Winnecook Ranch Company Records, 1882-1999

Overview of the Collection

Creator
Winnecook Ranch Company.
Title
Winnecook Ranch Company Records
Dates
1882-1999 (inclusive)
Quantity
5.6 linear feet
Collection Number
2464
Summary
The Winnecook Ranch Records consist of correspondence and materials produced by ranch management, employees, and stockholders such as corporate documents, work logs, and financial records. Also included are a series of topical newspaper clippings, ranch photographs, materials related to a published manuscript dealing with ranch history, and documents related to the General Manager Elwyn Dole's Heart E Ranch. This series also contains a selection of photocopied letters from the Stillman Berry papers held by the A. K. Smiley Library of Redlands, California.
Repository
Montana State University Library, Merrill G. Burlingame Special Collections
Montana State University-Bozeman Library
Merrill G Burlingame Special Collections
P.O. Box 173320
Bozeman, MT
59717-3320
Telephone: 4069944242
Fax: 4069942851
Access Restrictions

This collection is open for research.

Languages
Sponsor
Funding for encoding this finding aid was provided by a grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities

Historical NoteReturn to Top

Winnecook Ranch was started by Ralph and Samuel Berry on the Musselshell River in 1880. Samuel immediately began putting up buildings to house them and Ralph's wife, Evie. In the meantime, Ralph traveled to Utah to purchase their first flock of Merino sheep. Two years later, Samuel sold his half of the venture which Ralph, in turn, traded to various resident ranch managers. In 1887, Evie gave birth to twin sons with only one, Samuel Stillman Berry, surviving. Stillman's frailty had his parents constantly worried about his well being and set their business plan around securing their family's financial future. With the organization of the Winnecook Land and Livestock Company in 1906, Berry's family ranch became a corporation and the family moved to Redlands, CA to protect Stillman's health. With the sudden death of Ralph Berry in 1911, Stillman assumed control of his father's majority stock holdings and took over the presidency of the company in 1917 while still following his academic career in malacology and botany. Stillman held this post until his death in 1984. At that time his shares were put into a trust called the Goodly Heritage Foundation and eventually divided between Stanford University, Redlands Community Hospital, and the A. K. Smiley Library of Redlands, California. In 1992, the Berry family's stake in the Winnecook was eliminated by the purchase of the stock by the Mormon Farm Management Company.

Content DescriptionReturn to Top

The Winnecook Ranch records consist of correspondence and materials produced by ranch management, employees, and stockholders such as corporate documents, work logs, and financial records. Correspondents include Samuel Stillman, Ralph Berry, and Evie Berry. Operations of the Winnecook Ranch Company are covered in correspondence and business materials. Also included are a series of topical newspaper clippings, ranch photographs, materials related to a published manuscript dealing with ranch history, and documents related to the General Manager Elwyn Dole's Heart E Ranch. This series also contains a selection of photocopied letters from the Stillman Berry papers held by the A. K. Smiley Library of Redlands, California, which should be credited by any researchers making use of this material. All files are arranged by subject and correlated by date where applicable.

Administrative InformationReturn to Top

Arrangement

Series 1: Correspondence, 1882-1999

Series 2: Financial and legal documents, 1896-1983

Series 3: Literary productions

Series 4: Elwyn Dole and the Heart E Ranch, 1916-1936

Acquisition Information

Corporate ranch records, personal correspondence, and other documents collected or created by the various entities involved with the Winnecook Ranch were donated to Montana State University Special Collections by Robert E. and Douglas A. Smith of Great Falls, Montana on October 30, 2004.

Processing Note

This collection was processed 2007 November 29

Detailed Description of the CollectionReturn to Top

1:  Correspondence, 1882-1999Return to Top

Personal and business material produced by the extended family of Ralph, Evie, and Stillman Berry. Included within this group are folders of correspondence between family members, officers and stockholders, and parties interested in ranch business. The files have been sorted in chronological order.

Container(s) Description Dates
Box Folder
1 1-20
1882-1919
2 1-11
1920-1930
3 1-9
1931-1939
4 1-25
1940-1999
4 26
Berry Family Correspondence (photocopies from Stillman Berry Collection, A.K. Smiley Library, Redlands, CA
1907-1939

2:  Financial and legal documents, 1896-1983Return to Top

Financial and legal documents produced by the Berry family and management of the Winnecook Ranch. Included within this group are General Manager's reports, working capitol and real estate documentation, and financial statements.

Container(s) Description Dates
Box Folder
5 1
Winnecook By-Laws
5 2
Ralph Berry Journal
5 3
Stillman Berry Wool Diary
1920-1922
5 4
General Manager Reports
1920-1921
5 5
General Manager Notes
1920-1929
5 6
Elwyn Dole Diary
1920-1924
5 7
Work Reports
1923-1926
5 8
R.A. Martin Tally Book
1936-1946
6 1
Water Rights
6 2
Labor
6 3
Real Estate
6 4
Mercantile Goods
6 5
Mercantile Goods
6 6
Regional Agricultural Credit Corporation Loan Information
6 7
Automobile Insurance
6 8
Employee Insurance
6 9
Livestock Insurance
6 10
Real Estate Insurance
6 11
Ranch Development
6 12
Officers' Expenses
1972-1985
7 1
Winnecook Annual Statement (incomplete)
1912-1929
7 2-4
Annual Meeting Minutes
1971-1991
7 5
Stockholder Ledger
7 6
Winnecook Stockholders
7 7
Winnecook Inventory
1929-1930
7 8
Winnecook Accounting
1906-1908
8 1
Winnecook Land Appraisal
1921
8 2
Winnecook Property Assessments (incomplete)
1907-1983
8 3
Wheatland County Tax Receipts (incomplete)
1917-1983
8 4
Montana Corporation Tax 1 (incomplete)
1918-1936
8 5
Miscellaneous Tax Receipts
8 6
Income Tax Returns
1969-1983
9 1
Anderson-Zurmuehlen
1963-1985
9 2
Atwell-Fowler
10 1
Financial Reports
1906-1932
10 2-5
Financial Reports
1986-1992
10 6
Check Register
1929-1945
10 7
Balance Sheets (incomplete)
1918-1942
10 8-11
Balance Sheets
1953-1981
11 1
Check Stubs 1976-77
11 2
Check Stubs 2600-3298
11 3
Check Stubs 3300-3829
11 4
Check Stubs 4098-8104
12 1-8
Livestock Receipts
1897-1910
12 9
Wool Clip Weights
1906-1930
Volume
1
Volume 1: Voucher Book
1908-1918
2
Volume 2: Voucher Book
1918-1927
3
Volume 3: Voucher Book

3:  Literary productionsReturn to Top

Manuscript history of Winnecook Ranch, with related research notes and miscellaneous historical material. The history was written by Mary Dole Smith, Harold R. Hill, and Marcel "Dutch" Callant.

Container(s) Description
Box Folder
13 1
Winnecook Ranch History-final draft
13 2
Winnecook Ranch Documents
13 3
Photographs and Realia
13 4
Maps
13 5
Stillman Berry Interview
13 6
Newspaper Clippings
13 7
Montana Centennial Sites Documents
13 8
Winnecook Historical Items Inventory
13 9
Winnecook History Notes
13 10
Winnecook Manuscript Research Material
13 11
Manuscript Notes, general
14 1
Manuscript Notes, general
14 2
Manuscript Notes-Managers
14 3
Manuscript Notes-M.A. Callant
14 4
Manuscript Draft

4:  Elwyn Dole and the Heart E Ranch, 1916-1936Return to Top

Personal and business material produced or collected by the extended family of Elwyn Dole. Dole was an employee of the Winnecook Ranch Company who also briefly operated his own ranch, the Heart E, on nearby property. Documents include Dole's financial arrangements with Winnecook regarding the purchase and operation of the Heart E.

Container(s) Description Dates
Box Folder
14 5
Dole-Berry Trip through Glacier correspondence
1916
14 6-7
Elwyn Dole correspondence
1919-1936
14 8
Western Loan and Building Company
14 9
Wool Marketing
1934-1936
14 10
Regional Agricultural Credit Corporation
14 11
Miscellaneous business papers

Names and SubjectsReturn to Top

Subject Terms

  • Sheep ranches-Montana-Musselshell River Valley

Personal Names

  • Berry, Evie
  • Berry, Ralph, 1850-1911
  • Berry, S. Stillman-(Samuel Stillman), 1887-1984
  • Dole, Elwyn

Corporate Names

  • Winnecook Land and Livestock Company
  • Winnecook Ranch Company-Archives

Geographical Names

  • Heart E Ranch (Mont.)
  • Winnecook Ranch (Mont.)

Form or Genre Terms

  • Business records--Montana