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Collins Land Company Records, 1898-1951

Overview of the Collection

Creator
Collins Land Company (Helena, Mont.)
Title
Collins Land Company Records
Dates
1898-1951 (inclusive)
Quantity
45.5 linear feet, (81 archival boxes and 3 oversize volumes)
Collection Number
Mss 063
Summary
This collection contains correspondence, financial, legal, promotional, and organizational records generated by the Collins Land Company as well as government publications regarding federal public lands and business records from three other Collins family enterprises. The Collins Land Company was based in Helena, Montana, and bought and sold public lands.
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 creating this finding aid was provided through a grant awarded by the National Historic Publications and Records Commission. 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

Jeremiah Collins was born in Ireland in 1850 and came to America as a child. Orphaned at age twelve, he worked his way through public schools and Indiana State University in Terre Haute, from which he graduated in 1873. He went into journalism, working first for the Wabash News, then the Logansport Courier. He married Letta E. Fitzgerald in 1878; together, they went to Fort Benton, Montana Territory. In Fort Benton, he established the River Press, which he edited until 1887. He also established the Great Falls Tribune in 1885. In 1889, he withdrew from newspapering to write a history of Montana. After completing that project, he was appointed receiver of public money in the United States General Land Office.

In 1889, Collins established the Collins Land Company in Helena, Montana. The company dealt with public lands, and bought and sold land scrip and represented clients to the Department of the Interior with regard to public lands. This company was so successful that he opened an eastern branch office in Washington, DC, in 1901. The Collins Land Company was one of the largest land scrip dealers in the United States and continued in the business until 1957, when Congress discontinued the use of scrip.

Collins had two children: Lena Agnes and Ted E. He died in 1934 in Washington.

Ted E. Collins took over the Land Company after his father's death and operated it until his death in 1956. The company had expanded into the insurance business in 1910, and that portion of the business increased steadily as the land scrip business declined.

Margaret Chivers was president of the company when its corporate charter expired in 1974 and it ceased to conduct business.

The Collins Realty Company was incorporated in Helena in 1909. Its charter expired in 1929. The Collins Company was incorporated in 1906, and its charter expired in 1926. The Beartooth Stock Company was a livestock raising and agricultural development business headquartered in Helena, Montana.

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Content Description

This collection contains correspondence, financial, legal, promotional, and organizational records generated by the Collins Land Company as well as government publications regarding federal public lands and business records from three other Collins family enterprises. The Collins Land Company was based in Helena, Montana, and bought and sold public lands. Materials in this collection provide particular insights into the history, procedures, and economy of public land management and sale during the first half of the twentieth century.

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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 transferred to The University of Montana

Preferred Citation

[Name of document], Collins Land 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 eight series:

Series I: Correspondence, 12.5 linear feet, 1898-1938

Subseries 1: General Correspondence, 7 folders, 1898-1938

Subseries 2: Incoming Correspondence, 5.25 linear feet, 1900-1909

Subseries 3: Outgoing Correspondence, 6.25 linear feet, 1898-1909

Subseries 4: Interoffice Correspondence, 1.0 linear feet, 1901-1936

Series II: Case Files, 28.5 linear feet, 1907-1951

Subseries 1: Sequence 1, 7.5 linear feet

Subseries 2: Sequence 2, 9.0 linear feet

Subseries 3: Sequence 3, 11.5 linar feet

Subseries 4: Sequence 4, 0.5 linear feet

Series III: Legal and Financial, 1.5 linear feet adn 2 oversize volumes, 1900-1921

Series IV: Printed Materials, 1.0 linear foot, 1899-1951

Series V: Organization, 0.25 linear feet, 1899-1919

Series VI: Collins Realty Company, 0.5 linear feet, and 1 oversize volume, 1909-1920

Series VII: Collins Company, 0.25 linear feet, 1906-1920

Series VIII: Beartooth Stock Company, 0.25 linear feet, 1912-1939

Custodial History

The materials were largely in the possession of the Collins Land Company until time of donation.

Acquisition Information

Gift of Margaret Chivers, 1974; gift of Gary Williams, 1979; transferred from the Montana Historical Society, 1979.

Processing Note

During original processing, it appears that the order of the materials was maintained. During 2004 reprocessing, series and subseries were designated and collection materials were significantly re-described.

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Detailed Description of the Collection

Finding aid prepared by Jodi Allison-Bunnell and Jack Rowan
2004

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

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