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Virginia Coal and Iron Company Records

 Collection
Identifier: MS-1700

  • Staff Only

This collection documents the Virginia Coal & Iron Company. The material is separated into the main categories of land, legal matters, payroll, checks, and correspondence. The majority of this collection consists of legal documents relating to land disputes between the company and the families from whom the land was bought. Also present are the returned checks to workers that were hurt on the job in the coal mines.

Most of the correspondence is between the company and other businesses, including the L & N Railroad setting up routes to transport the coal.

Dates

  • 1888-1978

Conditions Governing Access

Collections are stored offsite and must be requested in advance. See www.special.lib.utk.edu for detailed information. Collections must be requested through a registered Special Collections research account.

Conditions Governing Use

The UT Libraries claims only physical ownership of most material in the collections. Persons wishing to broadcast or publish this material must assume all responsibility for identifying and satisfying any claimants on www.special.lib.utk.edu for detailed information. Collections must be requested through a registered Special Collections research account.

Extent

15 Linear Feet (15 record boxes)

Abstract

This collection documents the Virginia Coal & Iron Company. The material is separated into the main categories of land, legal matters, payroll, checks, and correspondence. The majority of this collection consists of legal documents relating to land disputes between the company and the families from whom the land was bought. Also present are the returned checks to workers that were hurt on the job in the coal mines.

Most of the correspondence is between the company and other businesses, including the L & N Railroad setting up routes to transport the coal.

Biographical/Historical Note

The Virginia Coal and Iron Company was incorporated in Virginia on January 6, 1882. Its headquarters was located at Big Stone Gap, Virginia in addition to a branch office in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The company holdings consisted of 98,510 acres of land in Lee and Wise counties in Virginia and in Harlan County, Kentucky.

Arrangement

Collection consists of fifteen boxes divided into six series: Series I: Deeds and Leases; Series II: Land Purchases and Legal Issues; Series III: Bills, Payroll and Expenditures; Series IV: Cancelled Checks; Series V: Correspondence; and Series VI: Other Material (Ledgers, Notebooks, Photographs, etc.).

Acquisition Note

This collection was a gift of John Gaventa in 1990.

Repository Details

Part of the Betsey B. Creekmore Special Collections and University Archives, University of Tennessee, Knoxville Repository

Contact:
University of Tennessee, Knoxville
Knoxville TN 37996 USA
865-974-4480