American Naval Stores Company was an American company established in 1906 in West Virginia, with its head office in Savannah, Georgia. It bought, sold, shipped and exported turpentine and resin from the Southern United States to national and international destinations. The term naval stores refers to products derived from conifers.[1]
| Formerly | S. P. Shotter Company |
|---|---|
| Company type | Naval stores industry |
| Founded | 1906 |
| Founders | Spencer Proudfoot Shotter |
| Defunct | 1913 |
| Headquarters | Savannah, Georgia, U.S. |
| Owners | Spencer Proudfoot Shotter |
The company's founder was Spencer Proudfoot Shotter, a Canadian who emigrated to the United States to pursue a career in wood processing from the trees in the forests of Georgia.[2] The company came about via a merger between the S. P. Shotter Company and Paterson, Downing Company.[3]
It was said that the company's formation led to the creation of enough jobs to assist in Savannah's exit from the post-Civil War depression.[2] The company had branches in New York City, New Orleans, Jacksonville, Pensacola, Chicago, Philadelphia, Gulfport, Mobile, Cincinnati, St. Louis, Brunswick, Fernandina, Wilmington, Louisville and Tampa.[4]
In the first half of the 20th century, the company was charged with, according to the Georgia Historical Society, "attempting to monopolize interstate trade in the naval stores industry,"[5] a violation of the Sherman Antitrust act.[6] The United States Supreme Court decided in the defendants' favor on June 9, 1913, reversing an earlier judgment.[7] The company folded shortly thereafter due to the costs incurred during the trial.[5]
Personnel
editThe company was composed of the following individuals:[8]
- Edmund C. Nash, president
- Spencer P. Shotter, chairman
- J. F. Cooper Meyers, vice-president
- George M. Boardman, treasurer
- C. J. Deloach, secretary
References
edit- ^ "Naval Stores Industry". New Georgia Encyclopedia. Retrieved 2023-03-09.
- ^ a b "Spencer Proudfoot Shotter (1855-1920) - HouseHistree". househistree.com. Retrieved 2023-03-09.
- ^ "Naval Stores War of 1905: The Fight to Control Distributing Between Shotter and Coachman". Cotton Trade Journal. 5. 1905.
- ^ "Advert". Paint, Oil and Drug Review. 48: 15. 1909.
- ^ a b "U.S. v. American Naval Stores Company scrapbook and letter". ghs.galileo.usg.edu. Retrieved 2023-03-09.
- ^ "NAVAL STORES QUITS, AFTER TRUST SUIT; Loss of Credit and Inability to Raise Working Capital Force Suspension". The New York Times. Retrieved 2023-03-09.
- ^ "EDMUND S. NASH, Spencer P. Shotter, et al., Petitioners, v. UNITED STATES". LII / Legal Information Institute. Retrieved 2023-03-09.
- ^ "Suit for Dissolution of 'Turpentine Trust'". The Tradesman. 67: 42. January 11, 1912.