Antietam Woolen Manufacturing Company records
1814-1843 Majority of material found within 1814-1816Abstract
The Antietam Woolen Manufacturing Company was a small textile mill in Funkstown, Maryland and operated a domestic store in Hagerstown. The collection represents an incomplete record of a small textile mill company in the early nineteenth century. The records include bills, orders, accounts, inventories and cost estimates. Of particular interest are a series of reports on visits to similar mills operated by Du Pont, Bauduy & Company near Wilmington, Delaware, and by Fisher & Gougher in Germantown, Pennsylvania, with notes on workers, machinery and administrative methods.
Dates
- 1814-1843
- Majority of material found within 1814-1816
Creator
- Antietam Woolen Manufacturing Company (Organization)
Extent
1 Linear Foot
Historical Note
The Antietam Woolen Manufacturing Company was a small textile mill in Funkstown, Maryland and operated a domestic store in Hagerstown. The company was formed in June 1814 and dissolved in April 1816. The company leased a factory in Funkstown, Maryland and operated a domestic store in Hagerstown. A fulling mill was added in 1815. It was typical of the many small textile mills that were established when imports were cut off by the War of 1812, and which quickly collapsed when British competition resumed. The company's twelve shareholders were probably all local farmers and landowners who needed to process their own wool. They lacked prior manufacturing experience. Henry Shafer (1766-1855), the former president, and Gerard Stonebraker (1779-1855) purchased the property from the other partners in 1816. Subsequently, disputes arose over settlement of the accounts, and Daniel Sprigg (1790-1871), cashier of the Hagerstown Bank, and, Thomas Harbaugh (1777-1857) were appointed referees in 1828. By 1829, the mill was producing ingrain carpets, and a few years later, Brussels carpets, prior to the factory's destruction by fire in 1834. The company's affairs were not finally closed until 1843.
Scope and Contents
The Antietam Woolen Manufacturing Company records describe all of the difficulties faced by the premature industries of the War of 1812 period. The records span from the company's formation in 1814 to its dissolvement in 1816, with accounts of referee in liquidation, relating to a factory at Funkstown and a store in Hagerstown, Maryland. The records include bills, orders, accounts, inventories and cost estimates. Of particular interest are a series of reports on visits to similar mills operated by Du Pont, Bauduy & Company near Wilmington, Delaware, and by Fisher & Gougher in Germantown, Pennsylvania, with notes on workers, machinery and administrative methods. The records include much useful data on the hiring of the firm's superintendent, rules for workers, wages and the use of child labor. Also included is documentation of the effects of British competition and the settlement of the company's affairs in sale to Shafer & Stonebreaker. Manuscript records for the company are not complete. Daybooks and record books referred to in reports are missing. Agents' reports for the first part of 1815 are missing. Of the packets numbered by someone in 1829, only #2, #3 and #6 are in the collection.
Access Restrictions
No restrictions on access; this collection is open for research.
Language of Materials
English
Additional Information
Subjects
Finding Aid & Administrative Information
- Title:
- Antietam Woolen Manufacturing Company records
- Status:
- Author:
- John Beverley Riggs
- Date:
- 1978
- Description rules:
- Describing Archives: A Content Standard
- Language of description:
- English
- Script of description:
- Latin
Revision Statements
- 2021: Ashley Williams
Repository Details
Repository Details
Part of the Manuscripts and Archives Repository
