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Montana Power Company Records, 1892-1967

Overview of the Collection

Creator
Montana Power Company
Title
Montana Power Company Records
Dates
1892-1967 (inclusive)
Quantity
2.0 linear feet, (804 items)
Collection Number
Mss 240 (collection)
Summary
The Montana Power Company was based in Butte, Montana, and supplied power throughout Montana until 2000, when it sold its generating and transmission assets and became Touch America. This collection consists of 803 blueprints, drawings and maps and three bound volumes of financial records from the Missoula steam plant.
Repository
University of Montana, Mansfield Library, Archives and Special Collections
Archives and Special Collections
Maureen and Mike Mansfield Library
University of Montana
32 Campus Dr. #9936
59812-9936
Missoula, MT
Telephone: 406-243-2053
library.archives@umontana.edu
Access Restrictions

Researchers must use collection in accordance with the policies of Archives and Special Collections, the Maureen and Mike Mansfield Library, and The University of Montana--Missoula.

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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Historical Note

The Montana Power Company was formed on December 12, 1912, in Butte through the merger of the Butte Electric and Power Company with three of its subsidiaries: the Madison River Power Company, the Billings and Eastern Montana Power Company, and the Missoula River Power Company. A few months later, the two remaining large power producers in Montana, the Great Falls Water Power and Townsite Company, and the Thompson Falls Power Company, were taken into the company by acquisition of stock control. The properties owned by the formerly independent small companies included hydroelectric generating plants steam electric plants; many also had contracts to provide power for street railways, mills, and other interests. Montana Power Company continued to acquire companies after 1912, adding approximately fifty more companies by the early 1950s.

The company has since expanded into related businesses, including natural gas, oil, and coal, and providing telecommunications services. In 2000, it sold its generating and transmission assets in Montana and became Touch America, a telecommunications company.

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Content Description

This collection consists of 803 blueprints, drawings and maps and three bound volumes of financial records from the Missoula steam plant. Corporations represented include the Clark Montana Realty Company, the Missoula Street Railway Company, the Clark Missoula Power Company, the Missoula Light and Water Company, the Helena Power Transmission Company, the Missoula Public Service Company, Most are of dams and associated equipment, followed by maps of water, power, and transportation systems in (primarily) Missoula, Bonner, and the Bitterroot valley. Of particular interest are drawings of Clark's Dam, also known as the Milltown Dam on the Clark Fork River, and drawings of the trolley system in Missoula, Montana. Also included are maps/profiles of rivers and a few architectural drawings of buildings. Dates range from 1892 to 1967, though the majority date from around 1901 to 1930.

Sizes range from 8.5 x 11" to 36 x 72", with the vast majority 36 x 40".

The collection is divided in two groups by type of paper (blueprints or bluelines, and paper/linen). Both are sub-grouped by subject matter, and can be referenced to each other using the beginning letters of the folder. For example, Clark's dam drawings that are not on blueprint paper are DC, and blueprints of Clark's dam are DC b-.

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Use of the Collection

Restrictions on Use

Researchers are responsible for using in accordance with 17 U.S.C. and any other applicable statutes. Copyright not transferred to The University of Montana.

Preferred Citation

[Name of document or photograph number], Montana Power Company Records, Archives and Special Collections, Maureen and Mike Mansfield Library, The University of Montana--Missoula.

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Administrative Information

Arrangement

The collection is divided into fifty series:

Series I: Buildings, paper/linen (B), 16 pieces, 1912-1951

Series II: Buildings, blueprints (B b), 8 pieces, 1913-1936

Series III: Clark's dam (DC), 23 pieces, 1902-1920

Series IV: Clark's dam (DC b), 31 pieces, 1906-1938

Series V: other dams (DO), 19 pieces, 1904-1925

Series VI: other dams (DO b), 23 pieces, 1904-1930

Series VII: Documents (DOC), 15 pieces, 1892-1943

Series VIII: Electrical Equipment, paper/linen (EE), 3 pieces, 1927-1946

Series IX: Electrical Equipment, blueprints (EE b), 28 pieces, 1900-1926

Series X: Equipment: Governors, blueprints (EG b), 8 pieces, 1896-1909

Series XI: Equipment: Turbines, paper/linen (ET), 3 pieces, 1921-1930

Series XII: Equipment: Turbines, blueprints (ET b),65 pieces, 1896-1909

Series XIII: Equipment: Unknown, blueprints (EU b), 8 pieces, 1902-1922

Series XIV: Equipment: Water Flow, paper/linen (EW), 1 piece, 1909

Series XV: Equipment: Water Flow, blueprints (EW b), 28 pieces, 1906-1921

Series XVI: Fixtures, paper/linen (F), 7 pieces, 1912-1914

Series XVII: Fixtures, blueprints (F b), 1 piece, 1912

Series XVIII: Heating and Water, paper/linen (H/W), 49 pieces, 1902-1931

Series XIX: Heating and Water, blueprints (H/W b), 46 pieces, 1897-1930

Series XX: Maps of Heating and Water Systems, blueprints (MH/W b), 16 pieces, 1910 - circa 1940

Series XXI: Irrigation, paper/linen (I), 5 pieces, 1906-1910

Series XXII: Irrigation, blueprints (I b), 2 pieces, 1907

Series XXII: Irrigation, blueprints (I b), 2 pieces, 1907

Series XXIII: Maps of Cities in Bitteroot Valley, paper/linen (MCB-H), 3 pieces, 1914

Series XXIV: Maps of Cities in Bitteroot Valley, blueprints (MCB-C b), 19 pieces, 1894-1954

Series XXV: Maps of Cities: Milltown/Bonner, paper/linen (MC-M/B), 9 pieces, 1907-1958

Series XXVI: Maps of Cities: Milltown/Bonner, blueprints (MC-M/B b), 6 pieces, 1904-1925

Series XXVII: Maps of Cities: Missoula, paper/linen (MC-M), 10 pieces, 1904-1959

Series XXVIII: Maps of Cities: Missoula, blueprints (MC-M b), 21 pieces, 1909-1946

Series XXIX: Maps of The University of Montana--Missoula, blueprints (MC-UM b), 3 pieces, circa 1954-1955

Series XXX: Miscellaneous Maps, paper/linen (MM), 21 pieces, 1912-1967

Series XXXI: Miscellaneous Maps, blueprints (MM b), 15 pieces, 1886-1967

Series XXXII: Power Lines, paper/linen (PL), 30 pieces, 1904-1948

Series XXXIII: Power Lines, blueprints (PL b), 14 pieces, 1904-1960

Series XXXIV: Power Stations, paper/linen (PS), 20 pieces, 1905-1926

Series XXXV: Power Stations, blueprints (PS b), 4 pieces, 1909-1936

Series XXXVI: Railroads, paper/linen (RR), 7 pieces, 1904-1914

Series XXXVII: Railroads, blueprints (RR b), 14 pieces, 1900-1951

Series XXXVIII: Rattlesnake Valley maps, paper/linen (RM), 23 pieces, 1902-1961

Series XXXIX: Rattlesnake Valley maps, blueprints (RM b), 15 pieces, 1904-1961

Series XL: Rattlesnake Valley water system, paper/linen (RW), 16 pieces, 1904-1934

Series XLI: Rattlesnake Valley water system, blueprints (RW b), 15 pieces, 1929-1955

Series XLII: Rivers, paper/linen (R), 14 pieces, 1909-1913

Series XLIII: Roads, blueprints (RD b), 27 pieces, 1961-1962

Series XLIV: Statistics, paper/linen (S), 18 pieces, 1907-1909

Series XLV: Statistics, blueprints (S b), 5 pieces, 1903-1906

Series XLVI: Trolley Equipment, paper/linen (TE), 13 pieces, 1912-1920

Series XLVII: Trolley Equipment, blueprints (TE b), 6 pieces, 1910

Series XLVIII: Trolley Lines paper/linen (TL), 30 pieces, 1909-1927

Series XLIX: Trolley Lines, blueprints (TL b), 7 pieces, 1910-1930

Series L: Steam plant financial records, 3 volumes, 1928-1955

Custodial History

Custody of most of the collection remained with the Montana Power Company until donation to the archives.

Acquisition Information

Financial records came from an unknown donor in 1986. The maps and blueprints were a gift of Montana Power Company, 1996.

Processing Note

The collection was processed for the first time in 1997. The materials were in gross disarray on arrival. Processors assigned numbers, divided materials into series, and produced a finding aid. The finding aid was encoded in 2003.

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Detailed Description of the Collection

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Subject Terms

  • Dams--Montana--Designs and plans
  • Electric utilities--Montana
  • Power resources--Montana
  • Rivers--Montana--Maps
  • Street-railroads--Montana -- Missoula
  • Transportation--Montana
  • Water-power--Montana

Corporate Names

  • Clark-Missoula Power Company
  • Clark-Montana Realty Company
  • Helena Power Transmission Company
  • Missoula Light and Water Company
  • Missoula Public Service Company
  • Missoula Street Railway Company

Geographical Names

  • Bitterroot River Valley (Mont.)
  • Bonner (Mont.)
  • Missoula (Mont.)

Form or Genre Terms

  • Architectural drawings--Montana
  • Blueprints--Montana
  • Drawings--Montana
  • Financial records--Montana
  • Maps--Montana
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