Justus Collins (1857-1934) Papers, 1896-1934 , A&M 1824

West Virginia and Regional History Center

1549 University Ave.
P.O. Box 6069
Morgantown, WV 26506-6069
Business Number: 304-293-3536
wvrhcref@westvirginia.libanswers.com
URL: https://wvrhc.lib.wvu.edu

Staff of the West Virginia & Regional History Center

Repository

West Virginia and Regional History Center

Identification

A&M 1824

Title

Justus Collins (1857-1934) Papers 1887-1962

Quantity

23.3 Linear Feet, Summary: 23 ft. 4 1/4 in. (56 document cases, 5 in. each); (1 oversize folder, 1/4 in.)

Creator

Collins, Justus, 1857-1934

Location

West Virginia and Regional History Center / West Virginia University / 1549 University Avenue / P.O. Box 6069 / Morgantown, WV 26506-6069 / Phone: 304-293-3536 / Fax: 304-293-3981 / URL: https://wvrhc.lib.wvu.edu/

Language

English

Conditions Governing Use

Permission to publish or reproduce is required from the copyright holder. For more information, please see the Permissions and Copyright page on the West Virginia and Regional History Center website.

Conditions Governing Access

No special access restriction applies.

Preferred Citation

[Description and date of item], [Box/folder number], Justus Collins (1857-1934) Papers, A&M 1824, West Virginia and Regional History Center, West Virginia University Libraries, Morgantown, West Virginia.

Scope and Contents

Justus Collins [1857-1934] was an entrepreneur who opened his first coal mine in the Pocahontas- Flat Top coal field of Southern West Virginia, and thereafter operated mines in the New River, Tug River, and Winding Gulf coal fields. He headed a coal sales agency, speculated in coal and timber lands, headed a cement company, and was interested financially in rubber, oil, and gas companies. He played an important role in organizing the Tug River Coal Operators Association, the Winding Gulf Operators' Association, and the Smokeless Coal Operators Association of West Virginia.

The materials include correspondence, agreements, contracts, deeds, financial statements, ledger books, magazines, maps, minute books, pamphlets, photographs, production and shipping records, reports, and stock books.

The bulk of the collection concerns the development of the law volatile, or smokeless, coal fields of Southern West Virginia, ca. 1900-1934. Subjects include: Coal company operation, (coal and coke sales, costs, marketing conditions, price-fixing, profits, salaries, taxes); coal operators' associations; government investigation and regulation of the coal industry (Interstate Commerce Commission, mining legislation, N.R.A. code, U.S. Railroad Administration) labor (insurance "on transportation", strikes, United Mine Workers of America, wages, workman's compensation, "yellow-dog" contract); law and order (Baldwin-Felts Detective Agency, courts, injunctions, mine guard system, National Guard, secret operatives, state troopers); life in mining camps (amusements, churches, health, housing, recreation, schools, stores); mining safety; railroads (Chesapeake & Ohio Railway, coal car distribution, freight rates, Norfolk & Western Railroad, railway fuel contracts, and Virginian Railway- Organization of Winding Gulf Branch); and state and local politics. Other non-coal subjects include cement business, lumber business, tire and tire gauge manufacturing, and oil and gas drilling.

Correspondents include: S.R. Anderson; G. R. Collins; Jairus Collins; Justus Collins; Raymond DuPuy; W. J. Elgin; Lamar Epperly; H.D. Everett; T. L. Felts; A.M. Herndon; J.J. Holloway; L. E. Johnson; P. H. Kelly; E.W. Knight; John Laing; I. T. Mann; C. H. Mead; C. J. Milton; J. H. Renahan, P. J. RIley: P. M. Snyder; Holly Stover; W. P. Tams; Jr.: J.J. Tierney; E.E. White; and George Wolfe. Series include:
1. General Correspondence, 1896–1934 (boxes 1-36)
2. Baldwin-Felts Detective Agency, 1905–1934 (box 36)
3. Coal Operators Association, 1911–1934 (boxes 37-39)
4. Smokeless Fuel Company -- Sales Managers' Correspondence, 1914-1915, undated (boxes 40-42)
5. Smokeless Fuel Company -- Smithing and Other Sales, 1914–1922 (boxes 43-44)
6. Superior Portland Cement Company, 1905–1924 (boxes 45-47)
7. Miscellaneous Printed Materials, 1899–1954 (boxes 48-56)
8. Oversize Maps, Blueprints, and Charts, 1916-1962, undated (oversize folder)

Subjects and Indexing Terms

Account books
Baldwin-Felts Detective Inc.
Chesapeake and Ohio Railway Company
Church buildings
Coal Mining - Tug River field
Coal mining - New River field.
Coal mining - Regulation.
Coal mining - Safety.
Coal mining - Winding Gulf field.
Coal mining - coal and coke sales.
Coal mining - coal operators associations.
Coal mining -- Strikes
Coal mining.
Collins family
Collins, Jarius.
Collins, Justus, 1857-1934
Education
Felts, T.L.
Holloway, J.J.
Laing, John B.
Mann, Isaac T. (Isaac Thomas), 1864-1932
Maps.
New Deal, 1933-1939
New River coalfields.
Norfolk and Western Railroad.
Pocahontas-Flat Top coalfield.
Politics and government.
Railroads - Chesapeake and Ohio Railroad.
Railroads - Norfolk and Western Railroad.
Railroads - Virginia Railway - Winding Gulf Branch.
Schools. SEE ALSO Academies
Smokeless Coal Operators Association
Tams, W. P., Jr. (William Purviance), 1883-1977
Taxation
Tug River Coal Operators Association
United Mine Workers of America
United States - Railway Administration.
United States. Coal Commission
United States. Fuel Administration
United States. Interstate Commerce Commission
United States. National Recovery Administration
Virginian Railroad -- Railroads
Virginian Railway- Organization of Winding Gulf Branch
Winding Gulf (W. Va.) -- coalfields
Winding Gulf Operators Association
Wolfe, George.

Series 1. General Correspondence (boxes 1-36)

Mixed Materials Box: 1 Mixed Materials Box: 2 Mixed Materials Box: 3 Mixed Materials Box: 4 Mixed Materials Box: 5 Mixed Materials Box: 6a Mixed Materials Box: 6b Mixed Materials Box: 7 Mixed Materials Box: 8 Mixed Materials Box: 9 Mixed Materials Box: 10 Mixed Materials Box: 11 Mixed Materials Box: 12 Mixed Materials Box: 13 Mixed Materials Box: 14 Mixed Materials Box: 15 Mixed Materials Box: 16 Mixed Materials Box: 17 Mixed Materials Box: 18 Mixed Materials Box: 19 Mixed Materials Box: 20 Mixed Materials Box: 21 Mixed Materials Box: 22 Mixed Materials Box: 23 Mixed Materials Box: 24 Mixed Materials Box: 25 Mixed Materials Box: 26 Mixed Materials Box: 27 Mixed Materials Box: 28 Mixed Materials Box: 29 Mixed Materials Box: 30 Mixed Materials Box: 31 Mixed Materials Box: 32 Mixed Materials Box: 33 Mixed Materials Box: 34 Mixed Materials Box: 35 Mixed Materials Box: 36 1896–1934

Scope and Contents

This series includes general correspondence between Justus Collins and many others, including S.R. Anderson; G. R. Collins; Jairus Collins; Raymond DuPuy; W. J. Elgin; Lamar Epperly; H.D. Everett; T. L. Felts; A.M. Herndon; J.J. Holloway; L. E. Johnson; P. H. Kelly; E.W. Knight; John Laing; I. T. Mann; C. H. Mead; C. J. Milton; J. H. Renahan, P. J. Riley: P. M. Snyder; Holly Stover; W. P. Tams; Jr.: J.J. Tierney; E.E. White; and George Wolfe.

Subjects include coal company operation (coal and coke sales, costs, marketing conditions, price-fixing, profits, salaries, taxes), coal operators' associations, railroads (Chesapeake & Ohio Railway, coal car distribution, freight rates, Norfolk & Western Railroad, railway fuel contracts, and Virginian Railway- Organization of Winding Gulf Branch), and state and local politics.

Mixed Materials Box: 1
Correspondence
1896–1905
Mixed Materials Box: 2
Correspondence
October 1906-October 1907
Mixed Materials Box: 3
Correspondence
November 1907-January 1909
Mixed Materials Box: 4
Correspondence
February-August 1909
Mixed Materials Box: 5
Correspondence
September-October 1909
Mixed Materials Box: 6a
Correspondence
December 1909-April 1910
Mixed Materials Box: 6b
Correspondence
April-May 1910
Mixed Materials Box: 7
Correspondence
May-September 1910
Mixed Materials Box: 8
Correspondence
October 1910-February 1911
Mixed Materials Box: 9
Correspondence
May-September 1911
Mixed Materials Box: 10
Correspondence
October 1911-April 1912
Mixed Materials Box: 11
Correspondence
May 1912-January 1913
Mixed Materials Box: 12
Correspondence
February 1913-August 1914
Mixed Materials Box: 13
Correspondence
September 1914-1916
Mixed Materials Box: 14
Correspondence
January 1916-March 1914
Mixed Materials Box: 15
Correspondence
April-December 1917
Mixed Materials Box: 16
Correspondence
1918-June 1920
Mixed Materials Box: 17
Correspondence
July 1920-November 1921
Mixed Materials Box: 18
Correspondence
December 1921-1922
Mixed Materials Box: 19
Correspondence
January-July 1923
Mixed Materials Box: 20
Correspondence
August 1923-January 1924
Mixed Materials Box: 21
Correspondence
Feburary 1924-January 1925
Mixed Materials Box: 22
Correspondence
February-December 1925
Mixed Materials Box: 23
Correspondence
January-September 1926
Mixed Materials Box: 24
Correspondence
October 1926-April 1927
Mixed Materials Box: 25
Correspondence
May-November 1927
Mixed Materials Box: 26
Correspondence
December 1927-March 1928
Mixed Materials Box: 27
Correspondence
March-July 1928
Mixed Materials Box: 28
Correspondence
August 1928-February 1929
Mixed Materials Box: 29
Correspondence
March-August 1929
Mixed Materials Box: 30
Correspondence
September 1929-March 1930
Mixed Materials Box: 31
Correspondence
March-August 1930
Mixed Materials Box: 32
Correspondence
September 1930-February 1931
Mixed Materials Box: 33
Correspondence
March-November 1931
Mixed Materials Box: 34
Correspondence
December 1931-December 1932
Mixed Materials Box: 35
Correspondence
March-December 1933
Mixed Materials Box: 36
Correspondence
March-November 1934, undated

Series 2. Baldwin-Felts Detective Agency (box 36)

Mixed Materials Box: 36 1905–1934

Scope and Contents

This series includes material related to the Baldwin-Felts Detective Agency (ca. 1890s-1937), which was used by coal operators as strikebreakers in the 1910s and 1920s. Baldwin-Felts detectives were infamous for their violent involvement in the Coal Wars, the Battle of Matewan, and other coal union strikes.

Series 3. Coal Operators Association (boxes 37-39)

Mixed Materials Box: 37 Mixed Materials Box: 38 Mixed Materials Box: 39 1911–1934

Scope and Contents

This series includes correspondence regarding various coal operators associations, including the Tug River Valley Association, the Winding Gulf Association, the Pocahontas Assocation, and others.

Mixed Materials Box: 37
Business correspondence
October 1911-August 1923
Mixed Materials Box: 38
Business correspondence
September 1923-1926
Mixed Materials Box: 39
Business correspondence
1927–1934

Series 4. Smokeless Fuel Company -- Sales Managers' Correspondence (boxes 40-42)

Mixed Materials Box: 40 Mixed Materials Box: 41 Mixed Materials Box: 42 1914-1915, undated

Scope and Contents

This series includes sales managers' correspondence regarding the Smokeless Fuel Company.

Mixed Materials Box: 40
Sales managers' correspondence
February 1909-April 1914, undated
Mixed Materials Box: 41
Sales managers' correspondence
May-September 1914
Mixed Materials Box: 42
Sales managers' correspondence
October 1914-March 1915

Series 5. Smokeless Fuel Company -- Smithing and Other Sales (boxes 43-44)

Mixed Materials Box: 43 Mixed Materials Box: 44 1914–1922

Scope and Contents

This series includes material regarding smithing and other sales of the Smokeless Fuel Company.

Mixed Materials Box: 43
Material regarding smithing and other sales
May 1914-1916
Mixed Materials Box: 44
Material regarding smithing and other sales
1917–1922

Series 6. Superior Portland Cement Company (boxes 45-47)

Mixed Materials Box: 45 Mixed Materials Box: 46 Mixed Materials Box: 47 1905–1924

Scope and Contents

This series includes material regarding the Superior Portland Cement Company.

Mixed Materials Box: 45
Material regarding the Superior Portland Cement Company
August 1905-1909
Mixed Materials Box: 46
Material regarding the Superior Portland Cement Company
1910-August 1912
Mixed Materials Box: 47
Material regarding the Superior Portland Cement Company
September 1912-1924

Series 7. Miscellaneous Printed Materials (boxes 48-56)

Mixed Materials Box: 48 Mixed Materials Box: 49 Mixed Materials Box: 50 Mixed Materials Box: 51 Mixed Materials Box: 52 Mixed Materials Box: 53 Mixed Materials Box: 54 Mixed Materials Box: 55 Mixed Materials Box: 56 1899–1954

Scope and Contents

This series includes assorted printed materials, including personal and business account books, surveys, stockholders meeting minutes, and other material.

Mixed Materials Box: 48
Assorted printed materials
1907–1934
Mixed Materials Box: 49
Assorted printed materials
1899–1934
Mixed Materials Box: 50
Assorted printed materials
1907–1932
Mixed Materials Box: 51
Assorted printed materials
1902–1937
Mixed Materials Box: 52
Assorted printed materials
1888–1935
Mixed Materials Box: 53
Assorted printed materials
1921–1928
Mixed Materials Box: 54
Assorted printed materials
1906-1934, 1954
Mixed Materials Box: 55
Assorted printed materials
1907–1930
Mixed Materials Box: 56
Assorted printed materials
ca. 1887-1950

Series 8. Oversize Maps, Blueprints, and Charts (oversize folder)

Mixed Materials Folder: Oversize 1916-1962, undated

Scope and Contents

This series includes oversize maps, blueprints, and charts, including maps of Collins's personal property; maps and blueprints of potential locations for housing, schools, and amenities at Whipple and other coal mines; assorted coal mine maps and blueprints; and statistical charts of productivity and other metrics of Winding Gulf Collieries and other coal companies.