Inventory of the Bemis Lumber Company Records,
1927-1941
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Descriptive Summary
Repository
Rare Book, Manuscript, and Special Collections Library, Duke
University
Creator
Bemis Lumber Company
Title
Bemis Lumber Company Records, 1927-1941
Language of Material
Material in English
Extent
27.5 Linear Feet
1500 Items
Abstract
Bemis was originally incorporated in the State of Delaware on April 16, 1926 and succeeded by the Bemis Hardwood Lumber Company, a North Carolina Corporation, incorporated January 1, 1937.
Collection houses correspondence and financial records of the Bemis Lumber Company.
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Administrative Information
Access Restrictions
Collection is open for research.
However, collection may contain materials to which the Acknowledgment of Legal Responsibilities and Privacy Rights form applies. Patrons must sign this form before using this collection.
Also, all or portions of this collection may be housed off-site in Duke University's Library Service Center. Consequently, there may be a 24-hour delay in obtaining these materials.
Please contact Research Services staff before visiting the Rare Book, Manuscript, and Special Collections Library to use this collection.
Copyright Notice
The copyright interests in this collection have not been transferred to Duke University. For more information, consult the copyright section of the Regulations and Procedures of the Rare Book, Manuscript, and Special Collections Library.
Preferred Citation
[Identification of item], Bemis Lumber Company Records, Rare Book,
Manuscript, and Special Collections Library, Duke University.
Provenance
The Bemis Lumber Company Records were received by the Rare Book, Manuscript, and Special Collections Library as a
gift from Mrs. Veach in March 1959.
Processing Information
Processed by RBMSCL Staff, January 1960
Encoded by Robert Carlson, April 2009
Accession 60-10 is described in this finding aid.
Descriptive sources and standards used to create this inventory: DACS, EAD, NCEAD guidelines, and local Style Guide.
This finding aid is NCEAD compliant.
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Historical Note
Bemis was originally incorporated in the State of Delaware on April 16, 1926 and succeeded by the Bemis Hardwood Lumber Company, a North Carolina Corporation, incorporated January 1, 1937. In 1924 H. C. Bemis purchased the lands owned in Graham County by the Buffalo Realty Company, Carolina Railway and Lumber Company, and George R. Cottrelle, Trustee. In the same year the Champion Paper and Fiber Company, the Gennett Lumber Company, and H. C. Bemis purchased the lands of the Whiting Manufacturing Company. The Gennett Lumber Company took the Santeetlah Watershed and then sold it to the U.S. Forest Service in 1935. Joyce Kilmer Memorial Forest was a part of this land. Champion Paper purchased the West Buffalo watershed in fee and H. C. Bemis bought the Big Snowbird area. Then Champion and Bemis traded so that Champion owned all the hemlock and Bemis all the hardwoods on both Big Snowbird and West Buffalo Watersheds. In 1926 Bemis started construction of a band mill in Robbinsville, and the first log was sawn in August 1927. A large part of the machinery and equipment for the mill were shipped from the band mill that Bemis had been operating since 1905 at Bemis, West Virginia. The first officers of the Bemis Lumber Company operating this modern steam band mill were: H. C. Bemis, President; L. C. Bemis, Vice President and General Manager; L. A. Dindinger, Secretary and Treasurer; L. W. Wilson, Assistant Secretary and Treasurer; E. R. Frederick, Mill Superintendent; R. H. Montony, Woods Superintendent; R. J. Humes, Yard Superintendent; and Alfred V. Anderson, Superintendent of Woods Railroad Construction. On the death of H. C. Bemis and L. C. Bemis in 1935, John Bemis Veach Sr. was elected President and L. W. Wilson, Vice President and General Manager. Wilson served in that position for thirty years. During the last several years of his administration he served as president of the company. In March of 1967 the original band mill was completely destroyed by fire and was replaced by a modern band mill, all-electric except for the steam shot-gun feed. This new mill started in operation January 1968 and because of its many modern and efficient features and machines, hardwood lumbermen from all over the East visited it continuously. The company also operated a rail line for shipping its products, and one of its Shay locomotives is still preserved at the N.C. Museum of Tranportation.
(Taken from Graham County history website, written by John B. Veach, Jr.)
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Collection Overview
The Bemis Lumber Company Records span the dates 1927-1941, and document through correspondence files and other records the early decades of this large company's activities. Through these records, aspects of lumber milling, indutrial railroads and shipping, and the lumber trade in Graham County, western North Carolina, and the effects of the Depression on workers and their local communities, including Robbinsville, are recorded in varying degrees of detail. Topics covered in the correspondence, chiefly sent to officials of the company from other companies, organizations, and company workers, include but are not limited to: insurance coverage, tax issues, worker safety and accidents, unemployment, parts and equipment, and government regulations, particularly for shipping and railroad operations. There are a significant number of letters from unemployed laborers looking for positions. There are references to logging in other states as well. Other company records come in the form of financial ledgers, banking records, personnel records, coupon books for employees (perhaps to purchase goods at the company store), accident reports, inspection reports, insurance policies, receipts, real estate and earnings reports, railroad records for the shortline owned by Bemis, and bills of lading.
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Subject Headings
These are searchable subject entries for this collection. Performing a search on these subjects in the Duke University Libraries online catalog will bring up other related research materials.
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Related Material
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Detailed Description of Collection
Chronological Correspondence Series, 1919-1941
(7 boxes)
Box 1
1919, June 2-1925, Mar. 31
Box 2
1925, Apr. 1-1926, Jan. 28
Box 3
1926, Jan. 29-1926, June 16
Box 4
1926, June 17-1926, Oct. 5
Box 5
1926, Oct. 6-1927, Feb. 12
Box 6
1927, Feb. 14-1927, Apr. 23
Box 7
1927-1929, 1938-1941, and two folders of undated correspondence
Aphabetical Correspondence Series, 1929
(33 boxes)
Box 8-11
A
Box 11
A-B
Box 12-14
B
Box 15-17
C-D
Box 18
E
Box 19
E-F
Box 20
F-G
Box 21
G-H
Box 22
H-I
Box 23
I-K
Box 24-25
K
Box 26
K-L
Box 27
L-M
Box 28-31
M-N
Box 32
O-P
Box 33
P-R
Box 34
R-S
Box 35
S
Box 36
S-T
Box 37
T-U
Box 38
U-W
Box 39
W
Box 40
W-Z
Printed Material Series, 1920s-1941
(5 boxes)
Box 41-42
Company records, 1920s
Tax and banking records, receipts, real estate and railroad earnings reports, sales prospectuses, parts and equipment information, bills of lading, inspection and accident reports.
Box 43
Ledgers and checks
Ledgers seem to represent income from sales of lumber, and in a few cases, items to repair or refurbish company houses for workers.
Box 44
Coupons, receipts, and insurance policies, 1920s-1930s
Several dozen individual policies held by Bemis Lumber and Graham RR Company for fire, house, and other insurance. Also many coupon booklets, quite a few with employee names, possibly used to redeem for goods at company store.
Box 45
Logging operations workers' time books (1940-1941), railroad contracts, Red Cross report for 1929
