East Tennessee Light and Power Company Records

Collection — Multiple Containers

Identifier: AppMs-0156

Staff Only

Scope and Contents

The East Tennessee Light and Power Company records contain correspondence, tax statements, quarterly and annual reports, budgets, account statements, ledgers, job orders, inventories and blueprints. Although the records date from 1898 to 1945, the bulk of the material was generated between 1920 and 1945. The records consist substantially of the documents required for reports to, and audit by, external agencies to which the company was accountable, including Securities and Exchange Commission; Federal Power Commission; Internal Revenue Service; and the appropriate agencies in the states of North Carolina, Massachusetts, Tennessee, and Virginia. The remainder of the records largely concern the generation and transmission of electricity by the company and the purchase of East Tennessee Light and Power Company by the Tennessee Valley Authority. Although personnel files were not included in this records group, one TVA payroll ledger, dated 1950, is part of the collection. Photographs which were part of reports or in photo albums were left with the records; other photographs have been placed in Series 6 in Subgroup 2 and stored in the photographic storage area.

Two additions to the collection include annual reports and tax files of ETLPC and related companies to state and federal government agencies; budgets, property assessments, earning and expense statements, requisitions and working papers relating to the finances of the companies, and inventories, purchase orders, job orders and operating reports concerning electrical generation and distribution by the companies. The records of East Tennessee Light and Power Company, Tennessee Eastern Electric Company, Watauga Power Company, Carolina Engineering Company and Johnson City Traction Corporation are represented. The additions also inlcude cost analysis data on regional substations as well as transmission/communication systems. Also included in the papers are substation inventories; electrical engineering and architectural blueprints; maps of transmission/distribution systems; and the sales agreement and deeds pertaining to the transfer of ETLPC to TVA.

Dates

1898-1945, 1950
Majority of material found within 1920 - 1945

Creator

East Tennessee Light and Power Company (Organization)

Conditions Governing Access

The Collection is open for research.

Extent

116.50 linear feet (120 boxes and 10 map folders)

10.00 folder(s)

155.00 Boxes

2.00 Boxes

Language of Materials

English

Additional Description

Arrangement

The records contained no organizational charts for the companies, and the arrangement of the records did not appear to reflect the organization of the company. The records are divided into two subgroups: Subgroup 1, Financial Records; and Subgroup 2, Operating Records.

Subgroup 1 contains six series including Series 1, Government Tax and Agency Files; Series 2, Subject Files (primarily budgets, legal contracts, account statements, and audits); Series 3 Marketing Files; Series 4, Supporting Files (memoranda, supporting details, work papers, and preliminary reports); Series 5, Overhead Cost Studies; and Series 6, Miscellaneous Bound Volumes (ledgers, budget analysis, and earning statements).

Subgroup 2, Operating Records, consists of four series: Series 1, Bound Volumes (operating ledgers, generation reports, inventories, voucher and job order analyses); Series 2, Job Order Files; Series 3, Subject Files (blueprints, photo albums, construction estimates, operating logs, inventories, and requisitions); Series 4, Photographs and Negatives. Oversized blueprints were removed from the records and placed in the map cabinets, according to accession number. Photographs which were part of reports or in photo albums were left with the records, while other photographs have been place in Series 5 and stored in the photographic storage area.

The original articles of incorporation, board of directors' minutes, and personnel files were not included in this records group. When the Tennessee Valley Authority purchased East Tennessee Light and Power Company, many of the employees were retained by the authority and the personnel files were integrated with TVA personnel files.

Method of Acquisition

Ronald E. Brewer, a representative for the Tennessee Valley Authority, donated the East Tennessee Light and Power Company Records to the Archives of Appalachia on June 15, 1983. The Tennessee Valley Authority had acquired the records when it purchased East Tennessee Light and Power Company in 1945.

Accruals and Additions

On January 20, 1987 and October 12, 1988, additional East Tennessee Light and Power Company Records were transferred to the archives by Ronald Brewer on behalf of the Tennessee Valley Authority. The Tennessee Valley Authority gained custody of the records when it purchased the utility company in 1945. The records were opened for research in August 1987.

Separated Materials

The 'Statements of Assessed Value' for utility companies in Virginia, 1919-1940, has been removed and placed in the vertical file under the heading, Virginia State Corporation Commission.

Processing Information

Norma Myers and Martha Egan completed processing the collection. In 1991, Scott Schwartz completed processing an addition, and Marie Tedesco completed processing an addition in 1994.