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Peter J. Meloy papers, 1892-1927

Overview of the Collection

Creator
Meloy, Peter J., 1869-1953
Title
Peter J. Meloy papers
Dates
1892-1927 (inclusive)
Quantity
1.0 linear foot of shelf space
Collection Number
MC 142 (collection)
Summary
Peter J. Meloy (1869-1953) was a Townsend, Montana, businessman and one of the founders of Broadwater County. Papers (1892-1927) include business and personal papers, including correspondence; records of his retail lumber business; files on the Grayson Creek Ranch and swine breeding; and a Broadwater County non-resident tax roll (1919).
Repository
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

Collection is open for research

Languages
English
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Biographical Note

Peter J. Meloy was born in Benton, Wisconsin, on June 25, 1869. He moved to Townsend, Montana, in 1893, and bought A. E. Spriggs' interest in J. C. Stuart & Co., a retail lumber and coal business. Meloy and Spriggs became close friends and worked together to create Broadwater County from portions of the existing Meagher and Jefferson Counties in 1895. Meloy was active in local politics. He served as the Townsend postmaster in 1914, county treasurer in 1915, and was a member of the board of county commissioners from 1932 to 1938. He also served as agent for the Montana State Cooperative Extension Service and promoted the federal government's seed loan program.

Meloy became an influential Townsend businessman. In addition to the lumberyard, he was an investor in the Townsend Realty and Investment Company. He owned and operated Grayson Creek Ranch, a dryland farm, and raised China-Poland swine, which he marketed throughout the state. He was forced to sell the ranch during the drought of the 1920s, but later re-established it. Meloy was also associated with the Auditorium Co., the Townsend opera-vaudeville house.

In 1901 Meloy married Carrie Sherlock Season, a member of a Crow Creek Valley pioneer family. They raised three daughters and two sons. In 1949 Meloy retired and he and his wife moved to Helena. He died there on January 18, 1953.

The Grayson Creek Ranch Company was incorporated on May 4, 1910, by Peter J. Meloy, C. A. Whipple, John M. Kivlahan, and others to do a general livestock business, acquire water rights, construct ditches, and other purposes. The ranch was located about 5 miles up Grayson Creek, southeast of Townsend, Montana. By 1930, P. H. Murphy had become president of the company, with Carrie A. Meloy as vice president, and Peter J. Meloy as secretary-treasurer. The company's charter expired later that year.

In December 1930, Peter J. and Carrie Meloy, their two sons Henry J. and Peter G., and Christina Kivlahan, widow of founder John Kivlahan, formed a new Grayson Creek Ranch Company. For the next 18 years Carrie Meloy served as president, Peter G. Meloy as vice president, and Peter J. Meloy as secretary-treasurer. The company voluntarily dissolved on June 17, 1949.

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Content Description

Papers consist of general correspondence (1906-1923), primarily reflecting his business and public service activities, though there are also some letters dealing with Meloy's personal life; and miscellaneous correspondence (1927). The collection also contains court papers (1916); financial records (1892-1923, undated) of his personal and business interests; legal documents (1897-1922); subject files (1906-1923); and miscellany (1903-1922, undated).

Records of the Grayson Creek Ranch Company include a three journals (1915-1921, 1946-1946), two general ledgers (1910-1912, 1936-1946), miscellaneous financial items, a report on Missouri Valley water resources, cattle and pig records (1903-1921), and a weather log (1936-1947).

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Use of the Collection

Restrictions on Use

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.

Preferred Citation

Item description and date. Name of Collection. Collection Number. Box and folder number. Montana Historical Society Research Center. Archives. Helena, Montana.

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Administrative Information

Arrangement

Arranged by subgroup and series. Some material housed in Manuscript Volumes. See inventory below for more information.

Location of Collection

7:2-3

Acquisition Information

Acquisition information available upon request

Processing Note

Processed in 1981; reprocessed in 2009 with additional material added

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Detailed Description of the Collection

Detailed Description of the Collection

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

  • Peter J. Meloy

    • General Correspondence

      • Description: Chronological (correspondents include U.S. General Land Office; Ashton State Bank; Central Door and Lumber Company; Capital Lumber Company; Big Blackfoot Milling Company; H. D. Meloy; Montana State Fair; Elmer Lytle; A. E. Spriggs; Walter H. Little; West Side Meat Company; Helena Packing and Provision Company; Catlin Land and Live Stock Company; Mamie McRae; M.E. Dougherty; Ole Eggen; J. M. Flint; W. H. Brooking; T.P. Sherlock; Jacob Mitchell; Hill Lumber Company; Plant Rubber Company; Park County Hardware Company)
        Dates: 1906 July - 1907 May
        Container: Box/Folder 1 / 1
        Location: Peter J. Meloy / General Correspondence
      • Description: Chronological (correspondents include A. L. Undine; Robert Burke; West Side Meat Company; Flint-Lynn Lumber Company; Big Blackfoot Milling Company; Helena Sanitary House Cleaning Company; Herman Berg; Roy and Roy Milling Company; W. H. Brooking; R. N. Sutherlin; East Side Meat Market; W. A. Umbarger; W.R. Stevens; U. S. General Land Office; Capital Lumber Company; Ben LaMott; Lutey Brothers; F. B. Linfield; C.H. Eaton)
        Dates: 1907 June-September
        Container: Box/Folder 1 / 2
        Location: Peter J. Meloy / General Correspondence
      • Description: Chronological (correspondents include Thomas B. Quaw and Company; East Side Meat Market; Broadwater County Clerk and Recorder; W. P. George; A. E. Spriggs; Lutey Brothers; Helena Meat Company; Basin Hardware and Mercantile Company; Big Blackfoot Milling Company; Ed Kelly; W. H. Brooking)
        Dates: 1907 October-December
        Container: Box/Folder 1 / 3
        Location: Peter J. Meloy / General Correspondence
      • Description: Chronological (correspondents include A. E. Spriggs; Big Blackfoot Milling Company; T. H. Kivlahan; H. D. Meloy; Montana Industrial Accident Board; A. B. Cook; J. C. Meese and Sons, swine breeders; American Poland-China Record; Big Ox Herd of Poland China Swine; Henry Dorr; National Swine Show; U.S. Post Office Department)
        Dates: 1908-1919
        Container: Box/Folder 1 / 4
        Location: Peter J. Meloy / General Correspondence
      • Description: Chronological (correspondents include American Poland-China Record; Montana Industrial Accident Board; West End Chemical Company; Co-operative Extension Service; U. S. Dept. of Agriculture Seed Loan Office; Postal Life Insurance Company; George W. Macartney; Otto Quast; Gans and Klein Company; U.S. Forest Service; J. R. Wine; Herbert A.B. Brady; Allen C. Mason; Ed Kelly; A. E. Spriggs)
        Dates: 1908-1919
        Container: Box/Folder 1 / 5
        Location: Peter J. Meloy / General Correspondence

    • Miscellaneous Correspondence

    • Court Papers

      • Description: Peter J. Meloy v. R. A. Kerr, et al. decree
        Dates: 1916
        Container: Box/Folder 1 / 7
        Location: Peter J. Meloy / Court Papers

    • Financial Records

    • Legal Documents

    • Subject Files

    • Miscellany

      • Description: Gebo Oil Company promotional material
        Dates: undated
        Container: Box/Folder 1 / 24
        Location: Peter J. Meloy / Miscellany
      • Description: History of Father Nerinckx's mission
        Dates: undated
        Container: Box/Folder 1 / 25
        Location: Peter J. Meloy / Miscellany
      • Description: Broadwater County non-resident tax roll
        Dates: 1919
        Container: Box/Folder 1 / 26
        Location: Peter J. Meloy / Miscellany
      • Description: Scale reports
        Dates: 1907, 1915
        Container: Box/Folder 1 / 27
        Location: Peter J. Meloy / Miscellany
      • Description: Miscellaneous
        Dates: 1911, 1922, undated
        Container: Box/Folder 1 / 28
        Location: Peter J. Meloy / Miscellany

  • Grayson Creek Ranch Company

Names and SubjectsReturn to Top

Subject Terms

  • Ranches--Montana
  • Swine--Breeding
  • Lumber trade--Montana

Personal Names

  • Meloy, Peter J., 1869-1953 (creator)

Geographical Names

  • Broadwater County (Mont.)
  • Grayson Creek Ranch (Broadwater County, Mont.)
  • Townsend (Mont.)

Finding aid prepared by Steve Kozer, 1981; finding aid amended by Ellie Arguimbau 2009
1981, 2009

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

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