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Reinig Company records, 1865-1948

Overview of the Collection

Creator
Reinig Company (Helena, Mont.)
Title
Reinig Company records
Dates
1865-1948 (inclusive)
Quantity
8.0 linear feet
Collection Number
MC 223
Summary
The Reinig Company, a Helena, Montana, coffee store and general grocery, was founded by Michael Reinig, a Bavarian emigre in 1865. Reinig also owned a stable, boarding house, and a saloon. The Company operated until 1958. This collection (1865-1948) consists of financial and legal records for the various businesses owned by the Reinig family. Subgroups include M. Reinig / Reinig Company (1874-1943); Brooklyn Bridge Mining and Milling Co. (1907-1909); Ehrenberg and Staff / Ehrenberg and Reinig / Montana Cycle Co.(1894-1896); Harmonia Gesang Verein (1873-1877); Helena Cab Co. / Merchants Delivery (1908-1923); and various family members.
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 open for research.

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

Michael Reinig, founder of the Reinig Company, was born in Deidesheim, Bavaria, on March 31, 1835, the son of Jacob and Frances Reinig. He learned the baker's trade in his home town and then as a young man left for New York, where he joined an expedition heading for California by way of Havana and the Isthmus of Panama. From California, Reinig traveled to Oregon and Washington. In 1865 he left The Dalles, Oregon, and traveled to Helena, Montana Territory, by way of Spokane and Deer Lodge. He almost immediately went to work for the San Francisco Bakery on State Street and a few months later bought the business. He gradually expanded the operation to include a boarding house and a grocery on the corner of State and Joliet Streets, and eventually added a stable on Warren Street, a coffee business, and a saloon in East Helena. In 1904 Michael decided to take a trip to visit his birthplace in Germany. As part of his preparations he incorporated as the Reinig Company. Management of the company was given to William C. Bardon, who also continued to operate the company after Reinig's death. The store ceased business c. 1958.

In 1869, Michael Reinig married Matilda, a Norwegian native who had come to the United States at age three and had moved to Helena in 1868. They had a son Charles N. Reinig (born 1871) and a daughter Anna (born 1873). Michael was a Mason and was active with the Harmonia Gesang Verein, a German club in Helena. Michael Reinig died September 19, 1909, and Matilda Reinig died June 23, 1934.

Their son Charles N. Reinig was born March 22, 1871. He studied dentistry in Pennsylvania and then practiced in Latin America for several years. He returned to Helena in the mid-1890s and became a partner with Gus Ehrenberg in the Montana Cycle Company and clerked in his father's store until 1900 when he moved to Seattle. After Michael Reinig's death Charles N. Reinig served as president of the company until 1935, but continued to reside in Seattle. He died September 29, 1958, in Winslow, Washington.

William C. Bardon was born in Florrisant, Missouri, June 2, 1870. He moved to Helena in 1889 and went to work as a delivery boy for the Reinig grocery. He gradually rose in the business until he took over management of the store in 1900. He continued to serve as vice-president and manager after Mike Reinig's death in 1909. He became president after Charles N. Reinig resigned in 1935. Bardon, along with other Helena merchants, formed the Merchants Delivery Company as a cooperative arrangement to share delivery services. On September 11, 1907, William married Anna, daughter of Michael and Matilda Reinig. William Bardon died January 24, 1955, and less than four months later his wife Anna died on May 17, 1955.

William Eicke was born in Leibnau, Hanover, Germany in 1828. At the age of 18 he moved to Baltimore, Maryland, and worked as a baker. There he married and had one son. In the Civil War he refused to join the Confederate forces and was imprisoned in Richmond. He bribed his way out and left for California. Leaving his wife and infant son there he joined Michael Reinig at The Dalles, Oregon, and later in Helena. In California his wife heard that he had been killed by Indians at The Dalles and remarried. Eicke worked for the Reinig store and lived with the Reinigs for forty years. He died June 1, 1911.

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Content Description

This collection contains subgroups for various businesses owned by the Reinig Family and for various family members and associates.

M. Reinig / Reinig Company grocery business records include general correspondence (1890-1943); financial records (1870-1948), including account ledgers, cash books, invoices, trial balances, etc.; legal documents (1879-1890); a subject file (1934-1935) concerning New Deal coffee codes; miscellany (1900-1913, undated), including architect's drawings and specifications for the store, membership lists for the Helena Retail Merchants' Exchange, etc.; and a clipping (1935) about the history of the store.

Brooklyn Bridge Mining and Milling Company records include general correspondence (1908) of John Kreuger about refinancing of the company; legal documents (1909); and organizational materials (1907-1908), including stockholder lists.

Ehrenberg and Staff / Ehrenberg and Reinig / Montana Cycle Company records include incoming correspondence (1894-1895) with bicycle manufacturers and suppliers, and financial records (1894-1896) consisting mostly of invoices.

Harmonia Gesang Verein records consist of financial records (1873-1877).

Helena Cab Company / Merchants Delivery Company records consist of general correspondence (1909-1917) including answers to a questionnaire about the delivery service from merchants in Champaign, Illinois; financial records (1911-1924); legal documents (1908-1914); and organizational records (1909-1923).

Michael Reinig's personal papers consist of incoming correspondence (1892-1908) mostly about his orchard property near San Diego, California; financial records (1893-1909); legal documents (1873-1906); and miscellany (1895-1909).

In addition there are small subgroups of papers for Charles N. Reinig, Matilida Reinig, William Reinig, Anna Reinig Bardon, William C. Bardon, and William Eicke. [OVERSIZE MATERIAL: map case]

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Use of the Collection

Restrictions on Use

Researchers must use collection in accordance with the policies of the Montana Historical Society Library & Archives. The Library & Archives does not necessarily hold copyright to all materials in the collection. In some cases permission for use may require additional authorization from the copyright owners. For more information contact an archivist.

Preferred Citation

Item description and date. Collection Title. Collection Number. Box and Folder numbers. Montana Historical Society Library & Archives. Helena, Montana.

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Administrative Information

Arrangement

Arranged by subgroup and series. Some material housed in Archives Map Case, Manuscript Volumes, and in Oversize Box 13. See inventory below for more information.

Location of Collection

12:4-7

Location of Collection

146:1-5 (volumes)

Location of Collection

5:5-5 (box 13)

Acquisition Information

Acquisition information available upon request.

Separated Materials

Photographs separated to Photo Archives. Artifacts separated to Museum. See inventory below for more information.

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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

Names and SubjectsReturn to Top

Subject Terms

  • Coffee trade
  • Dentistry
  • German Americans
  • Grocery trade
  • Mines and mineral resources--Montana--Lewis and Clark County
  • Stables

Corporate Names

  • Reinig Company (Helena, Mont.) (creator)

Geographical Names

  • Argenta (Mont.)
  • Argentina
  • Brazil
  • East Helena (Mont.)--Commerce
  • Helena (Mont.)--Commerce
  • Helena (Mont.)--Industries
  • Otay (Calif.)
  • San Diego (Calif.)

Finding aid prepared by MHS staff; Updated by Aaron Rau
2004; 2024

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

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