William Gaddis was born in Washington, D.C., in 1831. In 1869, he moved to Montana Territory, working at the Fort Shaw trading post. A short time later, Gaddis became the proprietor for the Camp Baker trading post in Meagher County. The name was changed to Fort Logan in 1877. In 1880, Fort Logan was abandoned, and in 1881, it was sold to Gaddis. Gaddis also had interests in cattle and horse breeding and owned a ranch in Meagher County. William Gaddis died 19 June 1908 in Washington, D.C.
The William Gaddis papers consist of a painstakingly prepared 1963 typescript of a 599 page financial journal that documents transactions at the Camp Baker (Fort Logan) trading post between 1871 and 1876. The entries are presented in chronological order, documenting the name of the purchaser, the services or goods purchased, the price, and pagination to indicate where the customer's entries are recorded in a separate account ledger. The ledger referred to, along with the original financial journal volume, have been assigned collection number SC 219 at the Montana Historical Society in Helena. Most of the customers listed in the financial journal appear to be officers or enlisted men of the garrison, and their purchases include sundry items, tobacco, alcohol, and games of pool. Another folder of original documents, including two business letters written to William Gaddis and ten receipts for wholesale goods he purchased, has been calendared in the inventory below.
This collection is open for research.
An original financial journal book kept by William Gaddis from 1871 to 1876 was loaned to Special Collections by Gertrude McStravick, White Sulphur Springs, Montana, in October, 1963. The contents were transcribed by library personnel and the book returned to McStravick a few months afterwards. The original volume has since been donated to the Montana Historical Society in Helena, Montana. Additional documents created or collected by Gaddis were donated to Special Collections by Dr. Merrill G. Burlingame, Bozeman, Montana, in 1970.
This collection was processed 2009 August 10