This was once the largest Trunk and Luggage Manufactory in the state

Virginia Trunk & Bag Company, Petersburg Virginia

Date added: January 01, 2024 Categories:

Office and Machine Shop looking east (2008)

The Virginia Trunk & Bag Company was established in Petersburg in 1898. Its manufacturing complex was constructed and functioning as a large-scale facility by 1903. During part of the early twentieth century Petersburg claimed to be the leading trunk and valise manufacturing city in the world and the Virginia Trunk and Bag Co. facility was one of the largest trunk manufacturers in the city during that period. From 1916 until 1931 the site was also the headquarters for the American Hardware Company, which was the parent company for at least six different trunk makers in Petersburg, representing the majority of trunk manufacturing in Petersburg at that time. The Virginia Trunk & Bag Co. currently is the most intact and best preserved of the remaining trunk manufacturing facilities in the city of Petersburg.

Petersburg, Virginia, historically known as the "Cockade City", is an independent city located along the Appomattox River. It was originally occupied by a tribe belonging to the Powhatan Confederacy until the arrival of English settlers in the 1600s. Fort Henry was constructed in the 1640s and was an established trading center before the end of the decade. During the first half of the 18th-century, Colonel William Byrd II laid the groundwork for the establishment of Richmond and Petersburg. The plan for Petersburg was formally organized in 1748 by the Virginia General Assembly. By 1784, Petersburg and surrounding areas of Blandford and Pocahontas were consolidated into a single town called Petersburg. The city grew as a commercial center for processing local cotton, tobacco, and metals. The introduction of Petersburg's first railroad in the 1830s sped up the development of the "Cockade City" as an important commercial and manufacturing center.

Between 1830 and 1840, Petersburg began to flourish as a manufacturing and transportation center. This was significant for a southern town as many southern cities were not in a location that provided the necessary means for both manufacturing and transportation. Tobacco and cotton manufacturing were the main industries in Petersburg until the last quarter of the 19^th century when the trunk manufacturing industry was established. Industrial growth in Petersburg was interrupted by the onset of the Civil War. Petersburg found itself at the center of the military action as a result of its location on the Appomattox River and along major railroad lines. Between 1864 and 1865, the City "underwent a 10-month siege (longest in American History) before the Federal General Grant forced General Lee down the road to Appomattox", it has been said that the "significance of Petersburg in delaying the final outcome of the Civil War cannot be overstated". The result of the war for Petersburg's economy was clear and devastating. From the outset of the war, the demands of military service depleted the workforce. The Union naval blockade and attacks on railroads increasingly hampered the movement of goods into and out of the city, resulting in short supplies and stockpiles of unsold tobacco. As the war progressed nearly all goods became scarce or nonexistent and the result was rampant inflation which decimated what was left of the city's economy. A decade after the war, a local publication described Petersburg's economy as fully recovered and even stronger than before the war with tobacco and cotton production expanding significantly.

The trunk industry had its beginnings in Petersburg when Simon Seward and his brother-in-law H.F. Munt formed a trunk manufacturing business in 1878. The trunk manufacturing industry rapidly grew and soon became one of Petersburg's most important industries. Petersburg (and Seward) went on to become the "largest producer of trunks in the world".' Seward was one of many trunk producers in Petersburg during the late 19^th century. As indicated by Sanborn Fire Insurance Maps, Seward and Munt originally opened a small factory just north of the Appomattox River ca. 1885. The ca.1885 factory produced trunks, bags, and boxes and featured storage facilities. By 1891 the company had a new name, Simon Seward & Co. Trunk & Traveling Bag Manufactory, and had been expanded to include storage warehouses on Fleet Street, just south of the Appomattox River.

By the end of the 1890s Seward & Co had constructed its first large-scale warehouse complex near the intersection of Lafayette and High Streets. It was renamed "Seward Trunk & Bag Company" and the complex at Lafayette and High Streets evolved into Seward's largest manufacturing operation in town. The fully functioning complex was the headquarters of the production of trunks, bags, and boxes; several storage warehouses; and the offices for Seward. It was often referred to as "Seward Plant No. 1." According to the April 1903 Sanborn Maps, after the turn of the 20^th century the Seward complex at High and Lafayette Streets was expanded to accommodate the great demand for trunks and bags. The 1903 Sanborn also indicated that for the first time, the Virginia Trunk and Bag Company, a fully functional luggage manufacturing complex, was located at 600 W. Wythe Street (Historically Smith/Lawrence Street).

The Virginia Trunk & Bag Company was established in Petersburg in 1898. The primary manufacturing facility was completed and was operating as a fully functioning producer of trunks, satchels, and suitcases by 1903. The facility filled the majority of the block bounded by W. Wythe Street to the north, Guarantee Street to the east, Brown Street to the south and Pine Street to the west, though a small canal named Brick House Run formed the official western boundary of the property. The Virginia Trunk & Bag Co. operated from this location as an independent entity until ca. 1915.

The many sections of the large complex represented various functions from the processing of raw materials, to every stage of product production, to the storage, and finally shipping of finished products. Raw lumber was stored inside, but also stacked in large piles all over the site. The core manufacturing facility was constructed first and consisted of a large trunk factory, a box shop, a planing mill, a boiler house, and a large storage and shipping warehouse. As the business rapidly grew, a large stock room, a tool room, and a separate veneer room were quickly added for the finishing of higher-end trunks. After the merger with the American Hardware Company by 1916, two large additions were completed to serve as increased warehouse, storage, and shipping capacity." The result is one large structure with numerous sections and additions all interconnected by wall openings, enclosed pedestrian bridges, and hyphens. There is also a separate boiler building and two other structures, including a water tower. There was a spur of the Atlantic Coast Line Railroad added to the site between 1915 and 1950. In 1912 the competing Seward Bag and Trunk Factory had tracks of the Seaboard Air Line Railroad running directly through its manufacturing facility for the immediate loading and transportation of goods. One can only assume that the Virginia Trunk and Bag Co. would have added its railroad spur sooner rather than later to match its leading competitor. This indicates a likely date of construction closer to 1915 than 1950, and almost certainly prior to 1931. This spur demonstrates the transition of shipping for the facility from wagons and small trucks to the railroads, a common change for industry during this period.

The company grew rapidly and by 1908 had already expanded its facility from 100,000 to 150,000 square feet and was using 10,000 linear feet of lumber each day. By 1909 this trunk manufacturing facility was described in the following terms: "one of the most complete and extensive in the country...gives employment to about five hundred people...handled about twelve thousand tons of material last year." At the same time, the Petersburg Chamber of Commerce compiled statistics from five trunk and bag factories in the city which they claimed established "that Petersburg leads the world in this line of manufacture."

The estimated annual output for the trunk and bag industry at that time was 633,825 trunks and 688,600 bags sold throughout the United States and exported to numerous foreign countries.

By this time the Petersburg trunk and bag businesses were not only a leader in their industry nationally, but represented a significant part of the total Petersburg economy. By 1917 seven of the eighty-seven manufacturing establishments in Petersburg were "trunk and valises" companies, but they represented a far larger share of the total local economy. The total value of products produced in Petersburg in 1914 was $12,610,000 and of that, the trunk and valise industry accounted for $1,935,373. In the same year, the number of people employed by manufacturing establishments was 4,320, while the number employed by trunk and valise manufacturers was 1,135. In addition, the trunk industry consumed 15,000,000 feet of lumber annually consisting of mostly yellow pine from Southside Virginia and North Carolina. The trunk factories also expended more than $1,000,000 annually for hardware and fiber used in the production of their products.

The makeup of the labor force for each industry in Petersburg varied depending upon the physical demands of the job and the rules of society at that time. While certain heavy labor jobs were assigned to men instead of women and children, it was the issues of race and gender that decided the division of most labor forces. Women and men were often separated as a result of conservative social expectations. When race was a factor, entire job categories or whole factories were staffed by only whites or African Americans. The tobacco industry was more often served by labor from the black community while the cotton industry in Petersburg employed predominantly white workers. A 1914 census revealed a clear picture of the Petersburg trunk industry labor force. Of the 2,000-2,500 total workers, ninety percent were white men and boys of at least sixteen years of age. A small percentage of white women and girls worked in the trunk lining departments revealing a labor force segregated by both race and gender.

The next stage in the trunk industry development in Petersburg was the creation of the American Hardware Company 1913-1916. The American Hardware Co. was a holding company which controlled six of the largest trunk manufacturers in Petersburg: Seward Trunk & Bag Co., Virginia Trunk & Bag Co., Petersburg Trunk & Bag Co., Standard Trunk & Bag, Co., Petersburg Travelling Goods Co., and the Appomattox Trunk & Bag Co. These companies represented the vast majority of trunk and valise manufacturing in Petersburg and the headquarters for this new company, from approximately 1916 to 1931, was the Virginia Trunk & Bag Co. facility at 110-120 Guarantee Street (currently 600 W. Wythe St.). The Virginia Trunk & Bag Co. facility continued to operate as a subsidiary of the American Hardware Co. while also hosting the administrative offices of the other subsidiaries. This put the Virginia Trunk & Bag Co. facility in the position of being not only one of the two most prominent trunk manufacturing facilities in the city, along with the Seward Trunk & Bag Co., but also the administrative headquarters for the majority of Petersburg trunk manufacturers for over a decade.

With the 1931 takeover of the American Hardware Co. by Seward Trunk & Bag Co., the Virginia Trunk & Bag Co. ceased to be an independent company. However, the facility remained part of the American Hardware Co. until 1950 when the Seward Trunk & Bag Co. became the sole operating name of the company. The Seward Trunk Co. itself was purchased by the Dayco Corp. of Dayton, Ohio in 1976 and then sold to the Mercury Luggage Co. in 1998. The Virginia Trunk & Bag Co. facility remained with Seward until it was sold to Tubular Fabricators Industry, Inc (TFI) in 1985.

Currently, the Virginia Trunk & Bag Co. facility is used by TFI as a manufacturing, storage, and shipping facility for healthcare products. The large complex is still unified as one property with the original buildings remaining, representing every phase of production, storage, and shipping of trunks, bags, and other products. The interior and exterior of the various sections of the facility are largely intact and retain almost all of their original appearance and historic character. The exteriors are all unpainted brick masonry construction with each section of the facility between 1-4 stories in height. The exception is the boiler building, which has two walls constructed of metal, and the sides of the pedestrian bridges, which are also clad in metal. All of the multi-story sections feature numerous windows running the length of the building, likely for light as was typical in early 20th-century industrial construction. The only identifiable changes to the exterior are some filled-in windows, the addition of a few modern ground level truck loading doors, and the early addition of second-story loading openings along the facades facing the railroad spur.

The interiors are also largely unchanged from the original period of construction. The surfaces consist of almost entirely exposed brick and large wooden posts and beams. The ground floor of each section has concrete floors with wood flooring in the upper stories. The generic interiors reflect the flexibility of the spaces, many of which changed purposes over time. The modern changes consist of machinery for the current business placed on warehouse floors, conduit for modern wiring, and modern lighting. There are original sliding wood doors on their original tracks in several locations. On the second floor of the four-story shipping and storage building (Bldg. 14) there appears to have been an office. One end of the 2^nd floor features tin ceiling tiles; this is the only area in the complex with any type of historic ceiling. There may have been a wall separating this finished ceiling area from the rest of the 2^nd floor, but it is now missing. There is a smaller one-room office within the tin-ceilinged area which appears to have been constructed much later, perhaps when the original office demarcated by the tin ceiling was eliminated. There is also a large safe painted with the name of "Virginia Trunk and Bag Co." located in the corner of the tin ceilinged section of the 2^nd floor.

Site Description

The Virginia Trunk & Bag Company, located at 600 W. Wythe Street in Petersburg, Virginia, is an evolved manufacturing complex constructed in several phases between the years 1903 and ca. 1931. The complex consists of two buildings with additions constructed in phases as the trunk manufacturing business on site evolved. The additions follow the same architectural trends of the earlier buildings including the large number of windows on each floor of each building, the shape and type of the windows, and the type of brick. Also on site there is a railroad spur, a cinderblock building, and a water tank. Typically, the buildings and additions within the complex are early 20th-century industrial architecture, 1-4 stories tall, brick construction, with slightly sloped metal roofs clad with asphalt. Several of the buildings feature a stepped parapet, all of which are in the same style. Some buildings feature decorative cast-iron star anchors on their exterior walls and arched window and door openings. Significant architectural features within the complex include the enclosed 2, 3, and 4-story pedestrian bridges connecting the ca. 1908 4-story stock room building and the ca. 1903 3- and 4-story storage and shipping building to the original trunk factory as well as the continued connectivity between each building. All interior spaces are intact. Several post-WW II metal roll up doors have been added to the complex, likely for tractor-trailer loading.

Historically, the area containing the Virginia Trunk & Bag Company was industrial in character. Today, it features a mix of industrial, commercial, educational, and residential uses. The buildings within the Virginia Trunk & Bag Company complex are located on the north and west portions of the parcel. There is open land to the south and east of the buildings creating a large loading area for trucks to park and load. For many years, raw lumber was also stacked in open areas. The open space is enclosed with a chain link fence running along Guarantee and Brown Streets. Railroad spurs served the manufacturing facility next to the ca. 1903, 3-and 4-story storage and shipping building and the 4-story storage and shipping building. Little remains of the rail spurs today.

All of the buildings within the complex are connected to each other by way of shared walls with openings and doors or by enclosed pedestrian bridges.

The original ca.1903 complex featured several of the buildings still extant today including the trunk factory, the 3-story storage and shipping building, the box shop, the planing mill and the boiler house. Each building had its own function lending to the overall operation of the manufacturing facility. Originally, the trunk factory, box shop and planing mill created an "L" shaped building in the middle of the complex. As the complex evolved and the trunk manufacturing business grew, the company added on the necessary manufacturing buildings to the original two buildings. By 1908, the complex had almost doubled in size with the addition of the stock room, the veneer room, the lumber storage area, and the tool room. Additionally, the box shop and planing mill were expanded to the west. Later additions which were added after 1915 but before 1950, include the Independent Electric Plant addition, the veneer mill addition, the office and machine shop addition, the 4-story warehouse addition, and the 4-story shipping and storage addition.

The ca. 1903 trunk factory building is a part of the core of the original complex. Originally, it was connected to the box shop and the 3- and 4-story storage and shipping building. It was connected to the box shop by a shared brick wall with an opening with an iron door. The trunk factory is connected to the shipping and storage building by two enclosed pedestrian bridges. The east bridge connects the 2^nd and 3^rd floors and is completely enclosed. Its exterior walls are clad with corrugated metal siding and the slightly sloped roof is clad with standing seam metal. The west bridge connects the 2^nd, 3^rd, and 4^th floors of the trunk factory and shipping and storage building. It is also enclosed, clad with corrugated metal siding, and topped with a standing seam metal roof. The west bridge features a metal cargo shoot on its west wall.

The trunk factory is an early 20th-century 4-story brick masonry building with 5-course American bond brickwork. It features arched window and door openings. Some of these openings have been enclosed with brick and plywood. Many of the historic 6/6 double-hung windows are in place. The low-pitch gabled roof is clad with standing seam metal. The interior of the building is typical of many early 20th-century industrial buildings. It features open spaces with exposed wooden rafters, wooden posts, and pipes. Historically, this building functioned as the trunk factory. Over the years, the function of the building evolved with the growth of the trunk industry. Historically, the first floor functioned as a storage and satchel department. It also featured a staining room and strip machinery in its west portion. The second floor functioned historically as the trunk-making department and later as a bench work and storage area. The function of the third floor has mirrored that of the 2^nd floor in that it has been used for trunk making. The third and fourth floors of the building functioned as storage areas.

The ca. 1903 box shop was a part of the original manufacturing complex and connected to the trunk factory. As mentioned above, it shares a wall with the trunk factory with only iron doors separating the two spaces. It also shares a wall with the planing mill. This shared wall features an arched door opening with no door. The three-story box shop was constructed in the same manner as the trunk factory. It too is an early 20^th century brick building with 5-course American bond brickwork. It also features arched windows and doorways, some of which have been enclosed with brick and/or covered with plywood. It is topped by a gabled roof clad with standing seam metal and features a stepped parapet. Historically, the box shop addition was occupied by a box shop and sawing room on the first floor. The second floor was used for bench work. The third floor was used for printing and pasting and leather storage. A small addition to the box shop was appended to its west wall ca.1908 to accommodate more bench work on the second floor and another drying room on the third.

The ca. 1903 boiler house is original to the complex. It shares brick walls with the Independent Electric Plant and the engine room but there is no connectivity. The boiler house is an open 2-story building. It is a brick and steel frame structure. The north and west walls are brick while the rest of the building is supported by a steel frame. The two exposed exterior walls are clad with corrugated metal siding. There are several metal frame, fixed windows with 8 divided lights at the second level, and two large metal frame fixed windows with 20 divided lights each. The interior of the building is completely open and remnants of the foundation of the historic boilers are visible. At one point, this building also featured a shavings vault which was connected to several of the other buildings within the complex via pipes that were controlled by blowers. There were also steam pipes leading to the box shop and the 3- and 4-story shipping and storage building. The building historically contained three steam boilers.

The ca. 1903 planing mill was a part of the original complex. It was originally connected to the box shop by a shared wall with openings. It was also historically connected to the shavings vault (boiler house) by a blower. This building also matches the style of the other original buildings with its brick construction, 5-course American bond brickwork. It stands 1 ½-stories tall and is topped with a gable roof with low pitch clad with standing seam metal. It can only be accessed through the box shop or the veneer room since it shares walls with both additions. The interior of the building retains its historic character with exposed wooden posts and rafters. Parts of the historic blower are still in place. The entire building was used as a planing mill throughout its history.

The stock room building was added to the complex ca. 1908 during a large expansion to the then extant manufacturing facilities. It was appended to the north end of the complex. It is connected to the building by an enclosed brick passageway on the first floor. An enclosed brick bridge connects the top three floors. Historically, there was a courtyard which stood between these two buildings. The courtyard was enclosed sometime after the trunk factory closed. A 3-story brick hyphen was constructed at the west end of the courtyard to connect the stock room building to the box shop. The hyphen later became a part of the box shop. This 4-story, industrial building is almost identical to the trunk factory in its architectural characteristics and style. Its exterior walls are 5-course American bond brickwork and its window and door openings are arched. There are a large number of windows on each floor, allowing plenty of natural light into the building. This is an indicator of the building being there before the manufacturing facilities had electric lights. The interior of the building features mainly open spaces with exposed wooden posts. Historically, the building was used as a stock room on the first floor, for bench work on the 2^nd and 3^rd floors and for storage on the 4th. A 4-story office and machine shop addition was appended to the north end of the stock room after 1915. It is reminiscent of the style of the rest of the complex with its American bond brickwork and large number of windows. It even features a stepped parapet mirroring the others within the complex.

The Veneer room was also added to the complex ca. 1908. This addition was appended to the south wall of the planing mill. This wall is the only separation between the two additions and it features arched openings. The 2-story veneer room is also an early 20th-century industrial building of brick construction. It is topped with a gabled roof clad with standing seam metal and features a stepped parapet. It has an open floor plan with an exposed truss roof. A post-WW II metal roll up door for truck loading was added. All of the windows on the first floor have been enclosed but there are several 6/6 wood frame windows extant at the second level. This building was used as a veneer mill and then a veneer room.

The Independent Electric Plant addition was appended to the box shop and planing mill between the years 1915 and 1931. It cannot be accessed from the exterior, only through openings in the shared wall between the box shop and the planing mill. It also shared its brick east wall with the boiler house. The one-story plant addition is of brick construction and features a gabled roof with raised skylights. The building also served as an engine room.

The lumber storage addition was appended to the planing mill ca. 1908. It is a small, one-story masonry structure with no windows or exterior doors. It shares its west wall with the planing mill and can only be accessed from the planing mill. It served as lumber storage while the complex was used for manufacturing trunks.

The tool room addition was appended to the complex ca. 1908. It too is a small, one-story masonry structure with no windows. A post-WW II metal roll up door was added to the east wall of the building. It shares walls with the lumber storage addition, and the veneer room. Historically, it was only accessible from the interior of the veneer room and it served as a place for tools and it was at one time an engine room.

The engine room was appended to the complex ca. 1908. It shares a wall with the trunk factory and with the box shop. This one-story masonry building served as the engine room during the occupation of the trunk manufacturing business. A post-WWII addition was made to the east elevation of the building. It is clad with brick veneer and features two metal frame windows and a single door. It features a flat roof. This addition was expanded to the east at an unknown date outside of the period of significance.

The veneer mill was appended to the complex after 1915. It shares its north wall with the Veneer Room and historically was only accessible through openings in the shared wall from the interior of the veneer room. It is typical of early 20th-century industrial architecture with its brick construction and flat roof. The interior of the addition is completely open. It served as the veneer mill for the trunk manufacturing business during its occupation.

The 4-story warehouse was appended to the stock room addition post-1915. It is of typical early 20th-century warehouse construction. Its exterior walls are masonry with 5-course American bond brickwork. It follows the early building trends within the complex and includes features such as the large number of windows on each floor. The interior of the space is also typical of early 20th-century warehouses. Each floor is a big open space with exposed wooden posts and rafters. The addition was historically used for storage. The current owner of the building constructed a modern loading dock on the north side of the building complete with a modern metal overhead door and concrete foundation.

The 4-story shipping and storage addition was also one of the later additions to the complex. It is almost identical in architectural style and detailing to the warehouse on the exterior. Its south elevation has been altered several times. The irregular window patterns suggest that the railroad car loading doors on the 2 floor of the building were added after the initial construction of the addition. Historically, the addition was used for storage on the 1^st floor, shipping on the 2^nd and 3^rd floors, sampling on the 3^rd floor and for the wardrobe trunk department on the 4^th floor. The interior of the building is open with exposed wooden posts. The 2^nd floor appears to have been an office at some point because it is the only floor with any sort of ceiling cover. One end of the 2^nd floor features tin ceiling tiles. There may have been a wall separating this finished ceiling area from the rest of the 2^nd floor, but it is now missing. There is a smaller one-room office within the tin ceiling area which appears to have been constructed later. There is also a large safe painted with the name of "Virginia Trunk and Bag Co." located in the corner of the tin ceiling section of the 2^nd floor.

The two one-story, later additions within the complex were added after the truck company closed. One addition is appended to the south wall of the Veneer Mill (Bldg. # 12), while the other addition serves as a connector between the trunk factory building (#1) and the stock room addition (#6). Both additions are of brick construction. The interior of the addition appended to the Veneer Mill (#12) is in poor condition. Its shared north wall is of brick construction and the arched window openings between the Veneer Mill and the post-1950 addition have been enclosed with concrete block. The brick is painted but the block is not. The other three walls in the building are a mixture of brick and concrete block. The first few feet at the bottom of each wall is brick but then they are constructed of concrete block the rest of the way up. The flat roof is clad with corrugated metal and supported by a series of modern metal trusses.

The connector addition built between the trunk factory (#1) and the stock room addition (#6) was made in the former courtyard between buildings #1 and #6 and shares all of its brick walls with the two buildings. It is topped by a flat roof with skylights clad with an unknown material. The interior of this space was very obviously once an outdoor space. The shared walls (formerly exterior) feature arched window and door openings. Several of these openings have been slightly enclosed to create a square frame but the evidence of the arches is extant.

The ca. 1903 storage and shipping building is one of the original trunk manufacturing buildings. This 3- and 4-story building is connected to the trunk factory by enclosed pedestrian bridges as described above. The style of this building matches that of the others in the complex. It is of brick construction and it features 5-course American bond brickwork. All of the window and door openings are arched. Most of these openings have been enclosed or covered with plywood. The gabled roof is clad with standing seam metal and features a parapet. The facade of the building features a partially enclosed loading dock on the 2 floor which is supported by full-height brick columns and covered on the north and south with horizontal metal siding and by a shed roof clad with standing seam metal. This was most likely used as a loading dock for railroad cars. There are three 2^nd floor loading docks on the south elevation of the building facing the former railroad spur. There are also two loading door openings on the first floor. The interior of the building retains its historic character. Each floor features large open spaces with exposed wooden posts. Alterations were made to the building within the period of significance to enlarge the building. Historically, the first floor of the building was used for storage in the front portion and iron cutting in the rear. The second floor was used for shipping and touching up and the top floors were used for storage. Eventually, the entire building was converted into a storage facility ca. 1950.

Railroad spurs served the manufacturing facility next to the 3-and 4-story storage and shipping building (#4) and the 4-story storage and shipping building (#14). The majority of the historic track has been buried over the years due to traffic within the complex but some of the metal from the tracks is visible next to the 3-and 4-story storage and shipping building (#4).

The water tank and attached pump house were added to the complex post-1950. The water tank is of steel construction. The small, one-story pump house is of concrete block construction and features a single metal door. It is topped with a flat roof clad with an unknown material.