Manuscript Collection

Fort Mill Textile Research Collection - Accession 1786 M841 (898-899)

Fort Mill Textile Research Collection - Accession 1786 M841 (898-899)

Identifier

Accession 1786 - M841 (898-899)

Inclusive Dates

1982-1984

Restrictions

Open under the rules and regulations of the Louise Pettus Archives and Special Collections

Collection Size

180 pieces

Language

English;

Historical Note

Nancy Biggs Thomas Wofford, a native of Rock Hill, attended Winthrop Training School WTS (1959-63) and earned her B.A. in Art and Spanish from Winthrop College in 1967. Nancy later obtained her M.S. degree in 1984 from the School of Consumer Science and Allied Professions at Winthrop.

Nancy is the daughter of Mrs. Nancy Biggs Craig Thomas (1920-2019)––a fellow graduate of WTS (1937) and Winthrop College (B.A. in Primary Education and History, 1941)––who served as Head Staff Member at Macfeat Nursery School.

Nancy's Grandfather was Roy Zachariah Thomas (1879-1962) was a professor of Chemistry and Physics at Winthrop from 1914 through 1926.

Scope and Content Note

This collection consists of research material like photographs, negatives, correspondence, an Evening Herald newspaper section, a thesis proposal, and an oral history project relating to Nancy Biggs Thomas Wofford (Class of 1967, 1984) and her 1984 thesis titled, Fort Mill: Transition from a Farming to a Textile Community, 1880-1920. The photographs and negatives depict the Fort Mill Manufacturing Company (or Springs Industries, Inc.) and the local townscape during the early 1900s; an identification sheet accompanies the fifty photographs. The photographs are photographic copies of the originals owned by Ruth Meacham (1895-1987) (see Ruth Meacham Interview – OH 369 in which Ruth and the interviewer, Nancy Thomas, discuss each photograph as well as life in Fort Mill at the time). The photographs depict downtown Fort Mill, businesses, houses, the Fort Mill well pump, train depot, Fort Mill Academy, Fort Mill Manufacturing Company, 1916 flood, train tracks, cars, fire engine, bridges, Catawba Power Company, and many other Fort Mill scenes. Also included in the collection is a report of Thomas’ oral interview project includes a summary of the project which consists of ten interviews of local mill workers in Fort Mill. Included are indexes of the interviews.

Provenance

This collection of material was donated to the Winthrop Archives by Nancy Biggs Thomas Wofford.

Copyright

For information concerning copyright please contact the Louise Pettus Archives and Special Collections at Winthrop University.

Fort Mill Textile Research Collection - Accession 1786 M841 (898-899)

LC Subject Headings

Fort Mill Manufacturing Company; Springs Industries; Textile industry--South Carolina--Fort Mill--History; Textile workers--South Carolina--Fort Mill--History; Textile workers--Social life and customs; Business enterprises--South Carolina--Fort Mill--Photographs; Fort Mill (S.C.)--History; Fort Mill (S.C.)--Social life and customs--Photographs

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