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William Leonard Albrecht Papers, 1880-1968

Overview of the Collection

Creator
Albrecht, William Leonard, 1863-1935
Title
William Leonard Albrecht Papers
Dates
1880-1968 (inclusive)
Quantity
71.0 linear feet, (85 boxes, 3 oversize tubes, and 127 oversize volumes)
Collection Number
Mss 050
Summary
This collection contains correspondence, financial, legal, organizational, promotional, and photographic records generated or collected by William Leonard Albrecht with particular emphasis on the Albrecht Furniture Company, the first and one of the most distinguished furniture stores in Great Falls, Montana.
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, German
Sponsor
Funding for preparing 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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Biographical Note

William Leonard Albrecht was born in 1863 in Rothenburg, Germany, the son of Frederick A. and Sophia (Schmidt) Albrecht. He emigrated to the United States in 1882 and began working in Detroit, Michigan, as a bookkeeper. After six months there, he moved on to Minneapolis, where he worked for a firm that manufactured billiard tables and bank furniture. He left that firm and traveled throughout the Northwest looking for a location to start a business. In 1886 he arrived in Great Falls, Montana, where he opened the city's first furniture store.

In 1887, he built the brick building that would house the store for the next eighty-one years. Albrecht's Furniture sold a whole variety of furnishings for the home. The store often struggled with varying financial conditions, but stayed in business at 111 Central Avenue East until 1968.

Albrecht was active in other business concerns as well. He was a director, vice president, and president of the Gold Black Sand Mining Company, which was headquartered in Great Falls. He was also active in the German-American community, and was a member of the Sons of Hermann (which published the Montana Herold, a German newspaper, out of Great Falls from 1892 to 1898) and the German Lodge of Great Falls. He was a minor stockholder in the Cascade and Bitter Root Lumber Company.

Albrecht married Wilhelmine Loeffler in Chicago in 1894. They had three children: William Jr., Helmuth, and Elsie. William Sr. died in 1935; William Jr. owned and managed the store until its closure in 1968; he died in 1975.

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Content Description

This collection contains correspondence, financial, legal, organizational, promotional, and photographic records generated or collected by William Leonard Albrecht with particular emphasis on the Albrecht Furniture Company, the first and one of the most distinguished furniture stores in Great Falls, Montana. Collection materials also include limited records from some of the Albrecht family's other investments, the Gold Black Sand Mining Company, the Montana Herold Publishing Company, and the Cascade and Bitter Root Lumber Company. This collection provides particular insights into the history and practices of home furnishing businesses in central Montana from the late 19th Century through the mid 20th century. Correspondence materials include personal exchanges with members of the extended Albrecht family. This correspondence, in conjunction with the Sons of Hermann materials, provides insights into German immigrant experiences and perspectives during Montana's pioneer-era. Additionally, collection materials document the challenges of establishing retail businesses in a rural state.

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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 or photograph number], William L. Albrecht Papers , Archives and Special Collections, The University of Montana-Missoula.

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Administrative Information

Arrangement

The collection is arranged in six series:

Series I: Albrecht Furniture Company

Subseries 1: Incoming Correspondence

Subseries 2: Interoffice Correspondence

Subseries 3: Outgoing Correspondence

Subseries 4: General Correspondence

Subseries 5: Financial Records

Subseries 6: Legal Documents

Subseries 7: Advertising and Organizational

Series II: Gold Black Sand Mining Company

Subseries 1: General Correspondence

Subseries 2: Legal and Organizational

Subseries 3: Clippings

Series III: Sons of Hermann, Bismarck Lodge No. 1

Subseries 1: Financial Records

Subseries 2: Montana Herold Publishing Company

Series IV: German Lodge, Great Falls

Series V: Cascade and Bitter Root Lumber Company

Series VI: Photographs

Custodial History

The records were held by the Albrecht family until time of donation.

Acquisition Information

Gift of Helmuth Albrecht and Elsa Albrecht, 1972.

Processing Note

The collection was originally processed in 1975. It appears that the order of the materials was largely maintained; books and photographs were separated. During 2004 reprocessing, the order was largely maintained. Photographs were intellectually reunited with the collection, and some photographs that had remained unprocessed were described.

Separated Materials

During original processing, German-language books were removed from the collection and placed in the Mansfield Library's general collection.

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Detailed Description of the Collection

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Subject Terms

  • Furniture industry and trade--Montana--Great Falls
  • German Americans--Montana--Great Falls
  • German Americans--Montana--Great Falls--Societies, etc.
  • German American newspapers--Montana--Great Falls
  • Lumber trade--Montana--Great Falls
  • Mining corporations--Montana--Great Falls
  • Newspaper publishing--Montana--Great Falls

Form or Genre Terms

  • Business records--Montana--Great Falls

Occupations

  • Businessmen--Montana--Great Falls

Titles within the Collection

  • Montana Herold

Other Creators

  • Corporate Names

    • Albrecht Furniture Company (Great Falls, Mont.)
    • Cascade and Bitter Root Lumber Company
    • German Lodge (Great Falls, Mont.)
    • Gold Black Sand Mining Company
    • Order of the Sons of Hermann
    • Montana Herold Publishing Company

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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