Edwards mill collection, 1910-1972 (bulk 1963-1964).

ArchivalResource

Bates Manufacturing Company. Edwards Division. Edwards mill collection, 1910-1972 (bulk 1963-1964).

Edwards mill collection, 1910-1972 (bulk 1963-1964).

http://www.worldcat.org/oclc/70926784

Edwards mill, a cotton mill founded in Augusta, Me., in 1845 by Kennebec Company; purchased in 1868 by Sprague Manufacturing Company and in 1883 by Edwards Manufacturing Company which greatly enlarged the plant, employed ca. 2000 persons (many French-Canadians), and became a major producer of clothing during World War II; in 1945 purchased by Bates Manufacturing Company and became known as its Edwards Division; in 1964 buildings were purchased by Augusta Development Corporation in order to prevent the company's closing; in 1973 the mill was again purchased by Edwards Manufacturing Company, a division of Miller Industries; plant destroyed by fire in 1989 but land and adjacent dam held by Edwards until 1999 when it was transferred to the state in order to restore the Kennebec River fishery. Miscellaneous documents concerning internal plant operations, including customer lists, payroll analysis reports, power usage reports, internal memos, etc.; documents relating to two separate purchases of the plant: the 1964 purchase by Augusta Development Corporation and 1972 sale to Edwards Manufcaturing Company, including corporate papers of Augusta Development Corporation, correspondence between founder Wallace M. Haselton and A. Phillip Gould, president of Bates Manufacturing, and internal memos concerning the purchase and sales agreement between Bates and Edwards; reports on the profitability and competitiveness of the mill; and two leather loose-leaf pocket memo books, one (1910) owned by employee C.R. Chase, containing detailed information on company operations such as plant layout, prices of raw material, factory appraisals, machine efficiency rates, assets vs. liabilities, fuel consumption, power plant layout, property tax rates, and a list of employees and their weekly pay schedules.

1.5 linear ft.

Kennebec Historical Society