Justus Collins (1857-1934) Papers

Access and use

Location of collection:
West Virginia and Regional History Center
West Virginia & Regional History Center
West Virginia University
P.O. Box 6069
1549 University Avenue
Morgantown, WV 26506
Contact for questions and access:
POC: Lori Hostuttler
Phone: (304) 293-3536
Restrictions:

No special access restriction applies.

Terms of access:

Permission to publish or reproduce is required from the copyright holder. For more information, please see the Permissions and Copyright page on the West Virginia and Regional History Center website.

Preferred citation:

[Description and date of item], [Box/folder number], Justus Collins (1857-1934) Papers, A&M 1824, West Virginia and Regional History Center, West Virginia University Libraries, Morgantown, West Virginia.

Summary

Extent:
23.3 Linear Feet Summary: 23 ft. 4 1/4 in. (56 document cases, 5 in. each); (1 oversize folder, 1/4 in.)
Creator:
Collins, Justus, 1857-1934
Language:
English .
Preferred citation:

[Description and date of item], [Box/folder number], Justus Collins (1857-1934) Papers, A&M 1824, West Virginia and Regional History Center, West Virginia University Libraries, Morgantown, West Virginia.

Background

Scope and content:

Justus Collins [1857-1934] was an entrepreneur who opened his first coal mine in the Pocahontas- Flat Top coal field of Southern West Virginia, and thereafter operated mines in the New River, Tug River, and Winding Gulf coal fields. He headed a coal sales agency, speculated in coal and timber lands, headed a cement company, and was interested financially in rubber, oil, and gas companies. He played an important role in organizing the Tug River Coal Operators Association, the Winding Gulf Operators' Association, and the Smokeless Coal Operators Association of West Virginia.

The materials include correspondence, agreements, contracts, deeds, financial statements, ledger books, magazines, maps, minute books, pamphlets, photographs, production and shipping records, reports, and stock books.

The bulk of the collection concerns the development of the law volatile, or smokeless, coal fields of Southern West Virginia, ca. 1900-1934. Subjects include: Coal company operation, (coal and coke sales, costs, marketing conditions, price-fixing, profits, salaries, taxes); coal operators' associations; government investigation and regulation of the coal industry (Interstate Commerce Commission, mining legislation, N.R.A. code, U.S. Railroad Administration) labor (insurance "on transportation", strikes, United Mine Workers of America, wages, workman's compensation, "yellow-dog" contract); law and order (Baldwin-Felts Detective Agency, courts, injunctions, mine guard system, National Guard, secret operatives, state troopers); life in mining camps (amusements, churches, health, housing, recreation, schools, stores); mining safety; railroads (Chesapeake & Ohio Railway, coal car distribution, freight rates, Norfolk & Western Railroad, railway fuel contracts, and Virginian Railway- Organization of Winding Gulf Branch); and state and local politics. Other non-coal subjects include cement business, lumber business, tire and tire gauge manufacturing, and oil and gas drilling.

Correspondents include: S.R. Anderson; G. R. Collins; Jairus Collins; Justus Collins; Raymond DuPuy; W. J. Elgin; Lamar Epperly; H.D. Everett; T. L. Felts; A.M. Herndon; J.J. Holloway; L. E. Johnson; P. H. Kelly; E.W. Knight; John Laing; I. T. Mann; C. H. Mead; C. J. Milton; J. H. Renahan, P. J. RIley: P. M. Snyder; Holly Stover; W. P. Tams; Jr.: J.J. Tierney; E.E. White; and George Wolfe. Series include:
1. General Correspondence, 1896–1934 (boxes 1-36)
2. Baldwin-Felts Detective Agency, 1905–1934 (box 36)
3. Coal Operators Association, 1911–1934 (boxes 37-39)
4. Smokeless Fuel Company -- Sales Managers' Correspondence, 1914-1915, undated (boxes 40-42)
5. Smokeless Fuel Company -- Smithing and Other Sales, 1914–1922 (boxes 43-44)
6. Superior Portland Cement Company, 1905–1924 (boxes 45-47)
7. Miscellaneous Printed Materials, 1899–1954 (boxes 48-56)
8. Oversize Maps, Blueprints, and Charts, 1916-1962, undated (oversize folder)

Physical location:
West Virginia and Regional History Center / West Virginia University / 1549 University Avenue / P.O. Box 6069 / Morgantown, WV 26506-6069 / Phone: 304-293-3536 / URL: https://wvrhc.lib.wvu.edu/
Rules or conventions:
Describing Archives: A Content Standard