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Department of Highways, Right of Way Bureau records, 1912-1987

Overview of the Collection

Creator
Montana. Department of Highways.
Title
Department of Highways, Right of Way Bureau records
Dates
1912-1987 (inclusive)
Quantity
44.2 linear feet
Collection Number
RS 492 (Formerly RS 419)
Summary
This collection is a sub-subgroup (Bureau) of the Montana Department of Transportation records, RS 492. It currently operates under the Engineering Division. Please see the primary finding aid for more Montana Department of Transportation records. This collection (1912-1987) consists primarily of official deeds, documenting the transfer of land from private citizens to both the Department of Highways for highway projects and several railway companies.
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 is open for research.

Languages
English
Sponsor
Funding for encoding this finding aid was provided through a grant awarded by the National Historical Publications and Records Commission (NHPRC)
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Historical Note

The Montana State Highway Commission was created in 1913 by the state Legislative Assembly. The original Commission was composed of three members. In 1917 new legislation altered the organization of the Commission by authorizing the appointment of twelve members according to geographic highway districts. Membership was changed again in 1921 to three members appointed by the Governor and in 1941 to five members, also appointed by the Governor. In 1971 the Commission was renamed the Montana Department of Highways, created by Chapter 7 of the Executive Reorganization Act of 1971 and implemented by executive order of the Governor on December 16, 1971. The Department of Highways took over all but the advisory functions of the State Highway Commission.

By 1972, the Department consisted of seven divisions: the Legal Division, Personnel Division, Centralized Services Division, Engineering Division, Motor Pool Division, Gross Vehicle Weight Division, and the Maintenance Division. Each division was headed by an administrator. The Centralized Services Division, Engineering Division, Motor Pool Division, Gross Vehicle Weight Division, and the Maintenance Division were furthered sub-divided into bureaus, headed by Chiefs. In 1991, the Department of Highways became the Department of Transportation.

At present, the Right-of-Way Bureau is under the umbrella of the Preconstruction Program, which administers the Highways Bureau, Bridge Bureau, Consultant Design Bureau, Traffic and Safety Bureau, Environmental Services Bureau, and the Engineering Information Management Section. Both historically and currently, it has been the Right-of-Way Bureau’s primary function to acquire land for highways, and deal legally with previous acquisitions of land. It also provides assistance and payments to individuals and businesses relocated by highways, designs the right-of-way, and arranges for relocating utilities that conflict with highway construction.

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Content Description

This collection consists primarily of subject files containing deeds to lands purchased by the Department of Highways in order to complete highways projects. The deeds in boxes 42 and 43 represent later additions to the Right-of-Way Bureau records, and thus are out of chronological order. Deeds in Box 42 consist primarily of deeds made by land owners, between 1912 and 1960, to the Chicago, Milwaukee, St. Paul and Pacific Railway Company, and the Chicago, Milwaukee, and Puget Sound Railway Company.

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Use of the Collection

Restrictions on Use

The Montana Historical Society is the owner of the materials in the Research Library and makes available reproductions for research, publication, and other uses. Written permission must be obtained from the Research Library before any reproduction use. The Society does not necessarily hold copyright to all of the materials in the collections. In some cases, permission for use may require seeking additional authorization from the copyright owners.

Preferred Citation

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

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Administrative Information

Arrangement

This collection is arranged by series.

Location of Collection

41:1-3

Processing Note

In 2024, the various collections of the Montana Department of Transportation were integrated under one collection identifier, RS 492, in order to help facilitate access, reduce redundancy in the MTHS catalog, and to follow best archival practices.

Collections from Montana Department of Transportation's various Divisions and Bureaus that were previously treated as separate entities are now integrated into this collection, RS 492. Rather than reprocessing over 280 linear feet of Transportation materials, MTHS staff decided to keep the past arrangement of those collections/finding aids, and provide access to them via links through the 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 scope and content note carefully to determine if this subgroup/sub-subgroup pertains to your research needs.

Acquisition Information

Acquisition information available upon request

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Detailed Description of the Collection

Detailed Description of the Collection

Names and SubjectsReturn to Top

Subject Terms

  • Construction projects--United States
  • Deeds--Montana
  • Roads

Finding aid prepared by Rachel Lilley; Updated by Lindsey Mick
2013; 2024

CC Attribution
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

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