In 1871, the first actual water system in Missoula, Montana, utilizing log pipes and wooden mains, began operating. In 1885, Worden and Company sold the water system to Missoula Water Works and Milling Company. The Missoula Mercantile bought the system in 1895 and renamed it the Missoula Water Company. In the early 1900s W.A. Clark purchased the Missoula Water Company which he combined with other holdings and in 1906 legally changed the name to the Missoula Light and Water Company. The Missoula Light and Water Company was purchased by the Montana Power Company in 1930.
This collection consists of twenty-six ledgers, dated 1895 through 1909, which document the financial history of the Missoula Water Company in Missoula, Montana. The ledgers include customer payment records, some daily reports, a stock journal, check registers, an equipment ledger, and three letterpress books of correspondence.
The collection is divided into two series
Series I: Financial Records, 3.5 linear feet, 1885–1909
Series II: Financial Correspondence, 0.5 linear feet, 1901–1906
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.
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.
[Name of document or photograph number], Missoula Light and Water Company Records, Archives and Special Collections, Maureen and Mike Mansfield Library, The University of Montana--Missoula.
Mountain Water Company donated this collection to the Historical Museum at Fort Missoula in 1983. The Museum transferred some portions to the K. Ross Toole Archives in 1998 and the remainder in 2003.
Donated by the Historical Museum of Fort Missoula in 1998 and 2003
Processing combined two accessions of materials created by the same organization.
This collection is indexed under the following headings in the online catalog. Researchers desiring materials about related topics, persons, or places should search the catalog using these headings.
This series consists of 23 bound volumes of customer ledgers, cashbooks, daily reports, check registers, a stock journal, records of material sales, and an equipment ledger.
This series contains three letterpress books consisting of financial correspondence to customers and business partners.