Riverside Mill records

Collection — Box: 1

Identifier: ARCHS-098

Staff Only

Scope and Contents

Original mailing envelope states that certain internal documents and memos relate to the founding and early history of the Riverside Mills. Documents believed to be the personal papers of William E. McCoy. Some documents deal with the sale of a patent belonging to Riverside Mills, one session of minutes, one report to shareholders, a receipts relating to functions of the Mills, the Bye Laws of the Mills and the sale agreement between Riverside Mills and Union Wadding. Other materials are deeds mortgages and other papers some relating to the affairs of William E. McCoy and some to various other individuals. Names of interest include William Tutt, James Gardiner, Joseph Cumming and William M. Smith. Papers were donated to the Reese Library after the Riverside Mills closed in the 1970s.

Dates

Created: 1818-1895
Other: Majority of material found in 1888-1895
Other: Date acquired: 00/12/1983

Conditions Governing Access

no restrictions

Biographical or Historical Information

William E. McCoy (Nov. 14, 1840 — November 17, 1919) founded McCoy’s Mill which later became the Riverside Mills. After the sale of Riverside Mills he concentrated on his business McCoy’s Brick and Tile probably until his listing in the Augusta City Directory as retired in 1902. Married twice, McCoy left no surviving children. His obituary in the Augusta Chronicle November 18, 1919 credits him as a Confederate veteran. The Riverside Mills, having opened in the 1870’s to utilize various by-products of cotton, was considered in 1938 one of the world’s largest manufacturing plants for cotton waste products. The Riverside Mill filed for bankruptcy in December 1977 and was closed by a judge’s court order on December 20, 1977. The mill real estate was sold in a foreclosure auction on May 2, 1978

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