Montana Liquor Control Board records, 1933-1962
Table of Contents
Overview of the Collection
- Creator
- Montana. Liquor Control Board
- Title
- Montana Liquor Control Board records
- Dates
- 1933-1962 (inclusive)19331962
- Quantity
- 5 linear ft
- Collection Number
- RS 504 (Formerly RS 23)
- Summary
- This collection is a subgroup (Board) of the Montana Department of Revenue records, RS 504. In 1973, the Liquor Control Board's responsibilities were transferred to the Liquor Control Division within DOR, and this later became the Alcoholic Beverage Control Division. Please see the primary finding aid for more Montana Department of Revenue records. These Montana Liquor Control Board records (1933-1962) consist of interoffice and general correspondence, case files, legal documents, printed materials, reports, subject files, and miscellany.
- Repository
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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
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Collection open for research
- Languages
- English
- Sponsor
- Funding for encoding this finding aid was provided through a grant awarded by the National Endowment for the Humanities.
Historical Note
The Montana Liquor Control Act, passed in 1933 by the Twenty-third Legislative Assembly, created the state liquor control system as one of the nation's seventeen "monopoly" states. Within its monopoly the state of Montana operated liquor stores, licensed individual purchases and retailers, exercised regulatory powers, and merchandised alcoholic beverages. The sale of beer was administered by the Board of Equalization, while state liquor stores were under the jurisdiction of a board composed of the governor, the attorney general, and the secretary of state.
At the time of the enactment of the Liquor Control Act, only the sale of beer was permitted in Montana's taverns. In 1937 the passage of the Retail Liquor Act amended the 1933 legislation permitting the sale of liquor-by-the-drink and packaged liquor by licensed taverns. Simultaneously, the administration of state liquor stores was transferred to the newly created Montana Liquor Control Board, which consisted of three members appointed by the governor and confirmed by the Senate. The first meeting of an appointive Liquor Control Board was held on April 5, 1937. The Board appointed an administrator who handled the day-to-day operation of the state liquor control system, but who was answerable to the Board.
The Liquor Control Board employed a team of inspectors, also called examiners, who worked under a chief inspector and his assistants. The principal duty of the inspectors was to screen applicants for liquor licenses by making a thorough investigation of the applicant's eligibility under state regulations. The inspectors also made two or three annual, on-site inspections of the premises where beer and liquor licenses were in operation.
As a result of the reorganization of state government following the ratification of Montana's 1972 Constitution, the Liquor Control Board was abolished by the 1973 Legislative Assembly, and its functions were transferred to the Montana Department of Revenue's Liquor Division. As of 2025, the Liquor Control Division is now called the Alcoholic Beverage Control Division.
Content Description
These records consist of interoffice correspondence (1938-1960) concerned primarily with the day-to-day operations of the Liquor Control Board with its attorneys, board members, examiners, and other functionaries; general correspondence (1933-1960) arranged alphabetically by correspondent and subject, dealing with MLCB transactions with federal and state government agencies, state liquor store vendors, and the general public; case files (1933-1944) which focus in large part on those court cases which determined the board's regulatory powers and the limits on those powers; legal documents (1938); printed material (1940); reports (c.1950-1962); subject files (1934-1956), including a sampled file, "Thompson's Place, Gold Creek, Powell County," representative of the licensing process; and miscellany (1933-1959). Artifacts, maps, photographs, and printed materials have been transferred to the Museum, Library Map Collection, Photo Archives, and Library respectively.
Use of the Collection
Restrictions on Use
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.
Preferred Citation
Item description and date. Collection Title. Collection Number. Box and Folder numbers. Montana Historical Society Library & Archives, Helena, Montana.
Administrative Information
Arrangement
This collection is arranged by series
Location of Collection
17:7-3Processing Note
In 2025, the various collections of the Montana Department of Revenue were integrated under one collection identifier, RS 504, in order to help facilitate access, reduce redundancy in the MTHS catalog, and to follow best archival practices.
Collections from Department of Revenue's Divisions/Boards/Predecessor Agencies that were previously treated as separate entities are now integrated into this collection, RS 504. Rather than reprocessing over 12 linear feet of DOR 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 pertains to your research needs.
Acquisition Information
Acquisition information available upon request
Detailed Description of the Collection
The following section contains a detailed listing of the materials in the collection
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Interoffice Correspondence
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Description: Attorney for the Board (Paul W. Smith) (includes opinions)Dates: 1944-1949Container: Box/Folder 1 / 1
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Description: Attorney for the Board (Wesley W. Wertz)Dates: 1952-1953Container: Box/Folder 1 / 2
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Description: Attorney for the Board (H. J. Luxan)Dates: 1953-1956, 1959-1960Container: Box/Folder 1 / 3
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Description: Claims Clerk (includes "Recapitulation of Transportation Claims Filed 1942 through 1944")Dates: 1946-1956Container: Box/Folder 1 / 4
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Description: Examiner (H. O. (Halvor) Ekern)Dates: 1941-1952Container: Box/Folder 1 / 5
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Description: Examiner (Dell A. Lloyd)Dates: 1953-1959Container: Box/Folder 1 / 6
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Description: Examiner (Bruce O. Mefford)Dates: 1953-1959Container: Box/Folder 1 / 7
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Description: Examiner (Frank J. Winzeler)Dates: 1952-1957, 1959Container: Box/Folder 1 / 8
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Description: Examiners (Clyde C. Bowers, George Fowlie Jr., Chris W. Morgensen, Stuart H. Nicholson, E. F. Patterson)Dates: 1945-1959Container: Box/Folder 1 / 9
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Description: Law Enforcement DivisionDates: 1938Container: Box/Folder 1 / 10
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Description: Law Enforcement DepartmentDates: 1944-1958Container: Box/Folder 1 / 11
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Description: Montana Liquor Control Board Chairman (A. E. McFatridge)Dates: 1943Container: Box/Folder 1 / 12
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Description: Montana Liquor Control Board Chairman (J. E. Rafn)Dates: 1953-1960Container: Box/Folder 1 / 13
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Description: Montana Liquor Control Board Members (H. R. Carlson, Oakley E. Coffee, Ashton Jones)Dates: 1953-1960Container: Box/Folder 1 / 14
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Description: Opinions (T. H. MacDonald, Assistant Administrator)Dates: 1942Container: Box/Folder 1 / 15
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Description: Store auditors (Claire E. Flint, Harry Harlen, A. F. McCline, Harry M. Rawn, William Webb)Dates: 1941-1947Container: Box/Folder 1 / 16
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Description: Store supervisors (George A. Davis; Frank Hayes)Dates: 1941, 1954Container: Box/Folder 1 / 17
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General Correspondence
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Description: Actions by Board (re appointments of inspectors)Dates: 1953Container: Box/Folder 1 / 18
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Description: Alcohol - Tax Free (sampled)Dates: 1951Container: Box/Folder 1 / 19
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Description: Alcohol Tax Unit (Alcohol and Tobacco Tax Division, Internal Revenue Service)Dates: 1948-1953Container: Box/Folder 1 / 20
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Description: Alcohol - Warehouse (sampled)Dates: 1951Container: Box/Folder 1 / 21
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Description: American Bank Note Company (re liquor identification stamps; includes agreement; also includes American Decalcomania Company)Dates: 1952Container: Box/Folder 1 / 22
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Description: Governor J. Hugo AronsonDates: 1953-1959Container: Box/Folder 1 / 23
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Description: Attorney GeneralDates: 1933-1935Container: Box/Folder 1 / 24
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Description: Attorney General (Raymond T. Nagle) (re Beer Act)Dates: 1933-1936Container: Box/Folder 1 / 25
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Description: Attorney General - OpinionsDates: 1937-1942Container: Box/Folder 1 / 26
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Description: Bank Depository Requests (sampled)Dates: 1941, 1953-1954, 1960Container: Box/Folder 1 / 27
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Description: Beer (includes Montana Beer Wholesalers' Association materials, monthly "Beer Shipments into Montana from Out of State" 1952)Dates: 1951-1960Container: Box/Folder 1 / 28-29
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Description: Burglar Alarms - Stores (includes burglary statistics by stores; sampled)Dates: 1954-1958Container: Box/Folder 1 / 30
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Description: Collector of Internal Revenue (includes legal description of state liquor stores, 1949)Dates: 1941-1942, 1949Container: Box/Folder 1 / 31
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Description: Indian Liquor LawsDates: 1951-1960Container: Box/Folder 1 / 32
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Description: Federal Alcohol Tax UnitDates: 1937-1941Container: Box/Folder 2 / 1
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Description: Interdictions (sampled; includes statistical summaries)Dates: 1951-1960Container: Box/Folder 2 / 2
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Description: Legal opinions (miscellaneous, Paul Smith)Dates: 1944-1946Container: Box/Folder 2 / 3
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Description: License matters - complaintsDates: 1952Container: Box/Folder 2 / 4
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Description: Licensed Beverage Industries (includes Montana-related statistics)Dates: 1953Container: Box/Folder 2 / 5
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Description: Livingston tavern regulations violationsDates: 1939Container: Box/Folder 2 / 6
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Description: Miscellaneous - License Department (sampled) (includes incoming and outgoing correspondence of T. H. MacDonald, Assistant Administrator)Dates: 1941-1942Container: Box/Folder 2 / 7
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Description: Miscellaneous (sampled) (includes incoming and outgoing correspondence of R. M. O'Hearn, Administrator, and John E. Manning, Administrator)Dates: 1952-1953Container: Box/Folder 2 / 8
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Description: Miscellaneous (sampled) (includes incoming and outgoing correspondence of John E. Manning, Administrator)Dates: 1954-1955Container: Box/Folder 2 / 9
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Description: Miscellaneous (sampled) (includes incoming and outgoing correspondence of John E. Manning, Administrator)Dates: 1955-1956Container: Box/Folder 2 / 10
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Description: Miscellaneous (sampled) (includes incoming and outgoing correspondence of John E. Manning, Administrator)Dates: 1957-1958Container: Box/Folder 2 / 11
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Description: Miscellaneous (sampled) (includes incoming and outgoing correspondence of John E. Manning, Administrator)Dates: 1958-1960Container: Box/Folder 2 / 12
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Description: Montana Beer Wholesalers' Association (includes newsletter)Dates: 1952-1953Container: Box/Folder 2 / 13
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Description: Montana Licensed Beverage Association (sampled)Dates: 1943, 1957-1958Container: Box/Folder 2 / 14
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Description: Montana Retail Liquor Dealers Association (includes resolutions)Dates: 1952-1955Container: Box/Folder 2 / 15
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Description: Montana State (Agencies)Dates: 1954-1960Container: Box/Folder 2 / 16
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Description: Montana State Alcoholic and Narcotics DivisionDates: 1954Container: Box/Folder 2 / 17
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Description: Montana State Board of Health (includes Narcotic and Alcohol Education Program's "Objectives and Aims and a Proposed Pattern of Attack")Dates: 1951Container: Box/Folder 2 / 18
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Description: Montana State Board of Health (includes minutes and reports of Alcoholism and Narcotics Advisory Committee)Dates: 1955-1960Container: Box/Folder 2 / 19-20
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Description: Montana Board of Health, Alcohol and Narcotics (includes minutes)Dates: 1960Container: Box/Folder 2 / 21
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Description: Montana Board of Health, Alcohol and Narcotics (includes "First Rough Draft of the Compilation of Subcommittee Reports for the Editing Subcommittee of the Narcotics and Alcoholism Advisory Committee to the Montana State Board of Health")Dates: 1960Container: Box/Folder 2 / 22
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Description: National Alcoholic Beverage Control Association (includes information re liquor purchases on military installations; liquor sales to Indians)Dates: 1952-1956Container: Box/Folder 2 / 23
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Description: National Alcoholic Beverage Control Association, Inc.Dates: 1957, 1959-1960Container: Box/Folder 2 / 24
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Description: OPS (Alcoholic Beverage Section, U.S. Office of Price Stabilization)Dates: 1951-1952Container: Box/Folder 2 / 25
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Description: Sacramental wine (sampled)Dates: 1955Container: Box/Folder 2 / 26
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Description: Store supervisor applications (sampled)Dates: 1953Container: Box/Folder 2 / 27
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Description: Transportation (re transportation of liquor contract; sampled)Dates: 1943, 1952-1959Container: Box/Folder 2 / 28
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Description: Unions (includes Butte Clerks' Union, Retail Clerks' Union, Teamsters' Union)Dates: 1944, 1951, 1953, 1955Container: Box/Folder 2 / 29
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Outgoing Correspondence
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Description: Circular letters (to state liquor store vendors)Dates: 1941-1959Container: Box/Folder 2 / 30-32
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Miscellaneous Correspondence
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Description: J. A. Buley to War Production Board and Office of the Rubber Director (re Montana Phosphate Products Company Mines at Garrison and Avon)Dates: 1944Container: Box/Folder 2 / 33
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Case Files
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Description: Paul Dayton and Joy Wood License Denial, (Fort Owen Inn) near Stevensville, Ravalli County (re power of MLCB to deny license)Dates: 1940-1942Container: Box/Folder 3 / 1
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Description: Herman J. Erie vs Montana Liquor Control Board (re extent of contractual agreement with liquor store operators)Dates: 1941-1943Container: Box/Folder 3 / 2
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Description: Green Mill Tavern, A. J. McGovern, Great FallsDates: 1942Container: Box/Folder 3 / 3
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Description: W. T. Harris, Pepper Box, Lewis and Clark (re MLCB vs. W. T. Harris; right of Board to revoke license without court trial)Dates: undatedContainer: Box/Folder 3 / 4
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Description: In the Matter of the Revocation of Retail Beer License No. 1086 issued to Price S. Purdum and Kyle ClevelandDates: 1948Container: Box/Folder 3 / 5-6
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Description: Sherman McCarten vs Montana Liquor Control Board (re MLCB's power to regulate)Dates: 1938-1941Container: Box/Folder 3 / 7-8
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Description: Vasco C. Michelotti Case - The Oasis, Black Eagle, MontanaDates: 1942-1943Container: Box/Folder 3 / 9
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Description: Monaghan Case (re Montana ex rel. Mrs. James Sullivan, et al (represented by Joseph P. Monaghan) vs. MLCB, concerning size of community and license fee)Dates: 1937-1941Container: Box/Folder 3 / 10-12
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Description: MCLB vs District Court of the 7th Judicial District ((Sherman) McCarten Case) (re MLCB discretion in the issuance of licenses)Dates: 1942Container: Box/Folder 3 / 13
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Description: (John) Pollard vs MCLB (re amount of fee based upon size and location of town)Dates: 1941-1943Container: Box/Folder 3 / 14
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Description: O. H. P. Shelley, (Receiver, Rocky Mountain Brands, Inc.) vs MLCB (includes MLCB vs District Court of First Judicial District and George W. Padbury, Jr.)Dates: 1933-1942Container: Box/Folder 3 / 15-18
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Description: Stockman's Exchange, Dell, John McGrath (re allegations of prostitution)Dates: 1942-1943Container: Box/Folder 3 / 19
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Description: Joseph E. Swindlehurst vs. Montana Liquor Control Board (re compulsion to change saloon location)Dates: 1944Container: Box/Folder 3 / 20
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Description: Joseph Ventura vs Liquor Control Board (re size and location of town and license fee)Dates: 1941-1942Container: Box/Folder 3 / 21
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Description: Villages - Five Mile area (re MLCB vs District Court of the 2nd Judicial District)Dates: 1937Container: Box/Folder 3 / 22
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Description: Wing Shing Company vs MLCB (re Chinese whiskey)Dates: 1941-1942Container: Box/Folder 3 / 23
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Financial Records
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Description: General LedgerDates: 1933-1959Container: Box/Folder Vol. 1-2
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Legal Documents
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Description: Legal PapersDates: 1938Container: Box/Folder 3 / 24
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Maps
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Description: List of maps transferred to the Library Map CollectionDates: undatedContainer: Box/Folder 3 / 25
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Photographs
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Description: List of photographs transferred to the Photo ArchivesDates: undatedContainer: Box/Folder 3 / 26
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Printed Material
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Description: Montana Liquor Control Board Audit ReportDates: 1934-1935Container: Box/Folder 3 / 27
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Description: Petition for Initiative (re creation of state liquor control board)Dates: 1940Container: Box/Folder 3 / 28
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Description: List of printed material transferred to the LibraryDates: undatedContainer: Box/Folder 3 / 29
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Reports
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Description: Inventory of Merchandise in the Montana Liquor Control Board Warehouse (includes inventory of equipment and machinery and audit of Beer License and Beer Tax Department)Dates: 1941Container: Box/Folder 3 / 29a
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Description: Investigation of credit practices within the wholesale beer industry in Butte and AnacondaDates: 1962Container: Box/Folder 3 / 30
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Description: Monthly Brewing Report: Butte Brewing Company (includes name of account and amount sold)Dates: 1957-1959Container: Box/Folder 3 / 31
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Description: Monthly Brewing Report: Great Falls Breweries, Inc. (includes name of account and amount sold)Dates: 1957-1959Container: Box/Folder 3 / 32
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Description: Monthly Brewing Report: Missoula Brewing Company (includes name of account and amount sold)Dates: 1957-1959Container: Box/Folder 3 / 33
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Description: Warehouse (operation of MLCB Warehouse, Helena)Dates: circa 1950Container: Box/Folder 3 / 34
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Subject Files
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Description: Governor's Staff Meetings (includes reports from MLCB, State Lands and Investments, State Controller, State Personnel, Highway Patrol, Public Welfare, State Prison, Custodian Department, Labor and Industry, State Engineer, State Civil Defense, Fish & Game)Dates: 1953-1954Container: Box/Folder 3 / 35
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Description: Leases of State Liquor Stores (includes legal descriptions of properties)Dates: 1949-1956Container: Box/Folder 4 / 1-4
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Description: Montana WarrantyDates: 1950-1953Container: Box/Folder 4 / 5
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Miscellany
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Description: Blank FormsDates: 1933-1959Container: Box/Folder 4 / 7
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Description: Cash and stock control methods proposalDates: circa 1938Container: Box/Folder 4 / 8
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Description: Informational pamphlet draft (re MLCB history and revenue)Dates: circa 1948Container: Box/Folder 4 / 9
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Description: Legislative billsDates: 1947-1949Container: Box/Folder 4 / 10
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Description: Legislative bills (includes Report of the Liquor Investigation Committee of the House of Representatives of the Thirty-first Legislative Assembly, 1951; letter of Attorney General Arnold H. Olsen re investigations of liquor and gambling, 1951)Dates: 1951-1953Container: Box/Folder 4 / 11
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Description: List of artifacts transferred to the MuseumDates: undatedContainer: Box/Folder 5 / 1
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Description: List of inspectors and their districtsDates: undatedContainer: Box/Folder 5 / 2
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Description: Montana Liquor Control Board warehouse blueprints (contains OVERSIZE MATERIAL)Dates: 1955Container: Box/Folder 5 / 3
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Description: Montana State Board of Health Circular Letter (re retail beer establishments, 1934) and Tavern Regulation #132Dates: 1934-1935Container: Box/Folder 5 / 4
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Description: National Alcoholic Beverage Control Association Third Annual Convention, Glacier National Park (includes program, etc.)Dates: 1940Container: Box/Folder 5 / 5
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Description: Office Information (includes statistical data)Dates: 1939-1941Container: Box/Folder 5 / 6
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Description: Personnel (sampled; includes MLCB staffing information; 1962 Personnel Assignment Review)Dates: 1940, 1942-1943, 1947, 1953-1955, 1962Container: Box/Folder 5 / 7
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Description: Remarks on Stores (evaluation of state liquor stores' records inventory, store upkeep, etc.)Dates: 1944Container: Box/Folder 5 / 8
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Description: Remittance sheets (includes town, banking depository, and type of deposit)Dates: 1951Container: Box/Folder 5 / 9
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Description: Rules and Regulations of the Montana Liquor Control BoardDates: 1950, 1956, 1960, undatedContainer: Box/Folder 5 / 10
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Description: Rules of conduct for Inspectors of the Montana Liquor Control Board Enforcement DivisionDates: 1953Container: Box/Folder 5 / 11
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Description: Wholesale and Retail Dealer Stamps (includes legal description of location, 1953-1954)Dates: 1952-1959Container: Box/Folder 5 / 12
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Names and SubjectsReturn to Top
Subject Terms
- Alcoholism--Prevention
- License system--Montana
- Liquor industry--Montana
- Liquor laws--Montana
- Montana
- Government and Politics
Corporate Names
- Montana. Department of Revenue
- Montana. Liquor Control Board
