Archives West Finding Aid
Table of Contents
Seaton Ranch Company Records, 1917-1970
Overview of the Collection
- Creator
- Seaton Ranch Company
- Title
- Seaton Ranch Company Records
- Dates
- 1917-1970 (inclusive)19171970
- Quantity
- 4 linear feet of shelf space
- Collection Number
- MC 157 (collection)
- Summary
- The Seaton Ranch Company was organized in Cascade County, Montana, in 1922 by Frank W. Seaton and Theodora E. Seaton, and operated from 1945 to 1965 by their son Edward W. Seaton, and from 1965 to 1970 by his widow Dorothy M. Seaton. Records include financial records (1944-1968), minute and record books (1922, 1942-1968); subject files, primarily concerning the Production Credit Association from 1952 to 1968; and miscellany. There is a small subgroup of records (1939-1960) of The Sanitary Cleaners, in Great Falls.
- Repository
-
Montana Historical Society, Library & Archives
Montana Historical Society Research Center Archives
225 North Roberts
PO Box 201201
Helena MT
59620-1201
Telephone: 4064442681
Fax: 4064445297
mhslibrary@mt.gov - Access Restrictions
-
Collection open for research.
- Languages
- English
- Sponsor
- Funding for encoding this finding aid was provided through a grant awarded by the National Endowment for the Humanities.
Historical NoteReturn to Top
Frank W. Seaton and his family moved from McCune (Macoun), Saskatchewan, Canada, to the Cascade-Fort Shaw, Montana, area in 1910. The Seaton Ranch Company, originally organized as a sheep business, was incorporated on July 27, 1922, by F.W. Seaton, his wife Theodora Seaton, and Ralph E. Bancroft.
Following the death of F.W. Seaton in November 1945, his oldest son, Edward W. Seaton, was chosen as company president. In 1965 the firm owned a herd of more than 30,000 sheep and held interests in wheat and cattle. The company possessed property not only in Cascade County, but also in Browning, Montana. In the 1960s the company was involved in a court case with Browning over the proposed location of the municipal sewage system adjacent to Seaton Ranch Company land.
Ed Seaton, who resided with his family in Fort Shaw, served for several years as a school trustee for that town and for Simms and was a Republican candidate for the Montana House of Representatives in 1960. Seaton died of a heart attack on December 29, 1965.
Dorothy M. Seaton, Edward's wife, was also an officer of the Seaton Ranch Company, serving as vice president, secretary, and, in 1966, following her husband's death, president. At that time Harold A. Johnson, an accountant, became the company's secretary and Robert W. Gronberg was elected vice president. The Seaton Ranch Company remained in operation until 1968 when the ranch holdings were sold to the local Hutterite Colony.
Harold A. Johnson was also an accountant for The Sanitary Cleaners of Great Falls which was owned by William J. Burlingame.
Content DescriptionReturn to Top
This collection contains financial records of the Seaton Ranch Company, including annual statements, ledgers, journals, timebooks, etc. Two volumes of organizational materials, including minutes, by-laws, and articles of incorporation, detail some of the company's operational activities. The subject files have been maintained in original order as received from the donor. These materials deal primarily with financial matters. The Miscellaneous subgroup in the collection contains two financial volumes for The Sanitary Cleaners and bank statements for the Simms Women's Society of Christian Service.
Use of the CollectionReturn to Top
Restrictions on Use
Researchers must use collection in accordance with the policies of the Montana Historical Society. The Society does not necessarily hold copyright to all materials in the collection. In some cases permission for use may require additional authorization from the copyright owners. For more information contact an archivist.
Preferred Citation
Item description and date. Collection Title. Collection Number. Box and Folder numbers. Montana Historical Society Research Center, Archives, Helena, Montana.
Administrative InformationReturn to Top
Arrangement
Arranged by series. Some material housed in Manuscript Volumes. Some material housed in Archives Map Case. See inventory below for more information.
Detailed Description of the CollectionReturn to Top
The following section contains a detailed listing of the materials in the collection
Seaton Ranch Company Return to Top
| Container(s) | Description | Dates |
|---|---|---|
Court Papers |
||
| Box/Folder | ||
| 1 / 1 | Seaton Ranch Company v. Montana Vegetable Oil and
Seed Company |
1951 |
Financial Records |
||
| Box/Folder | ||
| 1 / 2-4 | Annual financial statements |
1944-1968 |
| 1 / 5 | Bank statements: Dorothy M. Seaton, Citizens State
Bank (Choteau) |
1967-1968 |
| 1 / 6 | Bank statements: Ed and Dorothy M. Seaton, Montana
Bank (Great Falls) |
1965-1966 |
| 1 / 7 | Bank statements: Seaton Ranch Company, Citizens
State Bank (Choteau) |
1967-1968 |
| 2 / 1-5 | Bank statements: Seaton Ranch Company, Stockmans
Bank (Cascade) |
1963-1967 |
| 2 / 6 | Bills, receipts, etc. |
1952-1969 |
| 2 / 7 | General ledger sheets: assets and liabilities |
1944-1968 |
| 2 / 8 | General ledger sheets: capital, sales, and
purchases |
1944-1968 |
| 2 / 9 | General ledger sheets: expenses (1) |
1944-1968 |
| 3 / 1 | General ledger sheets: expenses (2) |
1944-1968 |
| Volume | ||
| 1 | Journal |
1949-1954 |
| 2 | Journal |
1954-1962 |
| 3 | Journal |
1962-1968 |
| Box/Folder | ||
| 3 / 2-3 | Time books |
1950-1965 |
| 3 / 4 | Wages, Social Security, labor supply expenses |
1954-1968 |
Legal Documents |
||
| Box/Folder | ||
| 3 / 5 | Indentures with the Holter Company |
1917, 1941 |
| 3 / 6 | Sheep contract, farm rental contract, chattel
mortgage |
1954-1963 |
Organizational Records |
||
| Box/Folder | ||
| 3 / 7 | Record book (includes articles of incorporation,
bylaws, minutes of stockholder meetings) |
1922, 1942-1962 |
| 4 / 1 | Record book (includes articles of incorporation,
bylaws, minutes of stockholder meetings) |
1963-1968 |
Subject Files |
||
| Box/Folder | ||
| 4 / 2 | Anthony-Conrad Land |
1929, 1958-1963 |
| 4 / 3 | Browning Lagoon (Browning v. Seaton Ranch Company) |
1961-1965 |
| Oversize Folder | ||
| MC 122-157 | Browning Lagoon (Browning v. Seaton Ranch Company)
[Map Case See Folder MC 122-157] |
1961-1965 |
| Box/Folder | ||
| 4 / 4 | Browning Sewage System - Frisbee and Moore
(attorneys) |
1963-1965 |
| 4 / 5 | Graham Bertsche Contract |
1958-1960 |
| 4 / 6 | Phil Burgess |
1958-1962 |
| 4 / 7 | Estate letters, sales of land, Harold Johnson (CPA) |
1963-1968 |
| 4 / 8 | Federal Land Bank |
1963-1969 |
| 4 / 9 | Gasoline Refund Claim |
1960-1968 |
| 4 / 10 | Harold A. Johnson (CPA) |
1945-1962 |
| 4 / 11 | Old Land Bank papers |
1943-1964 |
| 4 / 12 | Lease bonds |
1952-1966 |
| 4 / 13 | State lease |
1959-1964 |
| 4 / 14 | Montana Mineral and Feed Corporation |
1962-1964 |
| 5 / 1-16 | Production Credit Association papers |
1952-1968 |
| 6 / 1 | Land papers |
1942, 1961-1962 |
| 6 / 2 | Seaton Ranch Company by-laws |
1922, 1957 |
| 6 / 3 | Ray Snider |
1957 |
| 6 / 4 | Social Security records |
1951-1968 |
| 6 / 5 | Taxes: Federal Use Tax for the Mack truck RESTRICTED
|
1960-1966 |
| 6 / 6 | Taxes: income taxes RESTRICTED
|
1960-1968 |
| 6 / 7 | Taxes: personal income taxes (Edward, Dorothy, and
Tim Seaton) RESTRICTED
|
1963-1970 |
| 6 / 8 | Taxes: state corporation taxes RESTRICTED
|
1960-1968 |
| 6 / 9 | John Weathered |
1957-1963 |
| 6 / 10 | Accounting of livestock numbers |
1959 |
| 6 / 11 | Moving inventory, etc. |
1973, undated |
| 6 / 12 | Seaton Ranch Company plat of ranch buildings |
undated |
Miscellaneous Subgroup Return to Top
| Container(s) | Description | Dates |
|---|---|---|
Financial Records |
||
| Box/Folder | ||
| 6 / 13 | Sanitary Cleaners: general ledger |
1939-1960 |
| 6 / 14 | Sanitary Cleaners: journal |
1954-1959 |
| 6 / 15 | Simms Women's Society of Christian Service: bank
statements, Montana Bank (Great Falls) |
1968-1969 |
Names and SubjectsReturn to Top
Subject Terms
- Laundries
- Ranches
Corporate Names
- Seaton Ranch Company (creator)
Geographical Names
- Browning (Mont.)
- Cascade County (Mont.)
- Great Falls (Mont.)-Commerce
Finding aid prepared by MHS
2004
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
