Fries Textile Plant Records Fries Textile Plant Records, 1900-1988 Ms.1989.039

Fries Textile Plant Records, 1900-1988 Ms.1989.039


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Special Collections and University Archives, Virginia Tech

Special Collections and University Archives, University Libraries (0434)
560 Drillfield Drive
Newman Library, Virginia Tech
Blacksburg, Virginia 24061
Business Number: 540-231-6308
specref@vt.edu
URL: http://spec.lib.vt.edu

The processing, arrangement, and description of this collection was created as part of the project, "They're Closing Down the Textile Mill: Creating Access to the Fries Textile Plant Records," funded by the National Historical Publications and Records Commission (NHPRC)  from 2018 to 2019.

Bess Pittman, Archivist

Repository
Special Collections and University Archives, Virginia Tech
Identification
Ms.1989.039
Title
Fries Textile Plant Records 1900-1988
Quantity
ca. 190 Cubic Feet, 185 boxes and 1 oversize folder
Creator
Fries Textile Plant (Fries, Va.)
Location
Please note: Material is in off-site storage and requires 2-3 days notice for retrieval. The oversize folder is onsite. Please contact Special Collections and University Archives for further information.
Language
The materials in the collection are in English.
Abstract
The Fries Textile Plant Records includes correspondence, production data, personnel ledgers, photographs, legal and financial materials, internal reports, blueprints, and other administrative materials. The collection provides a complete history of the company's operations, from its founding at the turn of the twentieth century until its closure in the 1980s.

Administrative Information

Conditions Governing Reproduction and Use

The copyright status of this collection is unknown. Copyright restrictions may apply. Contact Special Collections and University Archives for assistance in determining the use of these materials.

Reproduction or digitization of materials for personal or research use can be requested using our reproduction/digitization form: http://bit.ly/scuareproduction . Reproduction or digitization of materials for publication or exhibit use can be requested using our publication/exhibition form: http://bit.ly/scuapublication . Please contact Special Collections and University Archives (specref@vt.edu or 540-231-6308) if you need assistance with forms or to submit a completed form.

Conditions Governing Access

The collection is open for research with the exception of Boxes 50, 51, 117, 147, 148, 149, 152, 153, 154, 155, 179, and 185, which contain HIPAA-protected, sensitive, or personally identifiable information. These records are noted in the file-level description. Contact Virginia Tech Special Collections and University Archives for more information.

Existence and Location of Copies

Some of this collection has been digitized and is available online .

An exhibit, "The Only Game In Town: A Selection from the Fries Textile Plant Records" is also available online .

Preferred Citation

Researchers wishing to cite this collection should include the following information: [identification of item], [box], [folder], Fries Textile Plant Records, Ms1989-039, Special Collections and University Archives, Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, Va.

Source of Acquisition

The Fries Textile Plant Records were deposited with Special Collections and University Archives in 1989. Ownership of the collection was transferred in 2016. Additional blueprints and slides were donated in December 2016 and July 2019.

Processing Information

The processing, arrangement, and description of the Fries Textile Plant Records commenced in October 2018 and completed in July 2019 as part of the project, "They're Closing Down the Textile Mill: Creating Access to the Fries Textile Plant Records," funded by the National Historical Publications and Records Commission (NHPRC) .

Administrative History

In 1903, Colonel Francis Henry Fries founded the town of Fries and constructed a textile plant in Grayson County, Virginia. Fries was president of the Washington Mills Company as well as Wachovia Bank, for some time. He used his business and political connections to build a spur to a main branch of the Norfolk and Western Railroad and to construct a dam on the New River to generate power for the mill. The Washington Mills Company owned nearly every building in the town, which flourished in the early twentieth century with a population of over 1,700 in 1910. By 1929, there were four textile mills in Grayson County, and Washington Mills in Fries was the largest, employing as many as 600 people.

Employment at Washington Mills peaked after World War II with over 1,200 workers. For decades, the mill had cutting edge equipment and competed nationally with other textile production facilities. By the 1980s, the company faced overseas competition and the need to modernize the plant. In 1988, company leaders chose to close the plant, which at that time employed only a few hundred workers. Sources:

Bond, Avery, and Martha Nichols, comps. and eds. A History of the Town of Fries, Virginia. Collinsville, VA: Collinsville Printing Company, 1977.
"Historical Background, Town of Fries, Compiled in 1953 for 50th Anniversary of Fries," box 34, Fries Textile Plant Records, Special Collections, Virginia Tech.
National Register of Historic Places. "Fries Boarding Houses, VDHR#220-5015," September 14, 2007, available at https://www.dhr.virginia.gov/historic-registers/220-5015/ .

Bond, Avery, and Martha Nichols, comps. and eds. A History of the Town of Fries, Virginia. Collinsville, VA: Collinsville Printing Company, 1977.
"Historical Background, Town of Fries, Compiled in 1953 for 50th Anniversary of Fries," box 34, Fries Textile Plant Records, Special Collections, Virginia Tech.
National Register of Historic Places. "Fries Boarding Houses, VDHR#220-5015," September 14, 2007.

Scope and Content

This collection includes correspondence, ledgers, production records, employee records, photographs, fabric samples, and other items documenting the history of the town and plant from their creation in the eary 1900s to the close of the mill in 1988.

Series I. Company Files and Series II. Correspondence mainly document the day-to-day running of the mill, highlighting relationships with other local and national businesses in fields such as textiles, factory machinery, coal, insurance, and construction. These records also illustrate some aspects of the lives of the mill employees.

Series III. Financial Records document the more quantifiable aspect of the business through invoices, pay records, and account balance books, showing the health and trajectory of the company over time.

Series IV. Personnel Records convey the activity of the mill by recording the number of each type of employee, how much they worked, and when, as well as some glimpses into the personal lives of the mill workers.

Series V. Production Materials more concretely illustrate the output of the mill through fabric samples and reports of production versus cost over time.

Series VI. Legal Records show how the mill grew and evolved over time in relation to the community in which it operated.

Series VII. Blueprints show how the mill buildings themselves were conceived, built, and changed from 1900-1974, when the last major renovations were completed. Series VIII. Illustrations, ca. 1970s-1980s, n.d., includes photographs from the Fries plant and town of Fries, primarily of employees and events, and one oversize drawing with images of the Washington Mills Plants in Fries, Virginia, and in North Carolina.

Arrangement

The collection is arranged by type of material into the following series:

Series I. Company Files
Series II. Correspondence
Series III. Financial Records
Series IV. Personnel Records
Series V. Production Materials
Series VI. Legal Records
Series VII. Blueprints
Series VIII. Illustrations, ca. 1970s-1980s, n.d.

Subjects and Indexing Terms

Rights Statement for Archival Description

The guide to the Fries Textile Plant Records by Special Collections and University Archives, Virginia Tech, is licensed under a CC0 ( https://creativecommons.org/share-your-work/public-domain/cc0/ ).

Significant Places Associated With the Collection

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Container List

Series I: Company Files
1908-1979
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Series II: Correspondence
1901-1958
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Series III: Financial Records
1902-1981
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Series IV: Personnel Records
1902-1975
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Series V: Production Materials
1904-1981
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Series VI: Legal Records
1900-1977
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Series VII: Blueprints
1901-1974
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Series VIII: Illustrations
ca. 1970s-1980s, n.d.
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