E. E. Hilliard and Company Records, 1835-1947

Summary

Creator:
E. E. Hilliard and Company.
Abstract:
Records of a Connecticut textile firm, including material on its branch operations, Charter Oak Company and Eagle Mill Company; correspondence and letter books (1843-1905); financial records, including bills and receipts, cash books, checkbooks, and time sheets (1837-1939); legal papers, including incorporation papers, 1893; references to a strike, 1934; and ledgers (1857-1937).
Extent:
8.3 linear ft.
Language:
English
Preferred citation:

Preferred citation for this material is as follows:

E. E. Hilliard and Company Records

Background

Scope and content:

The E. E. Hilliard & Company Records consist of correspondence, financial material, miscellaneous material, and ledgers.

The bulk of the Correspondence and Financial material (checkbooks, time books, bill and receipts) deals with the years 1850-1935, when the factory was at its peak production. Several papers also concern smaller branches of the company, including the Hilliard Mills, the Charter Oak Co., the Eagle Mill Co., and the Vernon Mills Co.

The Miscellaneous material includes notes on the history of E. E. Hillard & Co. as well as some specific notes on papers in the collection. Of particular interest is the sample book, containing swatches of different woollen goods with notations, dated 1884. There is also a set of dye formulas with representative samples, dated 1885.

Ledgers span more than eighty years of the company and include a few from the smaller branches.

Biographical / historical:

E. E. Hilliard & Company, a woollen goods manufacturer, was established in 1794 by Aaron Buckland. Elisha E. Hilliard became part owner of the mills in 1831 and became sole owner in 1842. Aaron Krock purchased the buildings in 1940 and the site was used to manufacture aircraft parts for Pratt and Whitney during World War II. In 1949 the site was purchased by the Bezzini family and became a manufacturing plant for their Old Colony Furniture Company.

The site was re-acquired by Hilliard Mills LLC in 2006 and renovated as a "premiere location for business," leasing office and business space. It is a nationally listed historic site (see their website at http://www.hilliardmills.com for more information).

Arrangement:

Material is in alphabetical order by type of material; within that, most material is organized chronologically.

Access and use

Restrictions:

The majority of our archival and manuscript collections are housed offsite and require advanced notice for retrieval. Researchers are encouraged to contact us in advance concerning the collection material they wish to access for their research.

Terms of access:

Written permission must be obtained from SCRC and all relevant rights holders before publishing quotations, excerpts or images from any materials in this collection.

Preferred citation:

Preferred citation for this material is as follows:

E. E. Hilliard and Company Records

Location of this collection:
Special Collections Research Center
Syracuse University Libraries
Bird Library, Room 600
Syracuse, NY 13244, United States
Link to repository site
Contact:
315.443.2697
scrc@syr.edu