Stone Mountain collection
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Samuel Hoyt Venable papers
Series 3
Samuel
Hoyt Venable papers,
1915-1942
Box 15
Biographical Note
Samuel Hoyt Venable was born in Atlanta to William Richard and Sarah Cornelia (Hoyt) Venable. After a number of unsuccessful business ventures, Samuel and his brother, William Hoyt Venable, organized Venable Brothers Granite Company in 1879. In 1880 they joined with the owners of Stone Mountain to form the Southern Granite Company and by 1887 the Venables had purchased the mountain, which became one of the nation's leading sources of granite. In 1916 Samuel and his brother's heirs deeded 1000 feet of the face of Stone Mountain to the SMCMA for the carving of a Confederate Memorial.
Elizabeth Venable Mason was a supporter of the Confederate Memorial and sculptor Gutzon Borglum. The wife of New York native Frank Tucker Mason and mother of two, Elizabeth was one of the most respected women in Atlanta society. [For a more detailed history of the Venable family, see the booklet by Mildred Rutherford in Box 26, folder 11 and the material in Box 24, folder 20; both in this collection.]
Scope and Content Note
Series 3, the Venable papers, is made up of the papers of Samuel Hoyt Venable (September 27, 1856- ) and his sister, Elizabeth Venable (Mrs. Frank Tucker) Mason (1873-1951). Two themes dominate the Venable papers. Until the late 1920's most letters are complaints or accusations against the SMCMA. The specific topics range from salary disputes with Association secretary David Webb and accusations that Randolph was conspiring to use the Association for personal advantage to legal disputes concerning the Venable lease of Stone Mountain and the Venable family's defense of Borglum. Letters from the late 1920's and 1930's reveal the continuing efforts of Elizabeth Mason and Samuel Venable to work out a compromise that would allow Borglum to return to Stone Mountain. Occasional notes were written on the letters by Elizabeth Mason, identifying correspondents and providing background information. Principal correspondents are Preston Stanley Arkwright, Gutzon Borglum, Mary Borglum, Plato Tracy Durham, Gerald White Johnson, Hollins Nicholas Randolph, Eretus Rivers, Corinne (Mrs. Chauncy) Smith, David W. Webb, George Francis Willis and Rogers Winter. Also represented are Reuben R. Arnold, Tarleton Collier, Hugh Manson Dorsey, Clark Howell, Mrs. Samuel Martin Inman, John I. Kelley, James Lee Key, Eugenia Dorothy Blount Lamar, Eleanor Roosevelt, Mildred Lewis Rutherford, Elbert Lee Trinkle, and Clifford Mitchell Walker.
The press releases, legal documents, and resolutions are dominated by the same themes as the correspondence. Some press releases from Randolph and the UDC are also included, as are legal documents related to the hiring of Augustus Lukeman and various plans for turning Stone Mountain into a park.
Arrangement Note
The materials in this series have been separated by type, and each type is arranged chronologically.
Box | Folder | Content |
---|---|---|
15 | 1 | Correspondence, 1915-1921 |
15 | 2 | Correspondence, 1922-April 1924 |
15 | 3 | Correspondence, June-July 1924 |
15 | 4 | Correspondence, August -December 1924 |
15 | 5 | Correspondence, January 1925 |
15 | 6 | Correspondence, February-March 1925 |
15 | 7 | Correspondence, April -October 1925 |
15 | 8 | Correspondence, November-December 1925 |
15 | 9 | Correspondence, January-February 5, 1926 |
15 | 10 | Correspondence, February 6-May 1926 |
15 | 11 | Correspondence, October-November 1926; 1926 undated |
15 | 12 | Correspondence, January-April 1927 |
15 | 13 | Correspondence, May-October 1927; 1927 undated |
15 | 14 | Correspondence, January-April 1928 |
15 | 15 | Correspondence, August-October 1928 |
15 | 16 | Correspondence, November-December 1928; 1928 undated |
15 | 17 | Correspondence, January-September 1929 |
15 | 18 | Correspondence, October-December 1929; 1929 undated |
15 | 19 | Correspondence, January-August 1930 |
15 | 20 | Correspondence, September 1930-November 1931 |
15 | 21 | Correspondence, 1932-January 1934 |
15 | 22 | Correspondence, February-June 1934 |
15 | 23 | Correspondence, August 1934-1936 |
15 | 24 | Correspondence, 1937-1938 |
15 | 25 | Correspondence, March-July 22, 1939 |
15 | 26 | Correspondence, July 23-September 19, 1939 |
15 | 27 | Correspondence, September 20, 1939-April 1940 |
15 | 28 | Correspondence, July 1940-1942 |
15 | 29 | Correspondence, Undated |
15 | 30-32 | Public statements and press releases, 1922-1928; undated |
15 | 33-34 | Legal documents, 1925-1937; undated |
15 | 35 | Financial records, 1924-1928 |
15 | 36 | Resolutions, 1924-1928 |
15 | 37 | Minutes of SMCMA annual meeting, 1924 |
15 | 38 | Speeches, 1924-1927; undated |
15 | 39 | Lists of SMCMA Board of Directors and local press, 1918 |
15 | 40 | Material re Venable family and home, undated |