The collection consists of correspondence, contracts, reports, tax returns, receipts, ledgers, and other materials related to the construction, operation, and closure of Rocky Mount Mills in Rocky Mount, N.C. Included are deeds and other documents relating to the original purchases of land around the Tar River by the mill's founders, the construction and expansion of Rocky Mount Mills, and the changes in ownership and investment in the mill. Also included are ledgers and other account books documenting various mill transactions. Materials relating to investments include correspondence and wills dictating the sale of Rocky Mount Mills stock to and from individual investors; documents relating to securities held by Rocky Mount Mills; and chattel mortgages made by Rocky Mount Mills to various banks. Also included are local, state, and federal tax returns, as well as records relating to Rocky Mount Mills pension plans. The collection includes materials dealing with bankruptcy proceedings of companies for which Rocky Mount Mills was a creditor. Also included are receipts documenting purchases of mill machinery and other items. Legal documents include contracts and correspondence relating to power and water, the purchase and selling of an electrical distribution system, 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 closing of Rocky Mount Mills in 1996 include correspondence with the mill's major creditors that discuss the settlement of loans and leases. Records relating to employee matters include United States Equal Employment Opportunity Commission reports on the gender, race, and ethnic makeup of the mill's workforce, as well as employee handbooks, leaflets, and other materials dealing with mill safety and grievance procedures. The Addition of June 2008 consists of material similar to those found in the original deposit, including land contracts and mill history, blueprints, and maps; financial and legal documents, including ledgers and account books that document mill appraisals, textile production, payroll expenses, mill orders, construction, sale of stock certificates, tax returns, audits, and related information; and employee records, including a survey of employee attitudes, handbooks, and safety rules. Other materials include the office files of mill executives Hyman L. Battle, Thomas B. Battle, and John M. Mebane, consisting of correspondence, appraisals, land contracts, corporate and legal reports, federal energy and environmental safety reports, engineering materials, and minute books documenting textile production, mill operation, union organizing, city maintenance, community development, the liquidation of Rocky Mount Mills, and John M. Mebane's efforts to renovate and convert mill buildings and mill village properties and to obtain historic landmark status for them in the United States National Register of Historic Places; printed materials, including newspapers, magazines, clippings, journals, bulletins, and books related to the activities of Rocky Mount Mills and the textile industry in the United States; print and digital photographs of machinery, mill employees and executives, and mill property locations; and audiovisual materials documenting mill activities, machines and people at work in the mill, and buildings. There is also a television advertisement for real estate sales of historic homes in Rocky Mount Mills village.
