Inventory of the Kenney P. Funderburke Papers, 1910 - 1995
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Descriptive Summary
| Abstract: | Kenney P. Funderburke had a 42 year career in public and industrial forestry, largely with the Westvaco Corporation. From 1961-1966, he worked in Tres Barras, Brazil, as Manager of Forestry Activities for Westvaco, helping set up the Rigesa, S.A. Limitada operation (a Westvaco subsidiary). |
| The collection includes materials collected by and given to Kenney P. Funderburke related to forestry and lumbering in Tres Barras in the state of Santa Catarina, Brazil, primarily during the early 20th century. Funderburke worked in Tres Barras from 1961-1966 as Manager of Forestry Activities for Westvaco, helping set up the Rigesa, S.A. Limitada operation (a Westvaco subsidiary). The materials pertain largely to the timber operations of the Southern Brazil Lumber and Colonization Company, founded in about 1900 and managed beginning in 1910 by three brothers from Eureka, California James, Ernest, and Sherman Bishop. A group of copy photographs made from original glass plates dating from 1910-1915 depict SBL&C Co. employees, logging and log transportation by water and locomotive, skidding, and mill activities. Supporting documentation provided by Funderburke details some history of the Bishop family and of the Contestado, a land war in the Tres Barras region fought between rebel civilians and the Brazilian state's federal police and military forces between 1912 and 1916; the SBL&C Co. was involved in the Contestado due to the dispossession of native Brazilians' land and the company's use European immigrant labor. Also included are two circa 1915 cigarette wrappers that show SBL&C Co. scenes, and photographs from the 1974 opening of the Rigesa, S.A. Limitada mill at Tres Barras. | |
| Title: | Kenney P. Funderburke Papers, 1910 - 1995 |
| Creator: | Funderburke, Kenney P. |
| Repository: | Forest History Society Library and Archives |
| Call Number: | 7578 |
| Language of Material: | Material in English |
| Extent: | 0.25 linear feet (6 folders) |
Biographical Note
Kenney P. Funderburke, Jr. graduated from the University of Georgia in 1950 and went on to a 42 year career in public and industrial forestry, largely with the Westvaco Corporation. He spent the early years of his career working in wood procurement and in land acquisitions at various sites throughout the Southeastern U.S. before being dispatched to Tres Barras, Santa Catarina, Brazil in 1956 to buy land for a subsidiary mill site. Funderburke served as the Manager of Forest Activities there until 1961, helping set up the Rigesa, S.A. (a wholly-owned Westvaco subsidary) Tres Barras mill operation, which officially opened in 1974.
Back in the United States, Funderburke worked in timber sales for Westvaco until 1970, when he was tapped to establish and manage a new timberlands ownership and operation headquartered in West Virginia. In 1987 he became Manager of New Business Projects, exploring non-traditional uses of timberlands. Retired since 1991 and currently living in Summerville, South Carolina, Funderburke is the head of a "four-forester family" (himself, two sons, and a daughter-in-law). He is a Fellow of the Society of American Foresters, and has held a number of appointments within that organization, the Association of Southeastern Boards of Registration for Foresters, and the South Carolina State Board of Registration for Foresters (chair 1995-1996).
Collection Overview
The collection includes materials collected by and given to Kenney P. Funderburke related to forestry and lumbering in Tres Barras in the state of Santa Catarina, Brazil, primarily during the early 20th century. Funderburke worked in Tres Barras from 1961-1966 as Manager of Forestry Activities for Westvaco, helping set up the Rigesa, S.A. Limitada operation (a Westvaco subsidiary). The materials pertain largely to the timber operations of the Southern Brazil Lumber and Colonization Company, founded in about 1900 and managed beginning in 1910 by three brothers from Eureka, California James, Ernest, and Sherman Bishop.
A group of copy photographs made from original glass plates dating from 1910-1915 depict SBL&C Co. employees, logging and log transportation by water and locomotive, skidding, and mill activities. Supporting documentation provided by Funderburke details some history of the Bishop family and of the Contestado, a land war in the Tres Barras region fought between rebel civilians and the Brazilian state's federal police and military forces between 1912 and 1916; the SBL&C Co. was involved in the Contestado due to the dispossession of native Brazilians' land and the company's use European immigrant labor. Also included are two circa 1915 cigarette wrappers that show SBL&C Co. scenes, and photographs from the 1974 opening of the Rigesa, S.A. Limitada mill at Tres Barras.
Collection Arrangement
Material organized into six "groups" by Funderburke, which were left intact in individual folders.
1. Photographs, Photocopies, and Cigarette Wrappers, 1910-1995
Subject Headings
- Brazil -- History -- Contestado Insurrection, 1912-1916
- Funderburke, Kenney P.
- Lumber trade -- Brazil -- Photographs
- Timber -- Brazil -- Photographs
- Logging -- Brazil -- Photographs
- Logging -- Equipment and supplies
- Logging -- Machinery -- History
- Logging railroads -- History
- Locomotives -- Pictorial works
- Santa Catarina (Brazil : State) -- History
- Southern Brazil Lumber and Colonization Company
- Westvaco Corporation
Detailed Description of the Collection
1. Photographs, Photocopies, and Cigarette Wrappers, 1910-1995.
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Locomotive and three water tank cars for skidders, Tres Barras. |
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Tres Barras cigarette wrapper, depicting Southern Brazil Lumber and Colonization Company sawmill. |
Administrative Information
Access Restrictions
No restrictions.
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The materials from our collections are made available for use in research, teaching, and private study, pursuant to U.S. Copyright law. The user must assume full responsibility for any use of the materials, including but not limited to, infringement of copyright and publication rights of reproduced materials. Any materials used for academic research or otherwise should be fully credited with the source.
Preferred Citation
[Identification of item], Kenney P. Funderburke Papers, Library and Archives, Forest History Society, Durham, NC, USA.
Acquisitions Information
Received from Kenney P. Funderburke, Jr., on March 2007.
Processing Information
Processed by Staff
Encoded by Amanda Ross, May 2009 and Eben Lehman, February 2010
Funding from the National Historical Publications and Records Commission supported the encoding of this finding aid. Support for digitization and outreach provided by the Alvin J. Huss Endowment.