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

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


[logo]

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
URL:
https://archives.lib.wvu.edu/ark:/99999/198682
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

Administrative Information

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)

Related Material

1784, 1824

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.

Significant Persons Associated With the Collection

  • Collins, Jarius.
  • Collins, Justus, 1857-1934
  • Felts, T.L.
  • Holloway, J.J.
  • Laing, John B.
  • Mann, Isaac T. (Isaac Thomas), 1864-1932
  • Tams, W. P., Jr. (William Purviance), 1883-1977
  • Wolfe, George.

Container List

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.