Lee Wilson and Company Records

Collection

Identifier: MC 1289

Staff Only
Select files to request

Scope and Content Note

Materials in the collection fall into three basic groups: the Bank of Wilson, Lee Wilson and Company, and Keiser Supply Company. Bank of Wilson records relate to both individual and business accounts. Materials include correspondence and statements, bank statements, cancelled checks and receipts, and cash vouchers.

Lee Wilson and Company records pertain to the activities of the company as well as the communities founded by Lee Wilson. They include materials related to labor relations, the New Deal programs, and World War II rationing programs, as well as several notable correspondents. Items relate to both individuals and businesses. Materials include correspondence and statements, reports, inventories, freight way bills, invoices, vouchers, land abstracts, and tax receipts. Also included are photographs, negatives, and slides.

Keiser Supply Company records relate to both individuals and businesses. Materials include correspondence and statements, loose ledger sheets, inventories, promissory notes, tax materials, and account books. Notable materials include files related to the Agricultural Stabilization and Conservation Service and the Occupational Safety Health Act.

Other materials include legal documents, ledgers, and microfilm reels. Legal documents include court filings, case briefings, and wills; all materials are restricted from 75 years from their date of creation. Ledgers include materials related to the Bank of Wilson, Lee Wilson and Company, and the Keiser Supply Company. All microfilm pertain to vouchers.

The collection includes approximately 26,000 files, with the largest concentration in Series II, Subseries 1, Lee Wilson and Company Correspondence and Statements. The collection also includes more than 180 ledgers and other bound volumes. It includes more than 670 photographs as well as negatives and slides. Finally, the collection includes 454 reels of microfilm.

Dates

1830-1996

Creator

Lee Wilson and Co. (Mississippi County, Ark.) (Organization)

Language of Materials

Materials are in English.

Access Information

Please call (479) 575-8444 or email specoll@uark.edu at least two weeks in advance of your arrival to ensure availability of the materials.

Use Information

All items are restricted for 25 years from the date of creation. Legal materials, materials containing social security numbers, and medical records are restricted for 75 years from date of creation.

No Interlibrary Loan.

Standard Federal Copyright Laws Apply (U.S. Title 17).

Biographical Note

Lee Wilson and Company, incorporated in 1904, arose from the entrepreneurial endeavors of its founder, R.E. Lee Wilson (1865-1933). Inheriting 400 acres of wooded swampland in Mississippi County, Arkansas, he owned 65,000 acres at the time of his death in 1933; this vast “Delta Empire” was believed to be the largest cotton plantation system in the South. He built his holdings by harvesting the timber, reclaiming the fertile land, planting cotton, and buying more land with the profits, beginning the process again. In addition to cotton, crops planted on these lands at various times included alfalfa, corn, rice, soybeans, green vegetables and strawberries.

Wilson’s program required vast amounts of labor, and to facilitate his activities he founded several towns in Mississippi County, including Wilson, Evadale, Victoria, Marie, Armorel, and Keiser. Each town was a self-contained unit with its own plantation with a headquarters, cotton gins, schools, mercantile establishments, and utilities. In addition to towns Wilson also addressed his shipping needs by building his own railroads as well as levee systems to manage the region’s frequent floods. To finance operations he founded the Bank of Wilson in 1908.

Following R.E. Lee Wilson’s death, the company was headed by his son, R.E.L. Wilson, Jr., and James Crain. They were succeeded by R.E.L. “Bob” Wilson III in 1951, and from 1987-2008 his son Mike served as chairman of the board and chief executive officer. Lee Wilson and company was sold in 2010 to Gaylon Lawrence (Sikeston, MO) and son, Gaylon Jr. (Nashville, TN) for an estimated $150 million.

For additional information, see Jeannie M. Whayne, Delta Empire: Lee Wilson and the Transformation of Agriculture in the New South (2011).

Extent

415.5 Linear Feet (396 boxes)

Additional Description

Arrangement of the Papers

Materials are arranged in six series.

Series 1. Bank of Wilson Materials
Series 1. Subseries 1. Correspondence and Statements
Series 1. Subseries 2. General Materials
Series 2. Lee Wilson and Company Materials
Series 2. Subseries 1. Correspondence and Statements
Series 2. Subseries 2. General Materials
Series 3. Keiser Supply Company Materials
Series 3. Subseries 1. Correspondence and Statements
Series 3. Subseries 2. General Materials
Series 4. Legal Materials
Series 5. Ledgers and Other Bound Materials
Series 6. Microfilm

Acquisition Information

The Lee Wilson and Company Records were donated to the Special Collections Department, University of Arkansas Libraries, on July 27, 1999, by Lee Wilson and Company of Wilson, Arkansas. The collection was obtained with the assistance of Dr. Jeannie M. Whayne of the University of Arkansas History Department.