Skip to main content

Mandeville Mills collection

 Collection
Identifier: LH-0033

Scope and Contents note

This collection contains every issue of Mandeville Yarns, the newspaper printed for Mandeville Mill employees from 1947 to 1953. It includes news about the mill, local events, and employees. Additionally, this collection contains a manuscript titled “Recollections of Mandeville Mills,” written by Mary Lovvorn in 1985, possibly the same Mary Lovvorn born to Henry Oliver and Effie Hay Lovvorn in 1908, and two Mandeville Mills Fiftieth Anniversary medallions.

Dates

  • approximately 1947-1985

Creator

Conditions Governing Access note

Open to all users; no restrictions.

Conditions Governing Use note

As stipulated by United States copyright law.

Biographical/Historical note

Mandeville Mills was formed in 1902 when L. C. Mandeville, Joe Aycock and H. O. Lovvorn combined Carrollton Oil Mill and Mandeville Cotton Mills into one company. All three men were leaders in the community and the mill provided employment and services for many citizens of Carrollton. A company magazine, Mandeville Yarns, was produced beginning in 1947. By 1953, however, Mandeville Mills could not recover from lost profits and had not advanced beyond manufacturing yarn. The company was sold to the Comer Machinery Company of Atlanta, and within two years the mills were producing goods again. Today the original mill has been converted into Mandeville Mill Loft Apartments, located on Lovvorn Road in Carrollton, Georgia.

Leroy Clifton Mandeville, son of Appleton and Mary Ann Stewart Mandeville, was born on September 25, 1851. His education consisted of tutoring from his mother and Professor A. C. Reese. On December 16, 1876, he married Carrie Richardson, daughter of Major John R. Richardson, and they had five children: Eugenia, Nell, Appleton, Leroy Clifton, and Camilla. He was a prominent member of the community as president of the People’s Bank for twenty-eight years, treasurer of the Fourth District A & M School (which he helped bring to Carrollton), mayor of Carrollton, vice-president of Gainesboro Tel & Tel (an early telephone company). While on his way home from Nova Scotia, Mandeville died from a stroke on September 9, 1926 in Asheville, North Carolina.

Joseph A. Aycock was raised by his uncle, Joseph Amis, in Coweta County, Georgia. He attended the University of Georgia and married Mary Elizabeth Thomas in 1882. In 1891, they moved to Carrollton, and he built his first cotton gin at the foot of Maple Street hill. Aycock was a “genius of construction” and built several other buildings around town. He died on February 2, 1910.

Henry Oliver Lovvorn was born in Newell, Alabama on June 15, 1876 to William Daniel and Sarah Delilah Burden Lovvorn. His family moved to Bowdon, Georgia two years later. He attended Bowdon College and the Commercial College of Kentucky, and he married Effie Hay on July 18, 1897. Lovvorn was a member of the Board of Education and a leader in the Republican Party at a time when Democrats held control of the South. He died on November 25, 1938.

Mandeville, Aycock, and Lovvorn signed a contract for machinery for the first cotton oil mill in Carrollton. Years later, they formed a joint-stock company by combining Mandeville Cotton Mills and Carrollton Oil Mills in 1902. Mandeville was elected president, Aycock was vice-president and manager, and Lovvorn was the secretary and treasurer; these offices did not change until Aycock’s death in 1910. A second mill opened in 1908, and gins were built across western Georgia (Whitesburg, Clem, Mandeville, Hulett, Bremen, Tallapoosa, Bowdon, and Buckton). The oil mill was sold in 1945 and various gins were sold to Joe Aycock, Jr. when the economy was in decline. Demand decreased dramatically after World War II and the company failed to modernize their machinery. Continuing losses over the years necessitated the sale of Mandeville Mills to Comer Machinery Company of Atlanta in December 1953, and two other businesses soon occupied the mills. Printed Fabrics, Inc. of Scranton, Pennsylvania bought the larger mill and produced printed fabrics. Testworth Laboratories bought the smaller, original mill and created rubber and resin backings for carpets and upholstery.

Extent

0.42 Linear feet (1 box)

Language

English

Overview

Collection includes corporate magazine Mandeville Yarns, medallions issued for the fiftieth anniversary in 1952, and “Recollections of Mandeville Mills” by Miss Mary Lovvorn.

Arrangement note

Arranged alphabetically by file title.

Immediate Source of Acquisition note

Medallions were donated by Leona Doss, sister of Homer Lee Stamps who was an employee of Mandeville Mills.

Processing Information note

Processed by Sarah Warren in 2008 and Candice Larson in 2013.

Title
Guide to the Mandeville Mills collection LH-0033
Status
Completed
Author
Finding aid prepared by Written by Sarah Warren and Candice Larson
Date
2013
Description rules
Describing Archives: A Content Standard
Language of description
English
Script of description
Latin
Language of description note
Description is in English

Repository Details

Part of the University of West Georgia Special Collections Repository

Contact:
Special Collections, Ingram Library
University of West Georgia
1601 Maple Street
Carrollton GA 30118-2000 United States