I. Harmony Grove Mill, 1902-1947

Extent:
13.5 Linear Feet
Scope and content:

Seeking to spur industrial growth in northeast Georgia, Governor Hardman joined G.W.D. and W.T. Harber and other members of the Harmony Grove (Commerce) business community to found the Harmony Grove Mills, Inc. on 3 April 1893. The corporation was chartered with a capital stock of $50,000 in June of the same year; the real estate property was purchased from Hardman and Mrs. W.S. Webb at $75 to $100 per acre. The mill produced its first cotton sheeting on 25 May 1894, purchased by buyer T.E. Key, and paid its first dividend of 6% to stockholders on 10 June 1895. Hardman bought out the majority share of the corporation from the Harber Brothers in 1898 and was elected president, a position he held until March 1937 when Lamartine G. Hardman, Jr. succeeded him. Enlarged several times, first in 1902 and then in 1923 and 1941, the Harmony Grove Mills plant operated 586 looms and employed more than 500 workers at the time of its fiftieth anniversary in 1944. The mill remained in the Hardman family until it was sold in 1990.

The series contains correspondence, orders, informational bulletins, ledgers, production records and other materials from the Harmony Grove Mills, Inc. The majority of papers document daily production-related correspondence between cotton brokerage firms and Harmony Grove Mills between the years 1927-1947. Also included are correspondence and circulars from the Cotton Textile Institute. Additional material in the series documents the activities of Harmony Grove workers during the General Textile Strike of 1934. All material is arranged chronologically.

The mill records appear to have been kept in a separate file from other business records, except for a few folders which are located in Series II. Business, A. Commerce Office; Series V. Governor, B. Office Correspondence; Series V. Governor, D. General Correspondence; and Series VIII. General, E. Publications.

Daily mill production records from the 1940s have not been microfilmed.

Contents

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