Archives West Finding Aid

This collection contains records from the various Divisions, Bureaus, and Boards/Commissions of the Department of Livestock. The Department of Livestock records were integrated under one collection number to help facilitate access and reduce redundancy in the MTHS catalog.

To learn more detail about the records in each subgroup, please click on the links below in the arrangement section to be redirected to those finding aids.

Subgroup 1: Animal Health and Food Safety Division

This subgroup (1974-1982) consists of records from the Animal Health and Food Safety Division (formerly named Animal Health Division). It includes general correspondence, interoffice correspondence, miscellany and clippings. The correspondence is arranged by the bureau that wrote or received the correspondence, including the administration, Animal Health Division, Diagnostic Laboratory Bureau, Disease Control Bureau, the Milk and Egg Bureau, and the staff attorney. Correspondence addresses brucellosis, leptospirosis, pseudorabies, and various other diseases affecting livestock.

Subgroup 2: Brands Enforcement Division

This subgroup (1887-1985) consists of records from the Brands Enforcement Division, including general correspondence (primarily concerning cattle shipments, law enforcement, brand registration, legislation, and relations with other states' law enforcement and livestock agencies and local Stockgrowers associations), case files (concerning cattle theft, marketing issues, and fee collection), financial records, scattered minutes, reports (including annual and monthly reports), and miscellaneous (including lists of brands, brand inspectors, and lost/stolen cattle from various regions).

Subgroup 3: Centralized Services Division, Milk Control Program

This subgroup (1935-1983) consists solely of records from the sub-subgroup, Milk Control Program (formerly named Milk Control Bureau), which operates within Centralized Services. It includes correspondence, court records, financial records, maps, minutes, press releases, printed materials, reports, speeches and writings, miscellany and, primarily, hearing dockets. Most of the hearing dockets pertain to market pricing.

Subgroup 4: Board of Livestock

This subgroup (1889-1970) includes records from the Board of Livestock (formerly named Livestock Commission). Records consist primarily of bounty certificate registers and a bounty claim list. In addition, there are numerous financial volumes, including cash books, journals, ledgers, warrant registers, salaries and expenses, and egg seals cash receipts.

Subgroup 5: Board of Sheep Commissioners

This subgroup (1900-1902) consists of records from the Board of Sheep Commissioners (defunct), including general correspondence, which discusses appointments of inspectors, quarantines, meetings, and the National Wool Growers Association, along with reports of county sheep commissioners and miscellany, which contains lists of sheep ranchers in various Montana counties.

Subgroup 6: Montana Livestock Sanitary Board

This subgroup (1907-1967) consists of records from the Montana Livestock Sanitary Board (defunct). Records include correspondence, financial records, legal documents, legislative materials, minutes, press releases, annual reports, weekly field reports, correspondence pertaining to the Foot-and-Mouth disease epidemic in 1914-1915, and records documenting the Tuberculosis Control Program during the 1930s.

Subgroup 7: Montana Stallion Registration Board

This subgroup (1909-1944) consists of records from the Montana Stallion Registration Board (defunct), including financial records, minutes, miscellany (including sample licenses and an employee surety bond), and blank stationery.