Libby Lumber Company, with home offices in Minneapolis, Minnesota, had its principal place of business in Libby, Montana. The firm was incorporated as a retail outlet. In 1916 Libby Lumber Company sold its property to Libby Yards Company which was incorporated to sell merchandise, property, and real estate,, and to operate a general manufacturing and contracting business. Libby Yards had retail operations in many Montana communities including Madoc, East Scobey, Antelope, Froid, Plentywood, Gilman, Great Falls, Kevin, Beaverton, Scobey, Shelby, Brady, Big Sandy, Conrad, Valier, Redstone, Sunburst, Cut Bank, Glendive, Homestead, and Saco.
In 1921 Monarch Lumber Company took over the preferred stock of Libby Yards Company. Monarch Lumber Company was incorporated in the state of Delaware listing its principal place of business in Great Falls, Montana. The first meeting of the company's board of directors was held in 1921 in Minneapolis.
Building Service, Inc. was formed in 1933 at the first meeting of its board of directors in Great Falls. At that meeting it was determined that Building Service, Inc. would purchase stock "now owned or controlled by the Monarch Lumber Company and used in the conduct of its wholesale business," thus becoming the wholesale outlet for Monarch Lumber Company. The main warehouse for Building Service, Inc. was in Great Falls. Employees for the company included Russell (Ben) Wallace, manager; G.H. Rogers and P.V. Eames, presidents in the Minneapolis office; Roy Forney and Gordon F. Mick, managers of the Billings branch warehouse; and F.D. Wilson, assistant treasurer in Great Falls. Building Service, Inc. was liquidated in 1961 when the company sold all its assets to the Boise Cascade Corporation.
This collection is arranged in three subgroups. The Libby Lumber Company/Libby Yards Company subgroup contains general correspondence (1917-1921); court papers (1923-1924); financial records (1914-1936); and legal documents (1922-1934).
The Monarch Lumber Company subgroup includes general correspondence (1921-1961); court papers (1925-1930); financial records (1928-1961); legal documents (1923-1958); minutes (1921-1936) for board of directors, executive committee, and stockholders meetings; organizational materials (1921-1923); reports (1922-1936); and miscellany.
The Building Service, Inc. subgroup includes general correspondence (1937-1961); financial records (1933-1960) including annual reports and taxes; legal documents (1916-1961); minutes (1933-1961) of board of directors and stockholders meetings; organizational materials (1933-1961); reports (1935-1959); and miscellany.
by subgroup and 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.