Tri-State Tobacco Growers Association Study
Scope and Content
This collection contains a typescript draft for a study and history of the Tri-State Tobacco Growers Association (also known as the Tobacco Growers Cooperative Marketing Association). Written by Sydney D. Frissell and B. D. Tillett, the book was to detail the brief existence of the cooperative and place it in context of general agriculture, tobacco farming, and other cooperative efforts. Papers within the collection indicate that the subject of tobacco prior to the formation of the cooperative was to be written by Tillett, while Frissell, a one-time officer of the cooperative, would write the history of the cooperative itself. The draft is incomplete, and what is present seems to be comprised largely of the subjects assigned to Tillett. Only one file relates explicitly to the cooperative, with the remainder devoted to background subjects. Included are drafts and background materials on the history of American agriculture, tobacco cultivation by Native Americans and the colonists; transportation, consumption, and foreign trade of tobacco; farm tenancy; and agricultural cooperatives. The collection also contains several working outlines for the book, the working title of which was "An Economic and Social Study of the Tobacco Growers Cooperative Marketing Association." Also included are a few pieces of correspondence regarding the project, including an exchange of letters between Frissell and Professor John R. Hutcheson, director of the Virginia Agricultural Extension Service.
Dates
- 1925-1927, n. d.
Creator
- Frissell, Sydney D. (Person)
- Tillett, B. D. (Person)
Language of Materials
The materials in the collection are in English.
Conditions Governing Access
The collection is open for research.
Conditions Governing Reproduction and Use
The copyright status of this collection is unknown. Copyright restrictions may apply. Contact Special Collections and University Archives for assistance in determining the use of these materials.
Reproduction or digitization of materials for personal or research use can be requested using our reproduction/digitization form: http://bit.ly/scuareproduction. Reproduction or digitization of materials for publication or exhibit use can be requested using our publication/exhibition form: http://bit.ly/scuapublication. Please contact Special Collections and University Archives (specref@vt.edu or 540-231-6308) if you need assistance with forms or to submit a completed form.
Administrative History
The Tri-State Tobacco Growers Association was formed in 1921 as a cooperative of Virginia, North Carolina, and South Carolina tobacco farmers in response to the falling prices for their crop following World War I. In joining the cooperative, farmers contracted to send their crops to the association, which would, in turn, grade, redry and sell the tobacco to manufacturers. At its peak, the cooperative boasted more than 90,000 farmers among its membership. The cooperative folded in 1925, largely due to membership dissatisfaction with the service.
Sydney D. Frissell served as the publicity officer for the Tri-State Tobacco Growers Association and was also a graduate student in rural social economics at the University of North Carolina, where he made a study of cooperative marketing.
Research locates an instructor of sociology named B. D. Tillett at the University of Georgia in 1936. In that year, Tillett was appointed an associate professor in the university's Department of Rural Organization and Markets. He seems likely to have been the Boone Dowdy Tillett who received a master's degree in agricultural economics at North Carolina State University in 1924, with the thesis "Development and Marketing of Tobacco."
Extent
0.2 Cubic Feet (1 box)
Abstract
This collection contains a typescript draft of a study and history of the Tri-State Tobacco Growers Association, written by S. D. Frissell and B. D. Tillett, including general background history of tobacco and agricultural cooperative efforts, together with research data on tobacco farming statistics.
Arrangement
The collection is arranged according to document type, then by topic.
Source of Acquisition
The Tri-State Tobacco Growers Association Study was donated to Newman Library in 1957, under the title "Tobacco Growers Cooperative Marketing Association Records."
Rights Statement for Archival Description
The guide to the Tri-State Tobacco Growers Association Study by Special Collections and University Archives, Virginia Tech, is licensed under a CC0 (https://creativecommons.org/share-your-work/public-domain/cc0/).
Processing Information
The processing, arrangement, and description of the Tri-State Tobacco Growers Association Study commenced and was completed in February, 2011.
In the course of processing, the collection's name was changed from the original "Tobacco Growers Cooperative Marketing Association Records" to coincide with the official name of the organization and the contents of the collection.
- Title
- Tri-State Tobacco Growers Association Study, 1925-1927
- Status
- Completed
- Author
- John M. Jackson, Archivist
- Date
- 2011 (CC0 1.0)
- Description rules
- Describing Archives: A Content Standard
- Language of description
- English
- Script of description
- Latin
Repository Details
Part of the Special Collections and University Archives, Virginia Tech Repository
Special Collections and University Archives, University Libraries (0434)
560 Drillfield Drive
Newman Library, Virginia Tech
Blacksburg Virginia 24061 US
540-231-6308
specref@vt.edu