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Montana Department of Transportation, Great Falls District Office records, 1935-1991

Overview of the Collection

Creator
Montana. Department of Transportation.
Title
Montana Department of Transportation, Great Falls District Office records
Dates
1935-1991 (inclusive)
Quantity
13.2 linear feet
Collection Number
RS 492 (Formerly RS 406)
Summary
This collection is a sub-subgroup (Office) of the Montana Department of Transportation records, RS 492. The Great Falls District Office currently (as of 2024) operates under the Director's Office Division. Please see the primary finding aid for more Montana Department of Transportation records. This collection contains correspondence, subject files, and meeting minutes related to project planning, design, general maintenance, personnel, and public relations issues at the Great Falls District Office and district’s area office in Havre. Correspondence, files and minutes were primarily kept by the District Engineer.
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 is headed by an administrator. The Centralized Services Division, Engineering Division, Motor Pool Division, Gross Vehicle Weight Division, and the Maintenance Division are furthered sub-divided into bureaus, headed by Chiefs. In 1991, the Department of Highways became the Department of Transportation. This was primarily a name change. However, there were some structural and administrative changes.

The Highway Department, the Department of Highways, and Department of Transportation maintained regional offices in the five commissioner districts: Billings, Butte, Glendive, Great Falls, and Missoula. The District Engineer (later called the District Administrator) was the chief administrative officer in each district office. District office files document the activities of the district administrators, engineers, maintenance crew, and other district office employees. The district offices addressed administrative, functional, and project related issues of their particular area, including: highway needs, current construction projects, HR/training for employees, road design, federal and state aid and grants, reports to the Department of Highways/ Department of Transportation in Helena regarding general maintenance, construction, and area concerns, etc. District administrators held meetings every 6 weeks. Other employees in the district and area offices also attended duty-specific meetings with outside district staff members; including maintenance crew meetings, engineer meetings etc., in order to maintain consistent communication among the districts and with other state agencies regarding programs, projects, and district goals. The files in the district office were kept by the District Engineer/Administrator.

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Content Description

Records (1935-1991) of the Montana Department of Highways, Great Falls District Office, consist of the correspondence, meeting minutes and subject files of the Great Falls District and area offices, including the Havre Area Office. The records include correspondence files (1935-1993), subject files (1941-1997) and meeting minutes (1997-1998). Subject files are primarily correspondence which relate to specific subjects. The records document the function, operation, and communication of the offices that fell within the Great Falls District. Both correspondence and subject files document: general and special maintenance projects of highways, bridges, and signs; public concerns; municipal concerns and projects; Federal and State grants and funding, including Works Project Administration era projects; civil defense and transportation concerns; accident and safety monitoring; as well as district budget and project planning. A large portion of the files document flood damage, flood control, and repair projects.

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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

The Great Falls District Files are arranged into 2 subgroups: The Great Falls District Office records, which are arranged into Correspondence and Subject files; and the Havre Area Office records, which are arranged into Correspondence and Meeting Minutes.

Location of Collection

39:8-1

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

Finding aid prepared by Ellie Letterman; Updated by Lindsey Mick
2012; 2024

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