Archives West Finding Aid

Series 1 contains three diaries of I. D. O'Donnell. The earliest from 1887 is a photocopy of the original. The last two are originals from 1900 and 1947. I. D. O'Donnell mainly recorded the weather and farming conditions. The 1900 diary was written on a desk calendar.

Through his work with agriculture and business, O'Donnell corresponded with many people across the state and nation. This series contains correspondence with agriculture and business leaders. O'Donnell corresponded with a few federal agencies, especially the U. S. Department of Agriculture. He also kept in contact with several state officials like U. S. Representative John M. Evans, U. S. Senators Henry L. Myers and Thomas J. Walsh, Governors F. H. Cooney and J. E. Erickson, and the Under Secretary for the U. S. Department of Agriculture M. L. Wilson. Main topics discussed include irrigation, sugar beets, and farming business. Series 2 also includes correspondence with specific agencies such as Montana State College in Bozeman and the Reclamation Record. Correspondence relating to specific topics such as the Big Ditch Company, Big Horn Dam, Billings, Blue Mountain Coal Lands, Custer Battlefield National Cemetery, Hesper Farm, Blackfeet Winter Fair, specific irrigation projects, and the Montana Irrigation and Drainage Institute are found in Series 5.

Given I. D. O'Donnell's wide interest in agriculture he collected many printed materials on the subject. He attended several agriculture conferences such as the Montana Irrigation and Drainage Institute and the Dry Farming Congress. Programs from these various conferences are included in this series. Series 3 also contains a report from the Montana Farmers' Institute, a 1926 copy of the Irrigation Review and a 1913 copy of the tariff schedules from the Committee of Ways and Means.

O'Donnell was also a writer and collector of articles on agriculture. Series 4 contains manuscripts of articles he wrote for various journals. It also contains subject files on agricultural topics of manuscript materials he collected for information for his articles and as reference on topics such as alfalfa, birds, dairy cattle, pests, practical ideas for farming, ranch management, sugar beets, and weeds.

O'Donnell was interested in a wide range of topics and issues concerning agriculture. During his life he collected materials on the various groups and agencies with which he was involved. This series contains subject headings arranged in alphabetical order of the various clippings and research O'Donnell collected on topics such as the Big Ditch Company, Billings and Montana history, John Burkman (a survivor of the Battle of the Little Big Horn), irrigation projects, song lyrics, sugar beets, WPA Federal Writers Project (he helped write stories about ghost towns in Montana), and the Yellowstone Basin.

I. D. O'Donnell was also a businessman. Series 6 contains his various business records books from the Hesper Farm, Minnesota and Montana Land and Improvement Company, and the Frederick Billings estate. The books include account books, cash books, and a book of contracts.

Through his travels, I. D. O'Donnell collected postcards and other scrapbook material. Series 7 contains three books of postcards and one file of postcards from his U. S. and foreign travel. O'Donnell also collected travel brochures from places he visited around the world such as Singapore, Victoria, Shanghai, Hong Kong, Seville, and Hawaii.

This series contains photographs collected by O'Donnell. They have been arranged in topics including pictures of O'Donnell, pictures of other people, pictures of places and pictures of things. The series contains pictures of Montana reclamation men, President Chester A. Arthur's 1884 visit to Yellowstone National Park, the first horse buggy in Montana, the towns of Browning, Junction City and Coulson, Blackfeet Indian crafts, Billie Randall, Joe Doze, Big Ditch Dam, and corn from I. D. O'Donnell's farm.