Scope and Contents
Correspondence (including an extensive series of letters between agents and treasurers), primary account books, production records, sales books, ledgers, journals, cashbooks from the offices in Boston and Chicopee, Mass., a complete set of payrolls, and other manuscripts relating to the manufacture of cotton goods by Dwight Manufacturing Company, Perkins Manufacturing Company, Cabot Manufacturing Company, and Alabama Mills. Includes records of selling agents, James K. Mills and Company and Minot, Hooper and Company; records of two utilities operated by the firm: Chicopee Gas Works (1852-1897) and Chicopee Electric Light Company (1887-1896); letters of treasurers Samuel F. Lyman, F. H. Story, C. W. Freeland, William A. Burke, J. Howard Nichols, Edwin F. Greene, Ernest Lovering, and George Nichols; and letters of agents S. Adams, R. A. Budlong, G. H. Nye, James W. Cumnock, N. Whittier, L. A. Aumann, and J. F. Bachelor.
The firm employed women in a large majority. In 1866, for example, the company declared that of its 1475 hands, 1030 were female. The collection includes the records of several mergers with Perkins and Cabot Manufacturing companies. The mills were shut down in 1927. Some of the extensive payroll, wage average, and other employment records are separate for men and women.
Dates
- Creation: 1832-1927
Creator
- Dwight Manufacturing Company (Organization)
Conditions Governing Access
Collection is open for research. Materials stored offsite; access requires advance notice. Contact specialcollectionsref@hbs.edu for more information.
Extent
150 linear feet (937 volumes, 140 boxes, 11 cartons)Biographical / Historical
Cotton manufacturing firm established in 1841 in Chicopee, Mass. In 1856 Dwight united with the Perkins Manufacturing Company (established in 1836) which had merged with the Cabot Manufacturing Company (founded 1832) in 1852. In 1897 Dwight opened a mill in Alabama City, Ala. The Chicopee mills were shut down in 1927.
Physical Location
MANU
Immediate Source of Acquisition
Gift of the Dwight Manufacturing Company, 1931.
Existence and Location of Copies
Vols. CB-4 (Accounts) and HT-61, HT-102, HV-1, and HY-1 (Payrolls) are available on microfilm (5 reels, 35 mm.) for use in the Historical Collections Reading Room, Baker Library. Order no. 86-4275.
Creator
- Dwight Manufacturing Company (Organization)
- Author
- Baker Library
- Description rules
- dacs
- Language of description
- und
- EAD ID
- bak01075
Repository Details
Part of the Baker Library Special Collections and Archives, Harvard Business School Repository
Baker Library Special Collections and Archives holds unique resources that focus on the evolution of business and industry, as well as the records of the Harvard Business School, documenting the institution's development over the last century. These rich and varied collections support research in a diverse range of fields such as business, economic, social and cultural history as well as the history of science and technology.
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