Montana Historical Society, Research Center Archives
225 N. Roberts
PO Box 201201
Helena MT 59620-1201
(406) 444-4774
mhslibrary@mt.gov
MC
158
Sheffels, John Henry, 1903-1963
John Henry Sheffels
Papers
1910-1968
1.5 linear feet of shelf
space
John Sheffels (1903-1963) was a Cascade
County, Montana, wheat farmer and owner of Sheffels Farms, Inc. He served on
the Farm Credit Board, the Montana Grain Producers Association, the Cascade
County Wheat Production Control Association, and the State Agricultural
Adjustment Administration (AAA). Collection (1910-1968) includes
correspondence, speeches, publications, and subject files concerning wheat
production, farming innovations, government agricultural programs, etc.
[Photographs transferred to the Photograph Archives. Publications transferred
to Library, Montana State Library and University of Montana Library.]
English
John Henry Sheffels was born on January 15, 1903, in Wilbur,
Washington, and was raised near there on the wheat farm owned by his father,
Robert. In 1918 Robert Sheffels moved from Wilbur and started a ranch north of
Great Falls, Montana, on land purchased from the Anaconda Copper Mining
Company. John Henry Sheffels moved to the Montana ranch in 1925, and eventually
formed Sheffels Farms, Inc. which was described by the Great Falls Tribune in
1963 as "one of the most modern and extensive ranches in the state." Sheffels
Farms was involved principally in the production of wheat and maintained a
private grain elevator in Dutton as a storage facility. Sheffels was also
president of Central Machinery Company, a firm he started in 1947, which served
as the Caterpillar Tractor agency for seventeen counties in central Montana.
Sheffels was active in numerous agricultural organizations on the local, state,
and regional levels. In 1933 he helped to organize and served as first
president of the Cascade County Wheat Production Control Association. He was
also involved with the Cascade County Farm Labor Committee, the Cascade Tenant
Purchase Committee (Farm Security Administration), and the Cascade County
Agricultural Planning Board. He was appointed to the Montana Grain Board in
1935, elected to serve as chairman of the state Agricultural Adjustment
Administration committee from 1936 to 1938, elected chairman of the state
Agricultural Conservation Committee in 1937, and served as vice president of
the Montana Grain Producers Association in 1940. In 1941 Sheffels was appointed
as a member of the Farm Credit Board of Spokane; he was the youngest person
ever to serve as a Farm Credit Association director. Sheffels was also active
in fraternal and community activities. In cooperation with Charles Bovey and
Joseph Kinsey Howard he helped organize the Historic Landmark Society of
Montana in 1944. John Henry Sheffels died in Great Falls of a heart attack on
July 14, 1963.
Content Description:
Papers. 1910-1968. 1.5 linear feet. The John Henry Sheffels Papers
consist primarily of correspondence and subject files relating to Montana
farming and the administration of the federal government's agricultural
programs. Included are copies of speeches and reports dealing with national
agricultural policies as well as Montana farm problems. There is little
material documenting Sheffels' affiliation with a variety of committees,
boards, etc.
Arrangement:
by series
Collection is open for research.
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.
item description and date. Collection Title. Collection Number. Box
and Folder numbers. Montana Historical Society Research Center, Archives,
Helena, Montana.
Acquisition Information:
available upon request
This collection is indexed under the following headings in the Montana
Historical Society Archives catalog. Researchers desiring materials about
related topics, persons, or places should search under these terms.
Agricultural
credit
Sureyors
Wheat
Wheat farmers
Cascade
County (Mont.)
Montana
Agriculture
Detailed Description of the Collection
The following section contains a detailed listing of the materials in
the collection
Biographical Materials
1 / 1
Clippings; vita; etc.
1942, n.d.
General Correspondence
1 / 2
Chronological (correspondents
include George E. Farrell; United States Department of Agriculture; Charles C.
Bovey; Elmer Holt; Albert J. Borton; J.C. Taylor; U.S. Agricultural Adjustment
Administration [AAA]; George E. Farrell; John Dexter; Burton K. Wheeler; James
E. Murray; N.E. Dodd; Rocky Mountain Elevator Company; Farmers Union
Legislative Committee)
1934-1939
1 / 3
Chronological (correspondents
include Farmers Union Grain Terminal Association; James E. Murray; Burton K.
Wheeler; U.S. Farm Credit Administration; U.S. Farm Security Administration;
Thomas A. Ross; U.S. Agriculutral Adjustment Administration [AAA]; John D.
Black; E.A. Starch; Henry A. Wallace; N.E. Dodd)
1940-1943
1 / 4
Chronological (correspondents
include U.S. Office of Price Administration; U.S. Agricultural Adjustment
Administration; N.E. Dodd; Burton K. Wheeler; Great Falls Chamber of Commerce;
U.S. War Food Administration; Federal Land Bank of Spokane; Carnes-Shaw Ditch
Company)
1944
1 / 5
Chronological (correspondents
include Carnes-Shaw Ditch Company; U.S. Farm Credit Administration; Burton K.
Wheeler; Mitchell, S.C. Daily Republic; Minneapolis Chamber of Commerce;
Production Credit Associations; Gov. Sam C. Ford; Zales H. Ecton; Wesley A.
D'Ewart)
1945-1949
1 / 6
Chronological (correspondents
include S.B. Wallander; C.C. Morrison; Montana Crop Improvement Convention)
1952-1955
Miscellaneous Correspondence
1 / 7
Miscellaneous (includes Mrs.
Henry Sheffels to James Battin; circular letter from Y Dairy Products
Co-operative; Fred Dufresne; telegrams)
1965, n.d.
Photographs
1 / 8
List of photographs transferred
to the Photo Archives
Printed Material
1 / 9
U.S. Farm Credit Administration
1935-1946
1 / 10
Montana State College,
Agricultural Experiment Station Bulletins [scattered]
1930-1949
1 / 11
New Frontiers; Alexander Botts
Earthworm Tractors; Mainspring
1934, 1946-1947
2 / 1
U.S. Department of Agriculture
1936-1944,
1954,1962 n.d.
2 / 2
Miscellaneous
1939-1947, 1962,
n.d.
2 / 3
List of printed materials
transferred to the Montana Historical Society Library, the State Library, and
the University of Montana Library
Subject Files
2 / 4
"Automobile Stabilizer
Invention"
1934, n.d.
2 / 5
"Cascade County:" (includes
livestock inventory; statistical maps; Farm Labor Committee; Extension Program;
"Rural Neighborhood Leaders;" Wheat Adjustment Administration; Farmers Union;
Agricultural Planning Board; "Report of Conservation Conference;" Agricultural
Conservation Program, Bozeman)
1920-1942
2 / 6
"Farm Loans" (re Farm Credit
Administration, Tenant Purchase Loans, Federal Land Bank - Land Bank
Commission)
1910-1946
2 / 7
"The Farm Problem;" "How the
Montana Crop Improvement Association Can Serve the Wheat Grower;" "Postwar
Taxation;" "Managed Currency;" "Monopoly;" etc.
1940-1946, n.d.
2 / 8-9
"Montana Grain Producers
Association"
1936-1939
1940,1953 n.d.
2 / 10
"Old Town Promoter" (Historic
Landmark Society)
1944-1947
2 / 11
"Oregon Wheat Commission"
1947-1950
2 / 12
"Sheffels Farms, Inc." (includes
description, precipitation chart, fertilizing results)
1926-1968
2 / 13
"Statistics, Wheat - Montana"
1923-1964
3 / 1
"U.S. Government Reports and
Speeches" (USDA reports, bulletins, etc.)
1937-1962
3 / 2
"U.S. Government Reports and
Speeches" (miscellaneous reports)
1938-1944, n.d.
3 / 3
"U.S. Government Reports and
Speeches" (miscellaneous speeches)
1936-1961
3 / 4
"U.S. Government Reports and
Speeches" (Henry A. Wallace speeches)
1936-1940
Miscellany
3 / 5
re Chicago Board of Trade,
Research Institute, Northwest Farm Forum, etc.
1947-1968, n.d.
3 / 6
Miscellaneous
n.d.