Old Hickory News, 1918.
(Document/manuscript/pamphlet/archival material)

Arrangement: Chronological.

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

Housed in Small Collections Box 12.

In library use only. Available by appointment.

Scope and content: Twenty issues of Old Hickory News (Aug. 3 through Dec. 14, 1918), the company newsletter for the Old Hickory Powder Plant. Newsletters document the construction and operation of the plant and activities of employees from August 3, 1918 to December 14, 1918 and contain a wide variety of information. Regular columns profiled company employees, especially those in management positions; operations of the various departments at the plant, including many photographs of the staff; employee personal information such as illnesses, new babies, honors and awards, injuries, deaths, and other minutiae; employee sports teams; activities of the YMCA, the YWCA and the Colored YMCA; construction and expansion activities, including the building of numerous community buildings not specifically part of the plant operations, such as a school, homes, mess and recreation halls, and additional services such as water and sewage, roads, security, public information and the local fire department - an especially important organization at a powder plant.

Other subjects include: the importation of over 1000 Mexican workers by the Mason and Hanger Company; the employment and activities of African-Americans and women workers at the plant; the Fourth Liberty Loan bond drive; the United War Work campaign; the burning and rebuilding of the school in the village; the construction of both a temporary pontoon and a permanent suspension bridge over the Cumberland River; photographs and small house plans for several models of homes constructed in Old Hickory Village (Aug. 31 issue); safety advice; enemy and U.S. propaganda and suspected small acts of sabotage and misinformation; Labor Day activities; parades on various occasions; boxing and wrestling matches; baseball games among company teams; patriotism; cartoons on various subjects, often in support of the war; poetry; entertainment including music, dramas, and other activities; health concerns on a variety of matters, including information about the 1918 Influenza Epidemic; employee benefits; clubs and social events; the provision of food, water, and sanitation to the community; and a variety of other subjects.

Cite as: Old Hickory News, [date of issue], Special Collections Division, Nashville Public Library

Copyright status is undetermined.

Some materials may be too fragile to photocopy. Please inquire with staff.

John Satterwhite;,Gift;,2009;,Acc. 2010.005.

The E. I. du Pont de Nemours and Company built the Old Hickory Powder Plant during World War I outside of Nashville, Tennessee at a community known as Jacksonville near Hadley's Bend in the Cumberland River. A large company town developed around the plant and its operations, and the community soon became known as Old Hickory, rather than Jacksonville. The Mason and Hanger Company of Richmond, Kentucky was hired as contractor to build many of the buildings and infrastructure at the new village. When complete, the plant trumpeted itself to be the largest smokeless gunpowder plant , possessing the largest power plant and the largest refrigeration plant in the world. However, less than a year after the plant began operations, World War I ended with the signing of the Armistice on November 11, 1918, resulting in a rapid reduction in operations soon thereafter.

In English

Donor's grandfather worked at the Old Hickory Powder Plant and collected these newsletters, passing them to the donor before his death.

Process;,2011;,Linda Barnickel.

No further accruals are expected.