Lamartine Griffin Hardman Papers, Series I: Harmony Grove Mill

Lamartine Griffin Hardman Papers, Series I: Harmony Grove Mill

Descriptive Summary

Title: Lamartine Griffin Hardman Papers, Series I: Harmony Grove Mill
Creator: Hardman, Lamartine Griffin, 1856-1937
Inclusive Dates: 1849-1953
Language(s): English
Extent: 21 box(es) (13.5 linear feet), 13 reels of microfilm
Collection Number: RBRL137LGH_I
Repository: Richard B. Russell Library for Political Research and Studies
Abstract: Lamartine Griffin Hardman Papers, I. Harmony Grove Mill records (1902-1947) contain 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.

Collection Description

Biographical Note

Dr. Lamartine Griffin Hardman was born April 14, 1856 in Harmony Grove, GA (now Commerce, GA). His father was both a physician and a minister, and Hardman followed in his father's footsteps by attending medical school at the Georgia Medical College in Augusta. He received further medical training at Bellevue Hospital in New York and also conducted post-graduate studies at the University of Pennsylvania Polyclinic Hospital, and the Guy Hospital in London. In 1899, Hardman and his brother William established the Hardman Sanatorium in Harmony Grove.

Hardman achieved nationwide fame for his pursuit of the latest advances in medical science, especially his experiments in the new field of anesthesiology. Hardman was also a proponent of phrenology, the practice of measuring cranial features to predict mental traits. Phrenology was used throughout the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries to provide pseudoscientific defenses of white supremacy.

Aside from medicine, Hardman also had an interest in agriculture and manufacturing. He established the Harmony Grove Cotton Mill in 1893 and began investing in farmland, eventually becoming one of the largest farmers in Georgia by 1900. He used scientific processes to develop new agricultural practices, which he shared with other farmers around Commerce. Hardman was elected to the Georgia General Assembly in 1902 as a representative from Jackson County. He served in the House of Representatives until 1907, when he was elected to the State Senate. In 1909 he returned to the Georgia House for a final term. During his time in the General Assembly, Hardman introduced bills to support agricultural education in public schools and establish the State Board of Health. Drawing on his upbringing as the son of a Baptist minister, Hardman was also an author of Georgia's 1907 prohibition law.

Hardman launched two unsuccessful campaigns for governor—in 1914 and 1916—before finally being elected in 1926. In 1928 he defeated E. D. Rivers for re-election. As governor, Hardman attempted to apply "scientific" processes to the administration of the state, which included establishing the Allen Commission on Simplification and Coordination to reorganize the state's government. Hardman proposed initiating a nutritional study of north Georgia to address reported shortcomings in the average diet. However, he also applied what he believed were scientific processes to capital punishment, using phrenology and a belief that fingerprints could be used to predict mental ability and criminality to determine which condemned prisoners would be spared from the electric chair.

Hardman left the governor's office in 1933. He returned to Commerce, where he lived with his wife Emma Wiley Griffin until his death on February 18, 1937.

Scope and Content

Lamartine Griffin Hardman Papers, I. Harmony Grove Mill records (1902-1947) contain 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.

Organization and Arrangement

The papers were arranged according to the original office plan into series and subseries.


Administrative Information

User Restrictions

Library acts as "fair use" reproduction agent.

Preferred Citation

Lamartine Griffin Hardman Papers, Richard B. Russell Library for Political Research and Studies, The University of Georgia Libraries.

Processing Note

During the arrangement and description process, archivists noted that many of the manuscripts were very fragile and in need of preservation work. After Hardman's death in 1937 his papers were moved to Harmony Grove Mills for storage. When the Hardman family sold the mill in 1990 the papers were transferred to the basement of the First Commerce Bank in Commerce, GA. Shortly after the papers arrived at the Russell Library, archivists observed that the collection had suffered serious deterioration from poor paper quality. Additionally, many of the pulp paper carbons of Hardman's correspondence had become very brittle and were literally breaking into pieces. The more these originals were handled, the more fragile they became. These papers required transfer to an additional format to ensure the information would be available for current and future researchers. After discussions with the Hardman family in 1997, Russell Library archivists proposed a project to microfilm the collection.

Thanks to a generous grant through the Harmony Grove Foundation, the Hardman Preservation Microfilming Project began in January 1998. The library hired a microfilm preservation specialist to prepare the collection for filming and to supervise the filming project, which was conducted in cooperation with Computer Hardware, Imaging and Preservation Services (CHIPS) at the University of Georgia Libraries. Items in each folder of the collection were re-arranged alphabetically or chronologically (depending on the nature of the material), a task that took well over a year to complete. Items not selected for filming routinely included duplicates, household bills and receipts, cancelled checks, invitations, greeting cards, photographs, advertisements and promotional pamphlets, and non-print memorabilia. Material to be filmed was then counted, programmed onto individual reels, targeted and microfilmed according to Research Libraries Group (RLG) guidelines--a process that ultimately produced 153 reels of microfilm, or roughly one reel per linear foot of manuscript material. Reels for research use are housed at the Russell Library. Master negatives are stored at the Georgia Department of Archives and History in Atlanta; copy negatives are housed at the University of Georgia Libraries. A microfilm reel finding aid, keyed to the collection finding aid, is available to assist researchers.

Access Restrictions

Use of microfilm recommended.

Copyright Information

Before material from collections at the Richard B. Russell Library may be quoted in print, or otherwise reproduced, in whole or in part, in any publication, permission must be obtained from (1) the owner of the physical property, and (2) the holder of the copyright. It is the particular responsibility of the researcher to obtain both sets of permissions. Persons wishing to quote from materials in the Russell Library collection should consult the Director. Reproduction of any item must contain a complete citation to the original.

Finding Aid Publication

Finding aid prepared on: 2000.


Related Materials and Subjects

Subject Terms

Related Collections in this Repository

Hoke Smith Papers

Richard B. Russell, Jr. Collection

Dudley M. Hughes Papers

Richard B. Russell, Sr. Papers

Hugh Peterson, Sr. Papers

Related Collections in Other Repositories

Ivan Allen, Sr. Papers, Atlanta History Center


Series Descriptions and Folder Listing

 

I. Harmony Grove Mill, 1902-1947

13.5 Linear Feet
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.
boxfolder
11-9New Plant [microfilm reel #1], 1902
110Cotton manual [not filmed], 1907
111-12Herbert G. Franz orders [microfilm reel #2], 1928
boxfolder
21Production sheets [microfilm reel #2], 1923-1932
22-4Herbert G. Franz [microfilm reel #3], 1932 January-July
25-6Production sheets [microfilm reel #3], 1933-1945
boxfolder
31-5Letters on Processing Tax, A-Z [microfilm reel #4]
36-7Workers' Strike [microfilm reel #4], 1934 September
boxfolder
41-6Herbert G. Franz [microfilm reel #5], 1934 August-1936 January
boxfolder
51-3Herbert G. Franz [microfilm reel #6], 1935-1942
54-8Processing Affidavits, A-Z [microfilm reel #6], 1935-1936
59Herbert G. Franz [microfilm reel #6], 1936
boxfolder
61-4Cotton Textile Institute [microfilm reel #6], 1933-1940
boxfolder
71-3Hesslein & Company [microfilm reel #7], 1936 May-August
74Hesslein & Company [microfilm reel #7], 1937
boxfolder
81-4Hesslein & Company [microfilm reel #8], 1937
boxfolder
91-4Hesslein & Company [microfilm reel #8-9], 1938
boxfolder
101-4Hesslein & Company [microfilm reel #9], 1938, 1939
boxfolder
111Hesslein & Company [microfilm reel #9], 1938-1939
112-3Hesslein & Company - Shipping Instructions [not filmed], 1936, 1937
boxfolder
121-3Claims files - PT Form 24x [microfilm reel #10], 1935, 1936
124-5Refund Processing Tax [microfilm reel #10], 1936
boxfolder
131Orders [not filmed], 1942
132-6Cotton waste [not filmed], 1943-1947
137Cotton Fiber Testing (printed material) [not filmed]
box
142 ledgers of monthly statements [microfilm reel #10], 1896-1919
141 ledger of cash, real estate, stock and rent [microfilm reel #11], 1906 February-March
144 ledgers of cotton purchases [microfilm reel #11], 1934, 1939 July-1950 January
142 ledgers of warehouses for pooled cotton [microfilm reel #11], 1934-1935
box
15Lee and Franz code book [microfilm reel #11], 1928
1515 cotton claims ledgers [microfilm reel #11-12], 1945-1950
box
16Daily record of domestics baled [not filmed], 1946
box
17Daily record of cloth used [not filmed], 1948
17Daily record of domestics baled [not filmed], 1943, 1948
box
18Daily record of domestics baled [not filmed], 1944, 1949
box
19Bank deposit slips [not filmed], 1948
19Financial statement [microfilm reel #13], 1913 January 31
19Daily record of cloth used (partial) [not filmed], 1949
19Daily record of domestics baled [not filmed], 1947
box
20Inventory of machinery (2 legal-size pads) [microfilm reel #13], 1949
20Number of cotton bales used daily [not filmed], 1945-1950
box
21Daily record of domestic baled [not filmed], 1950
21Ticker tape (fragment) re: General MacArthur WWII [not filmed]

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