Harris Manufacturing Company Records and Harris Family Papers
Scope and Contents
The Harris Manufacturing Company Records and Harris Family Papers collection contains the business records of the Harris Manufacturing Company and its related companies and the personal papers of the Harris family of Johnson City, Tenn., which founded and controlled the company until its sale to Tarkett AB of Sweden in 1983. The collection is divided into two sub-groups: Sub-Group A, the Harris Manufacturing Company Records and Sub-Group B, Harris Family Papers.
Sub-Group 1, Company Records, contains records that document the corporate operations and financial affairs of Harris Manufacturing Company, numerous subsidiaries, and other companies and enterprises in which the Harris family were involved. The records cover the period 1903-1990 and include such record types as appraisals and audits, board minutes, financial records, production records, sales records, blueprints and drawings, contracts, deeds, and photographs. From the records one can document not only the history of this industrial manufacturer but industrial development in Johnson City, the southern Appalachian region, and the general development of the flooring industry in the United States during the 20th century.
Sub-Group 2, Harris Family Papers, contains personal papers belonging to various members of the Harris family who were prominent in business and social affairs in Johnson City, Tenn., for most of the 20th century. The papers cover the period 1850-1983, though primarily papers are post-1900. Their papers reflect this involvement and help document business and social history in the city during this period. The papers include such document types as audits, correspondence, financial records, estate planning and estate settlement, and photographs. Civic activities such as involvement with the local Chamber of Commerce, Rotary Club, Girl Scouts, and church activities, especially involving St. John’s Episcopal Church, are also documented.
Dates
- 1850-1990 and undated
Creator
- Harris Manufacturing Company (Organization)
- Harris Family (Family)
Conditions Governing Access
The collection is open for research.
Extent
420.00 linear feet (191 boxes (186 linear feet), 405 volumes (234 linear feet), 1,848 photographs, 4 films, 49 oversized folders)
Language of Materials
English
Arrangement
Sub-Group 1 is arranged into 20 series organized by the records of the various individual companies as well as the Harris Foundation established by the Harris family. Photographs and film related to these enterprises has been housed in a separate Series 20. The Sub-Group 1 series are as follows: Series 1, Harris Manufacturing Company Records, 1903-1990 and undated; Series 2, Harris Flooring Company Records, 1912-1984 and undated; Series 3, Harris Hardwood Company Records, 1919-1984 and undated; Series 4, Cherokee Flooring Corporation Records, 1925-1985; Series 5, Harris Shell Company Records, 1940-1945 and undated; Series 6, Harris Properties, Incorporated Records, 1952-1973 and undated; Series 7, BondWood Sales Corporation Records, 1954-1980 and undated; Series 8, Harris Corporation Records, 1945-1986; Series 9, Harris Company Records, 1945-1947; Series 10, Harris Appalachian Corporation Records, 1908-1983; Series 11, Golden State Flooring Corporation Records, 1928-1929; Series 12, Doe River Flooring Company Records, 1921-1923; Series 13, French Broad Flooring Company Records, 1926-1928; Series 14, Linville Company Records, 1931-1953; Series 15, Auto Sales and Service Company Records, 1924-1946; Series 16, Citizens Loan Corporation Records, 1934-1938; Series 17, Monte Vista Burial Park Records, 1930-1981; Series 18, Glen Ridge Farms, Incorporated Records, 1913-1987; and Series 19, Harris Foundation Records, 1959-1974.
Sub-Group 2 is divided into series based on selected family members as follows: Series 1, William P. Harris and Ida Florence Potter Harris Papers, 1850-1948; Series 2, Allen Harris, Sr. and Torrey Stanley Harris Papers, 1899-1980 and undated; Series 3, Allen Harris, Jr. and Ruth Harris Papers, 1933-1983 and undated; Series 4, Allen Harris, III Papers, 1959-1974; Series 5, Eva Stanley Harris Conour Papers, 1955-1972; and Series 6, Photographs, 1904-1973 and undated.
Method of Acquisition
The collection was donated to the Archives of Appalachia by Eva Stanley Harris Conour, Tucson, Arizona, daughter of Allen Harris, Jr., on June 15, 1992.
Processing Information
Processing of the collection was completed in 2002. The collection was processed by Ned Irwin, Anna Kennedy, Alex LaPella, David Littleford, Mark Rhymer, Suzanne Sabantu, Marie Tedesco, and April Wood.
- Conour, Eva Stanley Harris
- Harris, Allen, 1906-1992
- Harris, Allen, III
- Harris, Allen, Sr., 1878-1973
- Harris, Ida Florence Potter, 1853-1936
- Harris, Lester Potter, 1893-1918
- Harris, Ruth
- Harris, Torrey Stanley
- Harris, William Pond, 1846-1915
- Blueprints (reprographic copies) Subject Source: Art & Architecture Thesaurus
- Cemeteries -- Tennessee Subject Source: Library of Congress Subject Headings
- Cherokee Flooring Corporation (Burlington, N.C.)
- Corporation records Subject Source: Art & Architecture Thesaurus
- Deeds Subject Source: Art & Architecture Thesaurus
- Flooring, Wooden Subject Source: Library of Congress Subject Headings
- Girl Scouts -- Tennessee Subject Source: Library of Congress Subject Headings
- Hardwood industry Subject Source: Library of Congress Subject Headings
- Harris Family
- Harris Flooring Company (New York City, N. Y.)
- Harris Hardwood Company (Roanoke, Va.)
- Harris Manufacturing Company (Johnson City, Tenn.)
- Harris-Tarkett (Johnson City, Tenn.)
- Industries -- North Carolina Subject Source: Library of Congress Subject Headings
- Industries -- Tennessee -- Johnson City Subject Source: Library of Congress Subject Headings
- Industries -- Virginia Subject Source: Library of Congress Subject Headings
- Monte Vista Burial Park (Johnson City, Tenn.) Subject Source: Unspecified ingested source
- Motion pictures (visual works) Subject Source: Art & Architecture Thesaurus
- Personal papers Subject Source: Art & Architecture Thesaurus
- Photographs Subject Source: Art & Architecture Thesaurus
- Rotary Club (Johnson City, Tenn.)
- St. John's Episcopal Church (Johnson City, Tenn.)
- World War, 1939-1945--Equipment and supplies Subject Source: Unspecified ingested source
- Author
- Ned Irwin, Anna Kennedy, Alex LaPella, David Littleford, Mark Rhymer, Suzanne Sabantu, Marie Tedesco, and April Wood
- Language of description
- Undetermined
- Script of description
- Code for undetermined script
- Language of description note
- eng
Repository Details
Part of the Archives of Appalachia Repository
PO Box 70295
344 J.L. Seehorn Jr. Rd.
Johnson City TN 37614 USA
423-439-4338
423/439-4338
archives@etsu.edu
