C.J. Harris tannery remembered as major local employer, worker group identified

William L. Crawford recounted the role of the C.J. Harris tannery in Jackson Countys early economy and the photo records he has helped identify. "That was the biggest industry here," he said, pointing to a photograph and naming the company as "C. J. Harris Tannery," adding that many of the workers pictured were Black residents of the county.

Crawford described how chestnut oak bark was peeled in spring and used in tanning, and how the tannerys operations preceded the paper mill that later became a local employer. He said he sat down to identify individuals in a group photograph, including names like Landon McKee, and that those images document an earlier chapter of local labor history.