Montana Historical Society
Archives
RS 30_RS
493
Montana. State Examiner
Montana State Examiner records
1895-1970
85.2 linear ft
This collection is a subgroup
(Predecessor Agency) within the Montana Department of Administration records.
Please see the primary finding aid for more Montana Department of
Administration records. The Montana State Examiner was responsible for auditing
state agencies, city and county governments, and banks. Records include general
correspondence; outgoing correspondence; annual reports of the State Examiner, of the State
Banking Department, cities, towns, counties, fire department relief associations, irrigation
districts, state institutions, and the Register of State Lands; audit reports of cities,
towns, school districts, rural fire districts, and state agencies; and financial records of
the Montana Banking Corporation.
18:1-4
English
The Montana Legislature established the Office of the State Examiner in 1895. Duties of the
State Examiner included examining the books and accounts of all state officials and
agencies, county officials, banks, and any public or private institutions doing business
with the state. Additionally, the State Examiner was to prescribe standard accounting
methods for state and county agencies to record all receipts and expenditures. The Examiner
was also supposed to make periodic on-site inspections of each agency and bank. The county
auditing function was later taken over by the Montana Department of Administration, Local
Government Services Division (now Bureau). The Office of State Examiner was abolished in
1975.
Collection includes correspondence (1895-1959) with county officials, irrigation
districts, fire department relief associations, banks, and the Montana Attorney General;
legal documents (1900, 1902) consisting of bonds and contracts; and financial records
(1908-1932) of The Banking Corporation. The bulk of the records consist of annual reports of
the State Examiner (1928-1954), the State Banking Department (1923, 1927-1936), cities and
towns (1936-1970), county clerks (1942-1970), county examinations (1895-1896, 1911-1969);
county treasurers (1915-1970), fire department relief associations (1921-1970), irrigation
districts (1921-1968), state institutions (1929-1941), and the Register of State Lands
(1913-1923); and audit reports of cities and towns (1930-1969), county high schools
(1936-1968), state banks (1902-1915), rural fire districts (1963-1968), school districts
(1938-1969), and state offices and institutions (1903-1963).
This collection is arranged by series.
Note: state banking records under review
Researchers must use collection in accordance with the policies of the Montana Historical
Society. The Society does not necessarily hold copyright to all materials in the collection.
In some cases permission for use may require additional authorization from the copyright
owners. For more information contact an archivist.
In 2024, the various collections of the Montana Department of Administration were
integrated under one collection identifier, RS 493, in order to help facilitate access,
reduce redundancy in the MTHS catalog, and to follow best archival practices.
Collections from Montana Department of Administration's various Divisions and Bureaus that
were previously treated as separate entities are now integrated into this collection, RS 493. Rather than reprocessing over 190 linear feet of
Administration materials, MTHS staff decided to keep the past arrangement of those
collections/finding aids, and provide access to them via links in the primary 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 Content Note above carefully to confirm if these are
the records you wish to view.
Item description and date. Collection Title. Collection Number. Box and Folder numbers.
Montana Historical Society Research Center, Archives, Helena, Montana.
Acquisition information is 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.
Banks and banking--Montana
County government--Montana
Fire-departments--Montana
Insurance companies--Montana
Irrigation--Montana
Irrigation Districts--Montana
Local government--Montana
School districts--Montana
Taxation--Montana
Irrigation
Government and
politics
Montana
Detailed Description of the Collection
The following section contains a detailed listing of the materials in the collection
General correspondence
1 / 1-1b
County officers
1895-1896, 1927-1936
1 / 2-13
Fire Department Relief Association (Anaconda - Wolf
Point)
1922-1959, undated
1 / 14-28
Irrigation districts (Alfalfa Valley - Zurich)
1916-1957, undated
1 / 29-31
Attorney General
1927-1937
2 / 1-11
Montana banking (A-Y, misc.) RESTRICTED: under
review
1906-1909
Outgoing correspondence
2 / 12
Letterpress book
1896-1899
2 / 13
Circular letters
1935-1956
2 / 14
Directives
1922-1957
Legal documents
2 / 15
Bonds and contracts
1900, 1902
2a / 1-26
The Banking Corporation: mortgages, deeds, bonds
RESTRICTED: Under review
1908-1932
Reports
Vol. 1-23
Annual reports: State Examiner
1928-1954
Vol. 24-34
Annual reports: Superintendent of Banks; Banking
Department [after 1936, included in State Examiner's reports] RESTRICTED: Under review
1923, 1927-1936
3 / 1-21
Annual reports: city and town (Alberton - Belt)
1936-1970
4 / 1-20
Annual reports: city and town (Big Sandy - Boulder)
1936-1970
5 / 1-20
Annual reports: city and town (Bozeman - Butte)
1935-1970
6 / 1-21
Annual reports: city and town (Cascade - Columbia
Falls)
1936-1970
7 / 1-21
Annual reports: city and town (Columbus - Denton)
1936-1970
8 / 1-21
Annual reports: city and town (Dillon - Eureka)
1936-1970
9 / 1-22
Annual reports: city and town (Fairfield - Geraldine)
1936-1970
10 / 1-17
Annual reports: city and town (Glasgow - Hamilton)
1936-1970
11 / 1-23
Annual reports: city and town (Hardin - Hobson)
1936-1970
12 / 1-23
Annual reports: city and town (Hot Springs - Kevin)
1936-1970
13 / 1-22
Annual reports: city and town (Laurel - Lodge Grass)
1936-1970
14 / 1-23
Annual reports: city and town (Malta - Nashua)
1936-1970
15 / 1-24
Annual reports: city and town (Niehart - Polson)
1936-1970
16 / 1-23
Annual reports: city and town (Poplar - St. Ignatius)
1936-1970
17 / 1-23
Annual reports: city and town (Scobey - Superior)
1936-1970
18 / 1-20
Annual reports: city and town (Terry - Valier)
1936-1970
19 / 1-22
Annual reports: city and town (Virginia City -
Wibaux)
1936-1970
20 / 1-9
Annual reports: city and town (Winifred - Wolf Point)
1936-1970
20 / 10-19
Annual reports: county clerk (Beaverhead - Big Horn)
1942-1970
21 / 1-18
Annual reports: county clerk (Blaine - Carbon)
1942-1970
22 / 1-24
Annual reports: county clerk (Carter - Custer)
1942-1970
23 / 1-24
Annual reports: county clerk (Daniels - Fallon)
1942-1970
24 / 1-24
Annual reports: county clerk (Fergus - Garfield)
1942-1970
25 / 1-24
Annual reports: county clerk (Glacier - Hill)
1942-1970
26 / 1-24
Annual reports: county clerk (Jefferson - Lewis &
Clark)
1942-1970
27 / 1-24
Annual reports: county clerk (Liberty - Madison)
1942-1970
28 / 1-24
Annual reports: county clerk (Meagher - Musselshell)
1942-1970
29 / 1-24
Annual reports: county clerk (Park - Podera)
1942-1970
30 / 1-24
Annual reports: county clerk (Powder River - Ravalli)
1942-1970
31 / 1-24
Annual reports: county clerk (Richland - Sanders)
1942-1970
32 / 1-24
Annual reports: county clerk (Sheridan - Sweet Grass)
1942-1970
OvBx / 1
Annual reports: county examination (Beaverhead -
Yellowstone)
1895-1896
33 / 1-24
Annual reports: county clerk (Teton - Valley)
1942-1970
34 / 1-18
Annual reports: county clerk (Wheatland -
Yellowstone)
1942-1970
35 / 1-16
Annual reports: county examination (Beaverhead -
Broadwater)
1913-1969
36 / 1-15
Annual reports: county examination (Carbon - Cascade)
1916-1968
37 / 1-18
Annual reports: county examination (Chouteau -
Dawson)
1913-1966
38 / 1-15
Annual reports: county examination (Deer Lodge -
Fergus)
1913-1967
39 / 1-14
Annual reports: county examination (Flathead -
Garfield)
1907-1967
40 / 1-19
Annual reports: county examination (Glacier -
Jefferson)
1916-1969
41 / 1-17
Annual reports: county examination (Judith Basin -
Liberty)
1913-1968
42 / 1-16
Annual reports: county examination (Lincoln -
Meagher)
1913-1969
43 / 1-17
Annual reports: county examination (Mineral - Park)
1911-1969
44 / 1-18
Annual reports: county examination (Petroleum -
Powell)
1914-1967
45 / 1-15
Annual reports: county examination (Prairie -
Roosevelt)
1916-1967
46 / 1-17
Annual reports: county examination (Rosebud - Silver
Bow)
1913-1967
47 / 1-19
Annual reports: county examination (Stillwater -
Treasure)
1916-1967
48 / 1-16
Annual reports: county examination (Valley -
Yellowstone)
1916-1966
49 / 1-22
Annual reports: county treasurer (Beaverhead -
Dawson)
1943-1970
50 / 1-22
Annual reports: county treasurer (Deer Lodge -
Jefferson)
1943-1970
51 / 1-22
Annual reports: county treasurer (Judith Basin -
Musselshell)
1943-1970
52 / 1-22
Annual reports: county treasurer (Park - Rosebud)
1943-1970
52a / 1-2
Annual reports: county treasurer (Prairie)
1915-1942
53 / 1-24
Annual reports: county treasurer (Sanders -
Yellowstone)
1943-1970
54 / 1-24
Annual reports: Fire Department Relief Association
(Alberton - Columbus)
1924-1970
55 / 1-24
Annual reports: Fire Department Relief Association
(Conrad - Hamilton)
1922-1969
56 / 1-23
Annual reports: Fire Department Relief Association
(Hardin - Missoula)
1921-1969
57 / 1-26
Annual reports: Fire Department Relief Association
(Moore - Townsend)
1926-1969
58 / 1-12
Annual reports: Fire Department Relief Association
(Troy - Wolf Point)
1926-1969
58 / 13-29
Annual reports: irrigation districts (Alfalfa Valley
- Clinton)
1921-1968
59 / 1-31
Annual reports: irrigation districts (Columbus -
Lower Yellowstone)
1921-1968
60 / 1-21
Annual reports: irrigation districts (Malta - Zurich)
1921-1968
61 / 1-24
Annual reports: state institutions (Montana Deaf and
Blind School - Montana, miscellaneous)
1929-1941
Vol. 1
Annual report to Governor: work sheets
1928-1932
62 / 1-36
Audit reports: city and town (Alberton - Boulder)
1930-1969
63 / 1-34
Audit reports: city and town (Bozeman - Chester)
1930-1968
64 / 1-37
Audit reports: city and town (Chinook - Deer Lodge)
1930-1968
65 / 1-44
Audit reports: city and town (Denton - Froid)
1930-1968
66 / 1-33
Audit reports: city and town (Fromberg - Harlowton)
1930-1967
67 / 1-35
Audit reports: city and town (Hamilton - Joliet)
1929-1967
68 / 1-36
Audit reports: city and town (Jordan - Malta)
1930-1969
69 / 1-39
Audit reports: city and town (Manhattan -
Philipsburg)
1930-1964
70 / 1-38
Audit reports: city and town (Plains - St. Ignatius)
1930-1967
71 / 1-41
Audit reports: city and town (Scobey - Troy)
1930-1967
72 / 1-36
Audit reports: city and town (Twin Bridges - Wolf
Point)
1930-1968
73 / 1-37
Audit reports: county high schools (Beaverhead -
Wibaux)
1936-1968
74 / 1-10
Audit reports: head start (Cascade County -
Yellowstone County)
1966-1968
74 / 11-47
Audit reports: high school extracurricular funds (Big
Horn County - Wheatland County)
1954-1973
74 / 48
Audit reports: Montana state banks RESTRICTED: Under
review
1902-1915
74 / 49-76
Audit reports: rural fire districts
1963-1969
75 / 1-46
Audit reports: school districts (Beaverhead County -
Flathead County)
1950-1968
76 / 1-39
Audit reports: school districts (Gallatin County -
Liberty County)
1938-1969
77 / 1-39
Audit reports: school districts (Lincoln County -
Ravalli County)
1939-1968
78 / 1-42
Audit reports: school districts (Richland County -
Yellowstone County)
1949-1969
79 / 1-35
Audit reports: state offices and institutions
(American Dairy Association of Montana - Montana Industrial School)
1908-1963
80 / 1-28
Audit reports: state offices and institutions
(Montana Liquor Control Board - Montana State College)
1903-1961
81 / 1-21
Audit reports: state offices and institutions
(Montana State College - Montana Relief Commission)
1909-1961
82 / 1-12
Audit reports: state offices and institutions
(Montana Tuberculosis Association - state officers)
1904-1963
Miscellany
82 / 13
House Bill 74: delinquent taxes
1949
82 / 14
Tables and forms
1939-1954, undated
82 / 15
Vehicle taxes
1949-1952
82 / 16
Miscellaneous
1920-1953