Robert C. Edwards Correspondence
Collection
Identifier: Series-0011
This series consists primarily of the general and subject correspondence of Robert C. Edwards. Also contained in the series are reference materials used in the administration of the office of President. The bulk of files falls into the following categories:
1. Administrative staff members files: These records relate to administrative staff members who ended their service to Clemson College during the late 1950s or early 1960s. Depending upon a staff member's length of service, most folders have these items in common: employment agreements, letters, biographical information from vitae, and lists of publications. The file folders are arranged alphabetically by surname.
2. Harvey Gantt files (1961-1963): These records document the admission of Harvey Bernard Gantt, the first Black student to enroll at Clemson College. The files contain correspondence; letters of support and criticism about the admission; legal documents, for example, depositions, injunctions, writs, and transcriptions of court proceedings; newspaper clippings and other articles about the admission that appeared in magazines and periodicals.
3. Hartwell Lake and Dam files (1947-1963): These records document the construction of the Hartwell Dam on the Savannah River and the ensuing controversy about the inundation of lands that belonged to Clemson College. The materials include a chronology of the construction, legal materials used in court proceedings that prevented the flooding of Clemson land, minutes of meetings of the Board of Trustees, maps of various Clemson lands affected by the Seneca River diversion project, and aerial photographs of the lands that were flooded.
4. Honorary degrees files: These records contain information about the recipients of honorary degrees and other special degrees that were awarded by Clemson University. Most of the folders contain biographical information about the recipient of the degree, a copy of the citation read at the commencement ceremony, correspondence, and photographs of the recipient.
5. South Carolina files. These records deal with issues common to Clemson College and the state of South Carolina. Represented within the correspondence are most agencies of state government, for example the Department of Agriculture and the South Carolina Forestry Commission. Topics include agriculture, economic development, education, forestry, legislation, and textiles.
In addition to these records, the series contains files that document the development of Clemson College and its achievement of university status in 1964. Included are files on admissions and registration and the construction of buildings financed by the Olin and Sirrine Foundations.
Unrestricted
Robert Cook Edwards was born 25 March 1914 in Fountain Inn, South Carolina, the son of John T. and Effie Cook Edwards. Edwards entered Clemson College as a freshman at age 15 and graduated in 1933 with a Bachelor of Science degree in textile engineering. His career in textile management began as supervisor of the quality control laboratory of the Dunean Mill, a division of J. P. Stevens and Company, in Greenville. Later he worked as plant manager for the Charles B. Thoms Company, Red Springs, North Carolina, and as plant superintendent at Aberfoyle, Inc., Norfolk, Virginia. Although Edwards interrupted his career in textiles to enter active service in the United States Army in 1942 (Edwards rose to the rank of major), he resumed his work in textiles in 1946, first as treasurer and then as general manager of the Abbeville Group of Deering-Milliken Mills.
In 1956 Edwards returned to Clemson College as Vice-President for Development. At once, he became an active participant in the legal struggle with the Army Corps of Engineers concerning the inundation of Clemson College lands brought on by the construction of Hartwell Dam. The outcome of the litigation resulted in the recovery of several hundred acres of Clemson land. In 1958, on the death of President Poole, the Board of Trustees named Edwards Acting President, and in April 1959 the Board elected him President. Under Edwards' twenty-one year administration, Clemson College changed dramatically: University status was acquired, Negroes and women were admitted, and six colleges were established. Approximately $78 million was spent on permanent improvements.Edwards retired in 1979.
16 Cubic Feet (and 202 photographs, 35 oversized items)
English
The files are arranged alphabetically by subject. Copies of letters made by the thermofax photocopy method and letters written on an acidic stock have been replaced with photocopies printed on archival quality bond.
The files contained in this series originated in the offices of E. W. Sikes, 1925-1940; R. F. Poole, 1940-1958; and R. C. Edwards, Vice-President for Development, 1956-1958; Acting President, 1958, and President, 1959-1979. President Edwards maintained the files. The files were transferred to the Library at various times over the years. Some of the files were stored for a time in the basement of Johnstone Hall, while others were kept in the South Carolina Room of the Clemson University Library before coming to Special Collections.
The following photographs have been removed from this series and placed in Series 100, the Clemson University Photographs:
Michele Bittner and Michelle Clark, student assistants, 1987-1988.
The conversion of this finding aid to Encoded Archival Description format was made possible with a grant from the South Carolina State Historical Records Advisory Board in 2009-2010. The finding aid was prepared for encoding by Carl Redd.
Part of the Clemson University Libraries Special Collections and Archives Repository