Digital Loray has an interactive map of the Loray mill village in 1920 which "documents the residents of village households and reveals demographic patterns, using information drawn from U.S. census data, city directories, and other sources."
Go to: http://loraydigital.prospect.unc.edu/1920-mill-village-exhibit/
The Alfred C. Kessell History Center at Loray Mill features a multimedia exhibit that showcases the history of the Loray / Firestone Mill and Village.
Go to: https://www.facebook.com/KessellHistoryCenter
Architecture and Engineering:
Loray Digital Archive, Lucy Penegar Collection.
- Loray Mill, Engineering Drawing of Loray Mill, Detail for Arch over Main Entrance. April 21, 1900.
- Loray Mill, Engineering Drawing of Loray Mill, Engine and Boiler House. April 21, 1900.
- Loray Mill, Engineering Drawing of Loray Mill, Resevoir and Crib Intake. January 10, 1901.
- Loray Mill, Engineering Drawing of Loray Mill, Opening Room. December 4, 1901.
- Loray Mill, Architectural Drawing of. May 29, 1922, Robert and Company Architects and Engineers.
- Loray Mill, Architectural Drawing of. May 29, 1922, Robert and Company Architects and Engineers.
- Loray Mill, Architectural Drawing of Loray Mill, First Floor Plan. June 15, 1922, Robert and Company Architects and Engineers.
- Loray Mill, Architectural Drawing of Loray Mill, 2nd Floor Plan. June 15, 1922, Robert and Company Architects and Engineers.
- Loray Mill, Architectural Drawing of Loray Mill, Basement and Foundation. June 15, 1922, Robert and Company Architects and Engineers.
- Loray Mill, Architectural Drawing of Loray Mill, West Elevation. June 15, 1922, Robert and Company Architects and Engineers.
- Loray Mill, Architectural Drawing of. June 15, 1922, Robert and Company Architects and Engineers.
- Loray Mill, Architectural Drawing of. June 15, 1922, Robert and Company Architects and Engineers.
- Loray Mill - Schematic Drawing, Loray Mill. February 6, 1929. Manville Jenckes Corporation.
- Loray Mill - Schematic Drawing, Loray Mill. February 6, 1929. Manville Jenckes Corporation.
Lockwood-Greene Records. Series 1: Project Drawings, Renderings, and Plans. (Map-folder 256, Loray Mills, Gastonia, N.C.)
- West Elevation for New Mill for The Loray Mills, Gastonia, N.C. April 21, 1900. Original Sheet 20.
- East Elevation for New Mill for The Loray Mills, Gastonia, N.C. April 21, 1900. Original Sheet 19.
- Detail of Windows For New Mill The Loray Mills, Gastonnia, N.C. April 21, 1900. Original Sheet 26.
- Details For Tower The Loray Mills, Gastonnia, N.C. April 21, 1900. Original Drawing 31.
- Plan Of First Floor Framing for New Mill for The Loray Mills, Gastonia, N.C. April 21, 1900. Original Sheet 7.
- North Elevation for New Mill for The Loray Mills, Gastonia, N.C. April 21, 1900. Original Sheet 17.
- South Elevation for New Mill for The Loray Mills, Gastonia, N.C. April 21, 1900. Original Sheet 18.
Lockwood-Greene Records. Series 1: Project Drawings, Renderings, and Plans. (Map-folder 1466, Loray Mills, Gastonia, N.C.)
- First Story - Weaving Room. Gastonia, N.C. Aug. 11, 1904. Original Sheet H.
- Plan of Basement. The Loray Mills. Gastonia, N.C. Jan. 14, 1901. Original Sheet G.
- Plan of Second Story. The Loray Mills. Gastonia, N.C. Jan. 14, 1901. Original Sheet I.
- Plan of First Story. Weaving Room. The Loray Mills. Gastonia, N.C. Jan. 14, 1901. Original Sheet H.
- Plan of Third Story. The Loray Mills. Gastonia, N.C. Jan. 14, 1901. Original Sheet J.
- Plan of Fourth Story. The Loray Mills. Gastonia, N.C. Jan. 14, 1901. Original Sheet K.
- Plan of Fifth Story. The Loray Mills. Gastonia, N.C. Jan. 14, 1901. Original Sheet L.
Court Trial
Historic Properties:
Maps:
- Map of Tenement Village, Loray Mills, Gastonia, N.C. Sheet 82. Sept. 10, 1901. Copied from original map. Lockwood-Greene Records.
- Map of Mill Village. (Sept. 5, 1923) begun in 1920s and expanded and re-branded with Firestone logo after their purchase. Titled: "Dwelling Houses of the Firestone Cotton Mills, Inc., Gastonia, N.C." Factory Insurance Association, Hartford, Conn.
- Map of Northern Portion, Loray Mill Village indicating location of strike headquarters. Loray Mill Strike, 1929. Transcription: "Union Headquarters (Where Aderholt Was Shot)" Pub. date unknown.
- Schematic Drawing, Loray Mill February 6, 1929, Manville Jenckes Corporation.
- Gaston County Map of Mill Village. Firestone Mill. January 1, 1963. County of Gaston, Office of Tax Supervisor, Gastonia, N.C.
- Loray Mill National Register Historic District map, by the City of Gastonia Planning Department, 2014.
Music:
Oral History:
- R-0568 Interview with Sophie Melvin Gerson, and Simon W. Gerson Sophie Melvin and other strike leaders were arrested and charged with the murder of police Chief Orville Aderholt during the Loray Mill Strike of 1929.
- Collection Title: Millie Wiggins Wandell and Charlotte Wiggins Oral History on Ella May Wiggins, 1984 The Millie Wiggins Wandell and Charlotte Wiggins Oral History on Ella May Wiggins, 1984, records the sisters' memories and what they learned afterward of the death of their mother, Ella May Wiggins, a white balladeer, textile worker, and union organizer who was killed during the textile strike in Gastonia, N.C., in 1929. Acquired as part of the Southern Historical Collection.
Photographs:
- National Child Labor Committee Photographs taken by Lewis Hine, ca. 1912–ca. 1912 National Archives.
- Golla Chambers, 12 years old, been in mill 3 years, spinning 2 years, weave 1 year. Other sisters spinners. Gastonia, N.C. https://catalog.archives.gov/id/523102
- Lacy (12 years old) and Savannah ( 11 years old) Ballard. Have worked two years. Father said, "the little one is a cracker-jack on spinnin', at least so the boss says. She ain't satisfied unless in the mill. The oldest one isn't so good at it. Not as quick." (Note the tense, serious look on the younger. Older more like a real girl.) Gastonia, N.C. https://catalog.archives.gov/id/523103
- Girls running warping machines in Loray Mill, Gastonia, N.C. Many boys and girls much younger. Boss carefully avoided them, and when I tried to get a photo which would include a mite of a boy working at a machine, he was quickly swept out of range. "He isn't working here, just came in to help a little." Gastonia, N.C. https://catalog.archives.gov/id/523104
- Boy from Loray Mill. "Been at it right smart two years." Gastonia, N.C. https://catalog.archives.gov/id/523105
- Rhodes Mfg. Co. Spinner. A moments glimpse of the outer world. Said she was 11 years old. Been working over a year. Lincolnton, N.C. https://catalog.archives.gov/id/523106
- Loray Mill, Gastonia, N.C. Boy with coat in hand is 11 years old. Been there 9 months. Started at 50 [cents] a day, now gets 60 [cents]. "When I sweeps double space I get 90 [cents] a day, but it makes you work." Look at the boy. Two infants appeared at the door and vanished back immediately on seeing me. Gastonia, N.C. https://catalog.archives.gov/id/523107
- Doffers in Cherryville Mfg. Co., N.C. Plenty of others. Cherryville, N.C. https://catalog.archives.gov/id/523108
- One of the doffers in Vivian Cotton Mills. Cherryville, N.C. https://catalog.archives.gov/id/523109
- Noon hour at the Vivian Cotton Mills. Shows the character of the "hands" in a better class mill, --well ventilated and lighted. Cherryville, N.C. https://catalog.archives.gov/id/523110
- Spinner in Vivian Cotton Mills. Been at it 2 years. Where will her good looks be in 10 years? Cherryville, N.C.
https://catalog.archives.gov/id/523111
- A doffer in Lincolnton Mill. Lincolnton, N.C https://catalog.archives.gov/id/523112
- A few of the workers in Cherryville Mfg. Co. Cherryville, N.C.https://catalog.archives.gov/id/523113
- Cherryville Graded School. These are the children in the town who attend school. 2,000 population. One-third of these raised their hands when asked, "How many have worked in a cotton mill?" Cherryville, N.C. https://catalog.archives.gov/id/523116
- COLLECTION: Mills. Child labor at cotton mills and other kinds of manufacturing in the United States. National Child Labor Committee Collection. Photographs taken by Lewis Hine. Created/Published 1908-1924. Library of Congress.
https://www.loc.gov/item/2004674304/
- Accident to young cotton mill worker. Giles Edmund Newsom (Photo October 23rd, 1912), while working in Sanders Spinning Mill, Bessemer City, N.C., August 21st, 1912.. https://www.loc.gov/resource/nclc.02655/
- Lockwood-Greene Records. Series 2: Photographs and Slides
Postcards:
Print
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Papers, 1928-1930 Vorse, Mary Heaton, 1874-1966. Papers of a journalist and author known for her championship of trade unionism -- Included are materials on three strikes in the textile industry covered by Vorse during the late 1920's. The majority of the papers are concerned with a strike in Gastonia, North Carolina. Available only on microfilm at Wisconsin Historical Society Library and Archives. Original materials were transferred to Wayne State University, Detroit, Mich. after filming.
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A Pictorial Description of The Loray Mill and its Environs. Gastonia, N.C. 1929.
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Gastonia gazette correspondence, 1929, 1939. The collection contains communications, letters, news releases, and petition relating to Loray Mill strike and Fred Beal. Located in the Southern Historical Collection, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
Finding Aid: https://finding-aids.lib.unc.edu/03867/
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Loray Mill Ledger Book. A ledger book from Loray Mill containing payment information for textile mill equipment and wages. 1937-1952. (Night Overseer at Victory Mill)
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Loray Mill, Gastonia, Gaston County, NC. Firestone Textiles, Loray Plant . Gaston County Gastonia North Carolina, 1968. Historic American Engineering Record. Written historical and descriptive data.
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Lynne Allred papers, circa 1976. Material related to her research on the textile workers strike in Gastonia in 1929. Located in J. Murrey Atkins Library, University of North Carolina at Charlotte.
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State v Fred Erwin Beal. Filed 20 August 1930. page 278 (Image 352) Cases argued and determined in the Supreme Court of North Carolina v.199 (1930)
Go To: https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=uc1.b5039722&seq=7
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State of North Carolina vs. Fred Erwin Beal, and et al. transcript Collection held at the Harvard Law School Library. This collection contains the complete transcript of the prosecution of Fred Erwin Beal, a communist labor organizer, and others involved in the 1929 Loray Mill Textile Workers' Strike, for the murder of Gastonia Police Chief Orville F. Aderholt. The transcript covers the retrial in the State of North Carolina Superior Court during September and October 1929. The collection also includes Judge M.V. Barnhill's January 18, 1930 charge to the jury. Collection held at the Harvard Law School Library. Go to: https://hollisarchives.lib.harvard.edu/repositories/5/resources/4522
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Labor Defender Journal of the International Labor Defense includes 1929 issues covering the Loray Mill Strike and Ella Mae Wiggins. Go to: https://www.marxists.org/history/usa/pubs/labordefender/index.htm#29
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Access the Gaston County Board of Commissioners Minutes Archive for a complete Repository of Board of Commissioners’ Adopted Regular Meeting Minutes from 1879 through 2020. Payment records related to trial of Fred Erwin Beal for murder of Gastonia Police Chief Orville F. Aderholt.
Go to: https://www.gastongov.com/952/Agendas-Minutes-Videos
Slides (Photographs)
Theses and Dissertations:
Videos:
- TRAIL OF HISTORY Preservation North Carolina "Discover the work of Preservation North Carolina. This NPO advocates for the preservation of historic properties across the state. In Gastonia, Preservation NC’s work at the Loray Mill served as an economic catalyst to spur reinvestment in the neighborhood."