Mary-Leila Cotton Mills records, 1918-1949

Summary

Creator:
Mary-Leila Cotton Mill
Date:
1918-1949
Extent:
9 Linear Feet (10 boxes and 3 oversize folders)
Language:
English
Preferred citation:

Mary-Leila Cotton Mills records, ms 3790, Hargrett Rare Book and Manuscript Library, The University of Georgia Libraries.

Background

Scope and content:

This collection consists of correspondence, photographs, reports, advertisements, and facility reports related the Mary-Leila Cotton Mills. There are materials related to day-to-day operations and production, labor relations and unionism, and the War effort. Additionally, there are photographs documenting the mill and its laborers and blueprints of facilities and equipment.

Biographical / historical:

In 1899, William R. Jackson, Sr. and Edward A. Copelan founded the Mary-Leila Cotton Mill (Greensboro, Ga.), named for Jackson's wife, Mary, and for Copelan's wife, Leila. As the town's first source of industrial jobs, the Mary-Leila Cotton Mill played a significant role in Greensboro's growth and economic development, as well as the rise of the area's textile industry. During the Second World War, the mill was used for the production of cotton sheeting used in the war effort. Disagreements between the mill's management, the National War Labor Board, and the Textile Workers Union of America led to the mill's participation in several significant labor cases involving mills from across the region. The Mary-Leila Cotton Mill and surrounding Village of worker's houses were nominated to the National Register of Historic Places in 1987.

Access and use restrictions

Preferred citation:

Mary-Leila Cotton Mills records, ms 3790, Hargrett Rare Book and Manuscript Library, The University of Georgia Libraries.