Du Pont company magazines, 1936-1987 (bulk 1940-1960)
(Document/manuscript/pamphlet/archival material)

Organization: by title;,Arrangement: chronological

Materials housed in Special Collections Division of the Main Library, Nashville Public Library

One color aerial photograph of the Du Pont factories and Old Hickory Lake ca. 1960, has been separated from this collection and can be found in the Nashville Room Historic Photographs Collection, image number P-5037.

In library use only. Available by appointment

Scope and Content: Du Pont Company Magazines consist primarily of employee publications, most issued monthly, from Du Pont's rayon and cellophane factories in Old Hickory, Tennessee. The collection also includes some magazines and newsletters from Du Pont's national headquarters. The earliest publication in this collection is from 1936 and the latest is 1987 with the bulk being 1940-1960.

Content in most of these publications consists of: factory and employee news; plant sports teams; safety; household hints; cartoons and editorials; service milestones; community news of Old Hickory Village; and numerous photographs of these same subjects, including many employees. During the World War II years, content includes updates about employees in military service, as well as the role of the Du Pont plants and their products in supplying clothing and weapons to the military, and life on the home front in Old Hickory. Women made up a large component of the plant staff, even outside of the war years, and are frequently highlighted throughout the collection. The presence of racial segregation in plant operations and community life is reflected in the near-absence of news and images of persons of color. Overwhelmingly, photographs are of people of Caucasian race. When African Americans appear, they are almost always men in roles of custodial or maintenance staff. All together, the collection serves to document a unique place in Davidson County during the mid-twentieth century, and provides a detailed glimpse into the everyday lives of factory workers, their families, and their community.

Two special anniversary publications round out the collection. One concerns the 25th anniversary of the rayon plant at Old Hickory in 1950. A second publication marks the 25th anniversary of nylon in 1963. Although there was not a nylon plant at Old Hickory, Du Pont opened a plant in Chattanooga, Tenn. in 1948.

Cite as: [title and issue information], Du Pont Company Magazines collection, Special Collections Division, Nashville Public Library

Nashville Public Library does not have intellectual property rights to these materials. This material may be protected by copyright law (Title 17 U.S. Code)

Old Hickory Branch library;,Transfer;,2018.,Acc. 2018.006

Associated Materials: Some of the same titles, as well as additional materials concerning the Du Pont plants and Old Hickory, can be found in the DuPont (Old Hickory, Tenn.) Collection at theTennessee State Library and Archives.

Related Materials: Issues from 1918 of Old Hickory News, the company newsletter of the Old Hickory Powder Plant, are also held by the Special Collections Division.

Related Materials: In addition to Du Pont company magazines, a number of personal and club scrapbooks from the Old Hickory area were transferred from the Old Hickory Branch to the Special Collections Division at the same time in 2018.

The E. I. du Pont de Nemours and Company was founded in 1802 in Delaware by French immigrant Eleuthere Irenee du Pont de Nemours to produce explosives. During World War I, the Du Pont company built the Old Hickory Powder Plant outside of Nashville, Tennessee, along Hadley's Bend of the Cumberland River. It was the largest smokeless powder plant in the world. The company town built near the factory was designed to be self-sufficient, providing a hospital, churches, gymnasiums, city hall, police station, first aid stations, fire hall, theaters, bank, commissary, mess halls, and a restaurant. Like elsewhere in the South at the time, Du Pont village and all accommodations were separated by race because of Jim Crow. Around 30,000 employees worked at the Du Pont plant making it the biggest industrial facility in the state around 1918. By 1923, with the war over, the population dwindled to about 500. It was then that Du Pont converted the powder plant into a rayon factory This came at a time of the South's growing textile industry. By the end of the decade, they had also added a cellophane plant. For 21 years the two Old Hickory factories were members of the same company and shared many of the same services. By 1961 the rayon plant stopped rayon production, but remained in operation, producing Dacron and DMT.

In English

Transferred from Old Hickory Branch of the Nashville Public Library to Special Collections Division in fall 2018. Unknown provenance prior to custody of Old Hickory Branch.

process;,2024;,Eva Wurst

catalog;,2024;,Linda Barnickel

No further accruals are expected.

Book jacket image: Flashes from Cellophane, Aug. 1939