Rocky Mount Mills, located in RockyMount, N.C., was one of the first cotton mills constructed in the state of NorthCarolina, dating back to 1816. From 1825 to 1883, the Battle family maintainedownership of the mill. As the southern cotton industry grew after the Civil War, thecotton mill experienced rapid growth. The company also supported a residentialvillage for employees, which was eventually incorporated into the city of RockyMount in the 1920s. The mill was a major supplier of cotton yarn to the UnitedStates Army during World War II. The general decline in southern textile industrybeginning in the 1970s eventually impacted Rocky Mount Mills, and the mill closedits doors in 1996. The collection consists of correspondence, contracts,reports, tax returns, receipts, ledgers, and other materials related to theconstruction, operation, and closure of Rocky Mount Mills in Rocky Mount, N.C.Included are deeds and other documents relating to the original purchases of landaround the Tar River by the mill's founders, the construction and expansion of RockyMount Mills, and the changes in ownership and investment in the mill. Also includedare ledgers and other account books documenting various mill transactions. Materialsrelating to investments include correspondence and wills dictating the sale of RockyMount Mills stock to and from individual investors; documents relating to securitiesheld by Rocky Mount Mills; and chattel mortgages made by Rocky Mount Mills tovarious banks. Also included are local, state, and federal tax returns, as well asrecords relating to Rocky Mount Mills pension plans. The collection includesmaterials dealing with bankruptcy proceedings of companies for which Rocky MountMills was a creditor. Also included are receipts documenting purchases of millmachinery and other items. Legal documents include contracts and correspondencerelating to power and water, the purchase and selling of an electrical distributionsystem, the construction of railroad lines to the mill property, and other matters.Also included are insurance policies covering automobiles, fire, general liability,workers' compensation, and employer's liability. Materials documenting the closingof Rocky Mount Mills in 1996 include correspondence with the mill's major creditorsthat discuss the settlement of loans and leases. Records relating to employeematters include United States Equal Employment Opportunity Commission reports on thegender, race, and ethnic makeup of the mill's workforce, as well as employeehandbooks, leaflets, and other materials dealing with mill safety and grievanceprocedures. The Addition of June 2008 consists of material similar to those found inthe original deposit, including land contracts and mill history, blueprints, andmaps; financial and legal documents, including ledgers and account books thatdocument mill appraisals, textile production, payroll expenses, mill orders,construction, sale of stock certificates, tax returns, audits, and relatedinformation; and employee records, including a survey of employee attitudes,handbooks, and safety rules. Other materials include the office files of millexecutives Hyman L. Battle, Thomas B. Battle, and John M. Mebane, consisting ofcorrespondence, appraisals, land contracts, corporate and legal reports, federalenergy and environmental safety reports, engineering materials, and minute booksdocumenting textile production, mill operation, union organizing, city maintenance,community development, the liquidation of Rocky Mount Mills, and John M. Mebane'sefforts to renovate and convert mill buildings and mill village properties and toobtain historic landmark status for them in the United States National Register ofHistoric Places; printed materials, including newspapers, magazines, clippings,journals, bulletins, and books related to the activities of Rocky Mount Mills andthe textile industry in the United States; print and digital photographs ofmachinery, mill employees and executives, and mill property locations; andaudiovisual materials documenting mill activities, machines and people at work inthe mill, and buildings. There is also a television advertisement for real estatesales of historic homes in Rocky Mount Mills village.
