School of Textiles Dean's Office Records
Collection
Identifier: Series-0047
The files within this series originated in Dean's Office of the School of Textiles. The series consists of the files of Dean H. H. Willis (1934-1943), Dean Robert K. Eaton (Acting Dean, 1943-1945), Dean Hugh M. Brown (1945-1957), and Dean Gaston Gage (1957-1963). Files are arranged chronologically by the academic school year and within years, alphabetically. The bulk of the material consists of general correspondence between the deans, textile businessmen, Clemson faculty and staff, government employees, and students.
Correspondence between the deans and textile businessmen include discussions about new techniques and processes within the textile industry, ideas for solving procedural and mechanical problems within a particular plant, donations of machinery or supplies, and requests for graduates for jobs.
Correspondence between the deans and Clemson faculty and administration consist of information about faculty salaries, faculty contracts, class enrollment, student grades, faculty research projects, faculty visits to nearby mills, and progress reports on research and classes. Also included is correspondence between the deans and the presidents of Clemson (E. W. Sikes and R. F. Poole), the business managers, the superintendent of buildings and grounds, and the registrars.
Of particular interest during Horace H. Willis' time as dean (1927-1943) are files containing information about the construction of a new and larger textile building on the Clemson campus (1936-1937) and the dedication of the building (1951). Also included in Willis' files are reports and contracts about various research projects with the U. S. Department of Agriculture as well as textile companies across the country. The files also document the controversy about Willis serving on the South Carolina Industrial Relations Board and his participation in negotiations of a mill strike in 1933-1934.
Within the records of each dean are files that note important trends and developments as well as noteworthy projects and programs. Files of interest while Robert K. Eaton (1943-1945) served as acting dean discuss the effect which World War II had on the School of Textile and the Textile Industry. The files of Hugh M. Brown (1945-1957) contain information about the expansion of the Knitting Program as well as the Textile chemistry program. Other files of importance contain yearly reports to the J. E. Sirrine Textile Foundation detailing the accomplishments and growth of the School of Textiles. Within Brown's files is information about the dedication of the Sirrine Textile Building in 1951. Of particular interest in Dean Gaston G. Gage's files (1957-1963) is information about the Pilot Plant at Clemson which, with the aid of the U.S. Department of Agriculture, operated research programs and the establishment of the Textile Research Department.
Other correspondence involves the deans and governmental agencies, which contracted the School of Textiles to complete governmental research projects. The deans' correspondence with students include applications, information about jobs, and alumni news and information. [These topics of correspondence among the various deans and these people (mentioned above) appear throughout the files from 1933-1963.]
Other files within this series contain minutes of the deans and directors meeting, minutes of the Textile School faculty meetings, reports for press releases, articles for the Clemson News Bureau, information about scholarships, various reports from national, regional, and local textile organizations, course schedules, library book lists, and catalogs.
There are no restrictions on access.
When speaking to the Cadets on the opening day of Clemson College in September 1898, Dr. Hartzog, then President of Clemson, declared "today the doors of the first Textile School in the South are thrown open to students." The School of Textiles at Clemson, the third textile school established in the United States and the first founded by a land grant college, had the purpose of educating young men "in a broad concept of textiles." Its faculty strove to "answer problems that affected fibers used in textile manufacturing processes as well as inspire students with new and useful approaches to efficiency and service." (From "History of the Textile School of Clemson College," by Gaston Gage, September 1, 1964.)
In 1898, J. H. M. Beaty, a former textile mill manager, took charge of the Textile School which contained three departments: Carding and Spinning, Weaving and Designing, and Textile Chemistry and Dyeing. A couple of years later, F. D. Frissell (Weaving and Designing) and L. C. Raiford (Textile Chemistry and Dyeing) joined the faculty of the Textile School. At this time, textile classes were not taught until a student's Junior year.
After Beaty left the school in 1908, C. S. Doggett became director of the school and also served as head of the Textile Chemistry and Dyeing Department. The same year, Fred Taylor took charge of Yarn Manufacturing and C. W. McSwain took charge of Weaving and Designing.
As the Textile School grew, so did its curriculum. From 1898 until 1920, the textile course was called Textile Industry. During Doggett's tenure as director, the curriculum changed: the name of the textile course was changed to Textile Engineering in 1921 and additional courses were added, including Textile Industrial Education in 1924 and Textile Testing and Textile Research in 1927.
Doggett remained director of the school until 1927 when Horace H. Willis became director. (During his time as director, the title, director, was changed to dean.) Willis oversaw changes in the curriculum and facilities, the most significant ones being the establishment of two new major departments, Weaving and Designing and Textile Chemistry. The original textile building, later named Godfrey Hall, was of standard mill construction of the late 1800s; the new building, later named Sirrine Hall, reflected the most current methods of textile manufacturing. Built for a cost of $485,000, the new building was furnished at first with equipment taken from the old building. Machinery for the new building was later purchased with the assistance of the South Carolina Cotton Manufacturers, Senator Charles E. Daniel, and the J. E. Sirrine Textile Foundation.
Dean Willis resigned in 1943, and Robert K. "Pop" Eaton, head of the Department of Yarn Manufacturing, became acting dean. While Eaton was dean, the Textile Engineering course of study was revised to include additional social sciences and textile management classes. Eaton's successor, Hugh M. Brown, was appointed dean of the School of Textiles in 1945. During his twelve year tenure, the School continued to grow with the assistance of industry, specifically the J. E. Sirrine Textile Foundation which offered financial support to the School of Textiles. The Foundation provided travel funds and retirement supplements for faculty members, salaries for research, and funds for the library.
During the post-war years, the demand for competent and trained men to work within the textile industry increased, and the School of Textiles grew to meet this demand by establishing a graduate program in Textile Chemistry in 1949 and by adding Knitting to the curriculum in 1950. Also in 1950, the Department of Carding and Spinning's name changed to the Department of Yarn Manufacturing. After a committee of Textile School Faculty studied the existing curriculum in 1957 and 1958, it determined that changes were necessary to meet the demands and needs of the textile industry; therefore, it changed Textile Engineering to Textile Science, which stressed the basic sciences, and changed Textile Manufacturing to Textile Management, which emphasized the social sciences and managerial science.
Having served as dean for twelve years, Dean Brown retired in June of 1957; Gaston Gage became dean of the School of Textiles. During Gage's tenure, the Textile Research Department, which participated in research projects with textile companies, the government and faculty members, opened in 1958. The curriculum of the School continued to improve: in September 1961, the School of Textiles began offering a Masters in Textile Management and on 1 July 1962, the Department of Industrial Management and the School of Textiles were combined to form the School of Industrial Management and Textile Science. Dean Gage resigned in September 1963.
For a complete history of the School of Textiles, please see the account written by Gaston G. Gage entitled "History of the Textile School of Clemson College." (This article also appeared in The Textile History Review, Vol. IV, No. 1., January 1963.)
14.25 Cubic Feet (plus 134 photographs and 2 oversize items)
English
The files within this series originated in Dean's Office of the School of Textiles. This series incorporates accessions 88-70, 89-148, 89-149, 92-69, and 93-23.
Laird Whitmire, student intern, University of South Carolina, June 1997; Mathew Demetriades, student assistant, April 1997.
Part of the Clemson University Libraries Special Collections and Archives Repository