Archives West Finding Aid

Through three generations and for more than one-hundred years, the Holter Family was an active and influential participant in the history and growth of Montana. The contributions made by the family, particularly to the economic and social development of Helena, have made the name Holter of special historical significance to that city.

Anton M. Holter (1831-1921) arrived in America from his native Norway in 1854 at the age of 23. Working as a carpenter, he traveled in Iowa and Minnesota before reaching the Pikes Peak gold fields during the Colorado gold rush. From there, Holter joined with Alex Evinson in 1863 to journey by wagon to what is now Madison County, Montana, where they established the first sawmill in the territory at Ramshorn Gulch near Virginia City. From this rustic start with makeshift machinery, Holter was to become the "father of the lumber business in Montana," establishing lumber yards in Virginia City, Nevada City, Helena, Great Falls, Sun River and Fort Benton. Holter's personal account of his days in Virginia City and the sawmill business is given in "Pioneer Lumbering in Montana."

Holter was particularly attracted to the Helena area because of the rich gold strikes at Last Chance Gulch and the subsequent need for building and other supplies. In 1865, he established a sawmill eight miles southwest of town on Ten Mile Creek. Two years later, after dissolving Holter and Evinson, he formed a general merchandise company in partnership with his brother, Martin Holter (1835-1920), located on Main Street in Helena near his lumber yards. The firm of A. M. Holter and Brother operated until 1886 when Holter incorporated the A. M. Holter Hardware Company.

Holter Hardware was located at 113 N. Main Street in the three-story Holter Block built in 1887. In addition to the main store building, the firm also had two warehouses for shipping and receiving. The first merchandise to reach the company was shipped up the Missouri River to Fort Benton and hauled to Helena by ox team. By offering wholesale and retail merchandise including general hardware, mining supplies, mining and milling machinery, and a selection of gift items, the company became one of the largest of its kind in the Northwest. A. M. Holter Hardware Company was the oldest commercial business in Montana, surviving until 1958 (advertisements claimed "since 1867"). Liquidation came in an effort to preserve assets from increasing operating losses when the firm was sold to S. W. Shames and Associates of Denver.

In addition to his lumber and hardware interests, Anton M. Holter was also active in other business enterprises and activities, many of these in partnership with Samuel T. Hauser. In 1865, he was instrumental in founding the Virginia City Water Company, the first corporation organized in the territory. The first door, blind, and sash factory is also credited to Holter, being built in 1868. He invested in several local utility companies and was a major promoter of the United Missouri River Power Company which was responsible for dam construction near Helena. Investments were made in Alaska fish packing, Oregon timber lands, mercantile companies, sheep and cattle ranches, flour mills, railroads, and land companies. Holter was also a heavy speculator in mining properties, investing in small one-man mines and in large incorporated mining companies located from Alaska to Mexico. In Montana Territory he is credited with revolutionizing quartz mining by being the first to make use of ore concentrators. Properties Holter invested in included the Elkhorn Mining Company, the Maginnis Mining Company, Seven Devils Mining District, Helena and Victor Mining Company, Blue Canyon Coal Company, Helena and Frisco Mining Company, and the Little Ben Mining Company.

A Republican, Holter was a member of the first territorial council, the first state legislature, and the first school board in Helena.

Anton M. Holter married Mary Pauline Loberg of Chicago in 1867. Their first child, born in 1868 in the back of the family mercantile store, was Norman Bernard Holter (1868-1959). It was Norman Holter who returned to Montana after graduating from Columbia University in 1891 as a mining engineer to assume major responsibility for the family enterprises after his father's retirement. He served also with the Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis, Montana Flour Mills, Montana Power Company, Western States Taxpayers' Association, and the Liberty Loan campaigns in Montana during World War I.

In addition to the A. M. Holter Hardware Company, two other family corporations were created. In 1902, the Holter Company was founded. This closed-end investment company was owned primarily by family members and was designed for the handling of stock investment transactions and for the conduct of other general commercial business. Heavy investments were made through the Holter Company in numerous mining ventures, in California real estate, and in oil properties. The name of the company was changed in 1960 to The 25 West 6th Avenue Company. Liquidation came in 1963 to protect stockholders "from the hazards of one-man management." Another family enterprise, the Holter Realty Company, came into existence sometime around 1917. This company handled primarily the rental of Helena business properties it owned, although it also managed some California real estate. Holter Realty also had an investment program where the working capital of the company was invested in the stock market. The company was liquidated in 1968.

Other members of the Holter family active in the business interests included three of Norman's brothers: Edwin 0. Holter (1871-196?), a lawyer in New York City, assisted with stock market investments; Albert L. Holter (1874-1921) managed one of the family ranches at Silver Star; and Aubrey M. Holter (1883-1945) held corporate offices in all of the Holter companies. Clara Holter Kennett (1869-1951), the only sister, was a major stockholder in each of the family concerns.

The retirement of Norman B. Holter brought his youngest son, Norman Jefferis (Jeff) Holter (1914-1983) into the family businesses. A chemist and physicist, Jeff Holter was a member of the Navy teams conducting atomic bomb tests at Bikini Atoll and hydrogen bomb tests at Eniwetok Atoll. After his return to Helena in 1946, he served as a corporate officer for Holter Hardware, Holter Company, Holter Realty, Montana Flour Mills, and Mountain States Telephone and Telegraph Company. In addition, he founded and worked as research director for the Holter Research Foundation, Inc. This small, non-profit research laboratory was founded in 1947 and financed by private funds and Public Health Service grants. Being involved with the field of medical physics, the foundation is credited with the discovery of several important heart monitoring devices and for the creation of "Dynamic Electrocardiography."