Archives West Finding Aid
Table of Contents
C. W. Gross Records>, 1920-1947
Overview of the Collection
- Creator
- Gross, C. W. (Charles William), 1880-1950
- Title
- C. W. Gross Records>
- Dates
- 1920-1947 (inclusive)19201947
- Quantity
- 1 linear feet of shelf space
- Collection Number
- MC 167
- Summary
- C. W. Gross was a Helena, Montana, oil industry developer and employee of several state regulatory agencies. Records (1920-1947) include reports, correspondence, and miscellany regarding the Nashua Oil and Gas Company, the historical development of the oil industry in Montana during the 1920s, and Gross' personal interest in the industry.
- 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 - Languages
- English
- Sponsor
- Funding for encoding this finding aid was provided through a grant awarded by the National Endowment for the Humanities.
Biographical NoteReturn to Top
Charles William Gross was born in 1880. He worked for the Great Northern Railway Company as an assistant materials clerk in the company's Dakota Division from 1906 to 1907, and as a traveling claim agent from 1914 to 1917. From 1917 until 1923 Gross was chief clerk of the Chicago, Milwaukee and St. Paul Railway Company in Three Forks, Montana. In 1923 he was hired as field auditor by the Montana Board of Equalization to monitor the production of crude oil throughout the state. He was promoted to assistant secretary in 1924. The following year he resigned and moved to Fort Myers, Florida, but returned in 1926 to work as a general accountant for William B. Finley, a Great Falls certified public accountant, and later that year for James A. Johnson in Shelby.
In 1927 Gross was hired as assistant supervisor of oil and gas wells by the Board of Railroad Commissioners, and by 1930 was supervisor of the Gasoline Licensing Division of the Public Service Commission. From 1933 to 1943 Gross was employed by the Independent Refining Company of Billings, but returned to Helena in 1943 to work for the Board of Equalization. He remained with the Board until his death on October 4, 1950. C.W. Gross purchased stock in the Nashua Oil and Gas Company of Nashua, Montana, in 1930, and in 1931 was elected secretary of the Montana Divison of the Independent Petroleum Association of America. The Nashua Oil and Gas Company was incorporated in Nashua, Montana, on February 28, 1923, by N.A. Sampson, A. Torkelson, E.T. Peterson, Arthur Lee, and A.N. Currie.
Content DescriptionReturn to Top
This collection consists of two subgroups. The Charles William Gross subgroup contains general correspondence (1920-1927), which pertains primarily to Gross' search for career advancement; miscellaneous correspondence (1928); financial records (1926, 1928), printed material; reports (n.d.); writings (1924, 1927) regarding Montana oil refineries and wildcat operations in the state; miscellany (1921-1930), containing statistical information (much in graph form), regarding Montana's oil industry, as well as material reflecting Gross' tenure with the railroad companies. The Nashua Oil and Gas Company Subgroup contains incoming correspondence (1923), financial records (1923- 1930), legal documents (1930), maps, minutes (1930), and organizational records (1923-1924).
Administrative InformationReturn to Top
Detailed Description of the CollectionReturn to Top
The following section contains a detailed listing of the materials in the collection
Charles William Gross Return to Top
Container(s) | Description | Dates |
---|---|---|
General Correspondence
|
||
Box/Folder | ||
1 / 1 | B-W (correspondents
include R.E. Bradford, enclosing insurance agreement; Chicago, Burlington and
Quincy Railroad Company; Chicago, Milwaukee and St. Paul Railway Company; Great
Falls Commercial Club; Montana Board of Equalization; Montana Board of Railroad
Commissioners; United States Civil Service Commission; United States Interstate
Commerce Commission; Thomas J. Walsh) |
1920-1927 |
Miscellaneous
Correspondence |
||
Box/Folder | ||
1 / 2 | Letters neither from
nor to Gross (United States Bureau of Mines to Kalispell-Baker Oil Company)
|
1928 |
Financial Records
|
||
Box/Folder | ||
1 / 3 | Miscellaneous
|
1926, 1928 |
Printed
Material |
||
Box/Folder | ||
1 / 4 | List of
printed material transferred to the Library |
|
Reports
|
||
Box/Folder | ||
1 / 5 | "Group
Appraisals of Oil Properties: Time Saving Method Suggested for Making
Analytical Calculations on Producing Valuation" by Charles S. Larkey and
Richard T. Bright |
n.d. |
1 / 6 | "Natural
Gas in Montana Historical," anonymous |
n.d. |
1 / 7 | "Valuing
Oil Producing Property for Income Taxation Purposes," by Samuel J. Caudill
|
c. 1924 |
Writings |
||
Box/Folder | ||
1 / 8 | "The
Bowdoin Dome, Phillips County" (includes "Geolofy [sic i.e. Geology] of Fallon
County, Montana," issued by the Montana Board of Railroad Commissioners, Oct.
15, 1928) |
1929 |
1 / 9-10 |
"Montana Oil Refineries 1923-1924" (includes "Book Keeping and Accounts," "Oil
Well to Tank Farm," "Refining Cost Finding," and "Account Classification")
|
1924 |
1 / 11 |
"Sulphur Tolerance in Gasoline" |
1930 |
1 / 12 |
"Wild Cat Operations: Montana Petroleum Statistics" |
1927 |
1 / 13-19 |
"Wild Cat Operations" (by county) |
1927 |
Miscellany |
||
Box/Folder | ||
1 / 20 |
Analyses of Montana oil products |
1924, 1926 |
1 / 21 |
"Crude Oil Production in Montana" |
1921-1925 |
1 / 22 |
Gasoline and kerosene prices in Montana by municipality |
c. 1925 |
1 / 23 |
"Gasoline-Helena-1925-Service Station Price" [statistical graph] |
1925 |
1 / 25 |
"Gasoline Manufactured and Sold in Montana" |
1923-1925 |
1 / 26 |
C.W. Gross service certificate from the Great Northern Railway Company
|
1920 |
1 / 27 |
Illinois Pipe Line Co. - Kevin-Sunburst field oil production |
1922-1924 |
1 / 28 |
Memoranda of employment history |
1923-1944 |
1 / 29 |
Memorandum "Northern Star Oil and Refining Company Sunburst, Montana"
|
1924 |
1 / 30 |
"Montana Oil Production by Fields" (includes Cat Creek, Devil's Basin, Elk
Basin, Soap Creek, Lake Basin, and Kevin-Sunburst) |
1921-1928 |
1 / 31 |
"Montana Oil Structures" (re location of oil fields by county) |
n.d. |
1 / 32 |
Oil production notes |
n.d. |
1 / 33 |
Oil production in Cat Creek field (includes price, 1923-1925) |
1923-1932 |
1 / 34 |
Oil production in Devil's Basin |
1921-1925 |
1 / 35 |
Oil production in Elk Basin |
1921-1926 |
1 / 36 |
Oil production in Kevin-Sunburst field (includes price, 1923-1925) |
1925 |
1 / 37 |
Oil well completions reported in Montana |
1923-1924 |
1 / 38 |
Public Service Commission Gasoline Licensing Division forms, etc. (blank)
|
1930 |
1 / 39 |
Railroad box car design blueprint (includes legend) |
n.d. |
1 / 40 |
"Simplified Diagram of [Electrical] Connections C.M. and St. P. Rwy.
Locomotives (Westinghouse Type.)" [re Chicago, Milwaukee and St. Paul Railway]
|
1920 |
1 / 41 |
"Statement of Labor Conditions East Sub-Rocky Mountain Division" (Chicago,
Milwaukee and St. Paul Railway; includes number of men working, hours, wages,
and cover letter) |
1920 |
1 / 42 |
United States Public Service Reserve certificate of enrollment |
1917 |
1 / 43 |
"Who Sells the Gasoline?" |
1923 |
1 / 44 |
Miscellaneous |
1912-1924, n.d. |
Clippings |
||
Box/Folder | ||
1 / 45 | "Story Montana Oil as Told by State Official" (re C.W.
Gross' history of development of Montana's oil industry) |
1924 |
1 / 46 | re James A. Johnson refinery, Shelby |
1926 |
Nashua Oil and Gas Company Return to Top
Container(s) | Description | Dates |
---|---|---|
Incoming Correspondence |
||
Box/Folder | ||
1 / 47 | Robert S. McKellar |
1923 |
Financial Records |
||
Box/Folder | ||
1 / 48 | Return of annual net income |
1923 |
1 / 49 | Stock certificates |
1923-1930 |
1 / 50 | Miscellaneous |
1923 |
Legal Documents |
||
Box/Folder | ||
1 / 51 | Proxies |
1930 |
Maps |
||
Box/Folder | ||
1 / 52 | List of maps transferred to the Library |
|
Minutes |
||
Box/Folder | ||
1 / 53 |
Special meeting |
1930 |
Organizational Records |
||
Box/Folder | ||
1 / 54 |
Corporation record (includes articles of incorporation, minutes, and
stockholders ledger) |
1923-1924 |
Miscellany |
||
Box/Folder | ||
1 / 55 |
Purchase orders for shares (blank) |
1930 |
Names and SubjectsReturn to Top
Subject Terms
- Petroleum industry and trade--Montana.
Geographical Names
- Bowdoin Dome (Mont.)
- Fallon County (Mont.)--Politics and government.
- Kevin-Sunburst Oil Field (Toole County, Mont.)
- Lake Basin Oil Field (Stillwater County, Mont.)