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Descriptive Summary |
| Title: Felker family collection |
| Creator:
Unknown
|
| Inclusive Dates: 1884-1975 |
| Language(s): English |
| Extent:
78 Linear Feet
|
| Collection Number: ms3360 |
| Repository:
Hargrett Library
|
Historical Note
The Felker family relocated to Georgia in 1824, when Stephen Felker (b. 1799) moved to Monroe, the seat of Walton County, from South Carolina. By the outbreak of the Civil War, Stephen Felker was one of the richest men in the county, deriving his income from slaveholding and a private banking enterprise. Stephen's son George Walton (b. 1853) also entered the banking trade, founding the Bank of George W. Felker in the early 1880s, which he personally operated until 1907. George W. Felker was also a co-founder and chief financial backer of the Walton Cotton Mill Company, which was founded in 1900. During the first few decades of the mill's operation, Felker and his bank played a crucial role, often providing loans and other financial assistance to the fledgling company. George W.'s son George, Jr. (b. 1886) succeeded his father in operating the Walton Mill in the 1930s, and was in turn succeeded by his own son, George W. III, in 1962. In 1986, the Walton Cotton Mill Company purchased Avondale Mills of Alabama, and changed its own name to Avondale Mills. In 2006, the plant was shut down after more than a century of operation.
Scope and Content
The collection consists of hundreds of ledger books comprising the records of the Walton Cotton Mill Company, 1900-1975, including sent and received letters, invoices, payroll records, paid checks, general ledgers, construction blueprints, cotton records, sales journals, employee bond records, insurance records, and employee housing records. Also included are many more ledgers documenting the business transactions of the Bank of George Walton Felker, 1884-1934, including balance ledgers, deposit ledgers, collection registers, bank registers, check drafts, balance books, daybooks, loans and investments, and address books.
Felker family collection, ms3360, Hargrett Rare Book and Manuscript Library, The University of Georgia Libraries.
Subject Terms
