This collection contains the business and personal financial papers of William W. Hurt, of Washington and Smyth counties, Virginia. Records of the Douglas Land Company, of which Hurt served as general manager, comprise the larger part of the collection. These records consist primarily of lease agreements and deeds, as well as other contracts and legal documents.

The collection also contains records of several other enterprises in which Hurt was involved; at least some of these--such as the Laurel River Farm--were directly connected to the Douglas Land Company. The collection also contains items relating to the Colonial Manufacturing Company, Damascus Telephone Association, Elk Garden Company, Helton Company, Laurel River Lumber Company, and the Smyth County Fair Association.

Of Hurt's personal financial and legal papers, the collection contains several deeds and contracts into which he seems to have entered independent of his position with the Douglas Land Company.

The collection also contains a folder of documents--mostly receipts and doctor's prescriptions--belonging to J. B. Gilliam, a resident of Smyth County. Gilliam's connection to Hurt or the Douglas Land Company could not be determined while processing the collection.

A folder of general materials completes the collection and contains, among other items, various legal documents; 1922-1923 temperature and rainfall statistics for Marion, Virginia; a map showing a Douglas Land Company tract that was burned in a 1910 fire, and a copy of William Hurt's will.