Archives West Finding Aid
Table of Contents
Great Northern Railway Company, Seattle General Agent Records, 1900-1948
Overview of the Collection
- Creator
- Great Northern Railway Company, Seattle General Agent
- Title
- Great Northern Railway Company, Seattle General Agent Records
- Dates
- 1900-1948 (inclusive)19001948
- Quantity
- 12 containers., (11.8 linear feet of shelf space.), (18,000 items.)
- Collection Number
- Cage 398
- Summary
- Correspondence, memoranda, rate schedules, Joint Freight Tarriffs, waybill corrections, lists of businesses, car locations, car movements, circulars, publicity, rate changes, building plans, and marketing information, principally from 1903 to 1923.
- Repository
-
Washington State University Libraries' Manuscripts, Archives, and Special Collections (MASC)
Manuscripts, Archives, and Special Collections
Terrell Library Suite 12
Pullman, WA
99164-5610
Telephone: 509-335-6691
mascref@wsu.edu - Access Restrictions
-
This collection is open for research use.
- 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 Great Northern Railway had its beginnings in 1878 when James J. Hill and his associates purchased the St. Paul and Pacific Railroad; it was then reorganized and renamed the St. Paul, Minneapolis and Manitoba. In September of 1889, Hill organized the Great Northern Railway Company around the charter of the old Minneapolis and St. Cloud Railroad Company and leased the Manitoba for 999 years. The lease stayed in effect until November 1, 1907, when the Great Northern officially purchased the St. Paul, Minneapolis and Manitoba along with the Montana Central, Seattle and Montana, and many other subsidiary companies. In 1890, shortly after the incorporation of the Great Northern Railway, the directors of the Great Northern requested Hill to extend its lines westward from some suitable point in Montana to Puget Sound.
The discovery of Marias Pass by John F. Stevens in 1889 facilitated this extension which was completed in 1893. From that date until 1905, the General Agent operated out of the terminal buildings of the Seattle and Montana, a subsidiary company which had constructed the line eastward from Seattle to the Cascades. The construction of a new terminal was delayed by a long and bitter fight between the Great Northern and the Northern Pacific. In 1905, the new terminal was completed (along with a tunnel under Railroad Avenue) and housed both lines including the office of the General Agent of the Great Northern. The Burlington Northern was formed in 1970 by the merging of the Chicago, Burlington and Quincy, the Great Northern, the Northern Pacific, and the Spokane, Portland and Seattle railroads.
Use of the CollectionReturn to Top
Preferred Citation
[Item Description]. Cage 398, Great Northern Railway Company, Seattle General Agent Records. Manuscripts, Archives, and Special Collections, Washington State University Libraries, Pullman, WA.
Administrative InformationReturn to Top
Arrangement
The records of the Seattle General Agent are divided into two series: Correspondence and Ledger. The Correspondence Series consists mainly of in-house communications from the main office in St. Paul, Minnesota, and from various freight agents along the line to the General Agent or his staff regarding movement of and rates on commondities shipped on the Railway. It consists of correspondence, memos, telegrams, rate schedules, Joint Freight Tariffs, waybill corrections, lists of businesses, car locations, car movements, circulars, publicity, rate changes, building plans, loading plans, meetings, some clippings, and information on the creating and exploiting of markets. The bulk of the Correspondence Series dates from 1903-1923.
The Ledger Series consists of one bound ledger which contains tariffs, joint tariffs, ammendments, lists of general agents, rules and regulations of the Great Northern and associated railroads and the Transcontinental Freight Bureau, an independent regulatory body which governed the freight charges of its twenty-six member railroads. Although the series is dated from 1903-1911, most of its material is from 1903.
The description on each archival folder is an abstract of a longer description on the original folder (which has been retained); in addition, the original filing number of the Great Northern's filing classification system appears on both the original folder and the archival folder, although not in this container list. This system has determined the order of each file, the logic of which may be more fully revealed through perusal of the files.
There are approximately 18,000 individual items in the first series; these items are grouped into 910 bundles of one or more items attached with a brass staple.
Detailed Description of the CollectionReturn to Top
The following section contains a detailed listing of the materials in the collection.
Series 1: Correspondence, 1900-1948Return to Top
Container(s) | Description | Dates | |
---|---|---|---|
Box | Folder | ||
1 | 1 | Laws 8
items.
|
1905-1919 |
1 | 2-7 | Lists (Customers) 46
items.
|
1905-1921 |
1 | 8 | Cars, American Trading
Co. 1
item.
|
1920-1921 |
1 | 9 | Cars, Excessive
Dimensions 1
item.
|
1903-1917 |
1 | 10 | Mining & Dump
Cars 1
item.
|
1906-1914 |
1 | 11 | Flat Cars 2
items.
|
1905-1916 |
1 | 12 | Cars, Northern
Pacific 1
item.
|
1907-1910 |
1 | 13 | Cars,Stokes Steel 1
item.
|
1907-1914 |
1 | 14 | Street Cars 1
item.
|
1912-1913 |
1 | 15 | Cars, Loading 1
item.
|
1913 |
1 | 16 | Cars, Logging Service 1
item.
|
1916-1917 |
1 | 17 | Cars, Stealing 1
item.
|
1917-1918 |
1 | 18 | Cars, Southern
Pacific 1
item.
|
1917 |
1 | 19 | Cars, Double Loading 1
item.
|
1917-1918 |
1 | 20 | Cars, Rules 1
item.
|
1918 |
1 | 21 | Cars, Rates 1
item.
|
1921 |
1 | 22-23 | Divisions (Charged) 7
items.
|
1904-1920 |
1 | 24 | Tonnage 1
item.
|
1906 |
1 | 25 | Car Supply 4
items.
|
1905-1907 |
1 | 26 | Car Shortage 2
items.
|
1906 |
1 | 27 | Empty Cars 2
items.
|
1906-1911 |
2 | 28 | Car Delay 1
item.
|
1907 |
2 | 29 | Complaints 2
items.
|
1907-1908 |
2 | 30 | Car Supply 2
items.
|
1907 |
2 | 31 | Refrigerator Cars 1
item.
|
1908-1910 |
2 | 32 | Equipment for Loading
Ship 1
item.
|
1909 |
2 | 33 | Union Tank Line Cars 1
item.
|
1909 |
2 | 34 | Car Supply 2
items.
|
1909 |
2 | 35 | Car Supply 3
items.
|
1911-1911 |
2 | 36-46 | Rates 11
items.
|
1903-1909 |
2 | 47 | Western Pine Manufacturer's
Assn. 1
item.
|
1907 |
2 | 48 | B.C. Distillery Spur 1
item.
|
1904-1907 |
2 | 49 | Trans-Continental Rates
(Changes) 1
item.
|
1904-1907 |
2 | 50 | Inspections 2
items.
|
1903-1905 |
2 | 51 | Inspections 2
items.
|
1904-1909 |
2 | 52 | Switching 2
items.
|
1906-1907 |
2 | 53 | Wharfage 1
item.
|
1910-1913 |
2 | 54 | Railroad Passes 1
item.
|
1907-1908 |
2 | 55 | Asiatic Imports 2
items.
|
1905-1907 |
2 | 56-59 | Coal & Briquettes
(Utah) 4
items.
|
1934-1937 |
2 | 60-61 | Coke 5
items.
|
1937-1941 |
2 | 62-63 | I.C.C. Docket 27
items.
|
1930-1937 |
3 | 64-69 | Complaints 12
items.
|
1932-1948 |
3 | 70 | Kettle Valley Lines 1
item.
|
1905-1906 |
3 | 71 | Spokane International
Railroad 1
item.
|
1906 |
3 | 72 | Chicago, Milwaukee & Puget
Sound Railway 1
item.
|
1910 |
3 | 73 | Chicago Telephone Supply
Co. 1
item.
|
1909 |
3 | 74 | Pacific Coast S.S.
Co. 3
items.
|
1904-1909 |
3 | 75-76 | American Hawaiian S.S.
Co. 2
items.
|
1908-1912 |
3 | 77 | Great Northern S.S.
Co. 1
item.
|
1911 |
3 | 78 | Nipon Yusen Kaisha 2
items.
|
1906 |
3 | 79 | Boston S.S. Co. 2
items.
|
1906 |
3 | 80 | Trans-Continental
Docket 1
item.
|
1907-1914 |
3 | 81 | Kosmos Line 1
item.
|
1905-1919 |
3 | 82 | Monthly Reports 1
item.
|
1909 |
3 | 83 | Frank Waterhouse &
Co. 1
item.
|
1909 |
3 | 84 | Vancouver General
Agent 1
item.
|
1905-1906 |
3 | 85 | Standard Oil Co. 1
item.
|
1905-1907 |
3 | 86 | Spokane General Agent 1
item.
|
1905 |
3 | 87-89 | Tariffs 10
items.
|
1905-1920 |
3 | 90 | Postings 2
items.
|
1907-1908 |
4 | 91 | Tariffs 4
items.
|
1907-1914 |
4 | 92 | Tariffs (Canada) 1
item.
|
1909-1918 |
4 | 93 | Tariff Distribution 1
item.
|
1913-1914 |
4 | 94 | Duty, Payment of 1
item.
|
1914-1915 |
4 | 95-96 | Tariffs 2
items.
|
1915-1917 |
4 | 97 | Concurrences in Canadian
Tariffs 1
item.
|
1915 |
4 | 98 | Joint Tariffs 1
item.
|
1906-1919 |
4 | 99 | Bills 2
items.
|
1902-1919 |
4 | 100 | Distribution of Cars 1
item.
|
1910-1911 |
4 | 101-103 | Expense Accounts 3
items.
|
1905-1919 |
4 | 104 | Vouchers 1
item.
|
1906 |
4 | 105-107 | Telephone 25
items.
|
1905-1918 |
4 | 108-110 | Telegraph 3
items.
|
1902-1918 |
4 | 111 | Merchandise Cars 1
item.
|
1908 |
4 | 112 | Service 1
item.
|
1906-1911 |
4 | 113-116 | Washington State Railroad
Commission 12
items.
|
1905-1908 |
4 | 117-119 | Interstate Commerce
Commission 8
items.
|
1906-1914 |
5 | 120 | Embargoes 1
item.
|
1916-1918 |
5 | 121 | Lumber 1
item.
|
1914-1917 |
5 | 122-123 | Agricultural
Implements 11
items.
|
1905-1920 |
5 | 124 | Alaska Engineering
Commission 1
item.
|
1915 |
5 | 125 | Rate Basis 2
items.
|
1907-1913 |
5 | 126 | Bowers' Hotel 1
item.
|
1911 |
5 | 127 | Alum 1
item.
|
1910-1916 |
5 | 128 | Ammonia 3
items.
|
1904-1914 |
5 | 129 | Logs 1
item.
|
1935-1938 |
5 | 130 | Brattice Cloth 1
item.
|
1902-1903 |
5 | 131 | Brick 7
items.
|
1905-1908 |
5 | 132 | Cable 1
item.
|
1909 |
5 | 133 | Potash 1
item.
|
1902-1906 |
5 | 134 | Calendars, Almanacs 1
item.
|
1906 |
5 | 135 | Canned Goods 1
item.
|
1905 |
5 | 136 | Calcium Carbide 1
item.
|
1907-1916 |
5 | 137 | Calcium Cloride 1
item.
|
1904-1915 |
5 | 138 | Caskets 1
item.
|
1911 |
5 | 139-140 | Routing 2
items.
|
1903-1915 |
5 | 141 | Equalizing Rates 1
item.
|
1906-1907 |
5 | 142-143 | Routing 11
items.
|
1906-1921 |
5 | 144 | Celluloid 2
items.
|
1910 |
5 | 145-147 | Cement 7
items.
|
1900-1913 |
5 | 148-149 | Grain 3
items.
|
1903-1906 |
5 | 150 | Hay & Grain 1
item.
|
1905-1906 |
5 | 151-157 | Grain 9
items.
|
1905-1909 |
5 | 158 | Grain & Hay
Rebates 1
item.
|
1907-1908 |
6 | 159-166 | Grain 10
items.
|
1901-1930 |
6 | 167 | Milling in Transit 6
items.
|
1901-1907 |
6 | 168 | Claims 1
item.
|
1901-1908 |
6 | 169 | Coal 6
items.
|
1908-1911 |
6 | 170 | Coke 6
items.
|
1905-1907 |
6 | 171 | Coffee 1
item.
|
1909-1910 |
6 | 172 | Conduits 2
items.
|
1907-1911 |
6 | 173 | Confectionary 1
item.
|
1905 |
6 | 174 | Refrigerator Material 1
item.
|
1910 |
6 | 175 | Copper 3
items.
|
1904-1911 |
6 | 176 | Cotton 5
items.
|
1906-1909 |
6 | 177 | Creosote 2
items.
|
1903-1909 |
6 | 178 | Crow's Nest Pass Coal
Co. 1
item.
|
1903-1907 |
6 | 179-180 | Fruit 14
items.
|
1905-1910 |
6 | 181 | Reshipped Goods 1
item.
|
1904-1906 |
6 | 182 | Diversion of
Shipments 4
items.
|
1904-1909 |
6 | 183 | Diversion of Cars 3
items.
|
1906-1911 |
6 | 184 | Drugs 2
items.
|
1906 |
6 | 185 | Buchu Gin 1
item.
|
1907 |
6 | 186 | Tariffs 1
item.
|
1903-1906 |
6 | 187 | Hosiery 1
item.
|
1907-1908 |
6 | 188 | Crockery 4
items.
|
1905-1906 |
6 | 189 | Butter & Eggs 1
item.
|
1909 |
6 | 190 | Electrical Appliances 2
items.
|
1910 |
6 | 191 | Emigrant Movables 1
item.
|
1905-1915 |
6 | 192 | Alaska Yukon Pacific
Exposition 1
item.
|
1909 |
6 | 193 | United States Land Irrigation
Exposition 1
items.
|
1909-1911 |
6 | 194 | National Apple Show 1
item.
|
1910 |
6 | 195 | Canadian Apple Show 1
item.
|
1910 |
6 | 196 | National Apple Show 1
item.
|
1911 |
6 | 197 | Saddle Felt 1
item.
|
1907 |
7 | 198-201 | New Lines 4
items.
|
1913-1922 |
7 | 202 | Fish 2
items.
|
1914-1925 |
7 | 203 | Fire Extinguishers 1
item.
|
1905-1917 |
7 | 204 | Chinese Firecrackers 1
item.
|
1919-1923 |
7 | 205 | Flax 1
item.
|
1916-1924 |
7 | 206 | Ties, China 1
item.
|
1906 |
7 | 207-257 | Forest Products 61
items.
|
1903-1929 |
8 | 258-269 | Forest Products 12
items.
|
1923-1925 |
8 | 270-309 | Logs 41
items.
|
1903-1923 |
8 | 310 | Furniture 4
items.
|
1903-1913 |
8 | 311 | Stamped Ware 1
item.
|
1906-1922 |
8 | 312 | Glass Bulbs 1
item.
|
1911 |
8 | 313 | Washington Water Power
Co. 1
item.
|
1904-1907 |
8 | 314 | Confectionaries 1
item.
|
1903-1909 |
8 | 315 | Government Freight 3
items.
|
1906-1911 |
8 | 316 | Glycerine 1
item.
|
1907 |
8 | 317 | Sand 7
items.
|
1906-1914 |
8 | 318 | Axle Grease 1
item.
|
1904-1908 |
8 | 319 | Cigars 1
item.
|
1906-1911 |
8 | 320 | Metal Sash Carriers 1
item.
|
1909 |
8 | 321 | Smoke House,
Appliances 1
item.
|
1909 |
8 | 322 | Harness 2
items.
|
1905-1909 |
8 | 323 | Hay 4
items.
|
1905-1910 |
8 | 324 | Refrigerator Cars 8
items.
|
1905-1911 |
8 | 325 | Hemp 2
items.
|
1907-1908 |
8 | 326 | Hides 7
items.
|
1903-1910 |
8 | 327 | Hops 2
items.
|
1904-1905 |
8 | 328 | Ice 1
item.
|
1905 |
8 | 329-330 | Steel Products 8
items.
|
1906-1911 |
8 | 331 | Ballard Business
Conditions 1
item.
|
1908-1911 |
8 | 332 | Vancouver, Help 1
item.
|
1906 |
8 | 333 | Charcoal 1
item.
|
1906 |
9 | 334 | Lumber to Orient 1
item.
|
1906-1908 |
9 | 335 | Slack 1
item.
|
1906 |
9 | 336 | Siding 1
item.
|
1908-1909 |
9 | 337 | Lyman Papers 1
item.
|
1906 |
9 | 338 | Slag 2
items.
|
1906-1908 |
9 | 339 | Poles 1
item.
|
1903-1906 |
9 | 340 | Ale and Stout 1
item.
|
1906 |
9 | 341 | Bog House Dross 1
item.
|
1907-1911 |
9 | 342 | Leases 2
items.
|
1906-1909 |
9 | 343 | Wenatchee Valley & Northern
RR 1
item.
|
1909 |
9 | 344 | Harriman Line 1
item.
|
1911 |
9 | 345 | Express Charges 1
item.
|
1909-1910 |
9 | 346 | Terminal Service 1
item.
|
1904-1906 |
9 | 347 | Crushed Steel 1
item.
|
1906 |
9 | 348 | Olds Wortman &
King 1
item.
|
1909 |
9 | 349-350 | Lands 4
items.
|
1906-1908 |
9 | 351 | Steamer Victoria 1
item.
|
1905-1906 |
9 | 352 | Peanuts 2
items.
|
1906-1910 |
9 | 353 | Ferro-titanium 1
item.
|
1911 |
9 | 354 | Commercial
Organizations 3
items.
|
1906-1907 |
9 | 355 | Canadian Railway
Commission 1
item.
|
1909 |
9 | 356-357 | Lead 3
items.
|
1902-1910 |
9 | 358-359 | Leather 2
items.
|
1905-1909 |
9 | 360 | Liquors 1
item.
|
1902-1908 |
9 | 261-276 | Livestock 19
items.
|
1903-1910 |
9 | 377-380 | Machinery 4
items.
|
1904-1911 |
9 | 381 | Sugar 3
items.
|
1905-1911 |
9 | 382 | Marble 2
items.
|
1902-1908 |
9 | 383 | Stone 6
items.
|
1905-1915 |
9 | 384 | Rock 1
item.
|
1911 |
9 | 385 | Matting 1
item.
|
1905-1906 |
9 | 386-390 | Packing House Products &
Fresh Meat 11
items.
|
1905-1911 |
9 | 391 | Condensed Milk 2
items.
|
1905-1911 |
9 | 392 | Mill Rollers 1
item.
|
1907 |
9 | 393 | Moulding 1
item.
|
1911 |
9 | 394 | Powered Musical
Instruments 1
item.
|
1908-1910 |
9 | 395 | Builder's Scaffolds 1
item.
|
1910-1911 |
9 | 396 | Salad Oil 1
item.
|
1906 |
9 | 397 | Oil & Grease |
1906-1908 |
9 | 398 | Terabentine 1
item.
|
1906-1907 |
9 | 399 | Kleenatine 1
item.
|
1906-1907 |
9 | 400 | Salad Oil, Westbound 2
items.
|
1907 |
9 | 401-414 | Ore 14
items.
|
1905-1911 |
10 | 415-434 | Ore 20
items.
|
1902-1911 |
10 | 435 | Seed 4
items.
|
1904-1911 |
10 | 436 | Show Cases 1
item.
|
1904-1910 |
10 | 437 | Claims 1
item.
|
1908-1909 |
10 | 438 | Sash Doors 3
items.
|
1905-1911 |
10 | 439 | Track Scales 1
item.
|
1911 |
10 | 440 | Salt 4
items.
|
1904-1911 |
10 | 441 | Salt Petre 1
item.
|
1903-1907 |
10 | 442 | Rubber 1
item.
|
1905 |
10 | 443 | Rulings 5
items.
|
1906-1908 |
10 | 444 | Paper 1
item.
|
1906 |
10 | 445 | Paving Blocks 1
item.
|
1909 |
10 | 446 | Peas & Beans 1
item.
|
1905-1907 |
10 | 447 | Penalty 2
items.
|
1905-1906 |
10 | 448 | Marble Scrap 1
item.
|
1905 |
10 | 449 | Wooden Pipe 1
item.
|
1911 |
10 | 450 | Claim 1
item.
|
1909 |
10 | 451 | Leatheroid 1
item.
|
1910 |
10 | 452 | Grits 1
item.
|
1910-1911 |
10 | 453 | Rice 1
item.
|
1910-1911 |
10 | 454 | Roadmaking Machinery 1
item.
|
1904-1905 |
10 | 455 | Candy Pails 1
item.
|
1905-1906 |
10 | 456 | Paints 2
items.
|
1904-1907 |
10 | 457 | Signs 2
items.
|
1907-1911 |
10 | 458 | Soap 6
items.
|
1905-1909 |
10 | 459 | Staves 2
items.
|
1905-1906 |
10 | 460 | Construction, New
Lines 2
items.
|
1909-1911 |
10 | 461 | Chip Board 1
item.
|
1905-1921 |
10 | 462 | Track Repair 1
item.
|
1906 |
10 | 463-466 | Trackage 9
items.
|
1906-1911 |
10 | 467 | Puget Sound Electric
Co. 1
item.
|
1906-1908 |
10 | 468 | Talc & Silica 2
items.
|
1902-1910 |
10 | 469 | Tanks 1
item.
|
1905-1917 |
10 | 470 | Trackage 1
item.
|
1923-1924 |
10 | 471 | Vegetables 1
item.
|
1922-1924 |
10 | 472 | Rental of Lots 1
item.
|
1904-1908 |
10 | 473 | Box Shocks 1
item.
|
1927-1930 |
10 | 474 | Flour 1
item.
|
1905 |
10 | 475 | Leather Dressing 1
item.
|
1902-1922 |
10 | 476 | Salmon 1
item.
|
1905-1906 |
10 | 477 | Port Arthur 1
item.
|
1907 |
10 | 478 | Seattle 1
item.
|
1903-1904 |
10 | 479 | Vancouver, Washington 1
item.
|
1908 |
10 | 480 | Vancouver, B.C. 1
item.
|
1907-1908 |
11 | 481 | Claims 3
items.
|
1906-1908 |
11 | 482 | Complaint 1
item.
|
1920-1922 |
11 | 483 | Similkameen 1
item.
|
1907 |
11 | 484-489 | Meetings 6
items.
|
1909-1910 |
11 | 490 | Walnuts 1
item.
|
1909-1910 |
11 | 491 | Yellow Metal 1
item.
|
1904-1907 |
11 | 492-493 | Railway Commissioners for
Canada 2
items.
|
1911 |
11 | 494 | Demurrage 1
item.
|
1910-1911 |
11 | 495-496 | Rules 4
items.
|
1908-1910 |
11 | 497 | Hickory Dust 1
item.
|
1908 |
11 | 498 | Randomite 1
item.
|
1908-1910 |
11 | 499 | Bridges, Columbia
River 1
item.
|
1909-1911 |
11 | 500 | Wine 1
item.
|
1908-1909 |
11 | 501 | Albers Brothers 1
item.
|
1908 |
11 | 502 | Portland Railway 2
items.
|
1908-1909 |
11 | 503 | Three Lakes Lumber
Co. 1
item.
|
1909 |
11 | 504 | Whiton Hardware Co. 1
item.
|
1909 |
11 | 505 | George Carter &
Co. 1
item.
|
1906 |
Series 2: Ledger, 1902-1911Return to Top
Container(s) | Description | Dates | |
---|---|---|---|
Box | Folder | ||
12 | 506 | Ledger 1
item.
|
1902-1911 |
Names and SubjectsReturn to Top
Subject Terms
- Railroad companies--Washington (State)--Seattle--Records and correspondence
- Railroads -- Washington (State)--Seattle
Personal Names
- Stewart, Bruce. waps (donor)
Corporate Names
- Great Northern Railway Company (U.S.). General Agent --Archives (creator)