. Conger. A\nsmall amount of financial material relating to Vivion Randolph (Conger) LeBow\n(1923-2006), who left her father's papers to the Virginia Historical Society,\ncompletes the collection.\n\u003c/p\u003e\n"],"scopecontent_heading_ssm":["Scope and Content"],"scopecontent_tesim":["This collection contains materials regarding the education and career in\nforestry and treated pole production of Edwin F. Conger, including an\nautobiography, research materials, and a photograph album relating to pole\nharvesting and preservation treatment (including images of operations at the\nVirginia Creosoting Company plant in Culpeper, Va., Norfolk Creosoting Company\nat Norfolk, Va., E.F. Conger Creosoting Company at Waynesboro, Va., and the\nPiedmont Company at Augusta, Ga., as well as pictures of Conger's teacher and\nlifelong mentor, Dr. Carl Alwin Schenck).","Also, includes materials (primarily photographs of operations and\npole-production plants) of E. F. Conger Creosoting Company (later simply the E.\nF. Conger Company), headquartered in Staunton, Va., but with chief operations at\nWaynesboro, Va. Files include images of Edwin F. Conger at the company\nheadquarters in Staunton.","Also, includes records of the Norfolk Creosoting Company, with its plant and\nshipping facility at Norfolk, Va., including images of the plant and operations\nat Norfolk, materials concerning the acquisition of the Hitchcock Woods property\nat Aiken, S.C., title abstract to \"Breezy Hill,\" residence of E. F. Conger and\nfamily and company headquarters in Staunton, Va., and materials concerning sale\nand dissolution of the company.","Also, includes records of the Piedmont Company, formed by E.F. Conger through\nhis purchase of the Piedmont Wood Preserving Company of Augusta, Ga. The company\nwas headquartered in Staunton but most of its operations were in Georgia and\nNorth Carolina, and its largest customer was Southeastern New England Telephone\nCompany. Materials include a minute book of meetings of the Board of Directors\n(largely a family owned and operated business), records of the purchase and\ndissolution of Piedmont Wood Preserving Company of Augusta, Ga., photographs of\nplants, operations and workers (some African American), a scrapbook documenting\npole production, treatment and shipping, records concerning the sale of the\ncompany assets to a newly re-constituted Piedmont Wood Preserving Company\nheadquartered in Spartanburg, S.C., and records relating to the later operations\nof the Piedmont Company as an investments holding firm.","Also, include personal and family papers of Edwin F. Conger relating to his\ndaughters, Dorothea (Conger) Eager Grand Sverker and Vivion Randolph (Conger)\nLeBow, his surviving grandchildren, Howard Lloyd Eager and Edwin F. Eager, for\nwhom he served for a time as guardian; his interests in reforestation; and his\nphilanthropic support of local Staunton historic sites and social organizations.\nAmong these materials are also numerous photographs of family members,\nvacations, and other travel; materials concerning Conger's purchase and\noperation of a resort property at Horse Point Estates in Middlesex County, Va.;\nand a special file on the efforts of Mrs. James A. Higgs to secure the release\nof Lilly Redmond from Western State Hospital in Staunton in order to have her\nreside in an early prototype \"halfway house\" for patients recovering from bouts\nof mental illness.","Lastly, the collection includes some financial records of Conger's wife,\nDorothea Lloyd (Tatum) Conger, as well as genealogical materials she collected\nprimarily on the Randolph and Tatum families; and some late financial records of\nthe Congers' daughter, Vivion (Conger) LeBow.","The first series in this collection provides background materials on the life and career of Edwin Fisher Conger (New Jersey native but long-time Staunton,\nVa., resident). His autobiography provides many helpful details on his education\nand entry into the pole-producing and treating business, introduces information\non several of the companies he acquired and operated, and presents useful\nmaterial on his lifelong interest in and support of American forestry and the\ninfluence of his forestry mentor, Dr. Carl A. Schenck (who is extensively\nfeatured later in the collection).","Among the most important pieces in this series is the photograph album (folder\n4) compiled throughout Conger's business career (now disassembled for\npreservation purposes)-it contains important imagery of the pole-treatment\nbusiness and the operations of Conger's various companies (detailed below),\nincluding images of creosoting operations, timber lands, the Virginia Creosoting\nCompany plant in Culpeper, the Norfolk Creosoting Company plant, E.F. Conger\nCompany plant in Waynesboro, Piedmont Company plants and yards, general\noperations, and tributes to Dr. Carl A. Schenck, Conger's longtime friend and\nforestry mentor (see Series 5.2)","Edwin F. Conger's first truly successful venture into business began with the conversion of a lumber business in Lynchburg into the E. F. Conger Creosoting\nCompany (later simply known as the E. F. Conger Company). Like several of the\ncompanies he owned and operated, E. F. Conger Company over time become\nessentially a holding company for his investments, but for almost thirty years\nthis firm produced treated poles for telephone and utilities companies\nthroughout the eastern United States, his steadiest and most notable customer\nbeing Southeastern New England Telephone Company.","Although there are only limited records about the operations of the company\nhere, this series contains numerous images of the company's large treatment\nplant built and maintained at Waynesboro, Va.","Edwin F. Conger purchased and operated the Norfolk Creosoting Company for a relatively short time, but it proved to be one of his most successful ventures. Motivated by the success of E. F. Conger Company, Conger sought a facility with deep water access in order to move his operations more significantly into the coastwise trade in and supply of treated poles. The operations at Norfolk proved as important to shipping as they did to pole production and treatment.","The files here include a booklet produced by the Norfolk Creosoting Company long before Conger acquired it, along with another valuable photograph album documenting pole installation in the New York metropolitan area in the 1930s. Conger both collected writings about and wrote himself regarding pole treatment. Perhaps most interesting are the photographs showing the plant at Norfolk and its various operations. Because of the success of this venture, Conger was able to acquire a large number of acres of timber outside of Aiken, South Carolina (known by the name of one of its previous owners, the Hitchcock Woods). This provided him with an abundant supply of chestnut poles and also figured significantly in his future commitments to re-forestry and philanthropy. Through this company, Conger also purchased a stately residence in Staunton, Va. (\"Breezy Hill\"), which he used as a corporate headquarters (his wife served as treasurer of the company). Although the plant and some company assets were sold during World War II, the company itself did not actually dissolve until around 1950.","Perhaps the largest venture Conger operated during his lengthy career, Piedmont Creosoting Company (later simply the Piedmont Company) had its headquarters in Staunton, Virginia, but largest plant and operations in Augusta, Georgia. Conger acquired the Piedmont Wood Preserving Company of Augusta in the early 1930s, dissolved the existing company, and reconstituted operations as the Piedmont Creosoting Company. This company utilized pole collection yards in Connecticut to supply New England customers, and some images of those yards are included here.","The files in this series contain the most detailed information about any of the companies Conger operated, most importantly represented by the surviving minute book of Board of Directors' meetings for most the company's history. One of the most valuable pieces in terms of knowing the nature and extent, as well as the details, of Conger's various pole ventures comes in the form of a scrapbook (now disassembled for preservation purposes). Entitled \"From Forest to Field,\" it was prepared for Conger's eldest daughter, Dorothea, by A. B. Carlson, in June 1951. It carefully documents through text and images the operations of the Piedmont Company, using the work operations of the Company to supply an order of southern Yellow Pine poles for the Southern New England Telephone Company. The photographs were taken in the spring of 1949 and the text was drafted subsequently by Carlson of Southern New England Telephone. Poles were acquired from the \"Hitchcock Forest\" near Aiken, South Carolina, owned by E. F. Conger. The company plant in Augusta at that time shipped 100,000 poles per year. Images here show the plant and forest operations and some include depictions of African American workers. Also includes images of the treatment of poles with creosote (a mixture of oils) for preservation, as well as arrangements for shipping.","As noted above, this was one of Conger's firms that eventually became a holding company for investments, and some of the last files in this series document how Conger finally got out of the pole-producing and treatment business for good in the 1950s. The pole-treatment operations in Augusta and at other facilities throughout the eastern United States were eventually sold to a new company with an old name, Piedmont Wood Preserving Company, newly headquartered in Spartanburg, S.C. The file concerning the sale contains detailed materials on existing, often long-standing, company contracts that were transferred to Piedmont Wood Preserving Company, as well as materials on the sale of other assets and business contracts to Piedmont Wood Preserving Company.","The materials in this series primarily focus on Edwin F. Conger's personal life and family, documenting the life a successful businessman of the first half of the twentieth century might lead and the interests his fortune might encourage and support.","Edwin F. Conger personally retained a large amount of acreage in South Carolina that the success of the Norfolk Creosoting Company had enabled him to purchase. Some of the acreage was eventually sold to local interests for housing projects, some used to support the operations of the School of Forestry at the University of North Carolina (including the establishment of a professorship and scholarships), some set aside to honor Conger's lifelong friend and mentor, Dr. Carl A. Schenck, through the creation of a memorial forest and reforestation program (see also Series 5.2).","Edwin F. Conger studied under German forestry specialist Dr. Carl Alwin Schenck (1868-1955) before World War I and considered him a friend and mentor throughout his life. Conger's financial successes allowed him to join with other of his fellow alumni from the Biltmore Forestry School (where Schenck operated his original school on the grounds of the Biltmore estate in North Carolina) in the years immediately preceding his mentor's passing. The files here document some of those activities through a combination of text documents and photographs. One particularly interesting and unusual item is an album (with phonograph records) documenting Dr. Schenck's return visit to America: The Cavalcade of Trees for the Great: Being the Tour of Carl Alwin Schenck in America, 1951, under the Sponsorship of the American Forestry Association and graduates of the Biltmore Forest School.","The largest portion of this series of Edwin Conger's papers relates to his family and his personal affairs. These include financial records; files on local philanthropy in Staunton; activities involving his purchase and operation of a resort property in Middlesex County, Va., called Horse Point Estates; vacation trips and other travel; correspondence with, extensive photographs of, and files concerning trusts established for his two daughters and his grandchildren (most notably files on the divorce and remarriages of his eldest daughter, Dorothea Lloyd (Conger) Eager Grand Sverker, and the guardianship of her two surviving children, Howard Lloyd Eager and Edwin F. Eager).","One of the particularly interesting and unexpected files here concerns the Higgs/Redmond case: the attempt of Mrs. James A. Higgs to secure release of Lilly Redmond from Western State Hospital in Staunton in order to have her reside in an early prototype \"halfway house\" for patients with mental illness who had partially recovered (folder 95).","This series contains just a few files of the wife and second daughter of Edwin\nF. Conger. Dorothea Lloyd (Tatum) Conger (1893-1961) worked most of her years of\nmarriage as treasurer of companies her husband acquired and operated. Some of\nher letters to her two daughters are found in Conger's correspondence files. The\nfile of genealogical materials, primarily focused on her Tatum family ancestors\nand relations, is the largest grouping of materials of or about Mrs. Conger. A\nsmall amount of financial material relating to Vivion Randolph (Conger) LeBow\n(1923-2006), who left her father's papers to the Virginia Historical Society,\ncompletes the collection."],"userestrict_html_tesm":["\u003cp\u003eThere are no restrictions.\n\u003c/p\u003e\n"],"userestrict_heading_ssm":["Use Restrictions"],"userestrict_tesim":["There are no restrictions."],"abstract_html_tesm":["\u003cabstract label=\"Abstract\"\u003eThe Edwin Fisher Conger papers focus primarily on several of Conger's business operations, specifically the production of treated telephone and\nelectrical poles. Two of Conger's chief operations, Norfolk Creosoting Company\nand the Piedmont Wood Preserving Company (later simply the Piedmont Company)\nfigure most heavily in the collection, along with information regarding Conger's\nfirst endeavor in this field, E.F. Conger Creosoting Company, his extensive\ntimber holdings near Aiken, South Carolina, and his financial, social, and\nphilanthropic dealings as a wealthy businessman living in Virginia.\n\u003c/abstract\u003e\n"],"abstract_tesim":["The Edwin Fisher Conger papers focus primarily on several of Conger's business operations, specifically the production of treated telephone and\nelectrical poles. Two of Conger's chief operations, Norfolk Creosoting Company\nand the Piedmont Wood Preserving Company (later simply the Piedmont Company)\nfigure most heavily in the collection, along with information regarding Conger's\nfirst endeavor in this field, E.F. Conger Creosoting Company, his extensive\ntimber holdings near Aiken, South Carolina, and his financial, social, and\nphilanthropic dealings as a wealthy businessman living in Virginia."],"corpname_ssim":["E.F. Conger Company - Records and correspondence."],"persname_ssim":["Conger, Edwin Fisher, 1887-1974."],"names_ssim":["E.F. Conger Company - Records and correspondence.","Conger, Edwin Fisher, 1887-1974."],"language_ssim":["English"],"total_component_count_is":173,"online_item_count_is":0,"component_level_isim":[0],"sort_isi":0,"timestamp":"2026-06-23T06:58:25.153Z"}]}},"label":"Breadcrumbs"}}},"links":{"self":"https://search.arvasarchive.org/catalog/vihi_vih00020_c03_c01"}},{"id":"vihi_vih00020_c05_c02_c04","type":"File","attributes":{"title":"Dawes Arboretum Tree Planting, Ohio,\n  1951","breadcrumbs":{"id":"https://search.arvasarchive.org/catalog/vihi_vih00020_c05_c02_c04#breadcrumbs","type":"document_value","attributes":{"value":{"ref_ssi":"vihi_vih00020_c05_c02_c04","ref_ssm":["vihi_vih00020_c05_c02_c04"],"id":"vihi_vih00020_c05_c02_c04","ead_ssi":"vihi_vih00020","_root_":"vihi_vih00020","_nest_parent_":"vihi_vih00020_c05_c02","parent_ssi":"vihi_vih00020_c05_c02","parent_ssim":["Edwin Fisher Conger Papers,\n1900-1979","Series 5: Edwin F. Conger Personal Files\n1916-1967","Series 5.2: Tributes to Dr. Carl A. Schenck,\n        1950-1957"],"parent_ids_ssim":["vihi_vih00020","vihi_vih00020_c05","vihi_vih00020_c05_c02"],"title_filing_ssi":"Dawes Arboretum Tree Planting, Ohio,\n  1951","title_ssm":["Dawes Arboretum Tree Planting, Ohio,\n  1951"],"title_tesim":["Dawes Arboretum Tree Planting, Ohio,\n  1951"],"normalized_title_ssm":["Dawes Arboretum Tree Planting, Ohio,\n  1951"],"text":["Dawes Arboretum Tree Planting, Ohio,\n  1951","Edwin Fisher Conger Papers,\n1900-1979","Series 5: Edwin F. Conger Personal Files\n1916-1967","Series 5.2: Tributes to Dr. Carl A. Schenck,\n        1950-1957","box 2:70"],"parent_unittitles_ssm":["Edwin Fisher Conger Papers,\n1900-1979","Series 5: Edwin F. Conger Personal Files\n1916-1967","Series 5.2: Tributes to Dr. Carl A. Schenck,\n        1950-1957"],"parent_unittitles_tesim":["Edwin Fisher Conger Papers,\n1900-1979","Series 5: Edwin F. Conger Personal Files\n1916-1967","Series 5.2: Tributes to Dr. Carl A. Schenck,\n        1950-1957"],"level_ssm":["File"],"level_ssim":["File"],"component_level_isim":[3],"sort_isi":76,"repository_ssim":["Virginia Historical Society"],"collection_ssim":["Edwin Fisher Conger Papers,\n1900-1979"],"containers_ssim":["box 2:70"],"has_online_content_ssim":["false"],"child_component_count_isi":0,"_nest_path_":"/components#4/components#1/components#3","timestamp":"2026-06-23T06:58:25.153Z","collection":{"numFound":1,"start":0,"numFoundExact":true,"docs":[{"id":"vihi_vih00020","ead_ssi":"vihi_vih00020","_root_":"vihi_vih00020","_nest_parent_":"vihi_vih00020","ead_source_url_ssi":"data/vhs/vih00020.xml","title_ssm":["Edwin Fisher Conger Papers,\n1900-1979"],"title_tesim":["Edwin Fisher Conger Papers,\n1900-1979"],"normalized_title_ssm":["Edwin Fisher Conger Papers,\n1900-1979"],"text":["Edwin Fisher Conger Papers,\n1900-1979","Mss1 C7604 a","Creosote.",".","Collection is open to research.","Divided into series as follows: Series 1. Edwin F. Conger, Education and\nProfessional Life; Series 2. E.F. Conger Company; Series 3. Norfolk Creosoting\nCompany; Series 4. Piedmont Company; Series 5. Edwin F. Conger personal files;\nand Series 6. Conger Family Personal Files","New Jersey native Edwin Fisher Conger became intrigued with forestry as a child\nand learned much from his lumberman father, especially in regard to the growth,\nharvesting and uses of chestnut poles and timber. Beginning in 1909, he attended\nthe Biltmore Forest School, on the famous Biltmore Estate in North Carolina,\nwhere he came under the life-long influence of German forester Dr. Charles Alwin\nSchenck, the chief instructor there. Graduating in 1910, Conger secured a\nposition with the Western Electric Company, where he put in long hours as a\nchestnut pole inspector. During this period he also became acquainted with the\nprocesses of pole and timber preservation through the application of a mixture\nof chemicals known as creosote.","Around 1915 he went to work for Lowesville\nLumber Company in Lynchburg, and eventually took over the firm and recreated it\nas E. F. Conger Creosoting Company, whose main client initially proved to be\nelements of the Bell Telephone System. Conger set up treatment plants in Shipman\nand Natural Bridge, Virginia, and eventually in Waynesboro, which ultimately led\nto his purchase of the Virginia Creosoting Company in Culpeper. A chestnut\nblight in the 1920s led to the closing of two of the treating plants in\nVirginia, but with continued demand from the telephone and power companies\noperating on the east coast of the United States, Conger purchased the Piedmont\nWood Preserving Company, which operated a pressure-treating plant in Augusta,\nGeorgia, in 1930, followed by the purchase of the Norfolk Creosoting Company in\n1936, giving Conger a facility on deep water with the potential for coastwise\nand export trade. The latter he sold in the 1940s and used the proceeds to\npurchase Hitchcock Woods and the Cedar Creek Farm near Aiken, South Carolina.\nThese 14,000 acres provided Conger with ample resources for his products, but he\nharvested wisely and committed to reforestation well before that was a general\nenvironmental practice.","He also developed contracts with the U.S. government to\nharvest chestnut poles from national forests in the eastern part of the country.\nGradually, Conger got out of the creosoting business, having already converted\nPiedmont Wood Preserving simply to the Piedmont Company, divesting himself of\nthe plant in Augusta and the company's extensive series of contracts in 1951,\nand converting the operation largely into an investments holding firm. He\nlikewise sold off the E. F. Conger Company in the early 1950s to a newly\nconstituted Piedmont Wood Preserving Company headquartered in Spartanburg, S.C.,\nincluding distribution yards in Connecticut, Georgia, and Virginia; became a\nforestry consultant living in Staunton, Virginia; and developed a forestry\ncenter on his lands in South Carolina, partly in tribute to the work of his\nmentor, Dr. Charles Schenck. In later life, he served as a bank president in\nCharlottesville and was a generous philanthropist, supporting a number of\norganizations in Piedmont Virginia before his death in 1974.","Processed under the auspices of a grant from the National Historical Publications and Records Commission (NHPRC)","This collection contains materials regarding the education and career in\nforestry and treated pole production of Edwin F. Conger, including an\nautobiography, research materials, and a photograph album relating to pole\nharvesting and preservation treatment (including images of operations at the\nVirginia Creosoting Company plant in Culpeper, Va., Norfolk Creosoting Company\nat Norfolk, Va., E.F. Conger Creosoting Company at Waynesboro, Va., and the\nPiedmont Company at Augusta, Ga., as well as pictures of Conger's teacher and\nlifelong mentor, Dr. Carl Alwin Schenck).","Also, includes materials (primarily photographs of operations and\npole-production plants) of E. F. Conger Creosoting Company (later simply the E.\nF. Conger Company), headquartered in Staunton, Va., but with chief operations at\nWaynesboro, Va. Files include images of Edwin F. Conger at the company\nheadquarters in Staunton.","Also, includes records of the Norfolk Creosoting Company, with its plant and\nshipping facility at Norfolk, Va., including images of the plant and operations\nat Norfolk, materials concerning the acquisition of the Hitchcock Woods property\nat Aiken, S.C., title abstract to \"Breezy Hill,\" residence of E. F. Conger and\nfamily and company headquarters in Staunton, Va., and materials concerning sale\nand dissolution of the company.","Also, includes records of the Piedmont Company, formed by E.F. Conger through\nhis purchase of the Piedmont Wood Preserving Company of Augusta, Ga. The company\nwas headquartered in Staunton but most of its operations were in Georgia and\nNorth Carolina, and its largest customer was Southeastern New England Telephone\nCompany. Materials include a minute book of meetings of the Board of Directors\n(largely a family owned and operated business), records of the purchase and\ndissolution of Piedmont Wood Preserving Company of Augusta, Ga., photographs of\nplants, operations and workers (some African American), a scrapbook documenting\npole production, treatment and shipping, records concerning the sale of the\ncompany assets to a newly re-constituted Piedmont Wood Preserving Company\nheadquartered in Spartanburg, S.C., and records relating to the later operations\nof the Piedmont Company as an investments holding firm.","Also, include personal and family papers of Edwin F. Conger relating to his\ndaughters, Dorothea (Conger) Eager Grand Sverker and Vivion Randolph (Conger)\nLeBow, his surviving grandchildren, Howard Lloyd Eager and Edwin F. Eager, for\nwhom he served for a time as guardian; his interests in reforestation; and his\nphilanthropic support of local Staunton historic sites and social organizations.\nAmong these materials are also numerous photographs of family members,\nvacations, and other travel; materials concerning Conger's purchase and\noperation of a resort property at Horse Point Estates in Middlesex County, Va.;\nand a special file on the efforts of Mrs. James A. Higgs to secure the release\nof Lilly Redmond from Western State Hospital in Staunton in order to have her\nreside in an early prototype \"halfway house\" for patients recovering from bouts\nof mental illness.","Lastly, the collection includes some financial records of Conger's wife,\nDorothea Lloyd (Tatum) Conger, as well as genealogical materials she collected\nprimarily on the Randolph and Tatum families; and some late financial records of\nthe Congers' daughter, Vivion (Conger) LeBow.","The first series in this collection provides background materials on the life and career of Edwin Fisher Conger (New Jersey native but long-time Staunton,\nVa., resident). His autobiography provides many helpful details on his education\nand entry into the pole-producing and treating business, introduces information\non several of the companies he acquired and operated, and presents useful\nmaterial on his lifelong interest in and support of American forestry and the\ninfluence of his forestry mentor, Dr. Carl A. Schenck (who is extensively\nfeatured later in the collection).","Among the most important pieces in this series is the photograph album (folder\n4) compiled throughout Conger's business career (now disassembled for\npreservation purposes)-it contains important imagery of the pole-treatment\nbusiness and the operations of Conger's various companies (detailed below),\nincluding images of creosoting operations, timber lands, the Virginia Creosoting\nCompany plant in Culpeper, the Norfolk Creosoting Company plant, E.F. Conger\nCompany plant in Waynesboro, Piedmont Company plants and yards, general\noperations, and tributes to Dr. Carl A. Schenck, Conger's longtime friend and\nforestry mentor (see Series 5.2)","Edwin F. Conger's first truly successful venture into business began with the conversion of a lumber business in Lynchburg into the E. F. Conger Creosoting\nCompany (later simply known as the E. F. Conger Company). Like several of the\ncompanies he owned and operated, E. F. Conger Company over time become\nessentially a holding company for his investments, but for almost thirty years\nthis firm produced treated poles for telephone and utilities companies\nthroughout the eastern United States, his steadiest and most notable customer\nbeing Southeastern New England Telephone Company.","Although there are only limited records about the operations of the company\nhere, this series contains numerous images of the company's large treatment\nplant built and maintained at Waynesboro, Va.","Edwin F. Conger purchased and operated the Norfolk Creosoting Company for a relatively short time, but it proved to be one of his most successful ventures. Motivated by the success of E. F. Conger Company, Conger sought a facility with deep water access in order to move his operations more significantly into the coastwise trade in and supply of treated poles. The operations at Norfolk proved as important to shipping as they did to pole production and treatment.","The files here include a booklet produced by the Norfolk Creosoting Company long before Conger acquired it, along with another valuable photograph album documenting pole installation in the New York metropolitan area in the 1930s. Conger both collected writings about and wrote himself regarding pole treatment. Perhaps most interesting are the photographs showing the plant at Norfolk and its various operations. Because of the success of this venture, Conger was able to acquire a large number of acres of timber outside of Aiken, South Carolina (known by the name of one of its previous owners, the Hitchcock Woods). This provided him with an abundant supply of chestnut poles and also figured significantly in his future commitments to re-forestry and philanthropy. Through this company, Conger also purchased a stately residence in Staunton, Va. (\"Breezy Hill\"), which he used as a corporate headquarters (his wife served as treasurer of the company). Although the plant and some company assets were sold during World War II, the company itself did not actually dissolve until around 1950.","Perhaps the largest venture Conger operated during his lengthy career, Piedmont Creosoting Company (later simply the Piedmont Company) had its headquarters in Staunton, Virginia, but largest plant and operations in Augusta, Georgia. Conger acquired the Piedmont Wood Preserving Company of Augusta in the early 1930s, dissolved the existing company, and reconstituted operations as the Piedmont Creosoting Company. This company utilized pole collection yards in Connecticut to supply New England customers, and some images of those yards are included here.","The files in this series contain the most detailed information about any of the companies Conger operated, most importantly represented by the surviving minute book of Board of Directors' meetings for most the company's history. One of the most valuable pieces in terms of knowing the nature and extent, as well as the details, of Conger's various pole ventures comes in the form of a scrapbook (now disassembled for preservation purposes). Entitled \"From Forest to Field,\" it was prepared for Conger's eldest daughter, Dorothea, by A. B. Carlson, in June 1951. It carefully documents through text and images the operations of the Piedmont Company, using the work operations of the Company to supply an order of southern Yellow Pine poles for the Southern New England Telephone Company. The photographs were taken in the spring of 1949 and the text was drafted subsequently by Carlson of Southern New England Telephone. Poles were acquired from the \"Hitchcock Forest\" near Aiken, South Carolina, owned by E. F. Conger. The company plant in Augusta at that time shipped 100,000 poles per year. Images here show the plant and forest operations and some include depictions of African American workers. Also includes images of the treatment of poles with creosote (a mixture of oils) for preservation, as well as arrangements for shipping.","As noted above, this was one of Conger's firms that eventually became a holding company for investments, and some of the last files in this series document how Conger finally got out of the pole-producing and treatment business for good in the 1950s. The pole-treatment operations in Augusta and at other facilities throughout the eastern United States were eventually sold to a new company with an old name, Piedmont Wood Preserving Company, newly headquartered in Spartanburg, S.C. The file concerning the sale contains detailed materials on existing, often long-standing, company contracts that were transferred to Piedmont Wood Preserving Company, as well as materials on the sale of other assets and business contracts to Piedmont Wood Preserving Company.","The materials in this series primarily focus on Edwin F. Conger's personal life and family, documenting the life a successful businessman of the first half of the twentieth century might lead and the interests his fortune might encourage and support.","Edwin F. Conger personally retained a large amount of acreage in South Carolina that the success of the Norfolk Creosoting Company had enabled him to purchase. Some of the acreage was eventually sold to local interests for housing projects, some used to support the operations of the School of Forestry at the University of North Carolina (including the establishment of a professorship and scholarships), some set aside to honor Conger's lifelong friend and mentor, Dr. Carl A. Schenck, through the creation of a memorial forest and reforestation program (see also Series 5.2).","Edwin F. Conger studied under German forestry specialist Dr. Carl Alwin Schenck (1868-1955) before World War I and considered him a friend and mentor throughout his life. Conger's financial successes allowed him to join with other of his fellow alumni from the Biltmore Forestry School (where Schenck operated his original school on the grounds of the Biltmore estate in North Carolina) in the years immediately preceding his mentor's passing. The files here document some of those activities through a combination of text documents and photographs. One particularly interesting and unusual item is an album (with phonograph records) documenting Dr. Schenck's return visit to America: The Cavalcade of Trees for the Great: Being the Tour of Carl Alwin Schenck in America, 1951, under the Sponsorship of the American Forestry Association and graduates of the Biltmore Forest School.","The largest portion of this series of Edwin Conger's papers relates to his family and his personal affairs. These include financial records; files on local philanthropy in Staunton; activities involving his purchase and operation of a resort property in Middlesex County, Va., called Horse Point Estates; vacation trips and other travel; correspondence with, extensive photographs of, and files concerning trusts established for his two daughters and his grandchildren (most notably files on the divorce and remarriages of his eldest daughter, Dorothea Lloyd (Conger) Eager Grand Sverker, and the guardianship of her two surviving children, Howard Lloyd Eager and Edwin F. Eager).","One of the particularly interesting and unexpected files here concerns the Higgs/Redmond case: the attempt of Mrs. James A. Higgs to secure release of Lilly Redmond from Western State Hospital in Staunton in order to have her reside in an early prototype \"halfway house\" for patients with mental illness who had partially recovered (folder 95).","This series contains just a few files of the wife and second daughter of Edwin\nF. Conger. Dorothea Lloyd (Tatum) Conger (1893-1961) worked most of her years of\nmarriage as treasurer of companies her husband acquired and operated. Some of\nher letters to her two daughters are found in Conger's correspondence files. The\nfile of genealogical materials, primarily focused on her Tatum family ancestors\nand relations, is the largest grouping of materials of or about Mrs. Conger. A\nsmall amount of financial material relating to Vivion Randolph (Conger) LeBow\n(1923-2006), who left her father's papers to the Virginia Historical Society,\ncompletes the collection.","There are no restrictions.","The Edwin Fisher Conger papers focus primarily on several of Conger's business operations, specifically the production of treated telephone and\nelectrical poles. Two of Conger's chief operations, Norfolk Creosoting Company\nand the Piedmont Wood Preserving Company (later simply the Piedmont Company)\nfigure most heavily in the collection, along with information regarding Conger's\nfirst endeavor in this field, E.F. Conger Creosoting Company, his extensive\ntimber holdings near Aiken, South Carolina, and his financial, social, and\nphilanthropic dealings as a wealthy businessman living in Virginia.","E.F. Conger Company - Records and correspondence.","Conger, Edwin Fisher, 1887-1974.","English"],"collection_title_tesim":["Edwin Fisher Conger Papers,\n1900-1979"],"collection_ssim":["Edwin Fisher Conger Papers,\n1900-1979"],"level_ssm":["collection"],"level_ssim":["Collection"],"unitid_ssm":["Mss1 C7604 a"],"unitid_tesim":["Mss1 C7604 a"],"repository_ssm":["Virginia Historical Society"],"repository_ssim":["Virginia Historical Society"],"creator_ssm":["Conger, Edwin Fisher"],"creator_ssim":["Conger, Edwin Fisher"],"creator_persname_ssim":["Conger, Edwin Fisher, 1887-1974."],"creator_corpname_ssim":["E.F. Conger Company - Records and correspondence."],"creators_ssim":["Conger, Edwin Fisher, 1887-1974.","E.F. Conger Company - Records and correspondence."],"acqinfo_ssim":["Gift of the estate of Vivion Conger LeBow, Arlington, Va., in 2007. Accessioned September 30, 2013."],"access_subjects_ssim":["Creosote."],"access_subjects_ssm":["Creosote."],"has_online_content_ssim":["false"],"physdesc_tesim":["."],"extent_ssm":["3 linear feet (165 Folders)"],"extent_tesim":["3 linear feet (165 Folders)"],"accessrestrict_html_tesm":["\u003cp\u003eCollection is open to research.\n\u003c/p\u003e\n"],"accessrestrict_heading_ssm":["Access Restrictions"],"accessrestrict_tesim":["Collection is open to research."],"arrangement_html_tesm":["\u003cp\u003e\nDivided into series as follows: Series 1. Edwin F. Conger, Education and\nProfessional Life; Series 2. E.F. Conger Company; Series 3. Norfolk Creosoting\nCompany; Series 4. Piedmont Company; Series 5. Edwin F. Conger personal files;\nand Series 6. Conger Family Personal Files\n\u003c/p\u003e\n"],"arrangement_heading_ssm":["Arrangement"],"arrangement_tesim":["Divided into series as follows: Series 1. Edwin F. Conger, Education and\nProfessional Life; Series 2. E.F. Conger Company; Series 3. Norfolk Creosoting\nCompany; Series 4. Piedmont Company; Series 5. Edwin F. Conger personal files;\nand Series 6. Conger Family Personal Files"],"bioghist_html_tesm":["\u003cp\u003e\nNew Jersey native Edwin Fisher Conger became intrigued with forestry as a child\nand learned much from his lumberman father, especially in regard to the growth,\nharvesting and uses of chestnut poles and timber. Beginning in 1909, he attended\nthe Biltmore Forest School, on the famous Biltmore Estate in North Carolina,\nwhere he came under the life-long influence of German forester Dr. Charles Alwin\nSchenck, the chief instructor there. Graduating in 1910, Conger secured a\nposition with the Western Electric Company, where he put in long hours as a\nchestnut pole inspector. During this period he also became acquainted with the\nprocesses of pole and timber preservation through the application of a mixture\nof chemicals known as creosote. \u003c/p\u003e\n","\u003cp\u003e Around 1915 he went to work for Lowesville\nLumber Company in Lynchburg, and eventually took over the firm and recreated it\nas E. F. Conger Creosoting Company, whose main client initially proved to be\nelements of the Bell Telephone System. Conger set up treatment plants in Shipman\nand Natural Bridge, Virginia, and eventually in Waynesboro, which ultimately led\nto his purchase of the Virginia Creosoting Company in Culpeper. A chestnut\nblight in the 1920s led to the closing of two of the treating plants in\nVirginia, but with continued demand from the telephone and power companies\noperating on the east coast of the United States, Conger purchased the Piedmont\nWood Preserving Company, which operated a pressure-treating plant in Augusta,\nGeorgia, in 1930, followed by the purchase of the Norfolk Creosoting Company in\n1936, giving Conger a facility on deep water with the potential for coastwise\nand export trade. The latter he sold in the 1940s and used the proceeds to\npurchase Hitchcock Woods and the Cedar Creek Farm near Aiken, South Carolina.\nThese 14,000 acres provided Conger with ample resources for his products, but he\nharvested wisely and committed to reforestation well before that was a general\nenvironmental practice.\u003c/p\u003e\n","\u003cp\u003e He also developed contracts with the U.S. government to\nharvest chestnut poles from national forests in the eastern part of the country.\nGradually, Conger got out of the creosoting business, having already converted\nPiedmont Wood Preserving simply to the Piedmont Company, divesting himself of\nthe plant in Augusta and the company's extensive series of contracts in 1951,\nand converting the operation largely into an investments holding firm. He\nlikewise sold off the E. F. Conger Company in the early 1950s to a newly\nconstituted Piedmont Wood Preserving Company headquartered in Spartanburg, S.C.,\nincluding distribution yards in Connecticut, Georgia, and Virginia; became a\nforestry consultant living in Staunton, Virginia; and developed a forestry\ncenter on his lands in South Carolina, partly in tribute to the work of his\nmentor, Dr. Charles Schenck. In later life, he served as a bank president in\nCharlottesville and was a generous philanthropist, supporting a number of\norganizations in Piedmont Virginia before his death in 1974.\u003c/p\u003e\n"],"bioghist_heading_ssm":["Biographical/Historical Information"],"bioghist_tesim":["New Jersey native Edwin Fisher Conger became intrigued with forestry as a child\nand learned much from his lumberman father, especially in regard to the growth,\nharvesting and uses of chestnut poles and timber. Beginning in 1909, he attended\nthe Biltmore Forest School, on the famous Biltmore Estate in North Carolina,\nwhere he came under the life-long influence of German forester Dr. Charles Alwin\nSchenck, the chief instructor there. Graduating in 1910, Conger secured a\nposition with the Western Electric Company, where he put in long hours as a\nchestnut pole inspector. During this period he also became acquainted with the\nprocesses of pole and timber preservation through the application of a mixture\nof chemicals known as creosote.","Around 1915 he went to work for Lowesville\nLumber Company in Lynchburg, and eventually took over the firm and recreated it\nas E. F. Conger Creosoting Company, whose main client initially proved to be\nelements of the Bell Telephone System. Conger set up treatment plants in Shipman\nand Natural Bridge, Virginia, and eventually in Waynesboro, which ultimately led\nto his purchase of the Virginia Creosoting Company in Culpeper. A chestnut\nblight in the 1920s led to the closing of two of the treating plants in\nVirginia, but with continued demand from the telephone and power companies\noperating on the east coast of the United States, Conger purchased the Piedmont\nWood Preserving Company, which operated a pressure-treating plant in Augusta,\nGeorgia, in 1930, followed by the purchase of the Norfolk Creosoting Company in\n1936, giving Conger a facility on deep water with the potential for coastwise\nand export trade. The latter he sold in the 1940s and used the proceeds to\npurchase Hitchcock Woods and the Cedar Creek Farm near Aiken, South Carolina.\nThese 14,000 acres provided Conger with ample resources for his products, but he\nharvested wisely and committed to reforestation well before that was a general\nenvironmental practice.","He also developed contracts with the U.S. government to\nharvest chestnut poles from national forests in the eastern part of the country.\nGradually, Conger got out of the creosoting business, having already converted\nPiedmont Wood Preserving simply to the Piedmont Company, divesting himself of\nthe plant in Augusta and the company's extensive series of contracts in 1951,\nand converting the operation largely into an investments holding firm. He\nlikewise sold off the E. F. Conger Company in the early 1950s to a newly\nconstituted Piedmont Wood Preserving Company headquartered in Spartanburg, S.C.,\nincluding distribution yards in Connecticut, Georgia, and Virginia; became a\nforestry consultant living in Staunton, Virginia; and developed a forestry\ncenter on his lands in South Carolina, partly in tribute to the work of his\nmentor, Dr. Charles Schenck. In later life, he served as a bank president in\nCharlottesville and was a generous philanthropist, supporting a number of\norganizations in Piedmont Virginia before his death in 1974."],"prefercite_html_tesm":["\u003cp\u003eEdwin Fisher Conger papers, 1900-1979 (Mss1 C7604 a), Virginia Historical  , Accession # Mss1 C7604 a, Virginia Historical Society, Richmond, VA.\u003c!-- Add your institution's citation information --\u003e\n\u003c/p\u003e\n"],"prefercite_tesim":["Edwin Fisher Conger papers, 1900-1979 (Mss1 C7604 a), Virginia Historical  , Accession # Mss1 C7604 a, Virginia Historical Society, Richmond, VA."],"processinfo_html_tesm":["\u003cp\u003eProcessed under the auspices of a grant from the National Historical Publications and Records Commission (NHPRC)\n\u003c/p\u003e\n"],"processinfo_heading_ssm":["Processing Information"],"processinfo_tesim":["Processed under the auspices of a grant from the National Historical Publications and Records Commission (NHPRC)"],"scopecontent_html_tesm":["\u003cp\u003e\nThis collection contains materials regarding the education and career in\nforestry and treated pole production of Edwin F. Conger, including an\nautobiography, research materials, and a photograph album relating to pole\nharvesting and preservation treatment (including images of operations at the\nVirginia Creosoting Company plant in Culpeper, Va., Norfolk Creosoting Company\nat Norfolk, Va., E.F. Conger Creosoting Company at Waynesboro, Va., and the\nPiedmont Company at Augusta, Ga., as well as pictures of Conger's teacher and\nlifelong mentor, Dr. Carl Alwin Schenck).\u003c/p\u003e\n","\u003cp\u003e\nAlso, includes materials (primarily photographs of operations and\npole-production plants) of E. F. Conger Creosoting Company (later simply the E.\nF. Conger Company), headquartered in Staunton, Va., but with chief operations at\nWaynesboro, Va. Files include images of Edwin F. Conger at the company\nheadquarters in Staunton.\u003c/p\u003e\n","\u003cp\u003eAlso, includes records of the Norfolk Creosoting Company, with its plant and\nshipping facility at Norfolk, Va., including images of the plant and operations\nat Norfolk, materials concerning the acquisition of the Hitchcock Woods property\nat Aiken, S.C., title abstract to \"Breezy Hill,\" residence of E. F. Conger and\nfamily and company headquarters in Staunton, Va., and materials concerning sale\nand dissolution of the company.\u003c/p\u003e\n","\u003cp\u003eAlso, includes records of the Piedmont Company, formed by E.F. Conger through\nhis purchase of the Piedmont Wood Preserving Company of Augusta, Ga. The company\nwas headquartered in Staunton but most of its operations were in Georgia and\nNorth Carolina, and its largest customer was Southeastern New England Telephone\nCompany. Materials include a minute book of meetings of the Board of Directors\n(largely a family owned and operated business), records of the purchase and\ndissolution of Piedmont Wood Preserving Company of Augusta, Ga., photographs of\nplants, operations and workers (some African American), a scrapbook documenting\npole production, treatment and shipping, records concerning the sale of the\ncompany assets to a newly re-constituted Piedmont Wood Preserving Company\nheadquartered in Spartanburg, S.C., and records relating to the later operations\nof the Piedmont Company as an investments holding firm.\u003c/p\u003e\n","\u003cp\u003eAlso, include personal and family papers of Edwin F. Conger relating to his\ndaughters, Dorothea (Conger) Eager Grand Sverker and Vivion Randolph (Conger)\nLeBow, his surviving grandchildren, Howard Lloyd Eager and Edwin F. Eager, for\nwhom he served for a time as guardian; his interests in reforestation; and his\nphilanthropic support of local Staunton historic sites and social organizations.\nAmong these materials are also numerous photographs of family members,\nvacations, and other travel; materials concerning Conger's purchase and\noperation of a resort property at Horse Point Estates in Middlesex County, Va.;\nand a special file on the efforts of Mrs. James A. Higgs to secure the release\nof Lilly Redmond from Western State Hospital in Staunton in order to have her\nreside in an early prototype \"halfway house\" for patients recovering from bouts\nof mental illness.\u003c/p\u003e\n","\u003cp\u003eLastly, the collection includes some financial records of Conger's wife,\nDorothea Lloyd (Tatum) Conger, as well as genealogical materials she collected\nprimarily on the Randolph and Tatum families; and some late financial records of\nthe Congers' daughter, Vivion (Conger) LeBow.\u003c/p\u003e\n","\u003cp\u003eThe first series in this collection provides background materials on the life and career of Edwin Fisher Conger (New Jersey native but long-time Staunton,\nVa., resident). His autobiography provides many helpful details on his education\nand entry into the pole-producing and treating business, introduces information\non several of the companies he acquired and operated, and presents useful\nmaterial on his lifelong interest in and support of American forestry and the\ninfluence of his forestry mentor, Dr. Carl A. Schenck (who is extensively\nfeatured later in the collection). \u003c/p\u003e\n","\u003cp\u003e Among the most important pieces in this series is the photograph album (folder\n4) compiled throughout Conger's business career (now disassembled for\npreservation purposes)-it contains important imagery of the pole-treatment\nbusiness and the operations of Conger's various companies (detailed below),\nincluding images of creosoting operations, timber lands, the Virginia Creosoting\nCompany plant in Culpeper, the Norfolk Creosoting Company plant, E.F. Conger\nCompany plant in Waynesboro, Piedmont Company plants and yards, general\noperations, and tributes to Dr. Carl A. Schenck, Conger's longtime friend and\nforestry mentor (see Series 5.2)\u003c/p\u003e\n","\u003cp\u003eEdwin F. Conger's first truly successful venture into business began with the conversion of a lumber business in Lynchburg into the E. F. Conger Creosoting\nCompany (later simply known as the E. F. Conger Company). Like several of the\ncompanies he owned and operated, E. F. Conger Company over time become\nessentially a holding company for his investments, but for almost thirty years\nthis firm produced treated poles for telephone and utilities companies\nthroughout the eastern United States, his steadiest and most notable customer\nbeing Southeastern New England Telephone Company.\u003c/p\u003e\n","\u003cp\u003e\nAlthough there are only limited records about the operations of the company\nhere, this series contains numerous images of the company's large treatment\nplant built and maintained at Waynesboro, Va.\u003c/p\u003e\n","\u003cp\u003eEdwin F. Conger purchased and operated the Norfolk Creosoting Company for a relatively short time, but it proved to be one of his most successful ventures. Motivated by the success of E. F. Conger Company, Conger sought a facility with deep water access in order to move his operations more significantly into the coastwise trade in and supply of treated poles. The operations at Norfolk proved as important to shipping as they did to pole production and treatment.\n\u003c/p\u003e\n","\u003cp\u003eThe files here include a booklet produced by the Norfolk Creosoting Company long before Conger acquired it, along with another valuable photograph album documenting pole installation in the New York metropolitan area in the 1930s. Conger both collected writings about and wrote himself regarding pole treatment. Perhaps most interesting are the photographs showing the plant at Norfolk and its various operations. Because of the success of this venture, Conger was able to acquire a large number of acres of timber outside of Aiken, South Carolina (known by the name of one of its previous owners, the Hitchcock Woods). This provided him with an abundant supply of chestnut poles and also figured significantly in his future commitments to re-forestry and philanthropy. Through this company, Conger also purchased a stately residence in Staunton, Va. (\"Breezy Hill\"), which he used as a corporate headquarters (his wife served as treasurer of the company). Although the plant and some company assets were sold during World War II, the company itself did not actually dissolve until around 1950.\n\u003c/p\u003e\n","\u003cp\u003ePerhaps the largest venture Conger operated during his lengthy career, Piedmont Creosoting Company (later simply the Piedmont Company) had its headquarters in Staunton, Virginia, but largest plant and operations in Augusta, Georgia. Conger acquired the Piedmont Wood Preserving Company of Augusta in the early 1930s, dissolved the existing company, and reconstituted operations as the Piedmont Creosoting Company. This company utilized pole collection yards in Connecticut to supply New England customers, and some images of those yards are included here.\n\u003c/p\u003e\n","\u003cp\u003eThe files in this series contain the most detailed information about any of the companies Conger operated, most importantly represented by the surviving minute book of Board of Directors' meetings for most the company's history. One of the most valuable pieces in terms of knowing the nature and extent, as well as the details, of Conger's various pole ventures comes in the form of a scrapbook (now disassembled for preservation purposes). Entitled \"From Forest to Field,\" it was prepared for Conger's eldest daughter, Dorothea, by A. B. Carlson, in June 1951. It carefully documents through text and images the operations of the Piedmont Company, using the work operations of the Company to supply an order of southern Yellow Pine poles for the Southern New England Telephone Company. The photographs were taken in the spring of 1949 and the text was drafted subsequently by Carlson of Southern New England Telephone. Poles were acquired from the \"Hitchcock Forest\" near Aiken, South Carolina, owned by E. F. Conger. The company plant in Augusta at that time shipped 100,000 poles per year. Images here show the plant and forest operations and some include depictions of African American workers. Also includes images of the treatment of poles with creosote (a mixture of oils) for preservation, as well as arrangements for shipping.\n\u003c/p\u003e\n","\u003cp\u003eAs noted above, this was one of Conger's firms that eventually became a holding company for investments, and some of the last files in this series document how Conger finally got out of the pole-producing and treatment business for good in the 1950s. The pole-treatment operations in Augusta and at other facilities throughout the eastern United States were eventually sold to a new company with an old name, Piedmont Wood Preserving Company, newly headquartered in Spartanburg, S.C. The file concerning the sale contains detailed materials on existing, often long-standing, company contracts that were transferred to Piedmont Wood Preserving Company, as well as materials on the sale of other assets and business contracts to Piedmont Wood Preserving Company.\n\u003c/p\u003e\n","\u003cp\u003eThe materials in this series primarily focus on Edwin F. Conger's personal life and family, documenting the life a successful businessman of the first half of the twentieth century might lead and the interests his fortune might encourage and support.\n\u003c/p\u003e\n","\u003cp\u003eEdwin F. Conger personally retained a large amount of acreage in South Carolina that the success of the Norfolk Creosoting Company had enabled him to purchase. Some of the acreage was eventually sold to local interests for housing projects, some used to support the operations of the School of Forestry at the University of North Carolina (including the establishment of a professorship and scholarships), some set aside to honor Conger's lifelong friend and mentor, Dr. Carl A. Schenck, through the creation of a memorial forest and reforestation program (see also Series 5.2).\n        \u003c/p\u003e\n        ","\u003cp\u003eEdwin F. Conger studied under German forestry specialist Dr. Carl Alwin Schenck (1868-1955) before World War I and considered him a friend and mentor throughout his life. Conger's financial successes allowed him to join with other of his fellow alumni from the Biltmore Forestry School (where Schenck operated his original school on the grounds of the Biltmore estate in North Carolina) in the years immediately preceding his mentor's passing. The files here document some of those activities through a combination of text documents and photographs. One particularly interesting and unusual item is an album (with phonograph records) documenting Dr. Schenck's return visit to America: The Cavalcade of Trees for the Great: Being the Tour of Carl Alwin Schenck in America, 1951, under the Sponsorship of the American Forestry Association and graduates of the Biltmore Forest School.\n        \u003c/p\u003e\n        ","\u003cp\u003eThe largest portion of this series of Edwin Conger's papers relates to his family and his personal affairs. These include financial records; files on local philanthropy in Staunton; activities involving his purchase and operation of a resort property in Middlesex County, Va., called Horse Point Estates; vacation trips and other travel; correspondence with, extensive photographs of, and files concerning trusts established for his two daughters and his grandchildren (most notably files on the divorce and remarriages of his eldest daughter, Dorothea Lloyd (Conger) Eager Grand Sverker, and the guardianship of her two surviving children, Howard Lloyd Eager and Edwin F. Eager).\n        \u003c/p\u003e\n","\u003cp\u003eOne of the particularly interesting and unexpected files here concerns the Higgs/Redmond case: the attempt of Mrs. James A. Higgs to secure release of Lilly Redmond from Western State Hospital in Staunton in order to have her reside in an early prototype \"halfway house\" for patients with mental illness who had partially recovered (folder 95).\n        \u003c/p\u003e\n","\u003cp\u003eThis series contains just a few files of the wife and second daughter of Edwin\nF. Conger. Dorothea Lloyd (Tatum) Conger (1893-1961) worked most of her years of\nmarriage as treasurer of companies her husband acquired and operated. Some of\nher letters to her two daughters are found in Conger's correspondence files. The\nfile of genealogical materials, primarily focused on her Tatum family ancestors\nand relations, is the largest grouping of materials of or about Mrs. Conger. A\nsmall amount of financial material relating to Vivion Randolph (Conger) LeBow\n(1923-2006), who left her father's papers to the Virginia Historical Society,\ncompletes the collection.\n\u003c/p\u003e\n"],"scopecontent_heading_ssm":["Scope and Content"],"scopecontent_tesim":["This collection contains materials regarding the education and career in\nforestry and treated pole production of Edwin F. Conger, including an\nautobiography, research materials, and a photograph album relating to pole\nharvesting and preservation treatment (including images of operations at the\nVirginia Creosoting Company plant in Culpeper, Va., Norfolk Creosoting Company\nat Norfolk, Va., E.F. Conger Creosoting Company at Waynesboro, Va., and the\nPiedmont Company at Augusta, Ga., as well as pictures of Conger's teacher and\nlifelong mentor, Dr. Carl Alwin Schenck).","Also, includes materials (primarily photographs of operations and\npole-production plants) of E. F. Conger Creosoting Company (later simply the E.\nF. Conger Company), headquartered in Staunton, Va., but with chief operations at\nWaynesboro, Va. Files include images of Edwin F. Conger at the company\nheadquarters in Staunton.","Also, includes records of the Norfolk Creosoting Company, with its plant and\nshipping facility at Norfolk, Va., including images of the plant and operations\nat Norfolk, materials concerning the acquisition of the Hitchcock Woods property\nat Aiken, S.C., title abstract to \"Breezy Hill,\" residence of E. F. Conger and\nfamily and company headquarters in Staunton, Va., and materials concerning sale\nand dissolution of the company.","Also, includes records of the Piedmont Company, formed by E.F. Conger through\nhis purchase of the Piedmont Wood Preserving Company of Augusta, Ga. The company\nwas headquartered in Staunton but most of its operations were in Georgia and\nNorth Carolina, and its largest customer was Southeastern New England Telephone\nCompany. Materials include a minute book of meetings of the Board of Directors\n(largely a family owned and operated business), records of the purchase and\ndissolution of Piedmont Wood Preserving Company of Augusta, Ga., photographs of\nplants, operations and workers (some African American), a scrapbook documenting\npole production, treatment and shipping, records concerning the sale of the\ncompany assets to a newly re-constituted Piedmont Wood Preserving Company\nheadquartered in Spartanburg, S.C., and records relating to the later operations\nof the Piedmont Company as an investments holding firm.","Also, include personal and family papers of Edwin F. Conger relating to his\ndaughters, Dorothea (Conger) Eager Grand Sverker and Vivion Randolph (Conger)\nLeBow, his surviving grandchildren, Howard Lloyd Eager and Edwin F. Eager, for\nwhom he served for a time as guardian; his interests in reforestation; and his\nphilanthropic support of local Staunton historic sites and social organizations.\nAmong these materials are also numerous photographs of family members,\nvacations, and other travel; materials concerning Conger's purchase and\noperation of a resort property at Horse Point Estates in Middlesex County, Va.;\nand a special file on the efforts of Mrs. James A. Higgs to secure the release\nof Lilly Redmond from Western State Hospital in Staunton in order to have her\nreside in an early prototype \"halfway house\" for patients recovering from bouts\nof mental illness.","Lastly, the collection includes some financial records of Conger's wife,\nDorothea Lloyd (Tatum) Conger, as well as genealogical materials she collected\nprimarily on the Randolph and Tatum families; and some late financial records of\nthe Congers' daughter, Vivion (Conger) LeBow.","The first series in this collection provides background materials on the life and career of Edwin Fisher Conger (New Jersey native but long-time Staunton,\nVa., resident). His autobiography provides many helpful details on his education\nand entry into the pole-producing and treating business, introduces information\non several of the companies he acquired and operated, and presents useful\nmaterial on his lifelong interest in and support of American forestry and the\ninfluence of his forestry mentor, Dr. Carl A. Schenck (who is extensively\nfeatured later in the collection).","Among the most important pieces in this series is the photograph album (folder\n4) compiled throughout Conger's business career (now disassembled for\npreservation purposes)-it contains important imagery of the pole-treatment\nbusiness and the operations of Conger's various companies (detailed below),\nincluding images of creosoting operations, timber lands, the Virginia Creosoting\nCompany plant in Culpeper, the Norfolk Creosoting Company plant, E.F. Conger\nCompany plant in Waynesboro, Piedmont Company plants and yards, general\noperations, and tributes to Dr. Carl A. Schenck, Conger's longtime friend and\nforestry mentor (see Series 5.2)","Edwin F. Conger's first truly successful venture into business began with the conversion of a lumber business in Lynchburg into the E. F. Conger Creosoting\nCompany (later simply known as the E. F. Conger Company). Like several of the\ncompanies he owned and operated, E. F. Conger Company over time become\nessentially a holding company for his investments, but for almost thirty years\nthis firm produced treated poles for telephone and utilities companies\nthroughout the eastern United States, his steadiest and most notable customer\nbeing Southeastern New England Telephone Company.","Although there are only limited records about the operations of the company\nhere, this series contains numerous images of the company's large treatment\nplant built and maintained at Waynesboro, Va.","Edwin F. Conger purchased and operated the Norfolk Creosoting Company for a relatively short time, but it proved to be one of his most successful ventures. Motivated by the success of E. F. Conger Company, Conger sought a facility with deep water access in order to move his operations more significantly into the coastwise trade in and supply of treated poles. The operations at Norfolk proved as important to shipping as they did to pole production and treatment.","The files here include a booklet produced by the Norfolk Creosoting Company long before Conger acquired it, along with another valuable photograph album documenting pole installation in the New York metropolitan area in the 1930s. Conger both collected writings about and wrote himself regarding pole treatment. Perhaps most interesting are the photographs showing the plant at Norfolk and its various operations. Because of the success of this venture, Conger was able to acquire a large number of acres of timber outside of Aiken, South Carolina (known by the name of one of its previous owners, the Hitchcock Woods). This provided him with an abundant supply of chestnut poles and also figured significantly in his future commitments to re-forestry and philanthropy. Through this company, Conger also purchased a stately residence in Staunton, Va. (\"Breezy Hill\"), which he used as a corporate headquarters (his wife served as treasurer of the company). Although the plant and some company assets were sold during World War II, the company itself did not actually dissolve until around 1950.","Perhaps the largest venture Conger operated during his lengthy career, Piedmont Creosoting Company (later simply the Piedmont Company) had its headquarters in Staunton, Virginia, but largest plant and operations in Augusta, Georgia. Conger acquired the Piedmont Wood Preserving Company of Augusta in the early 1930s, dissolved the existing company, and reconstituted operations as the Piedmont Creosoting Company. This company utilized pole collection yards in Connecticut to supply New England customers, and some images of those yards are included here.","The files in this series contain the most detailed information about any of the companies Conger operated, most importantly represented by the surviving minute book of Board of Directors' meetings for most the company's history. One of the most valuable pieces in terms of knowing the nature and extent, as well as the details, of Conger's various pole ventures comes in the form of a scrapbook (now disassembled for preservation purposes). Entitled \"From Forest to Field,\" it was prepared for Conger's eldest daughter, Dorothea, by A. B. Carlson, in June 1951. It carefully documents through text and images the operations of the Piedmont Company, using the work operations of the Company to supply an order of southern Yellow Pine poles for the Southern New England Telephone Company. The photographs were taken in the spring of 1949 and the text was drafted subsequently by Carlson of Southern New England Telephone. Poles were acquired from the \"Hitchcock Forest\" near Aiken, South Carolina, owned by E. F. Conger. The company plant in Augusta at that time shipped 100,000 poles per year. Images here show the plant and forest operations and some include depictions of African American workers. Also includes images of the treatment of poles with creosote (a mixture of oils) for preservation, as well as arrangements for shipping.","As noted above, this was one of Conger's firms that eventually became a holding company for investments, and some of the last files in this series document how Conger finally got out of the pole-producing and treatment business for good in the 1950s. The pole-treatment operations in Augusta and at other facilities throughout the eastern United States were eventually sold to a new company with an old name, Piedmont Wood Preserving Company, newly headquartered in Spartanburg, S.C. The file concerning the sale contains detailed materials on existing, often long-standing, company contracts that were transferred to Piedmont Wood Preserving Company, as well as materials on the sale of other assets and business contracts to Piedmont Wood Preserving Company.","The materials in this series primarily focus on Edwin F. Conger's personal life and family, documenting the life a successful businessman of the first half of the twentieth century might lead and the interests his fortune might encourage and support.","Edwin F. Conger personally retained a large amount of acreage in South Carolina that the success of the Norfolk Creosoting Company had enabled him to purchase. Some of the acreage was eventually sold to local interests for housing projects, some used to support the operations of the School of Forestry at the University of North Carolina (including the establishment of a professorship and scholarships), some set aside to honor Conger's lifelong friend and mentor, Dr. Carl A. Schenck, through the creation of a memorial forest and reforestation program (see also Series 5.2).","Edwin F. Conger studied under German forestry specialist Dr. Carl Alwin Schenck (1868-1955) before World War I and considered him a friend and mentor throughout his life. Conger's financial successes allowed him to join with other of his fellow alumni from the Biltmore Forestry School (where Schenck operated his original school on the grounds of the Biltmore estate in North Carolina) in the years immediately preceding his mentor's passing. The files here document some of those activities through a combination of text documents and photographs. One particularly interesting and unusual item is an album (with phonograph records) documenting Dr. Schenck's return visit to America: The Cavalcade of Trees for the Great: Being the Tour of Carl Alwin Schenck in America, 1951, under the Sponsorship of the American Forestry Association and graduates of the Biltmore Forest School.","The largest portion of this series of Edwin Conger's papers relates to his family and his personal affairs. These include financial records; files on local philanthropy in Staunton; activities involving his purchase and operation of a resort property in Middlesex County, Va., called Horse Point Estates; vacation trips and other travel; correspondence with, extensive photographs of, and files concerning trusts established for his two daughters and his grandchildren (most notably files on the divorce and remarriages of his eldest daughter, Dorothea Lloyd (Conger) Eager Grand Sverker, and the guardianship of her two surviving children, Howard Lloyd Eager and Edwin F. Eager).","One of the particularly interesting and unexpected files here concerns the Higgs/Redmond case: the attempt of Mrs. James A. Higgs to secure release of Lilly Redmond from Western State Hospital in Staunton in order to have her reside in an early prototype \"halfway house\" for patients with mental illness who had partially recovered (folder 95).","This series contains just a few files of the wife and second daughter of Edwin\nF. Conger. Dorothea Lloyd (Tatum) Conger (1893-1961) worked most of her years of\nmarriage as treasurer of companies her husband acquired and operated. Some of\nher letters to her two daughters are found in Conger's correspondence files. The\nfile of genealogical materials, primarily focused on her Tatum family ancestors\nand relations, is the largest grouping of materials of or about Mrs. Conger. A\nsmall amount of financial material relating to Vivion Randolph (Conger) LeBow\n(1923-2006), who left her father's papers to the Virginia Historical Society,\ncompletes the collection."],"userestrict_html_tesm":["\u003cp\u003eThere are no restrictions.\n\u003c/p\u003e\n"],"userestrict_heading_ssm":["Use Restrictions"],"userestrict_tesim":["There are no restrictions."],"abstract_html_tesm":["\u003cabstract label=\"Abstract\"\u003eThe Edwin Fisher Conger papers focus primarily on several of Conger's business operations, specifically the production of treated telephone and\nelectrical poles. Two of Conger's chief operations, Norfolk Creosoting Company\nand the Piedmont Wood Preserving Company (later simply the Piedmont Company)\nfigure most heavily in the collection, along with information regarding Conger's\nfirst endeavor in this field, E.F. Conger Creosoting Company, his extensive\ntimber holdings near Aiken, South Carolina, and his financial, social, and\nphilanthropic dealings as a wealthy businessman living in Virginia.\n\u003c/abstract\u003e\n"],"abstract_tesim":["The Edwin Fisher Conger papers focus primarily on several of Conger's business operations, specifically the production of treated telephone and\nelectrical poles. Two of Conger's chief operations, Norfolk Creosoting Company\nand the Piedmont Wood Preserving Company (later simply the Piedmont Company)\nfigure most heavily in the collection, along with information regarding Conger's\nfirst endeavor in this field, E.F. Conger Creosoting Company, his extensive\ntimber holdings near Aiken, South Carolina, and his financial, social, and\nphilanthropic dealings as a wealthy businessman living in Virginia."],"corpname_ssim":["E.F. Conger Company - Records and correspondence."],"persname_ssim":["Conger, Edwin Fisher, 1887-1974."],"names_ssim":["E.F. Conger Company - Records and correspondence.","Conger, Edwin Fisher, 1887-1974."],"language_ssim":["English"],"total_component_count_is":173,"online_item_count_is":0,"component_level_isim":[0],"sort_isi":0,"timestamp":"2026-06-23T06:58:25.153Z"}]}},"label":"Breadcrumbs"}}},"links":{"self":"https://search.arvasarchive.org/catalog/vihi_vih00020_c05_c02_c04"}},{"id":"vihi_vih00010_c04_c01_c10","type":"File","attributes":{"title":"Death of Nora Houston, \n                     \n                     1942","breadcrumbs":{"id":"https://search.arvasarchive.org/catalog/vihi_vih00010_c04_c01_c10#breadcrumbs","type":"document_value","attributes":{"value":{"ref_ssi":"vihi_vih00010_c04_c01_c10","ref_ssm":["vihi_vih00010_c04_c01_c10"],"id":"vihi_vih00010_c04_c01_c10","ead_ssi":"vihi_vih00010","_root_":"vihi_vih00010","_nest_parent_":"vihi_vih00010_c04_c01","parent_ssi":"vihi_vih00010_c04_c01","parent_ssim":["Adele Clark Papers \n         \n         1855-1976","Series 4: Adele Clark (1882-1983),\n               Richmond, Va.","Subseries 4.1: General and\n                  Financial Materials \n                  \n                  1916-1970"],"parent_ids_ssim":["vihi_vih00010","vihi_vih00010_c04","vihi_vih00010_c04_c01"],"title_filing_ssi":"Death of Nora Houston, \n                     \n                     1942","title_ssm":["Death of Nora Houston, \n                     \n                     1942"],"title_tesim":["Death of Nora Houston, \n                     \n                     1942"],"normalized_title_ssm":["Death of Nora Houston, \n                     \n                     1942"],"text":["Death of Nora Houston, \n                     \n                     1942","Adele Clark Papers \n         \n         1855-1976","Series 4: Adele Clark (1882-1983),\n               Richmond, Va.","Subseries 4.1: General and\n                  Financial Materials \n                  \n                  1916-1970"],"parent_unittitles_ssm":["Adele Clark Papers \n         \n         1855-1976","Series 4: Adele Clark (1882-1983),\n               Richmond, Va.","Subseries 4.1: General and\n                  Financial Materials \n                  \n                  1916-1970"],"parent_unittitles_tesim":["Adele Clark Papers \n         \n         1855-1976","Series 4: Adele Clark (1882-1983),\n               Richmond, Va.","Subseries 4.1: General and\n                  Financial Materials \n                  \n                  1916-1970"],"level_ssm":["File"],"level_ssim":["File"],"component_level_isim":[3],"sort_isi":15,"repository_ssim":["Virginia Historical Society"],"collection_ssim":["Adele Clark Papers \n         \n         1855-1976"],"has_online_content_ssim":["false"],"child_component_count_isi":0,"_nest_path_":"/components#3/components#0/components#9","timestamp":"2026-06-23T06:58:25.153Z","collection":{"numFound":1,"start":0,"numFoundExact":true,"docs":[{"id":"vihi_vih00010","ead_ssi":"vihi_vih00010","_root_":"vihi_vih00010","_nest_parent_":"vihi_vih00010","ead_source_url_ssi":"data/vhs/vih00010.xml","title_ssm":["Adele Clark Papers \n         \n         1855-1976"],"title_tesim":["Adele Clark Papers \n         \n         1855-1976"],"normalized_title_ssm":["Adele Clark Papers \n         \n         1855-1976"],"text":["Adele Clark Papers \n         \n         1855-1976","Mss1 C5472 a FA2","Art and state -- Virginia.","Art -- Study and teaching.","Clark,Adele, 1882-1983.","Clark, Estelle Goodman, 1847-1937.","Equal Suffrage League of Virginia.","Federal art Project (Va.)","Houston, Nora, 1883-1942.","Ions, Willoughby, 1881-1977.","League of Women Voters of Virginia.","Mothers and daughters.","Richmond(Va.) -- Intellectual life -- 20th\n         century.","Suffrage.","Women artists -- Virginia.","Women -- Family relationships.","Women in politics -- Virginia.","Women -- Suffrage.","900 (ca.) items. (2 archival and 1\n         oversize box).","Collection is open for research.","The papers of Adele Clark are arranged into seven series by\n         individual and further subdivided by subject or material\n         type.","Adele Clark was a major figure in Richmond's art scene and\n         political life for nearly three-quarters of a century. Born in\n         Montgomery, Ala., she spent her childhood in New Orleans, La.,\n         before moving to Richmond in 1894. Seven years later she\n         graduated from the Miss Virginia Randolph Ellen School (now\n         St. Catherine's). While working as a stenographer for the\n         chamber of commerce, Miss Clark studied art with Lily Logan at\n         the Art Club of Richmond. In 1906, Miss Clark received a\n         scholarship to the Chase School of Art in New York, where she\n         studied under Robert Henri and Kenneth Hays Miller. Shortly\n         after her return to Richmond to teach at the Art Club, she\n         became involved in the women's suffrage movement.","This collection begins with the papers of Robert Clark\n         (1832?-1906) and his wife, Estelle (Goodman) Clark\n         (1847-1937). His papers consist of three letters written by a\n         brother Tom Clark and miscellany; hers include correspondence,\n         accounts, and miscellany. A folder of her general\n         correspondence precedes individual folders of letters with her\n         three daughters, Adele Clark, Edith (Clark) Cowles, and\n         Gertrude (Clark) Dew, as well as one containing two letters\n         from President Franklin Delano Roosevelt. Accounts and letters\n         concerning the deaths of two family members follow.","Correspondence of Edith (Clark) Cowles includes letters\n         with her sister, Adele Clark, and illustrator Dugald Stewart\n         Walker. Adele Clark (1882-1983) was a major figure in\n         Richmond's art society and political life for nearly\n         three-quarters of a century. Born Adele Goodman Clark in\n         Montgomery, Ala., she spent most of her childhood in New\n         Orleans, La., before moving to Richmond in 1894. Seven years\n         later Clark graduated from the Miss Virginia Randolph Ellett\n         School (now St. Catherine's). While working as a stenographer\n         for the chamber of commerce she studied art with Lily Logan at\n         the Art Club of Richmond. In 1906, Adele Clark received a\n         scholarship to the Chase School of Art in New York where she\n         studied under Robert Henri and Kenneth Hays Miller. Shortly\n         after her return to Richmond to teach at the Art Club, she\n         became involved in the women's suffrage movement","Adele Clark's papers reflect her varied careers and\n         avocations, yet mostly pertain to her personal life and art\n         activities. Major collections of her papers documenting her\n         work with the Equal Suffrage League, the Virginia League of\n         Women Voters, and the U.S. Work Projects Administration have\n         been given to the Virginia State Library, the University of\n         Virginia, Virginia Commonwealth University, and other\n         institutions.","Adele Clark's papers begin with a section of general\n         correspondence, which consists of letters with family members,\n         artists, politicians, and suffragists. Among the more\n         prominent are: Ella Graham Agnew, Edmund Minor Archer, Harry\n         Flood Byrd (1887-1966), Colgate Whitehead Darden, Marion\n         Montague Junkin, Elizabeth Dabney (Langhorne) Lewis, Theresa\n         Pollak, and Roberta Wellford. Separate folders contain\n         correspondence with Richmond artist Nora Houston and artist\n         and designer Willoughby Ions, Adele Clark's first cousin.","Accounts precede financial records, which include materials\n         concerning \"Swannanoa,\" the summer home of James Henry Dooley,\n         uncle of Nora Houston. Adele Clark was helping the Dooley\n         family dispose of this property after the death of Sallie\n         (May) Dooley in 1925. A few items documenting Adele Clark's\n         brief tenure as acting dean of women at the College of William\n         and Mary precede materials concerning her uncle, Edward Samuel\n         Goodman, who died in 1931. These include inquiries concerning\n         his health, sympathy letters and trust information. Sympathy\n         letters concerning the death of Nora Houston, recipes,\n         miscellaneous newspaper clippings and personal miscellany\n         conclude this section.","Materials pertaining to Adele Clark's art career and\n         political activities are located in box 2. These begin with a\n         folder of general art correspondence, arranged alphabetically,\n         which mostly consists of portrait requests, commissions,\n         inquiries, and letters with miscellaneous art institutions.\n         Clark was treasurer and member of the board of directors of\n         the Richmond Art Club as well as a student and instructor\n         there. A minute book, loose minutes, correspondence, loose\n         clippings and a scrapbook of clippings, located with oversized\n         materials in box 3, document her affiliation with the club. An\n         unsigned appeal from James H. Dooley, the club's president, is\n         found among the loose minutes.","In 1919, Adele Clark and Nora Houston, with whom she shared\n         a studio, founded the Virginia League of Fine Arts and\n         Handicrafts in an attempt to revive the Chevalier Quesnay de\n         Beaurepaire's Academy of Sciences and Fine Arts. This soon\n         became the Virginia League of Fine Arts, which merged with the\n         Richmond Academy of Arts in 1931. This collection contains a\n         copy of the league's constitution, amendments and reports as\n         well as a few items of correspondence. Minutes of the board of\n         trustees of the Richmond Academy of Arts document the merger\n         and the two years following. Lecture notes and student papers\n         from the College of William and Mary extension in Richmond\n         (Richmond Professional Institute) precede WPA materials. The\n         latter mainly consists of letters with Campbell Bascom Slemp\n         about the Southwest Virginia Museum at Big Stone Gap, but also\n         include a scrapbook, located in box 3, and the transcript of a\n         1963 interview.","From 1941 to 1964, Adele Clark served on the State Art\n         Commission, an organization she helped establish in 1916.\n         Materials, primarily reports and minutes, span her entire\n         affiliation with the commission, but mostly pertain to her\n         last three years of service. Materials of the Virginia Society\n         for Crippled Children and Adults include correspondence,\n         reports and notes on patients and demonstrate Clark's interest\n         in using art in rehabilitation. In 1947, a portrait gallery of\n         state police officers who died in the line of duty was\n         established at state police headquarters in Chesterfield\n         County. Adele Clark was commissioned to paint one of these\n         portraits. Materials concerning the dedication include\n         clippings and a program that contains biographical sketches of\n         artists and subjects.","In 1956, the Richmond Artists Association was founded to\n         encourage local appreciation and patronage of contemporary\n         art. Among these materials are copies of the constitution,\n         by-laws, rosters, and a directory. Materials concerning the\n         dedication of the Nora Houston Gallery at St. Paul's School in\n         1972 follow. A copy of the dedication address by Edmund Minor\n         Archer recounts Nora Houston's contributions to Richmond art.\n         Notes and articles, invitations, announcements and exhibition\n         information, a visitor's roster to a 1946 exhibition, two\n         sketchbooks and loose sketches, and miscellany conclude this\n         section.","The rest of Adele Clark's papers concern her role as a\n         political activist. These materials are relatively few in\n         number and often individual folders contain only several items\n         that span a large date range. For example, the first folder in\n         this section contains materials concerning women's rights\n         (excluding the League of Women Voters) from 1912 to 1976. This\n         material includes correspondence, clippings, notes, and\n         miscellany concerning various women's issues from suffrage to\n         the Equal Rights Amendment. As previously mentioned Adele\n         Clark's Equal Suffrage League and Virginia League of Women\n         Voters papers were given to another institution. An index to\n         those papers donated to the James Branch Cabell Library at\n         Virginia Commonwealth University in Richmond follows folders\n         on the Richmond and Virginia Leagues. In 1923, the Virginia\n         League of Women Voters established the Virginia Women's\n         Council of Legislative Chairmen of State Organizations to\n         coordinate lobbying efforts among like-minded organizations.\n         In the mid-1950's this became the Virginia Council on State\n         Legislation. Materials concerning these organizations mainly\n         include bulletins and reports. In 1921, Governor E. Lee\n         Trinkle appointed Adele Clark to the Commission on\n         Simplification of state Government. A few items of\n         correspondence, reports and bulletins, mostly from budget\n         director LeRoy Hodges, document the commission's work.","Materials that pertain to Prohibition and the National\n         recovery Administration consist almost entirely of newspaper\n         clippings. Minutes and resolutions from a meeting on economic\n         security held in Richmond on March 7, 1935, with Secretary of\n         Labor Frances Perkins precede miscellaneous information\n         concerning a variety of labor and racial issues. A transcript\n         of an interview (ca. 1920) with an ex-slave from Maryland is\n         found with this material. A folder of political miscellany and\n         one concerning Adele Clark's activities on behalf of the\n         Diocesan Council of Catholic Women conclude Adele Clark's\n         papers.","The papers of Adeline Harmon (Cowles) Cox (1907- ) and\n         miscellaneous family items are located at the end of box\n         2.","Correspondence, 1855; miscellany.","General correspondence, 1903-1936; correspondence\n               with daughters, 1906-1929; correspondence with Franklin\n               Delano Roosevelt, 1933, 1937; accounts, 1928-1930,\n               1935-1937;","Correspondence, 1917-1938","1933-1941, 1960-1961","Miscellany.","Correspondence and miscellany","Adele Clark: Art Club scrapbook, 1907-1917; WPA\n               scrapbook, 1940; certificates and posters.","There are no restrictions.","Include scattered business and\n         personal correspondence, ca. 1916-1950, as well as newspaper\n         clippings, organizational minutes, notes and other published\n         and manuscript materials pertaining to a wide array of Clark's\n         political and artistic interests. Among the organizations with\n         which Miss Clark worked were the Equal Suffrage League of\n         Virginia, the League of Women Voters of Virginia, and the\n         Federal Art Project in Virginia. Correspondence, 1916-1940 and\n         1926-1939, with Nora Houston (1883-1942) and Willoughby Ions\n         (1881-1977) illuminates the relationship between women's\n         personal and professional networks and their political\n         activities. The correspondence, 1906-1929, of Clark's mother,\n         Estelle (Goodman) Clark (1847-1893) with her three daughters\n         offers insights into relationships between mothers and their\n         adult children. The collection also contains information on\n         teaching art history in a variety of contexts, on women's\n         suffrage and women's rights, and on other civic and political\n         activities.","English"],"collection_title_tesim":["Adele Clark Papers \n         \n         1855-1976"],"collection_ssim":["Adele Clark Papers \n         \n         1855-1976"],"level_ssm":["collection"],"level_ssim":["Collection"],"unitid_ssm":["Mss1 C5472 a FA2"],"unitid_tesim":["Mss1 C5472 a FA2"],"repository_ssm":["Virginia Historical Society"],"repository_ssim":["Virginia Historical Society"],"acqinfo_ssim":["Gift of Adele Clark in 1979. Accessioned 7 July\n            1986."],"access_subjects_ssim":["Art and state -- Virginia.","Art -- Study and teaching.","Clark,Adele, 1882-1983.","Clark, Estelle Goodman, 1847-1937.","Equal Suffrage League of Virginia.","Federal art Project (Va.)","Houston, Nora, 1883-1942.","Ions, Willoughby, 1881-1977.","League of Women Voters of Virginia.","Mothers and daughters.","Richmond(Va.) -- Intellectual life -- 20th\n         century.","Suffrage.","Women artists -- Virginia.","Women -- Family relationships.","Women in politics -- Virginia.","Women -- Suffrage."],"access_subjects_ssm":["Art and state -- Virginia.","Art -- Study and teaching.","Clark,Adele, 1882-1983.","Clark, Estelle Goodman, 1847-1937.","Equal Suffrage League of Virginia.","Federal art Project (Va.)","Houston, Nora, 1883-1942.","Ions, Willoughby, 1881-1977.","League of Women Voters of Virginia.","Mothers and daughters.","Richmond(Va.) -- Intellectual life -- 20th\n         century.","Suffrage.","Women artists -- Virginia.","Women -- Family relationships.","Women in politics -- Virginia.","Women -- Suffrage."],"has_online_content_ssim":["false"],"physdesc_tesim":["900 (ca.) items. (2 archival and 1\n         oversize box)."],"accessrestrict_html_tesm":["\u003cp\u003eCollection is open for research.\u003c/p\u003e\n      "],"accessrestrict_heading_ssm":["Access"],"accessrestrict_tesim":["Collection is open for research."],"arrangement_html_tesm":["\u003cp\u003eThe papers of Adele Clark are arranged into seven series by\n         individual and further subdivided by subject or material\n         type.\u003c/p\u003e\n    "],"arrangement_heading_ssm":["Arrangement"],"arrangement_tesim":["The papers of Adele Clark are arranged into seven series by\n         individual and further subdivided by subject or material\n         type."],"bioghist_html_tesm":["\u003cp\u003eAdele Clark was a major figure in Richmond's art scene and\n         political life for nearly three-quarters of a century. Born in\n         Montgomery, Ala., she spent her childhood in New Orleans, La.,\n         before moving to Richmond in 1894. Seven years later she\n         graduated from the Miss Virginia Randolph Ellen School (now\n         St. Catherine's). While working as a stenographer for the\n         chamber of commerce, Miss Clark studied art with Lily Logan at\n         the Art Club of Richmond. In 1906, Miss Clark received a\n         scholarship to the Chase School of Art in New York, where she\n         studied under Robert Henri and Kenneth Hays Miller. Shortly\n         after her return to Richmond to teach at the Art Club, she\n         became involved in the women's suffrage movement.\u003c/p\u003e\n    "],"bioghist_heading_ssm":["Biographical/Historical Information"],"bioghist_tesim":["Adele Clark was a major figure in Richmond's art scene and\n         political life for nearly three-quarters of a century. Born in\n         Montgomery, Ala., she spent her childhood in New Orleans, La.,\n         before moving to Richmond in 1894. Seven years later she\n         graduated from the Miss Virginia Randolph Ellen School (now\n         St. Catherine's). While working as a stenographer for the\n         chamber of commerce, Miss Clark studied art with Lily Logan at\n         the Art Club of Richmond. In 1906, Miss Clark received a\n         scholarship to the Chase School of Art in New York, where she\n         studied under Robert Henri and Kenneth Hays Miller. Shortly\n         after her return to Richmond to teach at the Art Club, she\n         became involved in the women's suffrage movement."],"prefercite_html_tesm":["\u003cp\u003eAdele Clark Papers, 1855-1976 (Mss1 C5472 a FA2),\n            Virginia Historical Society, Richmond, Va.\u003c/p\u003e\n      "],"prefercite_tesim":["Adele Clark Papers, 1855-1976 (Mss1 C5472 a FA2),\n            Virginia Historical Society, Richmond, Va."],"scopecontent_html_tesm":["\u003cp\u003eThis collection begins with the papers of Robert Clark\n         (1832?-1906) and his wife, Estelle (Goodman) Clark\n         (1847-1937). His papers consist of three letters written by a\n         brother Tom Clark and miscellany; hers include correspondence,\n         accounts, and miscellany. A folder of her general\n         correspondence precedes individual folders of letters with her\n         three daughters, Adele Clark, Edith (Clark) Cowles, and\n         Gertrude (Clark) Dew, as well as one containing two letters\n         from President Franklin Delano Roosevelt. Accounts and letters\n         concerning the deaths of two family members follow.\u003c/p\u003e\n      ","\u003cp\u003eCorrespondence of Edith (Clark) Cowles includes letters\n         with her sister, Adele Clark, and illustrator Dugald Stewart\n         Walker. Adele Clark (1882-1983) was a major figure in\n         Richmond's art society and political life for nearly\n         three-quarters of a century. Born Adele Goodman Clark in\n         Montgomery, Ala., she spent most of her childhood in New\n         Orleans, La., before moving to Richmond in 1894. Seven years\n         later Clark graduated from the Miss Virginia Randolph Ellett\n         School (now St. Catherine's). While working as a stenographer\n         for the chamber of commerce she studied art with Lily Logan at\n         the Art Club of Richmond. In 1906, Adele Clark received a\n         scholarship to the Chase School of Art in New York where she\n         studied under Robert Henri and Kenneth Hays Miller. Shortly\n         after her return to Richmond to teach at the Art Club, she\n         became involved in the women's suffrage movement\u003c/p\u003e\n      ","\u003cp\u003eAdele Clark's papers reflect her varied careers and\n         avocations, yet mostly pertain to her personal life and art\n         activities. Major collections of her papers documenting her\n         work with the Equal Suffrage League, the Virginia League of\n         Women Voters, and the U.S. Work Projects Administration have\n         been given to the Virginia State Library, the University of\n         Virginia, Virginia Commonwealth University, and other\n         institutions.\u003c/p\u003e\n      ","\u003cp\u003eAdele Clark's papers begin with a section of general\n         correspondence, which consists of letters with family members,\n         artists, politicians, and suffragists. Among the more\n         prominent are: Ella Graham Agnew, Edmund Minor Archer, Harry\n         Flood Byrd (1887-1966), Colgate Whitehead Darden, Marion\n         Montague Junkin, Elizabeth Dabney (Langhorne) Lewis, Theresa\n         Pollak, and Roberta Wellford. Separate folders contain\n         correspondence with Richmond artist Nora Houston and artist\n         and designer Willoughby Ions, Adele Clark's first cousin.\u003c/p\u003e\n      ","\u003cp\u003eAccounts precede financial records, which include materials\n         concerning \"Swannanoa,\" the summer home of James Henry Dooley,\n         uncle of Nora Houston. Adele Clark was helping the Dooley\n         family dispose of this property after the death of Sallie\n         (May) Dooley in 1925. A few items documenting Adele Clark's\n         brief tenure as acting dean of women at the College of William\n         and Mary precede materials concerning her uncle, Edward Samuel\n         Goodman, who died in 1931. These include inquiries concerning\n         his health, sympathy letters and trust information. Sympathy\n         letters concerning the death of Nora Houston, recipes,\n         miscellaneous newspaper clippings and personal miscellany\n         conclude this section.\u003c/p\u003e\n      ","\u003cp\u003eMaterials pertaining to Adele Clark's art career and\n         political activities are located in box 2. These begin with a\n         folder of general art correspondence, arranged alphabetically,\n         which mostly consists of portrait requests, commissions,\n         inquiries, and letters with miscellaneous art institutions.\n         Clark was treasurer and member of the board of directors of\n         the Richmond Art Club as well as a student and instructor\n         there. A minute book, loose minutes, correspondence, loose\n         clippings and a scrapbook of clippings, located with oversized\n         materials in box 3, document her affiliation with the club. An\n         unsigned appeal from James H. Dooley, the club's president, is\n         found among the loose minutes.\u003c/p\u003e\n      ","\u003cp\u003eIn 1919, Adele Clark and Nora Houston, with whom she shared\n         a studio, founded the Virginia League of Fine Arts and\n         Handicrafts in an attempt to revive the Chevalier Quesnay de\n         Beaurepaire's Academy of Sciences and Fine Arts. This soon\n         became the Virginia League of Fine Arts, which merged with the\n         Richmond Academy of Arts in 1931. This collection contains a\n         copy of the league's constitution, amendments and reports as\n         well as a few items of correspondence. Minutes of the board of\n         trustees of the Richmond Academy of Arts document the merger\n         and the two years following. Lecture notes and student papers\n         from the College of William and Mary extension in Richmond\n         (Richmond Professional Institute) precede WPA materials. The\n         latter mainly consists of letters with Campbell Bascom Slemp\n         about the Southwest Virginia Museum at Big Stone Gap, but also\n         include a scrapbook, located in box 3, and the transcript of a\n         1963 interview.\u003c/p\u003e\n      ","\u003cp\u003eFrom 1941 to 1964, Adele Clark served on the State Art\n         Commission, an organization she helped establish in 1916.\n         Materials, primarily reports and minutes, span her entire\n         affiliation with the commission, but mostly pertain to her\n         last three years of service. Materials of the Virginia Society\n         for Crippled Children and Adults include correspondence,\n         reports and notes on patients and demonstrate Clark's interest\n         in using art in rehabilitation. In 1947, a portrait gallery of\n         state police officers who died in the line of duty was\n         established at state police headquarters in Chesterfield\n         County. Adele Clark was commissioned to paint one of these\n         portraits. Materials concerning the dedication include\n         clippings and a program that contains biographical sketches of\n         artists and subjects.\u003c/p\u003e\n      ","\u003cp\u003eIn 1956, the Richmond Artists Association was founded to\n         encourage local appreciation and patronage of contemporary\n         art. Among these materials are copies of the constitution,\n         by-laws, rosters, and a directory. Materials concerning the\n         dedication of the Nora Houston Gallery at St. Paul's School in\n         1972 follow. A copy of the dedication address by Edmund Minor\n         Archer recounts Nora Houston's contributions to Richmond art.\n         Notes and articles, invitations, announcements and exhibition\n         information, a visitor's roster to a 1946 exhibition, two\n         sketchbooks and loose sketches, and miscellany conclude this\n         section.\u003c/p\u003e\n      ","\u003cp\u003eThe rest of Adele Clark's papers concern her role as a\n         political activist. These materials are relatively few in\n         number and often individual folders contain only several items\n         that span a large date range. For example, the first folder in\n         this section contains materials concerning women's rights\n         (excluding the League of Women Voters) from 1912 to 1976. This\n         material includes correspondence, clippings, notes, and\n         miscellany concerning various women's issues from suffrage to\n         the Equal Rights Amendment. As previously mentioned Adele\n         Clark's Equal Suffrage League and Virginia League of Women\n         Voters papers were given to another institution. An index to\n         those papers donated to the James Branch Cabell Library at\n         Virginia Commonwealth University in Richmond follows folders\n         on the Richmond and Virginia Leagues. In 1923, the Virginia\n         League of Women Voters established the Virginia Women's\n         Council of Legislative Chairmen of State Organizations to\n         coordinate lobbying efforts among like-minded organizations.\n         In the mid-1950's this became the Virginia Council on State\n         Legislation. Materials concerning these organizations mainly\n         include bulletins and reports. In 1921, Governor E. Lee\n         Trinkle appointed Adele Clark to the Commission on\n         Simplification of state Government. A few items of\n         correspondence, reports and bulletins, mostly from budget\n         director LeRoy Hodges, document the commission's work.\u003c/p\u003e\n      ","\u003cp\u003eMaterials that pertain to Prohibition and the National\n         recovery Administration consist almost entirely of newspaper\n         clippings. Minutes and resolutions from a meeting on economic\n         security held in Richmond on March 7, 1935, with Secretary of\n         Labor Frances Perkins precede miscellaneous information\n         concerning a variety of labor and racial issues. A transcript\n         of an interview (ca. 1920) with an ex-slave from Maryland is\n         found with this material. A folder of political miscellany and\n         one concerning Adele Clark's activities on behalf of the\n         Diocesan Council of Catholic Women conclude Adele Clark's\n         papers.\u003c/p\u003e\n      ","\u003cp\u003eThe papers of Adeline Harmon (Cowles) Cox (1907- ) and\n         miscellaneous family items are located at the end of box\n         2.\u003c/p\u003e\n    ","\u003cp\u003eCorrespondence, 1855; miscellany.\u003c/p\u003e\n        ","\u003cp\u003eGeneral correspondence, 1903-1936; correspondence\n               with daughters, 1906-1929; correspondence with Franklin\n               Delano Roosevelt, 1933, 1937; accounts, 1928-1930,\n               1935-1937;\u003c/p\u003e\n        ","\u003cp\u003eCorrespondence, 1917-1938\u003c/p\u003e\n        ","\u003cp\u003e1933-1941, 1960-1961\u003c/p\u003e\n            ","\u003cp\u003eMiscellany.\u003c/p\u003e\n        ","\u003cp\u003eCorrespondence and miscellany\u003c/p\u003e\n        ","\u003cp\u003eAdele Clark: Art Club scrapbook, 1907-1917; WPA\n               scrapbook, 1940; certificates and posters.\u003c/p\u003e\n        "],"scopecontent_heading_ssm":["Scope and Content Information"],"scopecontent_tesim":["This collection begins with the papers of Robert Clark\n         (1832?-1906) and his wife, Estelle (Goodman) Clark\n         (1847-1937). His papers consist of three letters written by a\n         brother Tom Clark and miscellany; hers include correspondence,\n         accounts, and miscellany. A folder of her general\n         correspondence precedes individual folders of letters with her\n         three daughters, Adele Clark, Edith (Clark) Cowles, and\n         Gertrude (Clark) Dew, as well as one containing two letters\n         from President Franklin Delano Roosevelt. Accounts and letters\n         concerning the deaths of two family members follow.","Correspondence of Edith (Clark) Cowles includes letters\n         with her sister, Adele Clark, and illustrator Dugald Stewart\n         Walker. Adele Clark (1882-1983) was a major figure in\n         Richmond's art society and political life for nearly\n         three-quarters of a century. Born Adele Goodman Clark in\n         Montgomery, Ala., she spent most of her childhood in New\n         Orleans, La., before moving to Richmond in 1894. Seven years\n         later Clark graduated from the Miss Virginia Randolph Ellett\n         School (now St. Catherine's). While working as a stenographer\n         for the chamber of commerce she studied art with Lily Logan at\n         the Art Club of Richmond. In 1906, Adele Clark received a\n         scholarship to the Chase School of Art in New York where she\n         studied under Robert Henri and Kenneth Hays Miller. Shortly\n         after her return to Richmond to teach at the Art Club, she\n         became involved in the women's suffrage movement","Adele Clark's papers reflect her varied careers and\n         avocations, yet mostly pertain to her personal life and art\n         activities. Major collections of her papers documenting her\n         work with the Equal Suffrage League, the Virginia League of\n         Women Voters, and the U.S. Work Projects Administration have\n         been given to the Virginia State Library, the University of\n         Virginia, Virginia Commonwealth University, and other\n         institutions.","Adele Clark's papers begin with a section of general\n         correspondence, which consists of letters with family members,\n         artists, politicians, and suffragists. Among the more\n         prominent are: Ella Graham Agnew, Edmund Minor Archer, Harry\n         Flood Byrd (1887-1966), Colgate Whitehead Darden, Marion\n         Montague Junkin, Elizabeth Dabney (Langhorne) Lewis, Theresa\n         Pollak, and Roberta Wellford. Separate folders contain\n         correspondence with Richmond artist Nora Houston and artist\n         and designer Willoughby Ions, Adele Clark's first cousin.","Accounts precede financial records, which include materials\n         concerning \"Swannanoa,\" the summer home of James Henry Dooley,\n         uncle of Nora Houston. Adele Clark was helping the Dooley\n         family dispose of this property after the death of Sallie\n         (May) Dooley in 1925. A few items documenting Adele Clark's\n         brief tenure as acting dean of women at the College of William\n         and Mary precede materials concerning her uncle, Edward Samuel\n         Goodman, who died in 1931. These include inquiries concerning\n         his health, sympathy letters and trust information. Sympathy\n         letters concerning the death of Nora Houston, recipes,\n         miscellaneous newspaper clippings and personal miscellany\n         conclude this section.","Materials pertaining to Adele Clark's art career and\n         political activities are located in box 2. These begin with a\n         folder of general art correspondence, arranged alphabetically,\n         which mostly consists of portrait requests, commissions,\n         inquiries, and letters with miscellaneous art institutions.\n         Clark was treasurer and member of the board of directors of\n         the Richmond Art Club as well as a student and instructor\n         there. A minute book, loose minutes, correspondence, loose\n         clippings and a scrapbook of clippings, located with oversized\n         materials in box 3, document her affiliation with the club. An\n         unsigned appeal from James H. Dooley, the club's president, is\n         found among the loose minutes.","In 1919, Adele Clark and Nora Houston, with whom she shared\n         a studio, founded the Virginia League of Fine Arts and\n         Handicrafts in an attempt to revive the Chevalier Quesnay de\n         Beaurepaire's Academy of Sciences and Fine Arts. This soon\n         became the Virginia League of Fine Arts, which merged with the\n         Richmond Academy of Arts in 1931. This collection contains a\n         copy of the league's constitution, amendments and reports as\n         well as a few items of correspondence. Minutes of the board of\n         trustees of the Richmond Academy of Arts document the merger\n         and the two years following. Lecture notes and student papers\n         from the College of William and Mary extension in Richmond\n         (Richmond Professional Institute) precede WPA materials. The\n         latter mainly consists of letters with Campbell Bascom Slemp\n         about the Southwest Virginia Museum at Big Stone Gap, but also\n         include a scrapbook, located in box 3, and the transcript of a\n         1963 interview.","From 1941 to 1964, Adele Clark served on the State Art\n         Commission, an organization she helped establish in 1916.\n         Materials, primarily reports and minutes, span her entire\n         affiliation with the commission, but mostly pertain to her\n         last three years of service. Materials of the Virginia Society\n         for Crippled Children and Adults include correspondence,\n         reports and notes on patients and demonstrate Clark's interest\n         in using art in rehabilitation. In 1947, a portrait gallery of\n         state police officers who died in the line of duty was\n         established at state police headquarters in Chesterfield\n         County. Adele Clark was commissioned to paint one of these\n         portraits. Materials concerning the dedication include\n         clippings and a program that contains biographical sketches of\n         artists and subjects.","In 1956, the Richmond Artists Association was founded to\n         encourage local appreciation and patronage of contemporary\n         art. Among these materials are copies of the constitution,\n         by-laws, rosters, and a directory. Materials concerning the\n         dedication of the Nora Houston Gallery at St. Paul's School in\n         1972 follow. A copy of the dedication address by Edmund Minor\n         Archer recounts Nora Houston's contributions to Richmond art.\n         Notes and articles, invitations, announcements and exhibition\n         information, a visitor's roster to a 1946 exhibition, two\n         sketchbooks and loose sketches, and miscellany conclude this\n         section.","The rest of Adele Clark's papers concern her role as a\n         political activist. These materials are relatively few in\n         number and often individual folders contain only several items\n         that span a large date range. For example, the first folder in\n         this section contains materials concerning women's rights\n         (excluding the League of Women Voters) from 1912 to 1976. This\n         material includes correspondence, clippings, notes, and\n         miscellany concerning various women's issues from suffrage to\n         the Equal Rights Amendment. As previously mentioned Adele\n         Clark's Equal Suffrage League and Virginia League of Women\n         Voters papers were given to another institution. An index to\n         those papers donated to the James Branch Cabell Library at\n         Virginia Commonwealth University in Richmond follows folders\n         on the Richmond and Virginia Leagues. In 1923, the Virginia\n         League of Women Voters established the Virginia Women's\n         Council of Legislative Chairmen of State Organizations to\n         coordinate lobbying efforts among like-minded organizations.\n         In the mid-1950's this became the Virginia Council on State\n         Legislation. Materials concerning these organizations mainly\n         include bulletins and reports. In 1921, Governor E. Lee\n         Trinkle appointed Adele Clark to the Commission on\n         Simplification of state Government. A few items of\n         correspondence, reports and bulletins, mostly from budget\n         director LeRoy Hodges, document the commission's work.","Materials that pertain to Prohibition and the National\n         recovery Administration consist almost entirely of newspaper\n         clippings. Minutes and resolutions from a meeting on economic\n         security held in Richmond on March 7, 1935, with Secretary of\n         Labor Frances Perkins precede miscellaneous information\n         concerning a variety of labor and racial issues. A transcript\n         of an interview (ca. 1920) with an ex-slave from Maryland is\n         found with this material. A folder of political miscellany and\n         one concerning Adele Clark's activities on behalf of the\n         Diocesan Council of Catholic Women conclude Adele Clark's\n         papers.","The papers of Adeline Harmon (Cowles) Cox (1907- ) and\n         miscellaneous family items are located at the end of box\n         2.","Correspondence, 1855; miscellany.","General correspondence, 1903-1936; correspondence\n               with daughters, 1906-1929; correspondence with Franklin\n               Delano Roosevelt, 1933, 1937; accounts, 1928-1930,\n               1935-1937;","Correspondence, 1917-1938","1933-1941, 1960-1961","Miscellany.","Correspondence and miscellany","Adele Clark: Art Club scrapbook, 1907-1917; WPA\n               scrapbook, 1940; certificates and posters."],"userestrict_html_tesm":["\u003cp\u003eThere are no restrictions.\u003c/p\u003e\n      "],"userestrict_heading_ssm":["Use Restrictions"],"userestrict_tesim":["There are no restrictions."],"abstract_html_tesm":["\u003cabstract label=\"Abstract\"\u003eInclude scattered business and\n         personal correspondence, ca. 1916-1950, as well as newspaper\n         clippings, organizational minutes, notes and other published\n         and manuscript materials pertaining to a wide array of Clark's\n         political and artistic interests. Among the organizations with\n         which Miss Clark worked were the Equal Suffrage League of\n         Virginia, the League of Women Voters of Virginia, and the\n         Federal Art Project in Virginia. Correspondence, 1916-1940 and\n         1926-1939, with Nora Houston (1883-1942) and Willoughby Ions\n         (1881-1977) illuminates the relationship between women's\n         personal and professional networks and their political\n         activities. The correspondence, 1906-1929, of Clark's mother,\n         Estelle (Goodman) Clark (1847-1893) with her three daughters\n         offers insights into relationships between mothers and their\n         adult children. The collection also contains information on\n         teaching art history in a variety of contexts, on women's\n         suffrage and women's rights, and on other civic and political\n         activities.\u003c/abstract\u003e\n    "],"abstract_tesim":["Include scattered business and\n         personal correspondence, ca. 1916-1950, as well as newspaper\n         clippings, organizational minutes, notes and other published\n         and manuscript materials pertaining to a wide array of Clark's\n         political and artistic interests. Among the organizations with\n         which Miss Clark worked were the Equal Suffrage League of\n         Virginia, the League of Women Voters of Virginia, and the\n         Federal Art Project in Virginia. Correspondence, 1916-1940 and\n         1926-1939, with Nora Houston (1883-1942) and Willoughby Ions\n         (1881-1977) illuminates the relationship between women's\n         personal and professional networks and their political\n         activities. The correspondence, 1906-1929, of Clark's mother,\n         Estelle (Goodman) Clark (1847-1893) with her three daughters\n         offers insights into relationships between mothers and their\n         adult children. The collection also contains information on\n         teaching art history in a variety of contexts, on women's\n         suffrage and women's rights, and on other civic and political\n         activities."],"language_ssim":["English"],"total_component_count_is":45,"online_item_count_is":0,"component_level_isim":[0],"sort_isi":0,"timestamp":"2026-06-23T06:58:25.153Z"}]}},"label":"Breadcrumbs"}}},"links":{"self":"https://search.arvasarchive.org/catalog/vihi_vih00010_c04_c01_c10"}},{"id":"vihi_vih00020_c05_c02_c01","type":"File","attributes":{"title":"Dedication of Pine Plantations in Aiken, S.C., in honor of Dr. Schenck,\n                 1950","breadcrumbs":{"id":"https://search.arvasarchive.org/catalog/vihi_vih00020_c05_c02_c01#breadcrumbs","type":"document_value","attributes":{"value":{"ref_ssi":"vihi_vih00020_c05_c02_c01","ref_ssm":["vihi_vih00020_c05_c02_c01"],"id":"vihi_vih00020_c05_c02_c01","ead_ssi":"vihi_vih00020","_root_":"vihi_vih00020","_nest_parent_":"vihi_vih00020_c05_c02","parent_ssi":"vihi_vih00020_c05_c02","parent_ssim":["Edwin Fisher Conger Papers,\n1900-1979","Series 5: Edwin F. Conger Personal Files\n1916-1967","Series 5.2: Tributes to Dr. Carl A. Schenck,\n        1950-1957"],"parent_ids_ssim":["vihi_vih00020","vihi_vih00020_c05","vihi_vih00020_c05_c02"],"title_filing_ssi":"Dedication of Pine Plantations in Aiken, S.C., in honor of Dr. Schenck,\n                 1950","title_ssm":["Dedication of Pine Plantations in Aiken, S.C., in honor of Dr. Schenck,\n                 1950"],"title_tesim":["Dedication of Pine Plantations in Aiken, S.C., in honor of Dr. Schenck,\n                 1950"],"normalized_title_ssm":["Dedication of Pine Plantations in Aiken, S.C., in honor of Dr. Schenck,\n                 1950"],"text":["Dedication of Pine Plantations in Aiken, S.C., in honor of Dr. Schenck,\n                 1950","Edwin Fisher Conger Papers,\n1900-1979","Series 5: Edwin F. Conger Personal Files\n1916-1967","Series 5.2: Tributes to Dr. Carl A. Schenck,\n        1950-1957","box 2:67"],"parent_unittitles_ssm":["Edwin Fisher Conger Papers,\n1900-1979","Series 5: Edwin F. Conger Personal Files\n1916-1967","Series 5.2: Tributes to Dr. Carl A. Schenck,\n        1950-1957"],"parent_unittitles_tesim":["Edwin Fisher Conger Papers,\n1900-1979","Series 5: Edwin F. Conger Personal Files\n1916-1967","Series 5.2: Tributes to Dr. Carl A. Schenck,\n        1950-1957"],"level_ssm":["File"],"level_ssim":["File"],"component_level_isim":[3],"sort_isi":73,"repository_ssim":["Virginia Historical Society"],"collection_ssim":["Edwin Fisher Conger Papers,\n1900-1979"],"containers_ssim":["box 2:67"],"has_online_content_ssim":["false"],"child_component_count_isi":0,"_nest_path_":"/components#4/components#1/components#0","timestamp":"2026-06-23T06:58:25.153Z","collection":{"numFound":1,"start":0,"numFoundExact":true,"docs":[{"id":"vihi_vih00020","ead_ssi":"vihi_vih00020","_root_":"vihi_vih00020","_nest_parent_":"vihi_vih00020","ead_source_url_ssi":"data/vhs/vih00020.xml","title_ssm":["Edwin Fisher Conger Papers,\n1900-1979"],"title_tesim":["Edwin Fisher Conger Papers,\n1900-1979"],"normalized_title_ssm":["Edwin Fisher Conger Papers,\n1900-1979"],"text":["Edwin Fisher Conger Papers,\n1900-1979","Mss1 C7604 a","Creosote.",".","Collection is open to research.","Divided into series as follows: Series 1. Edwin F. Conger, Education and\nProfessional Life; Series 2. E.F. Conger Company; Series 3. Norfolk Creosoting\nCompany; Series 4. Piedmont Company; Series 5. Edwin F. Conger personal files;\nand Series 6. Conger Family Personal Files","New Jersey native Edwin Fisher Conger became intrigued with forestry as a child\nand learned much from his lumberman father, especially in regard to the growth,\nharvesting and uses of chestnut poles and timber. Beginning in 1909, he attended\nthe Biltmore Forest School, on the famous Biltmore Estate in North Carolina,\nwhere he came under the life-long influence of German forester Dr. Charles Alwin\nSchenck, the chief instructor there. Graduating in 1910, Conger secured a\nposition with the Western Electric Company, where he put in long hours as a\nchestnut pole inspector. During this period he also became acquainted with the\nprocesses of pole and timber preservation through the application of a mixture\nof chemicals known as creosote.","Around 1915 he went to work for Lowesville\nLumber Company in Lynchburg, and eventually took over the firm and recreated it\nas E. F. Conger Creosoting Company, whose main client initially proved to be\nelements of the Bell Telephone System. Conger set up treatment plants in Shipman\nand Natural Bridge, Virginia, and eventually in Waynesboro, which ultimately led\nto his purchase of the Virginia Creosoting Company in Culpeper. A chestnut\nblight in the 1920s led to the closing of two of the treating plants in\nVirginia, but with continued demand from the telephone and power companies\noperating on the east coast of the United States, Conger purchased the Piedmont\nWood Preserving Company, which operated a pressure-treating plant in Augusta,\nGeorgia, in 1930, followed by the purchase of the Norfolk Creosoting Company in\n1936, giving Conger a facility on deep water with the potential for coastwise\nand export trade. The latter he sold in the 1940s and used the proceeds to\npurchase Hitchcock Woods and the Cedar Creek Farm near Aiken, South Carolina.\nThese 14,000 acres provided Conger with ample resources for his products, but he\nharvested wisely and committed to reforestation well before that was a general\nenvironmental practice.","He also developed contracts with the U.S. government to\nharvest chestnut poles from national forests in the eastern part of the country.\nGradually, Conger got out of the creosoting business, having already converted\nPiedmont Wood Preserving simply to the Piedmont Company, divesting himself of\nthe plant in Augusta and the company's extensive series of contracts in 1951,\nand converting the operation largely into an investments holding firm. He\nlikewise sold off the E. F. Conger Company in the early 1950s to a newly\nconstituted Piedmont Wood Preserving Company headquartered in Spartanburg, S.C.,\nincluding distribution yards in Connecticut, Georgia, and Virginia; became a\nforestry consultant living in Staunton, Virginia; and developed a forestry\ncenter on his lands in South Carolina, partly in tribute to the work of his\nmentor, Dr. Charles Schenck. In later life, he served as a bank president in\nCharlottesville and was a generous philanthropist, supporting a number of\norganizations in Piedmont Virginia before his death in 1974.","Processed under the auspices of a grant from the National Historical Publications and Records Commission (NHPRC)","This collection contains materials regarding the education and career in\nforestry and treated pole production of Edwin F. Conger, including an\nautobiography, research materials, and a photograph album relating to pole\nharvesting and preservation treatment (including images of operations at the\nVirginia Creosoting Company plant in Culpeper, Va., Norfolk Creosoting Company\nat Norfolk, Va., E.F. Conger Creosoting Company at Waynesboro, Va., and the\nPiedmont Company at Augusta, Ga., as well as pictures of Conger's teacher and\nlifelong mentor, Dr. Carl Alwin Schenck).","Also, includes materials (primarily photographs of operations and\npole-production plants) of E. F. Conger Creosoting Company (later simply the E.\nF. Conger Company), headquartered in Staunton, Va., but with chief operations at\nWaynesboro, Va. Files include images of Edwin F. Conger at the company\nheadquarters in Staunton.","Also, includes records of the Norfolk Creosoting Company, with its plant and\nshipping facility at Norfolk, Va., including images of the plant and operations\nat Norfolk, materials concerning the acquisition of the Hitchcock Woods property\nat Aiken, S.C., title abstract to \"Breezy Hill,\" residence of E. F. Conger and\nfamily and company headquarters in Staunton, Va., and materials concerning sale\nand dissolution of the company.","Also, includes records of the Piedmont Company, formed by E.F. Conger through\nhis purchase of the Piedmont Wood Preserving Company of Augusta, Ga. The company\nwas headquartered in Staunton but most of its operations were in Georgia and\nNorth Carolina, and its largest customer was Southeastern New England Telephone\nCompany. Materials include a minute book of meetings of the Board of Directors\n(largely a family owned and operated business), records of the purchase and\ndissolution of Piedmont Wood Preserving Company of Augusta, Ga., photographs of\nplants, operations and workers (some African American), a scrapbook documenting\npole production, treatment and shipping, records concerning the sale of the\ncompany assets to a newly re-constituted Piedmont Wood Preserving Company\nheadquartered in Spartanburg, S.C., and records relating to the later operations\nof the Piedmont Company as an investments holding firm.","Also, include personal and family papers of Edwin F. Conger relating to his\ndaughters, Dorothea (Conger) Eager Grand Sverker and Vivion Randolph (Conger)\nLeBow, his surviving grandchildren, Howard Lloyd Eager and Edwin F. Eager, for\nwhom he served for a time as guardian; his interests in reforestation; and his\nphilanthropic support of local Staunton historic sites and social organizations.\nAmong these materials are also numerous photographs of family members,\nvacations, and other travel; materials concerning Conger's purchase and\noperation of a resort property at Horse Point Estates in Middlesex County, Va.;\nand a special file on the efforts of Mrs. James A. Higgs to secure the release\nof Lilly Redmond from Western State Hospital in Staunton in order to have her\nreside in an early prototype \"halfway house\" for patients recovering from bouts\nof mental illness.","Lastly, the collection includes some financial records of Conger's wife,\nDorothea Lloyd (Tatum) Conger, as well as genealogical materials she collected\nprimarily on the Randolph and Tatum families; and some late financial records of\nthe Congers' daughter, Vivion (Conger) LeBow.","The first series in this collection provides background materials on the life and career of Edwin Fisher Conger (New Jersey native but long-time Staunton,\nVa., resident). His autobiography provides many helpful details on his education\nand entry into the pole-producing and treating business, introduces information\non several of the companies he acquired and operated, and presents useful\nmaterial on his lifelong interest in and support of American forestry and the\ninfluence of his forestry mentor, Dr. Carl A. Schenck (who is extensively\nfeatured later in the collection).","Among the most important pieces in this series is the photograph album (folder\n4) compiled throughout Conger's business career (now disassembled for\npreservation purposes)-it contains important imagery of the pole-treatment\nbusiness and the operations of Conger's various companies (detailed below),\nincluding images of creosoting operations, timber lands, the Virginia Creosoting\nCompany plant in Culpeper, the Norfolk Creosoting Company plant, E.F. Conger\nCompany plant in Waynesboro, Piedmont Company plants and yards, general\noperations, and tributes to Dr. Carl A. Schenck, Conger's longtime friend and\nforestry mentor (see Series 5.2)","Edwin F. Conger's first truly successful venture into business began with the conversion of a lumber business in Lynchburg into the E. F. Conger Creosoting\nCompany (later simply known as the E. F. Conger Company). Like several of the\ncompanies he owned and operated, E. F. Conger Company over time become\nessentially a holding company for his investments, but for almost thirty years\nthis firm produced treated poles for telephone and utilities companies\nthroughout the eastern United States, his steadiest and most notable customer\nbeing Southeastern New England Telephone Company.","Although there are only limited records about the operations of the company\nhere, this series contains numerous images of the company's large treatment\nplant built and maintained at Waynesboro, Va.","Edwin F. Conger purchased and operated the Norfolk Creosoting Company for a relatively short time, but it proved to be one of his most successful ventures. Motivated by the success of E. F. Conger Company, Conger sought a facility with deep water access in order to move his operations more significantly into the coastwise trade in and supply of treated poles. The operations at Norfolk proved as important to shipping as they did to pole production and treatment.","The files here include a booklet produced by the Norfolk Creosoting Company long before Conger acquired it, along with another valuable photograph album documenting pole installation in the New York metropolitan area in the 1930s. Conger both collected writings about and wrote himself regarding pole treatment. Perhaps most interesting are the photographs showing the plant at Norfolk and its various operations. Because of the success of this venture, Conger was able to acquire a large number of acres of timber outside of Aiken, South Carolina (known by the name of one of its previous owners, the Hitchcock Woods). This provided him with an abundant supply of chestnut poles and also figured significantly in his future commitments to re-forestry and philanthropy. Through this company, Conger also purchased a stately residence in Staunton, Va. (\"Breezy Hill\"), which he used as a corporate headquarters (his wife served as treasurer of the company). Although the plant and some company assets were sold during World War II, the company itself did not actually dissolve until around 1950.","Perhaps the largest venture Conger operated during his lengthy career, Piedmont Creosoting Company (later simply the Piedmont Company) had its headquarters in Staunton, Virginia, but largest plant and operations in Augusta, Georgia. Conger acquired the Piedmont Wood Preserving Company of Augusta in the early 1930s, dissolved the existing company, and reconstituted operations as the Piedmont Creosoting Company. This company utilized pole collection yards in Connecticut to supply New England customers, and some images of those yards are included here.","The files in this series contain the most detailed information about any of the companies Conger operated, most importantly represented by the surviving minute book of Board of Directors' meetings for most the company's history. One of the most valuable pieces in terms of knowing the nature and extent, as well as the details, of Conger's various pole ventures comes in the form of a scrapbook (now disassembled for preservation purposes). Entitled \"From Forest to Field,\" it was prepared for Conger's eldest daughter, Dorothea, by A. B. Carlson, in June 1951. It carefully documents through text and images the operations of the Piedmont Company, using the work operations of the Company to supply an order of southern Yellow Pine poles for the Southern New England Telephone Company. The photographs were taken in the spring of 1949 and the text was drafted subsequently by Carlson of Southern New England Telephone. Poles were acquired from the \"Hitchcock Forest\" near Aiken, South Carolina, owned by E. F. Conger. The company plant in Augusta at that time shipped 100,000 poles per year. Images here show the plant and forest operations and some include depictions of African American workers. Also includes images of the treatment of poles with creosote (a mixture of oils) for preservation, as well as arrangements for shipping.","As noted above, this was one of Conger's firms that eventually became a holding company for investments, and some of the last files in this series document how Conger finally got out of the pole-producing and treatment business for good in the 1950s. The pole-treatment operations in Augusta and at other facilities throughout the eastern United States were eventually sold to a new company with an old name, Piedmont Wood Preserving Company, newly headquartered in Spartanburg, S.C. The file concerning the sale contains detailed materials on existing, often long-standing, company contracts that were transferred to Piedmont Wood Preserving Company, as well as materials on the sale of other assets and business contracts to Piedmont Wood Preserving Company.","The materials in this series primarily focus on Edwin F. Conger's personal life and family, documenting the life a successful businessman of the first half of the twentieth century might lead and the interests his fortune might encourage and support.","Edwin F. Conger personally retained a large amount of acreage in South Carolina that the success of the Norfolk Creosoting Company had enabled him to purchase. Some of the acreage was eventually sold to local interests for housing projects, some used to support the operations of the School of Forestry at the University of North Carolina (including the establishment of a professorship and scholarships), some set aside to honor Conger's lifelong friend and mentor, Dr. Carl A. Schenck, through the creation of a memorial forest and reforestation program (see also Series 5.2).","Edwin F. Conger studied under German forestry specialist Dr. Carl Alwin Schenck (1868-1955) before World War I and considered him a friend and mentor throughout his life. Conger's financial successes allowed him to join with other of his fellow alumni from the Biltmore Forestry School (where Schenck operated his original school on the grounds of the Biltmore estate in North Carolina) in the years immediately preceding his mentor's passing. The files here document some of those activities through a combination of text documents and photographs. One particularly interesting and unusual item is an album (with phonograph records) documenting Dr. Schenck's return visit to America: The Cavalcade of Trees for the Great: Being the Tour of Carl Alwin Schenck in America, 1951, under the Sponsorship of the American Forestry Association and graduates of the Biltmore Forest School.","The largest portion of this series of Edwin Conger's papers relates to his family and his personal affairs. These include financial records; files on local philanthropy in Staunton; activities involving his purchase and operation of a resort property in Middlesex County, Va., called Horse Point Estates; vacation trips and other travel; correspondence with, extensive photographs of, and files concerning trusts established for his two daughters and his grandchildren (most notably files on the divorce and remarriages of his eldest daughter, Dorothea Lloyd (Conger) Eager Grand Sverker, and the guardianship of her two surviving children, Howard Lloyd Eager and Edwin F. Eager).","One of the particularly interesting and unexpected files here concerns the Higgs/Redmond case: the attempt of Mrs. James A. Higgs to secure release of Lilly Redmond from Western State Hospital in Staunton in order to have her reside in an early prototype \"halfway house\" for patients with mental illness who had partially recovered (folder 95).","This series contains just a few files of the wife and second daughter of Edwin\nF. Conger. Dorothea Lloyd (Tatum) Conger (1893-1961) worked most of her years of\nmarriage as treasurer of companies her husband acquired and operated. Some of\nher letters to her two daughters are found in Conger's correspondence files. The\nfile of genealogical materials, primarily focused on her Tatum family ancestors\nand relations, is the largest grouping of materials of or about Mrs. Conger. A\nsmall amount of financial material relating to Vivion Randolph (Conger) LeBow\n(1923-2006), who left her father's papers to the Virginia Historical Society,\ncompletes the collection.","There are no restrictions.","The Edwin Fisher Conger papers focus primarily on several of Conger's business operations, specifically the production of treated telephone and\nelectrical poles. Two of Conger's chief operations, Norfolk Creosoting Company\nand the Piedmont Wood Preserving Company (later simply the Piedmont Company)\nfigure most heavily in the collection, along with information regarding Conger's\nfirst endeavor in this field, E.F. Conger Creosoting Company, his extensive\ntimber holdings near Aiken, South Carolina, and his financial, social, and\nphilanthropic dealings as a wealthy businessman living in Virginia.","E.F. Conger Company - Records and correspondence.","Conger, Edwin Fisher, 1887-1974.","English"],"collection_title_tesim":["Edwin Fisher Conger Papers,\n1900-1979"],"collection_ssim":["Edwin Fisher Conger Papers,\n1900-1979"],"level_ssm":["collection"],"level_ssim":["Collection"],"unitid_ssm":["Mss1 C7604 a"],"unitid_tesim":["Mss1 C7604 a"],"repository_ssm":["Virginia Historical Society"],"repository_ssim":["Virginia Historical Society"],"creator_ssm":["Conger, Edwin Fisher"],"creator_ssim":["Conger, Edwin Fisher"],"creator_persname_ssim":["Conger, Edwin Fisher, 1887-1974."],"creator_corpname_ssim":["E.F. Conger Company - Records and correspondence."],"creators_ssim":["Conger, Edwin Fisher, 1887-1974.","E.F. Conger Company - Records and correspondence."],"acqinfo_ssim":["Gift of the estate of Vivion Conger LeBow, Arlington, Va., in 2007. Accessioned September 30, 2013."],"access_subjects_ssim":["Creosote."],"access_subjects_ssm":["Creosote."],"has_online_content_ssim":["false"],"physdesc_tesim":["."],"extent_ssm":["3 linear feet (165 Folders)"],"extent_tesim":["3 linear feet (165 Folders)"],"accessrestrict_html_tesm":["\u003cp\u003eCollection is open to research.\n\u003c/p\u003e\n"],"accessrestrict_heading_ssm":["Access Restrictions"],"accessrestrict_tesim":["Collection is open to research."],"arrangement_html_tesm":["\u003cp\u003e\nDivided into series as follows: Series 1. Edwin F. Conger, Education and\nProfessional Life; Series 2. E.F. Conger Company; Series 3. Norfolk Creosoting\nCompany; Series 4. Piedmont Company; Series 5. Edwin F. Conger personal files;\nand Series 6. Conger Family Personal Files\n\u003c/p\u003e\n"],"arrangement_heading_ssm":["Arrangement"],"arrangement_tesim":["Divided into series as follows: Series 1. Edwin F. Conger, Education and\nProfessional Life; Series 2. E.F. Conger Company; Series 3. Norfolk Creosoting\nCompany; Series 4. Piedmont Company; Series 5. Edwin F. Conger personal files;\nand Series 6. Conger Family Personal Files"],"bioghist_html_tesm":["\u003cp\u003e\nNew Jersey native Edwin Fisher Conger became intrigued with forestry as a child\nand learned much from his lumberman father, especially in regard to the growth,\nharvesting and uses of chestnut poles and timber. Beginning in 1909, he attended\nthe Biltmore Forest School, on the famous Biltmore Estate in North Carolina,\nwhere he came under the life-long influence of German forester Dr. Charles Alwin\nSchenck, the chief instructor there. Graduating in 1910, Conger secured a\nposition with the Western Electric Company, where he put in long hours as a\nchestnut pole inspector. During this period he also became acquainted with the\nprocesses of pole and timber preservation through the application of a mixture\nof chemicals known as creosote. \u003c/p\u003e\n","\u003cp\u003e Around 1915 he went to work for Lowesville\nLumber Company in Lynchburg, and eventually took over the firm and recreated it\nas E. F. Conger Creosoting Company, whose main client initially proved to be\nelements of the Bell Telephone System. Conger set up treatment plants in Shipman\nand Natural Bridge, Virginia, and eventually in Waynesboro, which ultimately led\nto his purchase of the Virginia Creosoting Company in Culpeper. A chestnut\nblight in the 1920s led to the closing of two of the treating plants in\nVirginia, but with continued demand from the telephone and power companies\noperating on the east coast of the United States, Conger purchased the Piedmont\nWood Preserving Company, which operated a pressure-treating plant in Augusta,\nGeorgia, in 1930, followed by the purchase of the Norfolk Creosoting Company in\n1936, giving Conger a facility on deep water with the potential for coastwise\nand export trade. The latter he sold in the 1940s and used the proceeds to\npurchase Hitchcock Woods and the Cedar Creek Farm near Aiken, South Carolina.\nThese 14,000 acres provided Conger with ample resources for his products, but he\nharvested wisely and committed to reforestation well before that was a general\nenvironmental practice.\u003c/p\u003e\n","\u003cp\u003e He also developed contracts with the U.S. government to\nharvest chestnut poles from national forests in the eastern part of the country.\nGradually, Conger got out of the creosoting business, having already converted\nPiedmont Wood Preserving simply to the Piedmont Company, divesting himself of\nthe plant in Augusta and the company's extensive series of contracts in 1951,\nand converting the operation largely into an investments holding firm. He\nlikewise sold off the E. F. Conger Company in the early 1950s to a newly\nconstituted Piedmont Wood Preserving Company headquartered in Spartanburg, S.C.,\nincluding distribution yards in Connecticut, Georgia, and Virginia; became a\nforestry consultant living in Staunton, Virginia; and developed a forestry\ncenter on his lands in South Carolina, partly in tribute to the work of his\nmentor, Dr. Charles Schenck. In later life, he served as a bank president in\nCharlottesville and was a generous philanthropist, supporting a number of\norganizations in Piedmont Virginia before his death in 1974.\u003c/p\u003e\n"],"bioghist_heading_ssm":["Biographical/Historical Information"],"bioghist_tesim":["New Jersey native Edwin Fisher Conger became intrigued with forestry as a child\nand learned much from his lumberman father, especially in regard to the growth,\nharvesting and uses of chestnut poles and timber. Beginning in 1909, he attended\nthe Biltmore Forest School, on the famous Biltmore Estate in North Carolina,\nwhere he came under the life-long influence of German forester Dr. Charles Alwin\nSchenck, the chief instructor there. Graduating in 1910, Conger secured a\nposition with the Western Electric Company, where he put in long hours as a\nchestnut pole inspector. During this period he also became acquainted with the\nprocesses of pole and timber preservation through the application of a mixture\nof chemicals known as creosote.","Around 1915 he went to work for Lowesville\nLumber Company in Lynchburg, and eventually took over the firm and recreated it\nas E. F. Conger Creosoting Company, whose main client initially proved to be\nelements of the Bell Telephone System. Conger set up treatment plants in Shipman\nand Natural Bridge, Virginia, and eventually in Waynesboro, which ultimately led\nto his purchase of the Virginia Creosoting Company in Culpeper. A chestnut\nblight in the 1920s led to the closing of two of the treating plants in\nVirginia, but with continued demand from the telephone and power companies\noperating on the east coast of the United States, Conger purchased the Piedmont\nWood Preserving Company, which operated a pressure-treating plant in Augusta,\nGeorgia, in 1930, followed by the purchase of the Norfolk Creosoting Company in\n1936, giving Conger a facility on deep water with the potential for coastwise\nand export trade. The latter he sold in the 1940s and used the proceeds to\npurchase Hitchcock Woods and the Cedar Creek Farm near Aiken, South Carolina.\nThese 14,000 acres provided Conger with ample resources for his products, but he\nharvested wisely and committed to reforestation well before that was a general\nenvironmental practice.","He also developed contracts with the U.S. government to\nharvest chestnut poles from national forests in the eastern part of the country.\nGradually, Conger got out of the creosoting business, having already converted\nPiedmont Wood Preserving simply to the Piedmont Company, divesting himself of\nthe plant in Augusta and the company's extensive series of contracts in 1951,\nand converting the operation largely into an investments holding firm. He\nlikewise sold off the E. F. Conger Company in the early 1950s to a newly\nconstituted Piedmont Wood Preserving Company headquartered in Spartanburg, S.C.,\nincluding distribution yards in Connecticut, Georgia, and Virginia; became a\nforestry consultant living in Staunton, Virginia; and developed a forestry\ncenter on his lands in South Carolina, partly in tribute to the work of his\nmentor, Dr. Charles Schenck. In later life, he served as a bank president in\nCharlottesville and was a generous philanthropist, supporting a number of\norganizations in Piedmont Virginia before his death in 1974."],"prefercite_html_tesm":["\u003cp\u003eEdwin Fisher Conger papers, 1900-1979 (Mss1 C7604 a), Virginia Historical  , Accession # Mss1 C7604 a, Virginia Historical Society, Richmond, VA.\u003c!-- Add your institution's citation information --\u003e\n\u003c/p\u003e\n"],"prefercite_tesim":["Edwin Fisher Conger papers, 1900-1979 (Mss1 C7604 a), Virginia Historical  , Accession # Mss1 C7604 a, Virginia Historical Society, Richmond, VA."],"processinfo_html_tesm":["\u003cp\u003eProcessed under the auspices of a grant from the National Historical Publications and Records Commission (NHPRC)\n\u003c/p\u003e\n"],"processinfo_heading_ssm":["Processing Information"],"processinfo_tesim":["Processed under the auspices of a grant from the National Historical Publications and Records Commission (NHPRC)"],"scopecontent_html_tesm":["\u003cp\u003e\nThis collection contains materials regarding the education and career in\nforestry and treated pole production of Edwin F. Conger, including an\nautobiography, research materials, and a photograph album relating to pole\nharvesting and preservation treatment (including images of operations at the\nVirginia Creosoting Company plant in Culpeper, Va., Norfolk Creosoting Company\nat Norfolk, Va., E.F. Conger Creosoting Company at Waynesboro, Va., and the\nPiedmont Company at Augusta, Ga., as well as pictures of Conger's teacher and\nlifelong mentor, Dr. Carl Alwin Schenck).\u003c/p\u003e\n","\u003cp\u003e\nAlso, includes materials (primarily photographs of operations and\npole-production plants) of E. F. Conger Creosoting Company (later simply the E.\nF. Conger Company), headquartered in Staunton, Va., but with chief operations at\nWaynesboro, Va. Files include images of Edwin F. Conger at the company\nheadquarters in Staunton.\u003c/p\u003e\n","\u003cp\u003eAlso, includes records of the Norfolk Creosoting Company, with its plant and\nshipping facility at Norfolk, Va., including images of the plant and operations\nat Norfolk, materials concerning the acquisition of the Hitchcock Woods property\nat Aiken, S.C., title abstract to \"Breezy Hill,\" residence of E. F. Conger and\nfamily and company headquarters in Staunton, Va., and materials concerning sale\nand dissolution of the company.\u003c/p\u003e\n","\u003cp\u003eAlso, includes records of the Piedmont Company, formed by E.F. Conger through\nhis purchase of the Piedmont Wood Preserving Company of Augusta, Ga. The company\nwas headquartered in Staunton but most of its operations were in Georgia and\nNorth Carolina, and its largest customer was Southeastern New England Telephone\nCompany. Materials include a minute book of meetings of the Board of Directors\n(largely a family owned and operated business), records of the purchase and\ndissolution of Piedmont Wood Preserving Company of Augusta, Ga., photographs of\nplants, operations and workers (some African American), a scrapbook documenting\npole production, treatment and shipping, records concerning the sale of the\ncompany assets to a newly re-constituted Piedmont Wood Preserving Company\nheadquartered in Spartanburg, S.C., and records relating to the later operations\nof the Piedmont Company as an investments holding firm.\u003c/p\u003e\n","\u003cp\u003eAlso, include personal and family papers of Edwin F. Conger relating to his\ndaughters, Dorothea (Conger) Eager Grand Sverker and Vivion Randolph (Conger)\nLeBow, his surviving grandchildren, Howard Lloyd Eager and Edwin F. Eager, for\nwhom he served for a time as guardian; his interests in reforestation; and his\nphilanthropic support of local Staunton historic sites and social organizations.\nAmong these materials are also numerous photographs of family members,\nvacations, and other travel; materials concerning Conger's purchase and\noperation of a resort property at Horse Point Estates in Middlesex County, Va.;\nand a special file on the efforts of Mrs. James A. Higgs to secure the release\nof Lilly Redmond from Western State Hospital in Staunton in order to have her\nreside in an early prototype \"halfway house\" for patients recovering from bouts\nof mental illness.\u003c/p\u003e\n","\u003cp\u003eLastly, the collection includes some financial records of Conger's wife,\nDorothea Lloyd (Tatum) Conger, as well as genealogical materials she collected\nprimarily on the Randolph and Tatum families; and some late financial records of\nthe Congers' daughter, Vivion (Conger) LeBow.\u003c/p\u003e\n","\u003cp\u003eThe first series in this collection provides background materials on the life and career of Edwin Fisher Conger (New Jersey native but long-time Staunton,\nVa., resident). His autobiography provides many helpful details on his education\nand entry into the pole-producing and treating business, introduces information\non several of the companies he acquired and operated, and presents useful\nmaterial on his lifelong interest in and support of American forestry and the\ninfluence of his forestry mentor, Dr. Carl A. Schenck (who is extensively\nfeatured later in the collection). \u003c/p\u003e\n","\u003cp\u003e Among the most important pieces in this series is the photograph album (folder\n4) compiled throughout Conger's business career (now disassembled for\npreservation purposes)-it contains important imagery of the pole-treatment\nbusiness and the operations of Conger's various companies (detailed below),\nincluding images of creosoting operations, timber lands, the Virginia Creosoting\nCompany plant in Culpeper, the Norfolk Creosoting Company plant, E.F. Conger\nCompany plant in Waynesboro, Piedmont Company plants and yards, general\noperations, and tributes to Dr. Carl A. Schenck, Conger's longtime friend and\nforestry mentor (see Series 5.2)\u003c/p\u003e\n","\u003cp\u003eEdwin F. Conger's first truly successful venture into business began with the conversion of a lumber business in Lynchburg into the E. F. Conger Creosoting\nCompany (later simply known as the E. F. Conger Company). Like several of the\ncompanies he owned and operated, E. F. Conger Company over time become\nessentially a holding company for his investments, but for almost thirty years\nthis firm produced treated poles for telephone and utilities companies\nthroughout the eastern United States, his steadiest and most notable customer\nbeing Southeastern New England Telephone Company.\u003c/p\u003e\n","\u003cp\u003e\nAlthough there are only limited records about the operations of the company\nhere, this series contains numerous images of the company's large treatment\nplant built and maintained at Waynesboro, Va.\u003c/p\u003e\n","\u003cp\u003eEdwin F. Conger purchased and operated the Norfolk Creosoting Company for a relatively short time, but it proved to be one of his most successful ventures. Motivated by the success of E. F. Conger Company, Conger sought a facility with deep water access in order to move his operations more significantly into the coastwise trade in and supply of treated poles. The operations at Norfolk proved as important to shipping as they did to pole production and treatment.\n\u003c/p\u003e\n","\u003cp\u003eThe files here include a booklet produced by the Norfolk Creosoting Company long before Conger acquired it, along with another valuable photograph album documenting pole installation in the New York metropolitan area in the 1930s. Conger both collected writings about and wrote himself regarding pole treatment. Perhaps most interesting are the photographs showing the plant at Norfolk and its various operations. Because of the success of this venture, Conger was able to acquire a large number of acres of timber outside of Aiken, South Carolina (known by the name of one of its previous owners, the Hitchcock Woods). This provided him with an abundant supply of chestnut poles and also figured significantly in his future commitments to re-forestry and philanthropy. Through this company, Conger also purchased a stately residence in Staunton, Va. (\"Breezy Hill\"), which he used as a corporate headquarters (his wife served as treasurer of the company). Although the plant and some company assets were sold during World War II, the company itself did not actually dissolve until around 1950.\n\u003c/p\u003e\n","\u003cp\u003ePerhaps the largest venture Conger operated during his lengthy career, Piedmont Creosoting Company (later simply the Piedmont Company) had its headquarters in Staunton, Virginia, but largest plant and operations in Augusta, Georgia. Conger acquired the Piedmont Wood Preserving Company of Augusta in the early 1930s, dissolved the existing company, and reconstituted operations as the Piedmont Creosoting Company. This company utilized pole collection yards in Connecticut to supply New England customers, and some images of those yards are included here.\n\u003c/p\u003e\n","\u003cp\u003eThe files in this series contain the most detailed information about any of the companies Conger operated, most importantly represented by the surviving minute book of Board of Directors' meetings for most the company's history. One of the most valuable pieces in terms of knowing the nature and extent, as well as the details, of Conger's various pole ventures comes in the form of a scrapbook (now disassembled for preservation purposes). Entitled \"From Forest to Field,\" it was prepared for Conger's eldest daughter, Dorothea, by A. B. Carlson, in June 1951. It carefully documents through text and images the operations of the Piedmont Company, using the work operations of the Company to supply an order of southern Yellow Pine poles for the Southern New England Telephone Company. The photographs were taken in the spring of 1949 and the text was drafted subsequently by Carlson of Southern New England Telephone. Poles were acquired from the \"Hitchcock Forest\" near Aiken, South Carolina, owned by E. F. Conger. The company plant in Augusta at that time shipped 100,000 poles per year. Images here show the plant and forest operations and some include depictions of African American workers. Also includes images of the treatment of poles with creosote (a mixture of oils) for preservation, as well as arrangements for shipping.\n\u003c/p\u003e\n","\u003cp\u003eAs noted above, this was one of Conger's firms that eventually became a holding company for investments, and some of the last files in this series document how Conger finally got out of the pole-producing and treatment business for good in the 1950s. The pole-treatment operations in Augusta and at other facilities throughout the eastern United States were eventually sold to a new company with an old name, Piedmont Wood Preserving Company, newly headquartered in Spartanburg, S.C. The file concerning the sale contains detailed materials on existing, often long-standing, company contracts that were transferred to Piedmont Wood Preserving Company, as well as materials on the sale of other assets and business contracts to Piedmont Wood Preserving Company.\n\u003c/p\u003e\n","\u003cp\u003eThe materials in this series primarily focus on Edwin F. Conger's personal life and family, documenting the life a successful businessman of the first half of the twentieth century might lead and the interests his fortune might encourage and support.\n\u003c/p\u003e\n","\u003cp\u003eEdwin F. Conger personally retained a large amount of acreage in South Carolina that the success of the Norfolk Creosoting Company had enabled him to purchase. Some of the acreage was eventually sold to local interests for housing projects, some used to support the operations of the School of Forestry at the University of North Carolina (including the establishment of a professorship and scholarships), some set aside to honor Conger's lifelong friend and mentor, Dr. Carl A. Schenck, through the creation of a memorial forest and reforestation program (see also Series 5.2).\n        \u003c/p\u003e\n        ","\u003cp\u003eEdwin F. Conger studied under German forestry specialist Dr. Carl Alwin Schenck (1868-1955) before World War I and considered him a friend and mentor throughout his life. Conger's financial successes allowed him to join with other of his fellow alumni from the Biltmore Forestry School (where Schenck operated his original school on the grounds of the Biltmore estate in North Carolina) in the years immediately preceding his mentor's passing. The files here document some of those activities through a combination of text documents and photographs. One particularly interesting and unusual item is an album (with phonograph records) documenting Dr. Schenck's return visit to America: The Cavalcade of Trees for the Great: Being the Tour of Carl Alwin Schenck in America, 1951, under the Sponsorship of the American Forestry Association and graduates of the Biltmore Forest School.\n        \u003c/p\u003e\n        ","\u003cp\u003eThe largest portion of this series of Edwin Conger's papers relates to his family and his personal affairs. These include financial records; files on local philanthropy in Staunton; activities involving his purchase and operation of a resort property in Middlesex County, Va., called Horse Point Estates; vacation trips and other travel; correspondence with, extensive photographs of, and files concerning trusts established for his two daughters and his grandchildren (most notably files on the divorce and remarriages of his eldest daughter, Dorothea Lloyd (Conger) Eager Grand Sverker, and the guardianship of her two surviving children, Howard Lloyd Eager and Edwin F. Eager).\n        \u003c/p\u003e\n","\u003cp\u003eOne of the particularly interesting and unexpected files here concerns the Higgs/Redmond case: the attempt of Mrs. James A. Higgs to secure release of Lilly Redmond from Western State Hospital in Staunton in order to have her reside in an early prototype \"halfway house\" for patients with mental illness who had partially recovered (folder 95).\n        \u003c/p\u003e\n","\u003cp\u003eThis series contains just a few files of the wife and second daughter of Edwin\nF. Conger. Dorothea Lloyd (Tatum) Conger (1893-1961) worked most of her years of\nmarriage as treasurer of companies her husband acquired and operated. Some of\nher letters to her two daughters are found in Conger's correspondence files. The\nfile of genealogical materials, primarily focused on her Tatum family ancestors\nand relations, is the largest grouping of materials of or about Mrs. Conger. A\nsmall amount of financial material relating to Vivion Randolph (Conger) LeBow\n(1923-2006), who left her father's papers to the Virginia Historical Society,\ncompletes the collection.\n\u003c/p\u003e\n"],"scopecontent_heading_ssm":["Scope and Content"],"scopecontent_tesim":["This collection contains materials regarding the education and career in\nforestry and treated pole production of Edwin F. Conger, including an\nautobiography, research materials, and a photograph album relating to pole\nharvesting and preservation treatment (including images of operations at the\nVirginia Creosoting Company plant in Culpeper, Va., Norfolk Creosoting Company\nat Norfolk, Va., E.F. Conger Creosoting Company at Waynesboro, Va., and the\nPiedmont Company at Augusta, Ga., as well as pictures of Conger's teacher and\nlifelong mentor, Dr. Carl Alwin Schenck).","Also, includes materials (primarily photographs of operations and\npole-production plants) of E. F. Conger Creosoting Company (later simply the E.\nF. Conger Company), headquartered in Staunton, Va., but with chief operations at\nWaynesboro, Va. Files include images of Edwin F. Conger at the company\nheadquarters in Staunton.","Also, includes records of the Norfolk Creosoting Company, with its plant and\nshipping facility at Norfolk, Va., including images of the plant and operations\nat Norfolk, materials concerning the acquisition of the Hitchcock Woods property\nat Aiken, S.C., title abstract to \"Breezy Hill,\" residence of E. F. Conger and\nfamily and company headquarters in Staunton, Va., and materials concerning sale\nand dissolution of the company.","Also, includes records of the Piedmont Company, formed by E.F. Conger through\nhis purchase of the Piedmont Wood Preserving Company of Augusta, Ga. The company\nwas headquartered in Staunton but most of its operations were in Georgia and\nNorth Carolina, and its largest customer was Southeastern New England Telephone\nCompany. Materials include a minute book of meetings of the Board of Directors\n(largely a family owned and operated business), records of the purchase and\ndissolution of Piedmont Wood Preserving Company of Augusta, Ga., photographs of\nplants, operations and workers (some African American), a scrapbook documenting\npole production, treatment and shipping, records concerning the sale of the\ncompany assets to a newly re-constituted Piedmont Wood Preserving Company\nheadquartered in Spartanburg, S.C., and records relating to the later operations\nof the Piedmont Company as an investments holding firm.","Also, include personal and family papers of Edwin F. Conger relating to his\ndaughters, Dorothea (Conger) Eager Grand Sverker and Vivion Randolph (Conger)\nLeBow, his surviving grandchildren, Howard Lloyd Eager and Edwin F. Eager, for\nwhom he served for a time as guardian; his interests in reforestation; and his\nphilanthropic support of local Staunton historic sites and social organizations.\nAmong these materials are also numerous photographs of family members,\nvacations, and other travel; materials concerning Conger's purchase and\noperation of a resort property at Horse Point Estates in Middlesex County, Va.;\nand a special file on the efforts of Mrs. James A. Higgs to secure the release\nof Lilly Redmond from Western State Hospital in Staunton in order to have her\nreside in an early prototype \"halfway house\" for patients recovering from bouts\nof mental illness.","Lastly, the collection includes some financial records of Conger's wife,\nDorothea Lloyd (Tatum) Conger, as well as genealogical materials she collected\nprimarily on the Randolph and Tatum families; and some late financial records of\nthe Congers' daughter, Vivion (Conger) LeBow.","The first series in this collection provides background materials on the life and career of Edwin Fisher Conger (New Jersey native but long-time Staunton,\nVa., resident). His autobiography provides many helpful details on his education\nand entry into the pole-producing and treating business, introduces information\non several of the companies he acquired and operated, and presents useful\nmaterial on his lifelong interest in and support of American forestry and the\ninfluence of his forestry mentor, Dr. Carl A. Schenck (who is extensively\nfeatured later in the collection).","Among the most important pieces in this series is the photograph album (folder\n4) compiled throughout Conger's business career (now disassembled for\npreservation purposes)-it contains important imagery of the pole-treatment\nbusiness and the operations of Conger's various companies (detailed below),\nincluding images of creosoting operations, timber lands, the Virginia Creosoting\nCompany plant in Culpeper, the Norfolk Creosoting Company plant, E.F. Conger\nCompany plant in Waynesboro, Piedmont Company plants and yards, general\noperations, and tributes to Dr. Carl A. Schenck, Conger's longtime friend and\nforestry mentor (see Series 5.2)","Edwin F. Conger's first truly successful venture into business began with the conversion of a lumber business in Lynchburg into the E. F. Conger Creosoting\nCompany (later simply known as the E. F. Conger Company). Like several of the\ncompanies he owned and operated, E. F. Conger Company over time become\nessentially a holding company for his investments, but for almost thirty years\nthis firm produced treated poles for telephone and utilities companies\nthroughout the eastern United States, his steadiest and most notable customer\nbeing Southeastern New England Telephone Company.","Although there are only limited records about the operations of the company\nhere, this series contains numerous images of the company's large treatment\nplant built and maintained at Waynesboro, Va.","Edwin F. Conger purchased and operated the Norfolk Creosoting Company for a relatively short time, but it proved to be one of his most successful ventures. Motivated by the success of E. F. Conger Company, Conger sought a facility with deep water access in order to move his operations more significantly into the coastwise trade in and supply of treated poles. The operations at Norfolk proved as important to shipping as they did to pole production and treatment.","The files here include a booklet produced by the Norfolk Creosoting Company long before Conger acquired it, along with another valuable photograph album documenting pole installation in the New York metropolitan area in the 1930s. Conger both collected writings about and wrote himself regarding pole treatment. Perhaps most interesting are the photographs showing the plant at Norfolk and its various operations. Because of the success of this venture, Conger was able to acquire a large number of acres of timber outside of Aiken, South Carolina (known by the name of one of its previous owners, the Hitchcock Woods). This provided him with an abundant supply of chestnut poles and also figured significantly in his future commitments to re-forestry and philanthropy. Through this company, Conger also purchased a stately residence in Staunton, Va. (\"Breezy Hill\"), which he used as a corporate headquarters (his wife served as treasurer of the company). Although the plant and some company assets were sold during World War II, the company itself did not actually dissolve until around 1950.","Perhaps the largest venture Conger operated during his lengthy career, Piedmont Creosoting Company (later simply the Piedmont Company) had its headquarters in Staunton, Virginia, but largest plant and operations in Augusta, Georgia. Conger acquired the Piedmont Wood Preserving Company of Augusta in the early 1930s, dissolved the existing company, and reconstituted operations as the Piedmont Creosoting Company. This company utilized pole collection yards in Connecticut to supply New England customers, and some images of those yards are included here.","The files in this series contain the most detailed information about any of the companies Conger operated, most importantly represented by the surviving minute book of Board of Directors' meetings for most the company's history. One of the most valuable pieces in terms of knowing the nature and extent, as well as the details, of Conger's various pole ventures comes in the form of a scrapbook (now disassembled for preservation purposes). Entitled \"From Forest to Field,\" it was prepared for Conger's eldest daughter, Dorothea, by A. B. Carlson, in June 1951. It carefully documents through text and images the operations of the Piedmont Company, using the work operations of the Company to supply an order of southern Yellow Pine poles for the Southern New England Telephone Company. The photographs were taken in the spring of 1949 and the text was drafted subsequently by Carlson of Southern New England Telephone. Poles were acquired from the \"Hitchcock Forest\" near Aiken, South Carolina, owned by E. F. Conger. The company plant in Augusta at that time shipped 100,000 poles per year. Images here show the plant and forest operations and some include depictions of African American workers. Also includes images of the treatment of poles with creosote (a mixture of oils) for preservation, as well as arrangements for shipping.","As noted above, this was one of Conger's firms that eventually became a holding company for investments, and some of the last files in this series document how Conger finally got out of the pole-producing and treatment business for good in the 1950s. The pole-treatment operations in Augusta and at other facilities throughout the eastern United States were eventually sold to a new company with an old name, Piedmont Wood Preserving Company, newly headquartered in Spartanburg, S.C. The file concerning the sale contains detailed materials on existing, often long-standing, company contracts that were transferred to Piedmont Wood Preserving Company, as well as materials on the sale of other assets and business contracts to Piedmont Wood Preserving Company.","The materials in this series primarily focus on Edwin F. Conger's personal life and family, documenting the life a successful businessman of the first half of the twentieth century might lead and the interests his fortune might encourage and support.","Edwin F. Conger personally retained a large amount of acreage in South Carolina that the success of the Norfolk Creosoting Company had enabled him to purchase. Some of the acreage was eventually sold to local interests for housing projects, some used to support the operations of the School of Forestry at the University of North Carolina (including the establishment of a professorship and scholarships), some set aside to honor Conger's lifelong friend and mentor, Dr. Carl A. Schenck, through the creation of a memorial forest and reforestation program (see also Series 5.2).","Edwin F. Conger studied under German forestry specialist Dr. Carl Alwin Schenck (1868-1955) before World War I and considered him a friend and mentor throughout his life. Conger's financial successes allowed him to join with other of his fellow alumni from the Biltmore Forestry School (where Schenck operated his original school on the grounds of the Biltmore estate in North Carolina) in the years immediately preceding his mentor's passing. The files here document some of those activities through a combination of text documents and photographs. One particularly interesting and unusual item is an album (with phonograph records) documenting Dr. Schenck's return visit to America: The Cavalcade of Trees for the Great: Being the Tour of Carl Alwin Schenck in America, 1951, under the Sponsorship of the American Forestry Association and graduates of the Biltmore Forest School.","The largest portion of this series of Edwin Conger's papers relates to his family and his personal affairs. These include financial records; files on local philanthropy in Staunton; activities involving his purchase and operation of a resort property in Middlesex County, Va., called Horse Point Estates; vacation trips and other travel; correspondence with, extensive photographs of, and files concerning trusts established for his two daughters and his grandchildren (most notably files on the divorce and remarriages of his eldest daughter, Dorothea Lloyd (Conger) Eager Grand Sverker, and the guardianship of her two surviving children, Howard Lloyd Eager and Edwin F. Eager).","One of the particularly interesting and unexpected files here concerns the Higgs/Redmond case: the attempt of Mrs. James A. Higgs to secure release of Lilly Redmond from Western State Hospital in Staunton in order to have her reside in an early prototype \"halfway house\" for patients with mental illness who had partially recovered (folder 95).","This series contains just a few files of the wife and second daughter of Edwin\nF. Conger. Dorothea Lloyd (Tatum) Conger (1893-1961) worked most of her years of\nmarriage as treasurer of companies her husband acquired and operated. Some of\nher letters to her two daughters are found in Conger's correspondence files. The\nfile of genealogical materials, primarily focused on her Tatum family ancestors\nand relations, is the largest grouping of materials of or about Mrs. Conger. A\nsmall amount of financial material relating to Vivion Randolph (Conger) LeBow\n(1923-2006), who left her father's papers to the Virginia Historical Society,\ncompletes the collection."],"userestrict_html_tesm":["\u003cp\u003eThere are no restrictions.\n\u003c/p\u003e\n"],"userestrict_heading_ssm":["Use Restrictions"],"userestrict_tesim":["There are no restrictions."],"abstract_html_tesm":["\u003cabstract label=\"Abstract\"\u003eThe Edwin Fisher Conger papers focus primarily on several of Conger's business operations, specifically the production of treated telephone and\nelectrical poles. Two of Conger's chief operations, Norfolk Creosoting Company\nand the Piedmont Wood Preserving Company (later simply the Piedmont Company)\nfigure most heavily in the collection, along with information regarding Conger's\nfirst endeavor in this field, E.F. Conger Creosoting Company, his extensive\ntimber holdings near Aiken, South Carolina, and his financial, social, and\nphilanthropic dealings as a wealthy businessman living in Virginia.\n\u003c/abstract\u003e\n"],"abstract_tesim":["The Edwin Fisher Conger papers focus primarily on several of Conger's business operations, specifically the production of treated telephone and\nelectrical poles. Two of Conger's chief operations, Norfolk Creosoting Company\nand the Piedmont Wood Preserving Company (later simply the Piedmont Company)\nfigure most heavily in the collection, along with information regarding Conger's\nfirst endeavor in this field, E.F. Conger Creosoting Company, his extensive\ntimber holdings near Aiken, South Carolina, and his financial, social, and\nphilanthropic dealings as a wealthy businessman living in Virginia."],"corpname_ssim":["E.F. Conger Company - Records and correspondence."],"persname_ssim":["Conger, Edwin Fisher, 1887-1974."],"names_ssim":["E.F. Conger Company - Records and correspondence.","Conger, Edwin Fisher, 1887-1974."],"language_ssim":["English"],"total_component_count_is":173,"online_item_count_is":0,"component_level_isim":[0],"sort_isi":0,"timestamp":"2026-06-23T06:58:25.153Z"}]}},"label":"Breadcrumbs"}}},"links":{"self":"https://search.arvasarchive.org/catalog/vihi_vih00020_c05_c02_c01"}},{"id":"vihi_vih00020_c01_c11","type":"File","attributes":{"title":"Dedication of Portrait, Verne Rhoades, Cradle of Forestry, Pisgah National Forest,    1970","breadcrumbs":{"id":"https://search.arvasarchive.org/catalog/vihi_vih00020_c01_c11#breadcrumbs","type":"document_value","attributes":{"value":{"ref_ssi":"vihi_vih00020_c01_c11","ref_ssm":["vihi_vih00020_c01_c11"],"id":"vihi_vih00020_c01_c11","ead_ssi":"vihi_vih00020","_root_":"vihi_vih00020","_nest_parent_":"vihi_vih00020_c01","parent_ssi":"vihi_vih00020_c01","parent_ssim":["Edwin Fisher Conger Papers,\n1900-1979","Series 1: Edwin F. Conger, Education and Professional Life,\n1910-1970"],"parent_ids_ssim":["vihi_vih00020","vihi_vih00020_c01"],"title_filing_ssi":"Dedication of Portrait, Verne Rhoades, Cradle of Forestry, Pisgah National Forest,    1970","title_ssm":["Dedication of Portrait, Verne Rhoades, Cradle of Forestry, Pisgah National Forest,    1970"],"title_tesim":["Dedication of Portrait, Verne Rhoades, Cradle of Forestry, Pisgah National Forest,    1970"],"normalized_title_ssm":["Dedication of Portrait, Verne Rhoades, Cradle of Forestry, Pisgah National Forest,    1970"],"text":["Dedication of Portrait, Verne Rhoades, Cradle of Forestry, Pisgah National Forest,    1970","Edwin Fisher Conger Papers,\n1900-1979","Series 1: Edwin F. Conger, Education and Professional Life,\n1910-1970","box-folder 1:11"],"parent_unittitles_ssm":["Edwin Fisher Conger Papers,\n1900-1979","Series 1: Edwin F. Conger, Education and Professional Life,\n1910-1970"],"parent_unittitles_tesim":["Edwin Fisher Conger Papers,\n1900-1979","Series 1: Edwin F. Conger, Education and Professional Life,\n1910-1970"],"level_ssm":["File"],"level_ssim":["File"],"component_level_isim":[2],"sort_isi":12,"repository_ssim":["Virginia Historical Society"],"collection_ssim":["Edwin Fisher Conger Papers,\n1900-1979"],"containers_ssim":["box-folder 1:11"],"has_online_content_ssim":["false"],"child_component_count_isi":0,"_nest_path_":"/components#0/components#10","timestamp":"2026-06-23T06:58:25.153Z","collection":{"numFound":1,"start":0,"numFoundExact":true,"docs":[{"id":"vihi_vih00020","ead_ssi":"vihi_vih00020","_root_":"vihi_vih00020","_nest_parent_":"vihi_vih00020","ead_source_url_ssi":"data/vhs/vih00020.xml","title_ssm":["Edwin Fisher Conger Papers,\n1900-1979"],"title_tesim":["Edwin Fisher Conger Papers,\n1900-1979"],"normalized_title_ssm":["Edwin Fisher Conger Papers,\n1900-1979"],"text":["Edwin Fisher Conger Papers,\n1900-1979","Mss1 C7604 a","Creosote.",".","Collection is open to research.","Divided into series as follows: Series 1. Edwin F. Conger, Education and\nProfessional Life; Series 2. E.F. Conger Company; Series 3. Norfolk Creosoting\nCompany; Series 4. Piedmont Company; Series 5. Edwin F. Conger personal files;\nand Series 6. Conger Family Personal Files","New Jersey native Edwin Fisher Conger became intrigued with forestry as a child\nand learned much from his lumberman father, especially in regard to the growth,\nharvesting and uses of chestnut poles and timber. Beginning in 1909, he attended\nthe Biltmore Forest School, on the famous Biltmore Estate in North Carolina,\nwhere he came under the life-long influence of German forester Dr. Charles Alwin\nSchenck, the chief instructor there. Graduating in 1910, Conger secured a\nposition with the Western Electric Company, where he put in long hours as a\nchestnut pole inspector. During this period he also became acquainted with the\nprocesses of pole and timber preservation through the application of a mixture\nof chemicals known as creosote.","Around 1915 he went to work for Lowesville\nLumber Company in Lynchburg, and eventually took over the firm and recreated it\nas E. F. Conger Creosoting Company, whose main client initially proved to be\nelements of the Bell Telephone System. Conger set up treatment plants in Shipman\nand Natural Bridge, Virginia, and eventually in Waynesboro, which ultimately led\nto his purchase of the Virginia Creosoting Company in Culpeper. A chestnut\nblight in the 1920s led to the closing of two of the treating plants in\nVirginia, but with continued demand from the telephone and power companies\noperating on the east coast of the United States, Conger purchased the Piedmont\nWood Preserving Company, which operated a pressure-treating plant in Augusta,\nGeorgia, in 1930, followed by the purchase of the Norfolk Creosoting Company in\n1936, giving Conger a facility on deep water with the potential for coastwise\nand export trade. The latter he sold in the 1940s and used the proceeds to\npurchase Hitchcock Woods and the Cedar Creek Farm near Aiken, South Carolina.\nThese 14,000 acres provided Conger with ample resources for his products, but he\nharvested wisely and committed to reforestation well before that was a general\nenvironmental practice.","He also developed contracts with the U.S. government to\nharvest chestnut poles from national forests in the eastern part of the country.\nGradually, Conger got out of the creosoting business, having already converted\nPiedmont Wood Preserving simply to the Piedmont Company, divesting himself of\nthe plant in Augusta and the company's extensive series of contracts in 1951,\nand converting the operation largely into an investments holding firm. He\nlikewise sold off the E. F. Conger Company in the early 1950s to a newly\nconstituted Piedmont Wood Preserving Company headquartered in Spartanburg, S.C.,\nincluding distribution yards in Connecticut, Georgia, and Virginia; became a\nforestry consultant living in Staunton, Virginia; and developed a forestry\ncenter on his lands in South Carolina, partly in tribute to the work of his\nmentor, Dr. Charles Schenck. In later life, he served as a bank president in\nCharlottesville and was a generous philanthropist, supporting a number of\norganizations in Piedmont Virginia before his death in 1974.","Processed under the auspices of a grant from the National Historical Publications and Records Commission (NHPRC)","This collection contains materials regarding the education and career in\nforestry and treated pole production of Edwin F. Conger, including an\nautobiography, research materials, and a photograph album relating to pole\nharvesting and preservation treatment (including images of operations at the\nVirginia Creosoting Company plant in Culpeper, Va., Norfolk Creosoting Company\nat Norfolk, Va., E.F. Conger Creosoting Company at Waynesboro, Va., and the\nPiedmont Company at Augusta, Ga., as well as pictures of Conger's teacher and\nlifelong mentor, Dr. Carl Alwin Schenck).","Also, includes materials (primarily photographs of operations and\npole-production plants) of E. F. Conger Creosoting Company (later simply the E.\nF. Conger Company), headquartered in Staunton, Va., but with chief operations at\nWaynesboro, Va. Files include images of Edwin F. Conger at the company\nheadquarters in Staunton.","Also, includes records of the Norfolk Creosoting Company, with its plant and\nshipping facility at Norfolk, Va., including images of the plant and operations\nat Norfolk, materials concerning the acquisition of the Hitchcock Woods property\nat Aiken, S.C., title abstract to \"Breezy Hill,\" residence of E. F. Conger and\nfamily and company headquarters in Staunton, Va., and materials concerning sale\nand dissolution of the company.","Also, includes records of the Piedmont Company, formed by E.F. Conger through\nhis purchase of the Piedmont Wood Preserving Company of Augusta, Ga. The company\nwas headquartered in Staunton but most of its operations were in Georgia and\nNorth Carolina, and its largest customer was Southeastern New England Telephone\nCompany. Materials include a minute book of meetings of the Board of Directors\n(largely a family owned and operated business), records of the purchase and\ndissolution of Piedmont Wood Preserving Company of Augusta, Ga., photographs of\nplants, operations and workers (some African American), a scrapbook documenting\npole production, treatment and shipping, records concerning the sale of the\ncompany assets to a newly re-constituted Piedmont Wood Preserving Company\nheadquartered in Spartanburg, S.C., and records relating to the later operations\nof the Piedmont Company as an investments holding firm.","Also, include personal and family papers of Edwin F. Conger relating to his\ndaughters, Dorothea (Conger) Eager Grand Sverker and Vivion Randolph (Conger)\nLeBow, his surviving grandchildren, Howard Lloyd Eager and Edwin F. Eager, for\nwhom he served for a time as guardian; his interests in reforestation; and his\nphilanthropic support of local Staunton historic sites and social organizations.\nAmong these materials are also numerous photographs of family members,\nvacations, and other travel; materials concerning Conger's purchase and\noperation of a resort property at Horse Point Estates in Middlesex County, Va.;\nand a special file on the efforts of Mrs. James A. Higgs to secure the release\nof Lilly Redmond from Western State Hospital in Staunton in order to have her\nreside in an early prototype \"halfway house\" for patients recovering from bouts\nof mental illness.","Lastly, the collection includes some financial records of Conger's wife,\nDorothea Lloyd (Tatum) Conger, as well as genealogical materials she collected\nprimarily on the Randolph and Tatum families; and some late financial records of\nthe Congers' daughter, Vivion (Conger) LeBow.","The first series in this collection provides background materials on the life and career of Edwin Fisher Conger (New Jersey native but long-time Staunton,\nVa., resident). His autobiography provides many helpful details on his education\nand entry into the pole-producing and treating business, introduces information\non several of the companies he acquired and operated, and presents useful\nmaterial on his lifelong interest in and support of American forestry and the\ninfluence of his forestry mentor, Dr. Carl A. Schenck (who is extensively\nfeatured later in the collection).","Among the most important pieces in this series is the photograph album (folder\n4) compiled throughout Conger's business career (now disassembled for\npreservation purposes)-it contains important imagery of the pole-treatment\nbusiness and the operations of Conger's various companies (detailed below),\nincluding images of creosoting operations, timber lands, the Virginia Creosoting\nCompany plant in Culpeper, the Norfolk Creosoting Company plant, E.F. Conger\nCompany plant in Waynesboro, Piedmont Company plants and yards, general\noperations, and tributes to Dr. Carl A. Schenck, Conger's longtime friend and\nforestry mentor (see Series 5.2)","Edwin F. Conger's first truly successful venture into business began with the conversion of a lumber business in Lynchburg into the E. F. Conger Creosoting\nCompany (later simply known as the E. F. Conger Company). Like several of the\ncompanies he owned and operated, E. F. Conger Company over time become\nessentially a holding company for his investments, but for almost thirty years\nthis firm produced treated poles for telephone and utilities companies\nthroughout the eastern United States, his steadiest and most notable customer\nbeing Southeastern New England Telephone Company.","Although there are only limited records about the operations of the company\nhere, this series contains numerous images of the company's large treatment\nplant built and maintained at Waynesboro, Va.","Edwin F. Conger purchased and operated the Norfolk Creosoting Company for a relatively short time, but it proved to be one of his most successful ventures. Motivated by the success of E. F. Conger Company, Conger sought a facility with deep water access in order to move his operations more significantly into the coastwise trade in and supply of treated poles. The operations at Norfolk proved as important to shipping as they did to pole production and treatment.","The files here include a booklet produced by the Norfolk Creosoting Company long before Conger acquired it, along with another valuable photograph album documenting pole installation in the New York metropolitan area in the 1930s. Conger both collected writings about and wrote himself regarding pole treatment. Perhaps most interesting are the photographs showing the plant at Norfolk and its various operations. Because of the success of this venture, Conger was able to acquire a large number of acres of timber outside of Aiken, South Carolina (known by the name of one of its previous owners, the Hitchcock Woods). This provided him with an abundant supply of chestnut poles and also figured significantly in his future commitments to re-forestry and philanthropy. Through this company, Conger also purchased a stately residence in Staunton, Va. (\"Breezy Hill\"), which he used as a corporate headquarters (his wife served as treasurer of the company). Although the plant and some company assets were sold during World War II, the company itself did not actually dissolve until around 1950.","Perhaps the largest venture Conger operated during his lengthy career, Piedmont Creosoting Company (later simply the Piedmont Company) had its headquarters in Staunton, Virginia, but largest plant and operations in Augusta, Georgia. Conger acquired the Piedmont Wood Preserving Company of Augusta in the early 1930s, dissolved the existing company, and reconstituted operations as the Piedmont Creosoting Company. This company utilized pole collection yards in Connecticut to supply New England customers, and some images of those yards are included here.","The files in this series contain the most detailed information about any of the companies Conger operated, most importantly represented by the surviving minute book of Board of Directors' meetings for most the company's history. One of the most valuable pieces in terms of knowing the nature and extent, as well as the details, of Conger's various pole ventures comes in the form of a scrapbook (now disassembled for preservation purposes). Entitled \"From Forest to Field,\" it was prepared for Conger's eldest daughter, Dorothea, by A. B. Carlson, in June 1951. It carefully documents through text and images the operations of the Piedmont Company, using the work operations of the Company to supply an order of southern Yellow Pine poles for the Southern New England Telephone Company. The photographs were taken in the spring of 1949 and the text was drafted subsequently by Carlson of Southern New England Telephone. Poles were acquired from the \"Hitchcock Forest\" near Aiken, South Carolina, owned by E. F. Conger. The company plant in Augusta at that time shipped 100,000 poles per year. Images here show the plant and forest operations and some include depictions of African American workers. Also includes images of the treatment of poles with creosote (a mixture of oils) for preservation, as well as arrangements for shipping.","As noted above, this was one of Conger's firms that eventually became a holding company for investments, and some of the last files in this series document how Conger finally got out of the pole-producing and treatment business for good in the 1950s. The pole-treatment operations in Augusta and at other facilities throughout the eastern United States were eventually sold to a new company with an old name, Piedmont Wood Preserving Company, newly headquartered in Spartanburg, S.C. The file concerning the sale contains detailed materials on existing, often long-standing, company contracts that were transferred to Piedmont Wood Preserving Company, as well as materials on the sale of other assets and business contracts to Piedmont Wood Preserving Company.","The materials in this series primarily focus on Edwin F. Conger's personal life and family, documenting the life a successful businessman of the first half of the twentieth century might lead and the interests his fortune might encourage and support.","Edwin F. Conger personally retained a large amount of acreage in South Carolina that the success of the Norfolk Creosoting Company had enabled him to purchase. Some of the acreage was eventually sold to local interests for housing projects, some used to support the operations of the School of Forestry at the University of North Carolina (including the establishment of a professorship and scholarships), some set aside to honor Conger's lifelong friend and mentor, Dr. Carl A. Schenck, through the creation of a memorial forest and reforestation program (see also Series 5.2).","Edwin F. Conger studied under German forestry specialist Dr. Carl Alwin Schenck (1868-1955) before World War I and considered him a friend and mentor throughout his life. Conger's financial successes allowed him to join with other of his fellow alumni from the Biltmore Forestry School (where Schenck operated his original school on the grounds of the Biltmore estate in North Carolina) in the years immediately preceding his mentor's passing. The files here document some of those activities through a combination of text documents and photographs. One particularly interesting and unusual item is an album (with phonograph records) documenting Dr. Schenck's return visit to America: The Cavalcade of Trees for the Great: Being the Tour of Carl Alwin Schenck in America, 1951, under the Sponsorship of the American Forestry Association and graduates of the Biltmore Forest School.","The largest portion of this series of Edwin Conger's papers relates to his family and his personal affairs. These include financial records; files on local philanthropy in Staunton; activities involving his purchase and operation of a resort property in Middlesex County, Va., called Horse Point Estates; vacation trips and other travel; correspondence with, extensive photographs of, and files concerning trusts established for his two daughters and his grandchildren (most notably files on the divorce and remarriages of his eldest daughter, Dorothea Lloyd (Conger) Eager Grand Sverker, and the guardianship of her two surviving children, Howard Lloyd Eager and Edwin F. Eager).","One of the particularly interesting and unexpected files here concerns the Higgs/Redmond case: the attempt of Mrs. James A. Higgs to secure release of Lilly Redmond from Western State Hospital in Staunton in order to have her reside in an early prototype \"halfway house\" for patients with mental illness who had partially recovered (folder 95).","This series contains just a few files of the wife and second daughter of Edwin\nF. Conger. Dorothea Lloyd (Tatum) Conger (1893-1961) worked most of her years of\nmarriage as treasurer of companies her husband acquired and operated. Some of\nher letters to her two daughters are found in Conger's correspondence files. The\nfile of genealogical materials, primarily focused on her Tatum family ancestors\nand relations, is the largest grouping of materials of or about Mrs. Conger. A\nsmall amount of financial material relating to Vivion Randolph (Conger) LeBow\n(1923-2006), who left her father's papers to the Virginia Historical Society,\ncompletes the collection.","There are no restrictions.","The Edwin Fisher Conger papers focus primarily on several of Conger's business operations, specifically the production of treated telephone and\nelectrical poles. Two of Conger's chief operations, Norfolk Creosoting Company\nand the Piedmont Wood Preserving Company (later simply the Piedmont Company)\nfigure most heavily in the collection, along with information regarding Conger's\nfirst endeavor in this field, E.F. Conger Creosoting Company, his extensive\ntimber holdings near Aiken, South Carolina, and his financial, social, and\nphilanthropic dealings as a wealthy businessman living in Virginia.","E.F. Conger Company - Records and correspondence.","Conger, Edwin Fisher, 1887-1974.","English"],"collection_title_tesim":["Edwin Fisher Conger Papers,\n1900-1979"],"collection_ssim":["Edwin Fisher Conger Papers,\n1900-1979"],"level_ssm":["collection"],"level_ssim":["Collection"],"unitid_ssm":["Mss1 C7604 a"],"unitid_tesim":["Mss1 C7604 a"],"repository_ssm":["Virginia Historical Society"],"repository_ssim":["Virginia Historical Society"],"creator_ssm":["Conger, Edwin Fisher"],"creator_ssim":["Conger, Edwin Fisher"],"creator_persname_ssim":["Conger, Edwin Fisher, 1887-1974."],"creator_corpname_ssim":["E.F. Conger Company - Records and correspondence."],"creators_ssim":["Conger, Edwin Fisher, 1887-1974.","E.F. Conger Company - Records and correspondence."],"acqinfo_ssim":["Gift of the estate of Vivion Conger LeBow, Arlington, Va., in 2007. Accessioned September 30, 2013."],"access_subjects_ssim":["Creosote."],"access_subjects_ssm":["Creosote."],"has_online_content_ssim":["false"],"physdesc_tesim":["."],"extent_ssm":["3 linear feet (165 Folders)"],"extent_tesim":["3 linear feet (165 Folders)"],"accessrestrict_html_tesm":["\u003cp\u003eCollection is open to research.\n\u003c/p\u003e\n"],"accessrestrict_heading_ssm":["Access Restrictions"],"accessrestrict_tesim":["Collection is open to research."],"arrangement_html_tesm":["\u003cp\u003e\nDivided into series as follows: Series 1. Edwin F. Conger, Education and\nProfessional Life; Series 2. E.F. Conger Company; Series 3. Norfolk Creosoting\nCompany; Series 4. Piedmont Company; Series 5. Edwin F. Conger personal files;\nand Series 6. Conger Family Personal Files\n\u003c/p\u003e\n"],"arrangement_heading_ssm":["Arrangement"],"arrangement_tesim":["Divided into series as follows: Series 1. Edwin F. Conger, Education and\nProfessional Life; Series 2. E.F. Conger Company; Series 3. Norfolk Creosoting\nCompany; Series 4. Piedmont Company; Series 5. Edwin F. Conger personal files;\nand Series 6. Conger Family Personal Files"],"bioghist_html_tesm":["\u003cp\u003e\nNew Jersey native Edwin Fisher Conger became intrigued with forestry as a child\nand learned much from his lumberman father, especially in regard to the growth,\nharvesting and uses of chestnut poles and timber. Beginning in 1909, he attended\nthe Biltmore Forest School, on the famous Biltmore Estate in North Carolina,\nwhere he came under the life-long influence of German forester Dr. Charles Alwin\nSchenck, the chief instructor there. Graduating in 1910, Conger secured a\nposition with the Western Electric Company, where he put in long hours as a\nchestnut pole inspector. During this period he also became acquainted with the\nprocesses of pole and timber preservation through the application of a mixture\nof chemicals known as creosote. \u003c/p\u003e\n","\u003cp\u003e Around 1915 he went to work for Lowesville\nLumber Company in Lynchburg, and eventually took over the firm and recreated it\nas E. F. Conger Creosoting Company, whose main client initially proved to be\nelements of the Bell Telephone System. Conger set up treatment plants in Shipman\nand Natural Bridge, Virginia, and eventually in Waynesboro, which ultimately led\nto his purchase of the Virginia Creosoting Company in Culpeper. A chestnut\nblight in the 1920s led to the closing of two of the treating plants in\nVirginia, but with continued demand from the telephone and power companies\noperating on the east coast of the United States, Conger purchased the Piedmont\nWood Preserving Company, which operated a pressure-treating plant in Augusta,\nGeorgia, in 1930, followed by the purchase of the Norfolk Creosoting Company in\n1936, giving Conger a facility on deep water with the potential for coastwise\nand export trade. The latter he sold in the 1940s and used the proceeds to\npurchase Hitchcock Woods and the Cedar Creek Farm near Aiken, South Carolina.\nThese 14,000 acres provided Conger with ample resources for his products, but he\nharvested wisely and committed to reforestation well before that was a general\nenvironmental practice.\u003c/p\u003e\n","\u003cp\u003e He also developed contracts with the U.S. government to\nharvest chestnut poles from national forests in the eastern part of the country.\nGradually, Conger got out of the creosoting business, having already converted\nPiedmont Wood Preserving simply to the Piedmont Company, divesting himself of\nthe plant in Augusta and the company's extensive series of contracts in 1951,\nand converting the operation largely into an investments holding firm. He\nlikewise sold off the E. F. Conger Company in the early 1950s to a newly\nconstituted Piedmont Wood Preserving Company headquartered in Spartanburg, S.C.,\nincluding distribution yards in Connecticut, Georgia, and Virginia; became a\nforestry consultant living in Staunton, Virginia; and developed a forestry\ncenter on his lands in South Carolina, partly in tribute to the work of his\nmentor, Dr. Charles Schenck. In later life, he served as a bank president in\nCharlottesville and was a generous philanthropist, supporting a number of\norganizations in Piedmont Virginia before his death in 1974.\u003c/p\u003e\n"],"bioghist_heading_ssm":["Biographical/Historical Information"],"bioghist_tesim":["New Jersey native Edwin Fisher Conger became intrigued with forestry as a child\nand learned much from his lumberman father, especially in regard to the growth,\nharvesting and uses of chestnut poles and timber. Beginning in 1909, he attended\nthe Biltmore Forest School, on the famous Biltmore Estate in North Carolina,\nwhere he came under the life-long influence of German forester Dr. Charles Alwin\nSchenck, the chief instructor there. Graduating in 1910, Conger secured a\nposition with the Western Electric Company, where he put in long hours as a\nchestnut pole inspector. During this period he also became acquainted with the\nprocesses of pole and timber preservation through the application of a mixture\nof chemicals known as creosote.","Around 1915 he went to work for Lowesville\nLumber Company in Lynchburg, and eventually took over the firm and recreated it\nas E. F. Conger Creosoting Company, whose main client initially proved to be\nelements of the Bell Telephone System. Conger set up treatment plants in Shipman\nand Natural Bridge, Virginia, and eventually in Waynesboro, which ultimately led\nto his purchase of the Virginia Creosoting Company in Culpeper. A chestnut\nblight in the 1920s led to the closing of two of the treating plants in\nVirginia, but with continued demand from the telephone and power companies\noperating on the east coast of the United States, Conger purchased the Piedmont\nWood Preserving Company, which operated a pressure-treating plant in Augusta,\nGeorgia, in 1930, followed by the purchase of the Norfolk Creosoting Company in\n1936, giving Conger a facility on deep water with the potential for coastwise\nand export trade. The latter he sold in the 1940s and used the proceeds to\npurchase Hitchcock Woods and the Cedar Creek Farm near Aiken, South Carolina.\nThese 14,000 acres provided Conger with ample resources for his products, but he\nharvested wisely and committed to reforestation well before that was a general\nenvironmental practice.","He also developed contracts with the U.S. government to\nharvest chestnut poles from national forests in the eastern part of the country.\nGradually, Conger got out of the creosoting business, having already converted\nPiedmont Wood Preserving simply to the Piedmont Company, divesting himself of\nthe plant in Augusta and the company's extensive series of contracts in 1951,\nand converting the operation largely into an investments holding firm. He\nlikewise sold off the E. F. Conger Company in the early 1950s to a newly\nconstituted Piedmont Wood Preserving Company headquartered in Spartanburg, S.C.,\nincluding distribution yards in Connecticut, Georgia, and Virginia; became a\nforestry consultant living in Staunton, Virginia; and developed a forestry\ncenter on his lands in South Carolina, partly in tribute to the work of his\nmentor, Dr. Charles Schenck. In later life, he served as a bank president in\nCharlottesville and was a generous philanthropist, supporting a number of\norganizations in Piedmont Virginia before his death in 1974."],"prefercite_html_tesm":["\u003cp\u003eEdwin Fisher Conger papers, 1900-1979 (Mss1 C7604 a), Virginia Historical  , Accession # Mss1 C7604 a, Virginia Historical Society, Richmond, VA.\u003c!-- Add your institution's citation information --\u003e\n\u003c/p\u003e\n"],"prefercite_tesim":["Edwin Fisher Conger papers, 1900-1979 (Mss1 C7604 a), Virginia Historical  , Accession # Mss1 C7604 a, Virginia Historical Society, Richmond, VA."],"processinfo_html_tesm":["\u003cp\u003eProcessed under the auspices of a grant from the National Historical Publications and Records Commission (NHPRC)\n\u003c/p\u003e\n"],"processinfo_heading_ssm":["Processing Information"],"processinfo_tesim":["Processed under the auspices of a grant from the National Historical Publications and Records Commission (NHPRC)"],"scopecontent_html_tesm":["\u003cp\u003e\nThis collection contains materials regarding the education and career in\nforestry and treated pole production of Edwin F. Conger, including an\nautobiography, research materials, and a photograph album relating to pole\nharvesting and preservation treatment (including images of operations at the\nVirginia Creosoting Company plant in Culpeper, Va., Norfolk Creosoting Company\nat Norfolk, Va., E.F. Conger Creosoting Company at Waynesboro, Va., and the\nPiedmont Company at Augusta, Ga., as well as pictures of Conger's teacher and\nlifelong mentor, Dr. Carl Alwin Schenck).\u003c/p\u003e\n","\u003cp\u003e\nAlso, includes materials (primarily photographs of operations and\npole-production plants) of E. F. Conger Creosoting Company (later simply the E.\nF. Conger Company), headquartered in Staunton, Va., but with chief operations at\nWaynesboro, Va. Files include images of Edwin F. Conger at the company\nheadquarters in Staunton.\u003c/p\u003e\n","\u003cp\u003eAlso, includes records of the Norfolk Creosoting Company, with its plant and\nshipping facility at Norfolk, Va., including images of the plant and operations\nat Norfolk, materials concerning the acquisition of the Hitchcock Woods property\nat Aiken, S.C., title abstract to \"Breezy Hill,\" residence of E. F. Conger and\nfamily and company headquarters in Staunton, Va., and materials concerning sale\nand dissolution of the company.\u003c/p\u003e\n","\u003cp\u003eAlso, includes records of the Piedmont Company, formed by E.F. Conger through\nhis purchase of the Piedmont Wood Preserving Company of Augusta, Ga. The company\nwas headquartered in Staunton but most of its operations were in Georgia and\nNorth Carolina, and its largest customer was Southeastern New England Telephone\nCompany. Materials include a minute book of meetings of the Board of Directors\n(largely a family owned and operated business), records of the purchase and\ndissolution of Piedmont Wood Preserving Company of Augusta, Ga., photographs of\nplants, operations and workers (some African American), a scrapbook documenting\npole production, treatment and shipping, records concerning the sale of the\ncompany assets to a newly re-constituted Piedmont Wood Preserving Company\nheadquartered in Spartanburg, S.C., and records relating to the later operations\nof the Piedmont Company as an investments holding firm.\u003c/p\u003e\n","\u003cp\u003eAlso, include personal and family papers of Edwin F. Conger relating to his\ndaughters, Dorothea (Conger) Eager Grand Sverker and Vivion Randolph (Conger)\nLeBow, his surviving grandchildren, Howard Lloyd Eager and Edwin F. Eager, for\nwhom he served for a time as guardian; his interests in reforestation; and his\nphilanthropic support of local Staunton historic sites and social organizations.\nAmong these materials are also numerous photographs of family members,\nvacations, and other travel; materials concerning Conger's purchase and\noperation of a resort property at Horse Point Estates in Middlesex County, Va.;\nand a special file on the efforts of Mrs. James A. Higgs to secure the release\nof Lilly Redmond from Western State Hospital in Staunton in order to have her\nreside in an early prototype \"halfway house\" for patients recovering from bouts\nof mental illness.\u003c/p\u003e\n","\u003cp\u003eLastly, the collection includes some financial records of Conger's wife,\nDorothea Lloyd (Tatum) Conger, as well as genealogical materials she collected\nprimarily on the Randolph and Tatum families; and some late financial records of\nthe Congers' daughter, Vivion (Conger) LeBow.\u003c/p\u003e\n","\u003cp\u003eThe first series in this collection provides background materials on the life and career of Edwin Fisher Conger (New Jersey native but long-time Staunton,\nVa., resident). His autobiography provides many helpful details on his education\nand entry into the pole-producing and treating business, introduces information\non several of the companies he acquired and operated, and presents useful\nmaterial on his lifelong interest in and support of American forestry and the\ninfluence of his forestry mentor, Dr. Carl A. Schenck (who is extensively\nfeatured later in the collection). \u003c/p\u003e\n","\u003cp\u003e Among the most important pieces in this series is the photograph album (folder\n4) compiled throughout Conger's business career (now disassembled for\npreservation purposes)-it contains important imagery of the pole-treatment\nbusiness and the operations of Conger's various companies (detailed below),\nincluding images of creosoting operations, timber lands, the Virginia Creosoting\nCompany plant in Culpeper, the Norfolk Creosoting Company plant, E.F. Conger\nCompany plant in Waynesboro, Piedmont Company plants and yards, general\noperations, and tributes to Dr. Carl A. Schenck, Conger's longtime friend and\nforestry mentor (see Series 5.2)\u003c/p\u003e\n","\u003cp\u003eEdwin F. Conger's first truly successful venture into business began with the conversion of a lumber business in Lynchburg into the E. F. Conger Creosoting\nCompany (later simply known as the E. F. Conger Company). Like several of the\ncompanies he owned and operated, E. F. Conger Company over time become\nessentially a holding company for his investments, but for almost thirty years\nthis firm produced treated poles for telephone and utilities companies\nthroughout the eastern United States, his steadiest and most notable customer\nbeing Southeastern New England Telephone Company.\u003c/p\u003e\n","\u003cp\u003e\nAlthough there are only limited records about the operations of the company\nhere, this series contains numerous images of the company's large treatment\nplant built and maintained at Waynesboro, Va.\u003c/p\u003e\n","\u003cp\u003eEdwin F. Conger purchased and operated the Norfolk Creosoting Company for a relatively short time, but it proved to be one of his most successful ventures. Motivated by the success of E. F. Conger Company, Conger sought a facility with deep water access in order to move his operations more significantly into the coastwise trade in and supply of treated poles. The operations at Norfolk proved as important to shipping as they did to pole production and treatment.\n\u003c/p\u003e\n","\u003cp\u003eThe files here include a booklet produced by the Norfolk Creosoting Company long before Conger acquired it, along with another valuable photograph album documenting pole installation in the New York metropolitan area in the 1930s. Conger both collected writings about and wrote himself regarding pole treatment. Perhaps most interesting are the photographs showing the plant at Norfolk and its various operations. Because of the success of this venture, Conger was able to acquire a large number of acres of timber outside of Aiken, South Carolina (known by the name of one of its previous owners, the Hitchcock Woods). This provided him with an abundant supply of chestnut poles and also figured significantly in his future commitments to re-forestry and philanthropy. Through this company, Conger also purchased a stately residence in Staunton, Va. (\"Breezy Hill\"), which he used as a corporate headquarters (his wife served as treasurer of the company). Although the plant and some company assets were sold during World War II, the company itself did not actually dissolve until around 1950.\n\u003c/p\u003e\n","\u003cp\u003ePerhaps the largest venture Conger operated during his lengthy career, Piedmont Creosoting Company (later simply the Piedmont Company) had its headquarters in Staunton, Virginia, but largest plant and operations in Augusta, Georgia. Conger acquired the Piedmont Wood Preserving Company of Augusta in the early 1930s, dissolved the existing company, and reconstituted operations as the Piedmont Creosoting Company. This company utilized pole collection yards in Connecticut to supply New England customers, and some images of those yards are included here.\n\u003c/p\u003e\n","\u003cp\u003eThe files in this series contain the most detailed information about any of the companies Conger operated, most importantly represented by the surviving minute book of Board of Directors' meetings for most the company's history. One of the most valuable pieces in terms of knowing the nature and extent, as well as the details, of Conger's various pole ventures comes in the form of a scrapbook (now disassembled for preservation purposes). Entitled \"From Forest to Field,\" it was prepared for Conger's eldest daughter, Dorothea, by A. B. Carlson, in June 1951. It carefully documents through text and images the operations of the Piedmont Company, using the work operations of the Company to supply an order of southern Yellow Pine poles for the Southern New England Telephone Company. The photographs were taken in the spring of 1949 and the text was drafted subsequently by Carlson of Southern New England Telephone. Poles were acquired from the \"Hitchcock Forest\" near Aiken, South Carolina, owned by E. F. Conger. The company plant in Augusta at that time shipped 100,000 poles per year. Images here show the plant and forest operations and some include depictions of African American workers. Also includes images of the treatment of poles with creosote (a mixture of oils) for preservation, as well as arrangements for shipping.\n\u003c/p\u003e\n","\u003cp\u003eAs noted above, this was one of Conger's firms that eventually became a holding company for investments, and some of the last files in this series document how Conger finally got out of the pole-producing and treatment business for good in the 1950s. The pole-treatment operations in Augusta and at other facilities throughout the eastern United States were eventually sold to a new company with an old name, Piedmont Wood Preserving Company, newly headquartered in Spartanburg, S.C. The file concerning the sale contains detailed materials on existing, often long-standing, company contracts that were transferred to Piedmont Wood Preserving Company, as well as materials on the sale of other assets and business contracts to Piedmont Wood Preserving Company.\n\u003c/p\u003e\n","\u003cp\u003eThe materials in this series primarily focus on Edwin F. Conger's personal life and family, documenting the life a successful businessman of the first half of the twentieth century might lead and the interests his fortune might encourage and support.\n\u003c/p\u003e\n","\u003cp\u003eEdwin F. Conger personally retained a large amount of acreage in South Carolina that the success of the Norfolk Creosoting Company had enabled him to purchase. Some of the acreage was eventually sold to local interests for housing projects, some used to support the operations of the School of Forestry at the University of North Carolina (including the establishment of a professorship and scholarships), some set aside to honor Conger's lifelong friend and mentor, Dr. Carl A. Schenck, through the creation of a memorial forest and reforestation program (see also Series 5.2).\n        \u003c/p\u003e\n        ","\u003cp\u003eEdwin F. Conger studied under German forestry specialist Dr. Carl Alwin Schenck (1868-1955) before World War I and considered him a friend and mentor throughout his life. Conger's financial successes allowed him to join with other of his fellow alumni from the Biltmore Forestry School (where Schenck operated his original school on the grounds of the Biltmore estate in North Carolina) in the years immediately preceding his mentor's passing. The files here document some of those activities through a combination of text documents and photographs. One particularly interesting and unusual item is an album (with phonograph records) documenting Dr. Schenck's return visit to America: The Cavalcade of Trees for the Great: Being the Tour of Carl Alwin Schenck in America, 1951, under the Sponsorship of the American Forestry Association and graduates of the Biltmore Forest School.\n        \u003c/p\u003e\n        ","\u003cp\u003eThe largest portion of this series of Edwin Conger's papers relates to his family and his personal affairs. These include financial records; files on local philanthropy in Staunton; activities involving his purchase and operation of a resort property in Middlesex County, Va., called Horse Point Estates; vacation trips and other travel; correspondence with, extensive photographs of, and files concerning trusts established for his two daughters and his grandchildren (most notably files on the divorce and remarriages of his eldest daughter, Dorothea Lloyd (Conger) Eager Grand Sverker, and the guardianship of her two surviving children, Howard Lloyd Eager and Edwin F. Eager).\n        \u003c/p\u003e\n","\u003cp\u003eOne of the particularly interesting and unexpected files here concerns the Higgs/Redmond case: the attempt of Mrs. James A. Higgs to secure release of Lilly Redmond from Western State Hospital in Staunton in order to have her reside in an early prototype \"halfway house\" for patients with mental illness who had partially recovered (folder 95).\n        \u003c/p\u003e\n","\u003cp\u003eThis series contains just a few files of the wife and second daughter of Edwin\nF. Conger. Dorothea Lloyd (Tatum) Conger (1893-1961) worked most of her years of\nmarriage as treasurer of companies her husband acquired and operated. Some of\nher letters to her two daughters are found in Conger's correspondence files. The\nfile of genealogical materials, primarily focused on her Tatum family ancestors\nand relations, is the largest grouping of materials of or about Mrs. Conger. A\nsmall amount of financial material relating to Vivion Randolph (Conger) LeBow\n(1923-2006), who left her father's papers to the Virginia Historical Society,\ncompletes the collection.\n\u003c/p\u003e\n"],"scopecontent_heading_ssm":["Scope and Content"],"scopecontent_tesim":["This collection contains materials regarding the education and career in\nforestry and treated pole production of Edwin F. Conger, including an\nautobiography, research materials, and a photograph album relating to pole\nharvesting and preservation treatment (including images of operations at the\nVirginia Creosoting Company plant in Culpeper, Va., Norfolk Creosoting Company\nat Norfolk, Va., E.F. Conger Creosoting Company at Waynesboro, Va., and the\nPiedmont Company at Augusta, Ga., as well as pictures of Conger's teacher and\nlifelong mentor, Dr. Carl Alwin Schenck).","Also, includes materials (primarily photographs of operations and\npole-production plants) of E. F. Conger Creosoting Company (later simply the E.\nF. Conger Company), headquartered in Staunton, Va., but with chief operations at\nWaynesboro, Va. Files include images of Edwin F. Conger at the company\nheadquarters in Staunton.","Also, includes records of the Norfolk Creosoting Company, with its plant and\nshipping facility at Norfolk, Va., including images of the plant and operations\nat Norfolk, materials concerning the acquisition of the Hitchcock Woods property\nat Aiken, S.C., title abstract to \"Breezy Hill,\" residence of E. F. Conger and\nfamily and company headquarters in Staunton, Va., and materials concerning sale\nand dissolution of the company.","Also, includes records of the Piedmont Company, formed by E.F. Conger through\nhis purchase of the Piedmont Wood Preserving Company of Augusta, Ga. The company\nwas headquartered in Staunton but most of its operations were in Georgia and\nNorth Carolina, and its largest customer was Southeastern New England Telephone\nCompany. Materials include a minute book of meetings of the Board of Directors\n(largely a family owned and operated business), records of the purchase and\ndissolution of Piedmont Wood Preserving Company of Augusta, Ga., photographs of\nplants, operations and workers (some African American), a scrapbook documenting\npole production, treatment and shipping, records concerning the sale of the\ncompany assets to a newly re-constituted Piedmont Wood Preserving Company\nheadquartered in Spartanburg, S.C., and records relating to the later operations\nof the Piedmont Company as an investments holding firm.","Also, include personal and family papers of Edwin F. Conger relating to his\ndaughters, Dorothea (Conger) Eager Grand Sverker and Vivion Randolph (Conger)\nLeBow, his surviving grandchildren, Howard Lloyd Eager and Edwin F. Eager, for\nwhom he served for a time as guardian; his interests in reforestation; and his\nphilanthropic support of local Staunton historic sites and social organizations.\nAmong these materials are also numerous photographs of family members,\nvacations, and other travel; materials concerning Conger's purchase and\noperation of a resort property at Horse Point Estates in Middlesex County, Va.;\nand a special file on the efforts of Mrs. James A. Higgs to secure the release\nof Lilly Redmond from Western State Hospital in Staunton in order to have her\nreside in an early prototype \"halfway house\" for patients recovering from bouts\nof mental illness.","Lastly, the collection includes some financial records of Conger's wife,\nDorothea Lloyd (Tatum) Conger, as well as genealogical materials she collected\nprimarily on the Randolph and Tatum families; and some late financial records of\nthe Congers' daughter, Vivion (Conger) LeBow.","The first series in this collection provides background materials on the life and career of Edwin Fisher Conger (New Jersey native but long-time Staunton,\nVa., resident). His autobiography provides many helpful details on his education\nand entry into the pole-producing and treating business, introduces information\non several of the companies he acquired and operated, and presents useful\nmaterial on his lifelong interest in and support of American forestry and the\ninfluence of his forestry mentor, Dr. Carl A. Schenck (who is extensively\nfeatured later in the collection).","Among the most important pieces in this series is the photograph album (folder\n4) compiled throughout Conger's business career (now disassembled for\npreservation purposes)-it contains important imagery of the pole-treatment\nbusiness and the operations of Conger's various companies (detailed below),\nincluding images of creosoting operations, timber lands, the Virginia Creosoting\nCompany plant in Culpeper, the Norfolk Creosoting Company plant, E.F. Conger\nCompany plant in Waynesboro, Piedmont Company plants and yards, general\noperations, and tributes to Dr. Carl A. Schenck, Conger's longtime friend and\nforestry mentor (see Series 5.2)","Edwin F. Conger's first truly successful venture into business began with the conversion of a lumber business in Lynchburg into the E. F. Conger Creosoting\nCompany (later simply known as the E. F. Conger Company). Like several of the\ncompanies he owned and operated, E. F. Conger Company over time become\nessentially a holding company for his investments, but for almost thirty years\nthis firm produced treated poles for telephone and utilities companies\nthroughout the eastern United States, his steadiest and most notable customer\nbeing Southeastern New England Telephone Company.","Although there are only limited records about the operations of the company\nhere, this series contains numerous images of the company's large treatment\nplant built and maintained at Waynesboro, Va.","Edwin F. Conger purchased and operated the Norfolk Creosoting Company for a relatively short time, but it proved to be one of his most successful ventures. Motivated by the success of E. F. Conger Company, Conger sought a facility with deep water access in order to move his operations more significantly into the coastwise trade in and supply of treated poles. The operations at Norfolk proved as important to shipping as they did to pole production and treatment.","The files here include a booklet produced by the Norfolk Creosoting Company long before Conger acquired it, along with another valuable photograph album documenting pole installation in the New York metropolitan area in the 1930s. Conger both collected writings about and wrote himself regarding pole treatment. Perhaps most interesting are the photographs showing the plant at Norfolk and its various operations. Because of the success of this venture, Conger was able to acquire a large number of acres of timber outside of Aiken, South Carolina (known by the name of one of its previous owners, the Hitchcock Woods). This provided him with an abundant supply of chestnut poles and also figured significantly in his future commitments to re-forestry and philanthropy. Through this company, Conger also purchased a stately residence in Staunton, Va. (\"Breezy Hill\"), which he used as a corporate headquarters (his wife served as treasurer of the company). Although the plant and some company assets were sold during World War II, the company itself did not actually dissolve until around 1950.","Perhaps the largest venture Conger operated during his lengthy career, Piedmont Creosoting Company (later simply the Piedmont Company) had its headquarters in Staunton, Virginia, but largest plant and operations in Augusta, Georgia. Conger acquired the Piedmont Wood Preserving Company of Augusta in the early 1930s, dissolved the existing company, and reconstituted operations as the Piedmont Creosoting Company. This company utilized pole collection yards in Connecticut to supply New England customers, and some images of those yards are included here.","The files in this series contain the most detailed information about any of the companies Conger operated, most importantly represented by the surviving minute book of Board of Directors' meetings for most the company's history. One of the most valuable pieces in terms of knowing the nature and extent, as well as the details, of Conger's various pole ventures comes in the form of a scrapbook (now disassembled for preservation purposes). Entitled \"From Forest to Field,\" it was prepared for Conger's eldest daughter, Dorothea, by A. B. Carlson, in June 1951. It carefully documents through text and images the operations of the Piedmont Company, using the work operations of the Company to supply an order of southern Yellow Pine poles for the Southern New England Telephone Company. The photographs were taken in the spring of 1949 and the text was drafted subsequently by Carlson of Southern New England Telephone. Poles were acquired from the \"Hitchcock Forest\" near Aiken, South Carolina, owned by E. F. Conger. The company plant in Augusta at that time shipped 100,000 poles per year. Images here show the plant and forest operations and some include depictions of African American workers. Also includes images of the treatment of poles with creosote (a mixture of oils) for preservation, as well as arrangements for shipping.","As noted above, this was one of Conger's firms that eventually became a holding company for investments, and some of the last files in this series document how Conger finally got out of the pole-producing and treatment business for good in the 1950s. The pole-treatment operations in Augusta and at other facilities throughout the eastern United States were eventually sold to a new company with an old name, Piedmont Wood Preserving Company, newly headquartered in Spartanburg, S.C. The file concerning the sale contains detailed materials on existing, often long-standing, company contracts that were transferred to Piedmont Wood Preserving Company, as well as materials on the sale of other assets and business contracts to Piedmont Wood Preserving Company.","The materials in this series primarily focus on Edwin F. Conger's personal life and family, documenting the life a successful businessman of the first half of the twentieth century might lead and the interests his fortune might encourage and support.","Edwin F. Conger personally retained a large amount of acreage in South Carolina that the success of the Norfolk Creosoting Company had enabled him to purchase. Some of the acreage was eventually sold to local interests for housing projects, some used to support the operations of the School of Forestry at the University of North Carolina (including the establishment of a professorship and scholarships), some set aside to honor Conger's lifelong friend and mentor, Dr. Carl A. Schenck, through the creation of a memorial forest and reforestation program (see also Series 5.2).","Edwin F. Conger studied under German forestry specialist Dr. Carl Alwin Schenck (1868-1955) before World War I and considered him a friend and mentor throughout his life. Conger's financial successes allowed him to join with other of his fellow alumni from the Biltmore Forestry School (where Schenck operated his original school on the grounds of the Biltmore estate in North Carolina) in the years immediately preceding his mentor's passing. The files here document some of those activities through a combination of text documents and photographs. One particularly interesting and unusual item is an album (with phonograph records) documenting Dr. Schenck's return visit to America: The Cavalcade of Trees for the Great: Being the Tour of Carl Alwin Schenck in America, 1951, under the Sponsorship of the American Forestry Association and graduates of the Biltmore Forest School.","The largest portion of this series of Edwin Conger's papers relates to his family and his personal affairs. These include financial records; files on local philanthropy in Staunton; activities involving his purchase and operation of a resort property in Middlesex County, Va., called Horse Point Estates; vacation trips and other travel; correspondence with, extensive photographs of, and files concerning trusts established for his two daughters and his grandchildren (most notably files on the divorce and remarriages of his eldest daughter, Dorothea Lloyd (Conger) Eager Grand Sverker, and the guardianship of her two surviving children, Howard Lloyd Eager and Edwin F. Eager).","One of the particularly interesting and unexpected files here concerns the Higgs/Redmond case: the attempt of Mrs. James A. Higgs to secure release of Lilly Redmond from Western State Hospital in Staunton in order to have her reside in an early prototype \"halfway house\" for patients with mental illness who had partially recovered (folder 95).","This series contains just a few files of the wife and second daughter of Edwin\nF. Conger. Dorothea Lloyd (Tatum) Conger (1893-1961) worked most of her years of\nmarriage as treasurer of companies her husband acquired and operated. Some of\nher letters to her two daughters are found in Conger's correspondence files. The\nfile of genealogical materials, primarily focused on her Tatum family ancestors\nand relations, is the largest grouping of materials of or about Mrs. Conger. A\nsmall amount of financial material relating to Vivion Randolph (Conger) LeBow\n(1923-2006), who left her father's papers to the Virginia Historical Society,\ncompletes the collection."],"userestrict_html_tesm":["\u003cp\u003eThere are no restrictions.\n\u003c/p\u003e\n"],"userestrict_heading_ssm":["Use Restrictions"],"userestrict_tesim":["There are no restrictions."],"abstract_html_tesm":["\u003cabstract label=\"Abstract\"\u003eThe Edwin Fisher Conger papers focus primarily on several of Conger's business operations, specifically the production of treated telephone and\nelectrical poles. Two of Conger's chief operations, Norfolk Creosoting Company\nand the Piedmont Wood Preserving Company (later simply the Piedmont Company)\nfigure most heavily in the collection, along with information regarding Conger's\nfirst endeavor in this field, E.F. Conger Creosoting Company, his extensive\ntimber holdings near Aiken, South Carolina, and his financial, social, and\nphilanthropic dealings as a wealthy businessman living in Virginia.\n\u003c/abstract\u003e\n"],"abstract_tesim":["The Edwin Fisher Conger papers focus primarily on several of Conger's business operations, specifically the production of treated telephone and\nelectrical poles. Two of Conger's chief operations, Norfolk Creosoting Company\nand the Piedmont Wood Preserving Company (later simply the Piedmont Company)\nfigure most heavily in the collection, along with information regarding Conger's\nfirst endeavor in this field, E.F. Conger Creosoting Company, his extensive\ntimber holdings near Aiken, South Carolina, and his financial, social, and\nphilanthropic dealings as a wealthy businessman living in Virginia."],"corpname_ssim":["E.F. Conger Company - Records and correspondence."],"persname_ssim":["Conger, Edwin Fisher, 1887-1974."],"names_ssim":["E.F. Conger Company - Records and correspondence.","Conger, Edwin Fisher, 1887-1974."],"language_ssim":["English"],"total_component_count_is":173,"online_item_count_is":0,"component_level_isim":[0],"sort_isi":0,"timestamp":"2026-06-23T06:58:25.153Z"}]}},"label":"Breadcrumbs"}}},"links":{"self":"https://search.arvasarchive.org/catalog/vihi_vih00020_c01_c11"}}],"included":[{"type":"facet","id":"repository_ssim","attributes":{"label":"Repository","items":[{"attributes":{"label":"Virginia Historical Society","value":"Virginia Historical Society","hits":635},"links":{"remove":"https://search.arvasarchive.org/catalog.json?f%5Blevel%5D%5B%5D=File\u0026f%5Brepository%5D%5B%5D=Virginia+Historical+Society"}}]},"links":{"self":"https://search.arvasarchive.org/catalog/facet/repository_ssim.json?f%5Blevel%5D%5B%5D=File\u0026f%5Brepository%5D%5B%5D=Virginia+Historical+Society"}},{"type":"facet","id":"collection_ssim","attributes":{"label":"Collection","items":[{"attributes":{"label":"A Guide to the J. Sargeant Reynolds\n         Papers, \n         \n         1965-1991","value":"A Guide to the J. Sargeant Reynolds\n         Papers, \n         \n         1965-1991","hits":314},"links":{"self":"https://search.arvasarchive.org/catalog.json?f%5Bcollection%5D%5B%5D=A+Guide+to+the+J.+Sargeant+Reynolds%0A+++++++++Papers%2C+%0A+++++++++%0A+++++++++1965-1991\u0026f%5Blevel%5D%5B%5D=File\u0026f%5Brepository%5D%5B%5D=Virginia+Historical+Society"}},{"attributes":{"label":"Adele Clark Papers \n         \n         1855-1976","value":"Adele Clark Papers \n         \n         1855-1976","hits":35},"links":{"self":"https://search.arvasarchive.org/catalog.json?f%5Bcollection%5D%5B%5D=Adele+Clark+Papers+%0A+++++++++%0A+++++++++1855-1976\u0026f%5Blevel%5D%5B%5D=File\u0026f%5Brepository%5D%5B%5D=Virginia+Historical+Society"}},{"attributes":{"label":"Alexander Wilbourne Weddell papers, 1888-1947","value":"Alexander Wilbourne Weddell papers, 1888-1947","hits":1},"links":{"self":"https://search.arvasarchive.org/catalog.json?f%5Bcollection%5D%5B%5D=Alexander+Wilbourne+Weddell+papers%2C+1888-1947\u0026f%5Blevel%5D%5B%5D=File\u0026f%5Brepository%5D%5B%5D=Virginia+Historical+Society"}},{"attributes":{"label":"Arvonia-Buckingham Slate Company, Inc., Records, \n1913–1990","value":"Arvonia-Buckingham Slate Company, Inc., Records, \n1913–1990","hits":71},"links":{"self":"https://search.arvasarchive.org/catalog.json?f%5Bcollection%5D%5B%5D=Arvonia-Buckingham+Slate+Company%2C+Inc.%2C+Records%2C+%0A1913%E2%80%931990\u0026f%5Blevel%5D%5B%5D=File\u0026f%5Brepository%5D%5B%5D=Virginia+Historical+Society"}},{"attributes":{"label":"Edwin Fisher Conger Papers,\n1900-1979","value":"Edwin Fisher Conger Papers,\n1900-1979","hits":164},"links":{"self":"https://search.arvasarchive.org/catalog.json?f%5Bcollection%5D%5B%5D=Edwin+Fisher+Conger+Papers%2C%0A1900-1979\u0026f%5Blevel%5D%5B%5D=File\u0026f%5Brepository%5D%5B%5D=Virginia+Historical+Society"}},{"attributes":{"label":"Faulkner Family Papers, \n         \n         1737-1954","value":"Faulkner Family Papers, \n         \n         1737-1954","hits":13},"links":{"self":"https://search.arvasarchive.org/catalog.json?f%5Bcollection%5D%5B%5D=Faulkner+Family+Papers%2C+%0A+++++++++%0A+++++++++1737-1954\u0026f%5Blevel%5D%5B%5D=File\u0026f%5Brepository%5D%5B%5D=Virginia+Historical+Society"}},{"attributes":{"label":"FitzGerald Bemiss Papers \n         \n         1952-1988","value":"FitzGerald Bemiss Papers \n         \n         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