Imperial Tobacco Processing Plant

Title: Imperial Tobacco Processing Plant
Description: The Imperial Tobacco Processing Plant, Greenville, N.C., was once part of the Imperial Tobacco Company. Originally founded in the United Kingdom in 1901, the Imperial Tobacco Company also had branches in the North Carolina towns of Durham, Oxford, Greenville, and Wilson. Located in "Tobacco Town" off Dickinson Avenue, the Greenville plant was once the largest buyer of tobacco on the Greenville market for the export trade, according to research by local historian Roger Kammerer. Most of the structure was built in the early 1900s. The company left Greenville in 1978, leaving behind the building covering two city blocks. There were plans of restoring the structure, but on April 17, 2008, the plant was gutted by fire. Image original from North Carolina State Archives. Date approximated.
Date: 1978-1982
Original Format: photographs
Extent: 18cm x 12cm
Local Identifier: 0605-b1-fa
Creator(s)
Subject(s)
Spatial
Location of Original: East Carolina Manuscript Collection
Rights: This item has been made available for use in research, teaching, and private study. Researchers are responsible for using these materials in accordance with Title 17 of the United States Code and any other applicable statutes. If you are the creator or copyright holder of this item and would like it removed, please contact us at als_digitalcollections@ecu.edu.
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Permalink: https://digital.lib.ecu.edu/4177
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Imperial Tobacco Processing Plant
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Location of Original
Greenville Area Preservation Association Records from the East Carolina Manuscript Collection
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Comments

Thomas Spencer Sep 15 2017

There is an excellent book, published in 1962, called The First Sixty Years. There is a. Opt in the ECU Library. It outlines the founding of Imperial from 13 predecessor companies, its expansion, and the beginning of rationalization. There were originally plants in Tifton, GA, Lake City, Mullins, and Timmonsville SC, Fairmont, Kinston, Goldsboro, Greenville, Wilson, Rocky Mount, Oxford, Durham, Winston Salem, Danville, South Boston, Lynchburg, Chase City, Petersburg, and Richmond. Very early, their oldest US plants were in Kentucky but farmer violence, flooding rivers, and development of suitable burley type tobaccos from Malawi and Zimbabwe allowed Imperial to stop purchasing burley in the US by 1952.

G W Smith Dec 28 2021

I’m trying to locate the Imperial Tobacco company’s research/science building used to test tobacco in Durham NC. I was an employee there, and moved to Wilson with Imperial Tobacco. I am trying to locate the address of the small research building used until 1965. Can you help me. G W Smith

charles waters Jun 28 2014

there was an Imperial plant in Fairmont NC through the late 60's

Mike Wilson Mar 27 2014

This is and was my dads property he purchased this from dr fulford in 1978,, look at the sign on front and it says Greenville storage company,,this was his start to big things,,I miss this building I knew every inch of it inside and out!

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