Montana Board of Sheep Commissioners records

Montana Board of Sheep Commissioners records, 1900-1902

Overview of the Collection

Creator: Montana Board of Sheep Commissioners
Title: Montana Board of Sheep Commissioners records
Dates: 1900-1902 (inclusive)
19001902
Quantity: 0.4 linear feet
Collection Number: RS 500 (Formerly RS 41)
Summary: This collection is a subgroup (Commission) of the Montana Department of Livestock records, RS 500. Please see the primary finding aid for more Montana Department of Livestock records. These Montana Board of Sheep Commissioners records (1900-1902), include correspondence to various board members regarding administrative matters, sheep inspection and disease control, annual reports of county sheep commissioners, statistical reports and lists of Montana wool growers, printed materials, and miscellany.
Repository: Montana Historical Society, Library & Archives
Montana Historical Society Research Center Archives
225 North Roberts
PO Box 201201
Helena MT
59620-1201
Telephone: 4064442681
Fax: 4064445297
mhslibrary@mt.gov
Access Restrictions: Collection open for research
Languages: English
Sponsor: Funding for encoding this finding aid was provided through a grant awarded by the National Endowment for the Humanities.

Historical NoteReturn to Top

The Fifth Legislative Assembly of Montana created the Board of Sheep Commissioners in 1897. The governor appointed one Board member from each county to serve a two-year term. Commissioners were required to be an elector, sheep owner, and resident of the county from which they were appointed. A president and secretary of the Board were elected by the members. The Board was created "for protection of the rights and interests of sheep owners." In order to achieve this end, the Board could divide the state into districts for inspection purposes and appoint inspectors to monitor diseases and impose quarantines when necessary. The counties were required to institute a tax on sheep to pay the expenses of the sheep inspectors. T.C. Power and Cornelius Hedges served as president and secretary respectively of the Board at the turn of the century. The Board of Sheep Commissioners was abolished in 1917 when its duties were transferred to the newly created Livestock Commission. The Livestock Commission was renamed the Board of Livestock in 1971.

Content DescriptionReturn to Top

This collection contains general correspondence of the Board of Sheep Commissioners which discusses appointments of inspectors, quarantines, meetings, the National Wool Growers Association, annual reports, sheep diseases, poisonous plants, etc. The collection also contains lists of sheep ranchers in Chouteau, Dawson, Park, and Rosebud counties and reports from commissioners in Beaverhead, Broadwater, Carbon, Cascade, Chouteau, Custer, Dawson, Fergus, Gallatin, Lewis and Clark, Madison, Missoula, Park, Powell, Silver Bow, Teton, and Valley counties. These reports give the number of sheep, number of inspectors, pounds of wool, health condition of stock, etc.

Use of the CollectionReturn to Top

Restrictions on Use

Researchers must use collection in accordance with the policies of the Montana Historical Society Library & Archives. The Library & Archives does not necessarily hold copyright to all materials in the collection. In some cases permission for use may require additional authorization from the copyright owners. For more information contact an archivist.

Preferred Citation

Item description and date. Collection Title. Collection Number. Box and Folder numbers. Montana Historical Society Library & Archives, Helena, Montana.

Administrative InformationReturn to Top

Arrangement

The collection is arranged by series.

Location of Collection

18:7-6

Processing Note

In 2024, the various collections of the Department of Livestock were integrated under one collection identifier, RS 500, in order to help facilitate access, reduce redundancy in the Montana Historical Society Library & Archives catalog, and to follow best archival practices.

Collections from the Department of Livestock's Divisions and Boards that were previously treated as separate entities are now integrated into this collection, RS 500. Rather than reprocessing over 50 linear feet of Livestock materials, MTHS staff decided to keep the past arrangement of those collections/finding aids and provide access to them via links in this central finding aid. This decision has allowed the MTHS archival staff to maintain intellectual control over the collection, while removing the need to reprocess it. It also keeps State Agency finding aids at manageable sizes. Please read the Content Note carefully to determine if this subgroup/sub-subgroup pertains to your research needs.

Acquisition Information

Acquisition information available upon request

Separated Materials

Separated from Hedges Family Papers (MC33).

Detailed Description of the CollectionReturn to Top

General CorrespondenceReturn to Top

Container(s)	Description	Dates
Box/Folder
1 / 1	A-K (correspondents include L.V. Bogy, Boston and Montana Sheep Company, Dan H. Bowman, L.S. Briggs, S.R. Buford, T.H. Carter, Central Montana Wool Growers Association, J.H. Gilbert, David Hilger, William Jackson, J.H. Jordan, M.E. Knowles)	1900-1901
1 / 2	J.B. Long	1901
1 / 3	L-R (correspondents include Max Lauterbach, William Lindsay, A.C. Logan, W.G. Markham, David McGillivray, T. Glower Miles, L.H. Mills, James P. Murray, National Live Stock Association, National Shepherd's Bulletin, National Wool Growers' Association, New Mexico Wool Growers' Association, North Pacific Rural Spirit, Frank D. O'Neill, J.F. Patterson, T.C. Power, E. Rose)	1900-1902
1 / 4	S-T (correspondents include W.B. Sands, D.A. Smith, David Smithurst, J.M. Spackman, Charles F. Stocker, C.B. Toole, C.B. Towers)	1901
1 / 5	U-W (correspondents include United States Bureau of Forestry including Gifford Pinchot, United States Dept. of Agriculture Division of Botany including Frederick V. Coville, James Vestal, A.S. Wiley, William Williams, Wool and Sheep Markets, John F. Work)	1901

ReportsReturn to Top

Container(s)	Description	Dates
Box/Folder
1 / 6	Reports of county sheep commissioners (includes Beaverhead, Broadwater, Carbon, Cascade, Chouteau, Custer, Dawson, Fergus, Gallatin, Lewis and Clark, Madison, Park, Powell, Silver Bow, Teton, and Valley counties)	1901

MiscellanyReturn to Top

Container(s)	Description	Dates
Box/Folder
1 / 7	Lists of sheep ranchers (arranged by county; includes Chouteau, Dawson, Park, and Rosebud counties)	1900-1901

Archives West Finding Aid

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