The Sherman Oil and Cotton Company was created in 1871 by John Clement Tassey.  At its peak, the company was known as the largest cotton seed oil mill in the world, and oil from this facility made it's way from Texas to other parts of the United States and all over Europe. The Sherman Oil and Cotton Company stayed open until 1903, due there not being a way to secure a sufficient amount of cotton seed. Ten years later, it reopened as the Interstate Cotton Oil Refining Company in 1913.

“Private Collection of Carolyn West.” The Portal to Texas History, UNT Libraries' Digital Collections. Accessed November 20, 2023. https://texashistory.unt.edu/explore/partners/PCCW/.

• How does Blanche know Johnnie?
• Johnnie talks about how busy she has been since she has been back, where did she go?
• Did she come to South Carolina? She talks about visiting South Carolina again soon.
• Why does it seem like she doesn't want to get married? 
  • In the letter, she seems to feel strongly about this.

The following object description information includes basic elements from the Dublin Core Metadata Initiative (DCMI).  An additional notes field is included to list dates from the actual letter, envelope postmark locations, and any other identifying details. 

• Contributing Institution - Piedmont Historical Preservation Society
• Collection Name - Margaret Payne Collection
• Language - English
• Rights - Copyright held by the Piedmont Historical Preservation Society; no reproduction without written consent from the Piedmont Historical Preservation Society.
• Notes – Handwritten letter dated January 12, 1914. Three pages. Includes envelope, postmarked January 1914, from Sherman, TX.

In January 1914, Henry Ford announced that workers at the Ford Motor Company would make a minimum of $5 per day, and instead of working nine hours a day, they would only be working eight. This was the start of the eight hour work day and a start to minimum wage. As a result of this, many people moved to the Ford Motor Company in Detroit. Due to this Henry Ford also fixed the problem of high employee turnover, and was running three shifts at the company instead of two.

“Henry Ford’s $5-a-Day Revolution.” n.d. Ford Motor Company. Accessed November 20, 2023.https://ophelia.sdsu.edu:8443/ford/06-05-2011/about-ford/heritage/milestones/5dollaraday/677-5-dollar-a-day.html

In the photo above, it shows the Sanborn Fire Insurance map of the Sherman Cotton Oil Company, later known as the Interstate Cotton Oil Refining Company. These maps were used to assess the risk of fires. These maps were began in 1866 when Aetna Insurance Company based out of Connecticut recruited Daniel Alfred Sanborn, a civil engineer, to create these. In the beginning, Sanborn created maps for big cities, such as Boston, Massachusetts. Sanborn later founded his own company, the Sanborn Map Company, where he created these fire insurance maps for smaller cities, such as Sherman, Texas. These maps provided a great amount of detail, and because of this some of the smaller cities were only mapped once.

Tenny, Christopher. 2022. “Sanborn Fire Insurance Maps as a Resource of Historic Research:  What They Are, How They Have Changed Over Time, Where to Find Them, and How to Use Them.” South Carolina Department of Archives and History. May 2, 2022. Accessed November 20, 2023. https://scdah.sc.gov/news/2022-05/sanborn-fire-insurance-maps-resource-historic-research