Archives West Finding Aid

Correspondence refers to incoming and outgoing letters written or collected by the Hart family. Both sets of letters have been arranged chronologically by decade. The earliest letters were created or collected by Anna Hart's grandparents, Julia and Hamilton L. Smith and include letters from Edwin L. Stanton, son of President Lincoln's secretary of war. Letters from the turn-of-the-century onwards relate to the Hart family in Montana. The Harts befriended and kept in touch with many of their visitors, including author E.B. White. Many of the outgoing and later letters refer to ranch business. The purchase of the American Fork Ranch generated most of the 1940s correspondence.

Documents have been separated according to document type and arranged alphabetically. Harry and Anna's autobiographical writings primarily discuss life on the ranch up to the early twentieth century. News clippings regarding the Smith and Hart families and their friends have been arranged in the Printed Materials Series and have been labeled for easy access.

Diaries have been arranged chronologically. Extended family member's journals are found at the beginning of the series. Harry and Anna Hart kept a daily record of the major events on the ranch. Entries are often brief but give a straightforward accounting. At times difficult to read, a typed copy of many of the diaries follows the originals in Boxes 5, 6, and 7.

Printed materials refers to published documents created and collected by the Hart family. Newspaper clippings have been separated according to subject and arranged alphabetically. The file of "Promotional Materials" contains printed materials created by the Harts for advertising purposes.

School Records have been separated according to creator and have been arranged alphabetically. Early nineteenth century documents were created by Anna Hart's grandparents. The mid-twentieth century records belonged to her grandson.

Ranch Records is a broad series which contains legal, financial and operational records from the Eureka and Dot S Dot ranches. Legal and financial documents have been separated according to function and have been arranged alphabetically in Box 10. Box 11 contains the general operational records of the ranch. The Guest Lists give a detailed accounting of who visited and worked the ranch each season.

Memorabilia refers to materials created and/or collected by the Hart family, and have been separated according to document type and are in alphabetical order. The Harts kept in touch with their visitors annually through their Christmas cards. The Queen's Royal pamphlet shows where Harry and Anna Hart spent their honeymoon.

Family photographs and ranch images pertaining to individual Hart family members, extended Hart family and friends, the operation of the Dot S Dot ranch, ranch guests, ranch promotion and advertising, and scenic views. Photographs are primarily black and white, have been arranged according to broad subject categories and, therefore, some overlap has been unavoidable. Photographs have been individually numbered #1-966. The Photo Albums in Box 13 depict life on the Dot S Dot and were probably used for promotional purposes. Negatives, postcards and slides follow the photographic prints. Negatives which have no corresponding prints are numbered 875 through 966 and have not been arranged according to subject. Negatives which have corresponding prints have been placed in the final folders of Box 17 and bear the same image number as their prints. Postcards are generally black and white photo-postcards. A few show the secondary schools where Anna Smith (Hart) and Hamilton L. Smith taught. Some show friends. Most were produced for the Dot S Dot for business purposes. The slides are color and primarily display the scenery surrounding the Hart's property.