Archives West Finding Aid
Table of Contents
Big Blackfoot Milling Company Records, 1882-1899
Overview of the Collection
- Creator
- Big Blackfoot Milling Company
- Title
- Big Blackfoot Milling Company Records
- Dates
- 1882-1899 (inclusive)18821899
- Quantity
- 47 volumes
- Collection Number
- Mss 246 (collection)
- Summary
- The Big Blackfoot Milling Company was a timber company based in Missoula, Montana. The forty-seven volume collection contains minutes, organizational and financial records of the Big Blackfoot Milling Company, and financial records (1882-1890) of the various sub-groups which were predecessor and successor businesses of that corporation.
- Repository
-
University of Montana, Mansfield Library, Archives and Special Collections
Archives and Special Collections
Maureen and Mike Mansfield Library
University of Montana
32 Campus Dr. #9936
59812-9936
Missoula, MT
Telephone: 406-243-2053
library.archives@umontana.edu - Access Restrictions
-
Researchers must use collection in accordance with the policies of Archives and Special Collections, the Maureen and Mike Mansfield Library, and The University of Montana--Missoula.
- 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
On August 1, 1882, Andrew Hammond, Richard Eddy, E. L. Bonner, and others incorporated the Montana Improvement Company to exploit the timber resources in western Montana. The company acquired the sawmills of Eddy, Hammond and Company, a Missoula general store operation that had entered the lumber business under contract to provide lumber for the construction of the Northern Pacific Railroad. In March 1886, the government of the United States brought suit against the Montana Improvement Company for cutting timber on the government domain. In anticipation of this event, Eddy, Hammond and Company incorporated as the Missoula Mercantile Company. On August 4, 1887, the partners of the Montana Improvement Company incorporated the Big Blackfoot Milling Company to take over the lumber activities of the Improvement Company. On February 3, 1888 the Big Blackfoot Milling and Manufacturing Company succeeded the Big Blackfoot Milling Company. In the pursuit of the timber suits, records of these companies ended up with the Hammond Lumber Company of California where the trial was held in Federal Court.
Content DescriptionReturn to Top
The 47-volume collection contains minutes, organizational and financial records of the Montana Improvement Company, 1882-1892, and financial records, 1882-1899, of the various sub-groups which were predecessor and successor businesses of the that corporation: Spokane Falls Lumber Company; W. H. Hammond; Eddy, Hammond and Company; Missoula Mercantile Company; and the Big Blackfoot Milling Company. The records are incomplete, but provide a detailed record of A. B. Hammond, his associates, and their business activities in and around Missoula.
Use of the CollectionReturn to Top
Restrictions on Use
Researchers are responsible for using in accordance with 17 U.S.C. and any other applicable statutes. Copyright not transferred to The University of Montana.
Preferred Citation
[Name of document], Big Blackfoot Milling Company Records, Archives and Special Collections, Maureen and Mike Mansfield Library, The University of Montana--Missoula.
Administrative InformationReturn to Top
Arrangement
The collection is divided into seven series:
Series I: Montana Improvement Company, 9 volumes, 1882-1898
Series II: Spokane Falls Lumber Company, 2 volumes, 1884-1886
Series III: W. H. Hammond, 2 volumes, 1890-1891
Series IV: Eddy, Hammond, & Company, 5 volumes, 1883-1885
Series V: Missoula Mercantile Company, 11 volumes, 1886-1889
Series VI: Big Blackfoot Milling Company, 14 volumes, 1887-1890
Series VII: Miscellaneous, 4 volumes, undated
Custodial History
Lowell Mengel II, a historian of A. B. Hammond, rescued the ledgers from the Hammond Lumber Company warehouses in Samoa, CA, when the structures were being torn down in the late 1960s. The volumes were in his possession until donation to the Archives.
Acquisition Information
Gift of Lowell Mengel II, 1997.
Processing Note
The collection remains essentially unchanged from the state in which it arrived. In 1997 the collection was described.
Related Materials
Archives and Special Collections at the University of Montana holds a Big Blackfoot Milling Company township plat book (1894) in collection Mss 453.
Detailed Description of the CollectionReturn to Top
Series I: Montana Improvement Company , 1882-1898Return to Top
This series includes minutes, a stock transfer journal, and financial records (day books, a journal, an employee ledger, general ledgers, and records of lumber shipped). Volume 4, a daybook from 1886-1898, and Volume 5, a journal from 1885 to 1898, include records of expenses incurred during the timber suits.
| Container(s) | Description | Dates |
|---|---|---|
Subseries 1: Minutes |
||
| Volume | ||
| 1 | October 25, 1882 - October 3, 1892 | |
Subseries 2: Organization
|
||
| Volume | ||
| 2 | Stock transfer journal
|
October 16, 1883 - September 16, 1887 |
Subseries 3: Financial Records
|
||
| Volume | ||
| 3 | Day book |
September 1, 1884 - April 27, 1885 |
| 4 | Day book |
April 16, 1886 - September 18, 1898 |
| 5 | Journal |
June 15, 1885 - September 18, 1898 |
| 6 | Employee ledger |
October, 1885 - August, 1887 |
| 7 | General ledger |
March 10, 1885 - February 19, 1889 |
| 8 | General ledger |
September 1, 1885 - September 18, 1898 |
| 9 | Lumber shipped |
September 1, 1884 - October 6, 1887 |
Series II: Spokane Falls Lumber Comapany, 1884-1886Return to Top
This series includes one day book and one general ledger for the Spokane Falls Lumber Company.
| Container(s) | Description | Dates |
|---|---|---|
| Volume | ||
| 1 | Day book |
May 31, 1884 - September 20, 1885 |
| 2 | General ledger |
May 31, 1884 - June 28, 1886 |
Series III: W.H. Hammond , 1890-1891Return to Top
This series contains two volumes: one cashbook and one sales journal.
| Container(s) | Description | Dates |
|---|---|---|
| Volume | ||
| 1 | Cash book |
October 2, 1890 - December 31, 1891 |
| 2 | Sales Journal |
October 12, 1891 - December 31, 1891 |
Series IV: Eddy, Hammond, & Co. , 1883-1885Return to Top
This 5-volume series contains daybooks, one general ledger, and two indexes to ledgers. It is divided into two subseries: Financial Records and Indices to Ledgers.
| Container(s) | Description | Dates |
|---|---|---|
Subseries 1: Financial Records
|
||
| Volume | ||
| 1 | Day book |
August 28, 1884 - July 3, 1885 |
| 2 | Day book |
July 4, 1885 - May 6, 1886 |
| 3 | General ledger |
May 2, 1883 - July 13, 1883 |
Subseries 2: Indices to ledgers
|
||
| Volume | ||
| 4 | Eddy, Hammond & Co., ledger
#1 |
|
| 5 | Eddy, Hammond & Co., ledger
#2 |
Series V: Missoula Mercantile Company, 1886-1889Return to Top
This series includes daybooks, journals, a private ledger (with index), and a general ledger (with index).
| Container(s) | Description | Dates |
|---|---|---|
| Volume | ||
| 1 | Day book |
May 7, 1886 - August 31, 1886 |
| 2 | Day book (D) |
June 4, 1887 - January 10, 1888 |
| 3 | Day book (F) |
July 23, 1888 - January 10, 1888 |
| 4 | Day book (G) |
January 11, 1889 - July 13, 1889 |
| 5 | Day book (L) |
November 21, 1891 - July 30, 1892 |
| 6 | Journal (C) |
December 1, 1887 - July 31, 1888 |
| 7 | Journal, closing entries
|
January 7 - 9, 1888 |
| 8 | Private ledger (C) |
December 1, 1887 - July 31, 1888 |
| 9 | General ledger (C) |
December 2, 1887 - July 31, 1888 |
| 10 | Index to Private ledger (C)
|
|
| 11 | Index to General ledger (C)
|
Series VI: Big Blackfoot Milling Company, 1887-1890Return to Top
This series contains a lumber order book, daybooks, journals, a general ledger, employee ledgers, records of lumber shipped, and an inventory of various mills from 1890. One daybook dating from 1898 to 1899 includes entries settling small matters relating to the sale of this company to Marcus Daly.
| Container(s) | Description | Dates |
|---|---|---|
| Volume | ||
| 1 | Lumber order book |
January 14, 1890 - September 27, 1890 |
| 2 | Day book |
August 1, 1888 - June 7, 1889 |
| 3 | Day book |
June 10, 1889 - December 11, 1889 |
| 4 | Day book |
December 12, 1889 - December 6, 1890 |
| 5 | Day book |
December 8, 1890 - December 30, 1891 |
| 6 | Day book |
July 9, 1898 - June 24, 1899 |
| 7 | Journal |
August 1, 1888 - August 31, 1889 |
| 8 | Journal |
September 2, 1889 - August 30, 1890 |
| 9 | Journal |
September 1, 1890 - December 31, 1891 |
| 10 | General ledger |
August 1, 1888 - December 31, 1889 |
| 11 | Employee ledger (Index to above
ledger) |
July, 1887 - July, 1888 |
| 12 | Employee ledger |
July, 1888 - December, 1889, January 1, 1890 |
| 13 | Lumber shipped |
October 3, 1887 - August 31, 1889 |
| 14 | Inventory, various mills
|
January 1, 1890 |
Series VII: Miscellaneous , undatedReturn to Top
This series contains four indexes to unidentified ledgers.
| Container(s) | Description | Dates |
|---|---|---|
| Volume | ||
| 1 | Private ledger (a) |
|
| 2 | Unidentified ledger |
|
| 3 | Unidentified ledger |
|
| 4 | Unidentified ledger |
Names and SubjectsReturn to Top
Subject Terms
- General stores--Montana--Missoula
- Lumber trade--Montana--Missoula
Corporate Names
- Big Blackfoot Milling Co. (Butte, Mont.)
- Eddy, Hammond & Co.
- Missoula Mercantile Company
- Spokane Falls Lumber Co.
- W.H. Hammond (Firm)
Form or Genre Terms
- Business records--Montana--Missoula
Occupations
- Businessmen--Montana--Missoula
Other Creators
-
Personal Names
- Bonner, E.L. (Edward L.), 1834-1902
- Eddy, Richard
- Hammond, Andrew B. (Andrew Benoni), 1848-1934
Finding aid prepared by Dale Lynn
Johnson and Jodi Allison-Bunnell (1997)
1997
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
