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Coffin Family Papers, 1864-1977

Overview of the Collection

Creator
Coffin Family
Title
Coffin Family Papers
Dates
1864-1977 (inclusive)
Quantity
15 containers., (19 linear feet of shelf space.), (12,340 items.)
Collection Number
Cage 405
Summary
Correspondence, financial records, real estate documents, daybooks, photographs and other papers of the two H. Stanley Coffins and their sheep ranching and mercantile enterprises in eastern Washington: Coffin Brothers, Yakima Grocery Company, and Coffin Sheep Company.
Repository
Washington State University Libraries' Manuscripts, Archives, and Special Collections (MASC)
Manuscripts, Archives, and Special Collections
Terrell Library Suite 12
Pullman, WA
99164-5610
Telephone: 509-335-6691
mascref@wsu.edu
Access Restrictions

This collection is open for research use.

Languages
English
Sponsor
Funding for encoding this finding aid was provided through a grant awarded by the National Endowment for the Humanities.
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Biographical Note

For over fifty years, the firm of Coffin Brothers, Incorporated, dominated the livestock industry in central Washington, the wholesale grocery business in the Yakima Valley, and a variety of other financial enterprises. Coffin Brothers became the core of a family owned group of business ventures. The principal founder of the family fortunes was H. (Harvard) Stanley Coffin, born at The Dalles, Oregon, on September 14, 1869. He attended local public school, the Wasco Academy, and a business college. At age fourteen he began working in the warehouse of McFarland and French, General Merchandisers. Four years later, he moved up the Columbia River to Arlington, Oregon, where he worked with his brother, Arthur Coffin at the Coffin-McFarland Company warehouse. Stanley and another brother, Lester, learned the business quickly, and proceeded to purchase a quarter interest in the firm which was then renamed Arthur Coffin and Brothers.

Recognizing central Washington's potential for growth, the brothers moved their business to Yakima about 1893. Aided by their commercial connections in San Francisco, Portland, and on Puget Sound, they conducted a thriving business with farmers and stockmen, and, increasingly with Indians. As a result of this early association, Stanley became friends with the Indians. He learned to speak their languages, to share their respect for horses, and to participate in their ceremonies. Later he was made an honorary member of the Yakima Tribe.

The three-way partnership was renamed Coffin Brothers, and in 1903 it became a licensed corporation in the State of Washington. Their success in Yakima led to the opening of several branch stores. Using the name "The Idaho Store Company," outlets were established in Lewiston, Kamiah, Nezperce, Forest, Filer, and Lapwai in Idaho. Another store was established in Seattle which catered to the needs of miners enroute to Alaska. Additional retail stores were opened in Prosser, Mabton, Kennewick, and Toppenish in central Washington. Retailing, however, proved less profitable, so the firm concentrated on the Yakima wholesale business. In 1954, the wholesale business, the Yakima Grocery Company, was transferred to Stanley's niece and nephew, John Wenner and Mary Alice Wenner.

In addition to merchandise and groceries, the brothers expanded into a major livestock operation. In 1895, two years after moving to Yakima, the Coffins imported two bands of ewes from Oregon. Within a few years the sheep venture had grown to such an extent that for a time Stanley was forced to devote his full attention to the bands, although he remained a full partner in the merchandise business. Following the premature deaths of Lester (ca. 1918) and Arthur (ca. 1920), Stanley assumed full responsibility for the entire business operation.

Stanley Coffin married Anna Wenner of Canton, Ohio, and they raised three daughters--Dorothy (d. 1924), Mary Elizabeth, and Margaret-- and a son--Harvard Stanley Coffin II.

H. Stanley Coffin II was born on December 6, 1897 in Yakima. After attending Yakima schools and Columbia University, he graduated from Harvard University in 1921 with a bachelor of science degree. In 1924, he married Caroline Van Vliet of Yakima. Their daughter, Nancy was born in 1925 and the following year a son, Harvard Stanley Coffin III, was born. In 1921, Stanley II assumed management of the grocery business, and following his father's lead, became the central figure in the family's business interests. He was president of Coffin Brothers (liquidated 1954), the Yakima Grocery Company (passed to the Wenners in 1954), and the Coffin Sheep Company (reduced in 1956), in addition to holding a controlling interest in a number of smaller livestock companies. Mr. Coffin was a founder and director of the West Side National Bank of Yakima and a director of the Home Federal Savings and Loan Association.

Over the years the Coffin Family controlled substantial real estate holdings. Before 1909, they had acquired 50,000 deeded acres and 50,000 leased acres between Ellensburg and Wenatchee, known as the Cape Horn/Mountain Home Ranch. Eventually, Lester Coffin's descendents came to manage this property. Stanley Coffin I took control of the Coffin/Babcock range (also called the West Bar Ranch) which was located on the Columbia River. The family's Wenas Creek lands included the Mt. Vale Ranch, the McCabe Place, and the Lee Land ranch which totaled approximately 16,000 acres. Lying west of Yakima, the Cold Creek Ranch contained about 17,000 acres of well-watered grazing land. The Horse Heaven Ranch, inclusive of the Wilmert place and the Blakely place, was located south of Kennewick and was comprised of 30,000 deeded acres plus adjacent leased pastures. In addition to small deeded holdings (i.e., city lots, beach plots) the family also controlled various tracts of leased acreage.

Both Stanley I and Stanley II made significant contributions to the development of Yakima and the Pacific Northwest. As early members of the Washington Wool Growers Association and as leading sheep producers, the Coffins imported Corriedale and Romney sheep from Great Britain, Australia, and New Zealand to upgrade local stock. Also they aided industry novices with both financial aid and moral support. Beginning in 1920, the Coffins were loyal Rotarians, both father and son serving terms as president. In addition to civic projects, the Stanley Park residential area in Yakima was developed by the Coffins. In 1940, at the age of 70, Stanley I passed away. Stanley II followed in 1970 at the age of 72. H. Stanley Coffin III, a practicing Yakima physician, continues to manage the family holdings.

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Use of the Collection

Preferred Citation

[Item Description]. Cage 405, Coffin Family Papers . Manuscripts, Archives, and Special Collections, Washington State University Libraries, Pullman, WA.

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Administrative Information

Arrangement

Upon arrival at Washington State University, the Coffin papers contained several different filing systems plus considerable loose material. To unify the collection, six major subject series were established and the various filing systems were integrated into these series. With the exception of four boxes of unfoldered material which has been organized by topic and interfiled into the series, the original order within the folders was maintained. In each series and/or subseries, the folders are arranged alphabetically.

Throughout the papers the difficulty in discriminating between the signatures of Stanley I and Stanley II is encountered. During the nineteen year period between the time of Stanley II's assuming an active role in the business (1921) and the year of Stanley I's death (1940), their signatures are indistinguishable. The signature of Stanley III is usually differentiated by the use of a wide-tipped, black ink pen. Another problem in evaluating the papers is the result of the original filing of records of different Coffin enterprises in common folders. This may be due to the concurrent existence of Coffin Brothers, Yakima Grocery Company, and Coffin Sheep Company and to the interlocking roles of individuals within these entities.

The first series, General Office Files, dates from 1906 through 1917 and is arranged in three subseries. The first subseries, correspondence, deals with labor recruitment; employee instruction and rural operation reports; local, county, state, and federal agencies; civic projects; industry organizations and individuals of a service nature (i.e. lawyers, accountants, insurance agents); family correspondence; and clippings and journal articles of personal, family, business, or historical nature. In addition to the Coffins, Stella Pearl Brady, corporation secretary for approximately seventeen years, contributed substantially to the volume of correspondence.

The second subseries is comprised of three court suits related to the Horse Heaven Ranch. In the case of Coffin vrs Deffenbaugh, real estate boundaries were contested. The second case, Coffin .us v Moch, a former employee was charged with cattle misappropriation. The final case, Hellberg .us v Coffin, dealt with road right-of-way. In the third subseries, Livestock, 1906-1975, sheep are the greatest concern, but cattle and horses receive considerable attention. Materials include livestock industry correspondence and bulletins, livestock feeding and health data, and livestock registration papers.

The second major series, Financial, extends from 1899 through 1975 and contains eight subseries. Bills, the first and largest subseries, concerns livestock and real estate maintenance, livestock purchases, office upkeep, and other expenses. The Coffin Brothers liquidation papers make up the second subseries while the third subseries contains the papers of the Anna.enner Coffin estate. The fourth subseries, income, documents the sales of livestock, wool, and grain. The fifth subseries, investments, contains stock certificates and other papers which reflect the variety of financial ventures undertaken by the Coffins. The check register and the five ledgers that comprise the sixth subseries span the years 1908 through 1967 although they are not inclusive for all those years. Inventories, receipts, budgets, financial pocket books, and worksheets are included in the seventh subseries. The last financial subseries contains income and real estate tax data.

Dating 1864 through 1977, the third and largest series, Real Estate, evidences the extensive land holdings of the Coffin family. The first of the six subseries, correspondence and general real estate files, deals with easements and range and wheat-land leases. Documents, the second subseries, is largely property title abstracts. The third subseries concerns the maintenance and improvements, chiefly for irrigation, made by the Coffins on both deeded and leased land. Papers related to land purchases, sales, and use comprise the fourth through sixth subseries.

Thirty-seven personal/business logs with daily entries by Stanley I and Stanley II make up the fourth series. These day books date from 1899, skip to 1931, and are nearly complete through 1969 with only 1944 and 1947 lacking. Depicting the major real estate holdings and the prime livestock are the photographs in the fifth series. The last major series consists of maps which also illustrate the Coffin real estate. Aside from two bound atlases of Benton County, the series contains an oversize folder of Benton County maps of varied quality, sources, types and dates. Numerous maps of Yakima city and county are included in this series in an oversize folder.

Although the records may appear to be complete, a cautionary note is in order. For the most part, the records of the Coffin enterprises are not continuous and are not entirely complete. There are apparent gaps within series and subseries--both with respect to time and type of material. Records in a single folder often cross over organizational boundaries, thus making it difficult to trace the activities of a single unit within the Coffin financial hierarchy. For example, while a folder label may specify one entity of the Coffin enterprise, it may also contain information dealing with several other aspects.

Acquisition Information

The papers of the H. Stanley Coffin Family were donated to the Washington State University Libraries by H. Stanley Coffin III in July 1977 (77-39).

Bibliography

Additional Coffin family history can be found in Edson Dow's Passes to the North: History of the Wenatchee Mountains (Wenatchee, WA: Outdoor Publishing Company, 1963).

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Detailed Description of the Collection

The following section contains a detailed listing of the materials in the collection.

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Subject Terms

  • Grocery trade --Washington (State)
  • Livestock trade --Washington (State)
  • Wholesale trade --Washington (State)

Personal Names

  • Coffin, H. Stanley (Harvard Stanley), 1869-1940
  • Coffin, H. Stanley (Harvard Stanley), 1897-1970

Corporate Names

  • Coffin Sheep Company
  • Coffin Brothers, Incorporated
  • Yakima Grocery Company

Family Names

  • Coffin family --Archives (creator)

Geographical Names

  • Yakima (Wash.)--Business, industries, and trades

Occupations

  • Merchants--Washington (State)--Yakima--Records and correspondence
  • Sheep ranchers -- Washington (State)--Yakima--Records and correspondence

Finding aid prepared by Pat Graham Pidcock
1979

CC Attribution
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

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