New in the collection: Fertilizer company letterhead

Full sheet of stationery with letterhead for Virginia-Carolina Chemical Corporation

Close up of letterhead of Virginia-Carolina Chemical Corporation. It includes an image of a bag of fertilizer and a flag that reads "Make every crop a Victory crop."

Samuel Tate Morgan (1857-1919)… established the Durham Fertilizer Co. with partners Eugene Morehead and L. A. Carr in 1881. The company capitalized on tobacco stems, [which were] waste to smoking-tobacco manufacturers but a rich source of the nutrient phosphorus. Quickly successful, Durham Fertilizer opened branches in Virginia and South Carolina, and in 1895 Morgan combined all fertilizer manufacturing in North Carolina and Virginia. The Virginia-Carolina Chemical Co. became the largest industrial firm in the South, with headquarters in Richmond.

“Morgan lived out his later years in Richmond, but had an avid interest in his former hometown and its history. He bought the former James and Nancy Bennett farm from Brodie Duke (a Continue reading “New in the collection: Fertilizer company letterhead”