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Weapons industry -- Employees

 Subject
Subject Source: Library of Congress Subject Headings
Scope Note: Arms workers; Munitions workers; Firearms workers; Gunpowder workers; Explosives workers; Dynamite workers; Ordnance workers.

Found in 26 Collections and/or Records:

Alfred Victor du Pont papers

 Collection
Accession: 0512
Abstract:

Alfred Victor du Pont (1798-1856) was a senior partner in E.I. du Pont de Nemours & Company, a gunpowder manufacturer. This collection of papers documents Alfred V. du Pont’s business affiliations, relations with other family members, and relationship with du Pont workers. The bulk is comprised of correspondence, and the collection also includes a small number of advertising circulars.

Dates: 1805-1856

Atlantic Dynamite Company payroll books

 Collection
Accession: 2706
Abstract:

The Atlantic Dynamite Company was one of the largest manufacturers of dynamite in the United States between 1882 and 1904. These are four volumes containing entries listing employees, hours worked, and wages paid at a dynamite plant at Kenvil, New Jersey.

Dates: 1872-1898

Brandywine Valley oral history interviewees' photographs

 Collection
Accession: 2017-225
Abstract:

Hagley Museum staff conducted a series oral history interviews between 1954 and 1990, speaking primarily with individuals who had worked at the DuPont Company powder yards on Brandywine Creek during the yards’ final decades of operation or who had lived near the yards as spouses or children of DuPont Co. workers. Some of the individuals who were interviewed donated, lent for copying, or provided information on the photographs in this collection. The images primarily depict the worker communities which surrounded the E.I. du Pont de Nemours & Company powder yards on Brandywine Creek or the powder yards themselves.

Dates: circa 1859-1958; Majority of material found within 1890-1920

Cazenove Gardner Lee, Jr. photographs and negatives

 Collection
Accession: 1969-085
Abstract:

Cazenove Gardner Lee, Jr. (1882-1945) was a genealogist and prolific writer, who founded the Society of Lees of Virginia. This collection conists of photographs and negatives relating to family and career of Cazenove Gardner Lee, Jr. The images are primarily of various gunpowder mills and machinery.

Dates: circa 1900-1925

Clinton Blackburn work papers

 Collection
Accession: 2177
Abstract:

Clinton H. Blackburn (1916-1993) was a mechanical engineer with E.I. du Pont de Nemours & Company. Blackburn's papers are a sample of work-related materials he retained upon retirement.

Dates: 1945-1982

Craven-McDade family papers

 Collection
Accession: 2308
Abstract:

The Craven-McDade family had several family members working in the gunpowder and explosives industry for the E.I. du Pont de Nemours & Company and later the Hercules Powder Company. These papers related to the Craven and McDade family of Henry Clay village in Delaware.

Dates: 1899-1954

Delaware Steel and Ordnance Company, Inc., Curtis Bay and Raritan Arsenals work log

 Collection
Accession: 2840
Abstract:

Delaware Steel and Ordnance Company, Inc. was a salvage corporation headquartered in New York, although its plant operations were in Delaware. The firm was chartered in 1915 when it took over the Diamond State Steel Company of Delaware. This item is a work log or diary of a post-World War I contractual operation engaged to remove and dispose of deteriorated ammunition from 1927 through 1928 at the Curtis Bay Ordnance Depot and the Raritan Arsenal. The log details the project from the initial contract, rules and regulations, weather summary, accidents, visitors, data, and other statistics of daily work performed by the Delaware Steel and Ordnance Company. Kenneth E. Cross (1898-1979), the compiler of the log, was hired to be an assistant to the superintendent at Curtis Bay Ordnance Depot.

Dates: 1927-1928

DuPont Company Engineering Department, Louviers Building photographs

 Collection
Accession: 2012-228
Abstract:

E.I. du Pont de Nemours & Company is a chemical company more commonly referred to as the DuPont company, established in 1802. DuPont broke ground on the Louviers office building, located near Newark, Delaware, in June 1951 and was occupied by DuPont's Engineering Department beginning in August 1952. This collection consists mostly of photographs of DuPont's Louviers office building. There are some photographs showing the Engineering Department's move from Wilmington to the Louviers Building.

Dates: circa 1940-1990

DuPont Company Museum collection

 Collection
Accession: 1968-001
Abstract:

E.I. du Pont de Nemours & Company is a chemical company, which began as a manufacturer of gunpowder in 1802. The collection consists of photographs and prints that document the early history of the DuPont Company’s involvement in the gunpowder and explosives industries from the 1860s through the 1920s. The bulk of the collection are photographs of employees, executives, and plant views, including aftermaths of explosions and construction. This collection also includes a variety of advertisements for the DuPont Company as well as other non-DuPont related trades. A large portion of this collection are oversize materials (panoramic photographs and advertising posters).

Dates: 1885-1952

DuPont Company photographs

 Collection
Accession: 2006-237
Abstract:

E.I. du Pont de Nemours & Company is a chemical company more commonly referred to as the DuPont company. The company was established in 1802 for the production of black powder. This collection includes publicity photographs from the DuPont Company, many relating to nylon and its uses in World War II. Other subjects include company executives, employees, and stock holders; various factories and facilities; general World War II production awards; high explosives workers; and hunting.

Dates: circa 1920-1970

DuPont Company Repauno Works centennial records

 Collection
Accession: 2450
Abstract:

DuPont Company Repauno Works manufactured high-explosive dynamite. The company began as the Repauno Chemical Company on June 7, 1880, by Lammot du Pont (1831-1884), a chemist working for the family business, E.I. du Pont de Nemours & Company, a chemical company that originally produced gunpowder. In 1980, the Repauno Works celebrated its centennial anniversary. This small collection contains materials generated in the process of organizing the centennial celebration of the Repauno Works.

Dates: 1980

DuPont Company representatives with blasters photograph

 Collection
Accession: 1999-229
Abstract:

E.I. du Pont de Nemours & Company is a chemical company more commonly referred to as the DuPont company. The company began with the production of gunpowder. Throughout the 1900s and 1910s, the company shifted its focus away from gunpowder production and towards chemistry innovations. This is a snapshot photograph of DuPont Company representatives in a field with blasters. It shows blasting equipment, dynamite, dynamite boxes, and a camera on a tripod.

Dates: circa 1910

E.I. du Pont de Nemours & Co., Inc. Pompton Lakes panoramic photographs

 Collection
Accession: 1969-152
Abstract:

In 1902 the DuPont Company acquired the Smith Electric Fuze Company and some other properties in the Pompton Lakes, New Jersey area. DuPont continued the manufacture of fuses, blasting caps, and other blasting supplies at the plant, adding a shell plant and other facilities. One panoramic photograph shows an overview of the DuPont Company plant at Pompton Lakes, New Jersey, 1918, and the other is a group portrait of staff, August 25, 1943.

Dates: 1918; 1943

E.I. du Pont de Nemours & Company, Public Affairs Department records

 Collection
Accession: 1410
Abstract:

E.I. du Pont de Nemours & Company is a chemical company more commonly referred to as the DuPont Company. The Public Affairs Department began as the Publicity Bureau in 1916, to deal with issues raised by the great increase of business spawned by World War I. Prior to this time, publicity had been handled by the Advertising Division, created in 1911. The Public Affairs Department records contain biographical sketches of deceased officers, employees, and du Pont family members, as well as histories of company plants, predecessor companies, and all line and staff departments. The alphabetical history file contains press releases, memoranda, and pamphlets that were assembled for various public relations campaigns.

Dates: 1912-1983

E.I. du Pont de Nemours & Company Repauno Works historical files

 Collection
Accession: 2387
Abstract:

E.I. du Pont de Nemours & Company Repauno Works manufactured high explosive dynamite. The company began as the Repauno Chemical Company on June 7, 1880 founded by Lammot du Pont (1831-1884). Lammot du Pont was a chemist working for the family business, E.I. du Pont de Nemours & Company, a chemical company which originally produced gunpowder. This collection consists of material for the 100th anniversary of the E.I. du Pont de Nemours & Company Repauno Works.

Dates: 1918-1983; Majority of material found within 1965-1983

Eleutherian Mills-Hagley Foundation research reports

 Collection
Accession: 1645
Abstract:

This collection contains research reports for the purpose of developing and elaborating exhibits and interpretations of the Hagley Museum. The reports were prepared by a permanent research staff and by participants in the Hagley Fellowship Program. The research reports also include scholarly articles that use Hagley's collections or are about subjects that pertain to Hagley's mission.

Dates: 1942-2007

Hanford Engineer Works miscellany

 Collection
Accession: 2305
Abstract:

The Hanford Engineer Works in Hanford, Washington, was constructed between 1943 and 1945 to create the plutonium 239 and uranium 235 used in the atomic weapons needed for World War II. Sponsored by the Army Corps of Engineers, E.I. du Pont de Nemours & Company acted as the prime contractor. This collection consists of two items: a memorandum and an organizational chart from the Construction Division of the Hanford Engineer Works.

Dates: 1944

Hazard Powder Company photographs

 Collection
Accession: 2020-205
Abstract:

The Hazard Powder Company was one of the largest gunpowder and explosives manufacturers in the United States in the late-nineteenth century. This small collection consists of fourteen photographs of views of Hazard Powder Company buildings. None of the images are dated, however, they appear to date from circa 1890s to the 1900s.

Dates: circa 1890s-1900s

Henry Miller oral history interview transcript

 Collection
Accession: 2355
Abstract:

Henry Miller (1845-1926) was first employed at the Brandywine Works of E.I. du Pont de Nemours & Company. In 1922, he was one of the oldest surviving employees when he was interviewed by Alfred I. du Pont (1864-1935). In the interview, Miller describes the layout of the Brandywine Works as it changed over time, as well as the various apparatus and processes used in the manufacture of gunpowder and its constituent ingredients.

Dates: 1922

Hercules Inc. personnel cards

 Collection
Accession: 2134
Abstract:

Hercules Inc. was a manufacturer of chemicals and munitions based in Wilmington, Delaware. The records consist of a sample of employee personnel records, or service record cards, that date from circa 1914 to 1933, as well as copies of the company pension and retirement savings plans that date from 1982 to 1990. The cards typically contain information on personal characteristics, such as race, ethnicity, age, physical appearance, and family, and also on occupation, wage rates, promotion, discipline, and reasons for discharge. The plants are scattered around the country and thus provide an interesting regional sample of the industrial workforce during the 1910s and 1920s. Pension and retirement savings plans are for both Hercules Incorporated and Simmonds Precision Products, Inc.

Dates: 1914-1990

James Gibbons naturalization papers

 Collection
Accession: 1945
Abstract:

James Gibbons of New Castle County, Delaware, was a powder worker at E.I. du Pont de Nemours & Company. This collection contains his certificate of naturalization, dated October 8, 1860, issued by the District Court held at Wilmington for the District of Delaware.

Dates: 1860

Margaret M. (Meg) Mulrooney research data

 Collection
Accession: 2014-278
Abstract:

Dr. Margaret (Meg) M. Mulrooney is Associate Professor of History and Associate Vice-Provost of University Studies at James Madison University in Harrisonburg, Virginia. The collection consists of research data supporting Mulrooney's doctoral dissertation "Labor at Home: The Domestic World of Workers at the du Pont Powder Mills, 1802-1902."

Dates: 1992-1995

Oral histories on work and daily life in the Brandywine Valley

 Collection
Accession: 1970-370
Abstract:

The collection comprises approximately 200 oral history interviews with 152 individuals conducted by museum staff between 1954 and 1990. The majority of the individuals interviewed had either worked at the DuPont Company powder yards on Brandywine Creek during the yards’ final decades of operation or had lived in the surrounding communities, although the collection also includes interviews with those who worked in other local industries. The interviews are largely biographical in nature covering a period from about 1900 to 1960 and address a wide range of subjects relating to daily life and work in the Brandywine Valley.

Dates: 1954-1990

Pierre A. Gentieu Brandywine River Valley photographs

 Collection
Accession: 1970-001
Abstract:

Pierre A. Gentieu (1842-1930) was a long-time employee of E.I. du Pont de Nemours & Company. Gentieu was born in France in 1842. He emigrated to the United States around 1859. He began working for DuPont in 1877. This collection is comprised of images taken by DuPont Company employee Pierre Gentieu from approximately 1880 to 1920. Gentieu's images document the DuPont Company Powder Yards along the banks of the Brandywine River in Wilmington Delaware. The collection documents the surrounding community along the Brandywine including worker's families, du Pont family homes, churches in the area, DuPont Company exposition displays, and other facets of social and work life in the area.

Dates: 1883-1917

Repauno Works photographs

 Collection
Accession: 1976-309
Abstract:

DuPont Company Repauno Works manufactured high explosive dynamite. The company began as the Repauno Chemical Company on June 7, 1880, by Lammot du Pont (1831-1884), a chemist working for the family business, E.I. du Pont de Nemours & Company, a chemical company which originally produced gunpowder. This collection of photographs includes numerous views of the buildings, facilities, employees, and plant operations and activities.

Dates: 1895-1975

William L. Hogg identification badge and match case

 Collection
Accession: 1999-233
Abstract:

William L. Hogg (dates unknown) was an employee of Haskell Works where gunpowder was manufactured. This collection consists of a circular photographic identification badge featuring a black and white portrait photograph as well as a Germansilver match safe with a DuPont Haskell label on the front and William L. Hogg's name written above.

Dates: circa 1915