Commissary Accounts

The collection contains records that document the daily operations that supported the production of iron, as well as the administrative history of the company. This virtually complete set of manufacturing records parallels the birth and growth of the Birmingham iron industry and gives a clear picture of the effect of freight rates and other factors on the industry in Alabama. Commissary and other records give a great deal of information relating to the labor force. These records provide detailed accounts of Confederate iron making in the South.

Researchers interested in African American history will find records that document the use of enslaved persons in iron production before and during the Civil War as well as the post-war employment of African Americans. The records often use the word "Negro" both before and after the war. These records may be found throughout the collection, but a researcher will most likely find them in the Labor Records and Reports subseries of the Manufacturing Operations series and the Payroll and Timebooks and Personnel/Labor subseries of the General Financial series. Although the container list in this finding aid notes some boxes, ledgers, and folders that include African American records, those notes should not be considered definitive in any search for information about African American workers as this material might be found in other parts of the collection.

The Shelby Iron Company Records contains expansive amounts of material documenting all aspects of the company's operations and services for employees. The collection is divided into eight series: Administrative Records; Correspondence; Manufacturing Operations; Sales and Purchasing/Shipping and Receiving; General Accounting; Services; Subsidiary; and Miscellaneous.