Washington State University Libraries Manuscripts, Archives, and Special Collections
Guide to the Great Northern Railway
Company, Seattle General Agent Records
1900-1948
Cage
398
Table of Contents
Summary Information
- Repository
- Washington State University Libraries, Manuscripts, Archives, and Special Collections
- Creator
- Great Northern Railway Company, Seattle General Agent
- Title
- Great Northern Railway Company, Seattle General Agent Records
- ID
- Cage 398
- Date [inclusive]
- 1900-1948
- Extent
- 12 containers., 11.8 linear feet of shelf space., 18,000 items.
- Language
- Collection materials are in English.
- Abstract
- Correspondence, memoranda, rate schedules, Joint Freight Tarriffs, waybill corrections, lists of businesses, car locations, car movements, circulars, publicity, rate changes, building plans, and marketing information, principally from 1903 to 1923.
Preferred Citation
[Item Description]. Cage 398, Great Northern Railway Company, Seattle General Agent Records. Manuscripts, Archives, and Special Collections, Washington State University Libraries, Pullman, WA.
Biography/History
The Great Northern Railway had its beginnings in 1878 when James J. Hill and his associates purchased the St. Paul and Pacific Railroad; it was then reorganized and renamed the St. Paul, Minneapolis and Manitoba. In September of 1889, Hill organized the Great Northern Railway Company around the charter of the old Minneapolis and St. Cloud Railroad Company and leased the Manitoba for 999 years. The lease stayed in effect until November 1, 1907, when the Great Northern officially purchased the St. Paul, Minneapolis and Manitoba along with the Montana Central, Seattle and Montana, and many other subsidiary companies. In 1890, shortly after the incorporation of the Great Northern Railway, the directors of the Great Northern requested Hill to extend its lines westward from some suitable point in Montana to Puget Sound.
The discovery of Marias Pass by John F. Stevens in 1889 facilitated this extension which was completed in 1893. From that date until 1905, the General Agent operated out of the terminal buildings of the Seattle and Montana, a subsidiary company which had constructed the line eastward from Seattle to the Cascades. The construction of a new terminal was delayed by a long and bitter fight between the Great Northern and the Northern Pacific. In 1905, the new terminal was completed (along with a tunnel under Railroad Avenue) and housed both lines including the office of the General Agent of the Great Northern. The Burlington Northern was formed in 1970 by the merging of the Chicago, Burlington and Quincy, the Great Northern, the Northern Pacific, and the Spokane, Portland and Seattle railroads.
Arrangement
The records of the Seattle General Agent are divided into two series: Correspondence and Ledger. The Correspondence Series consists mainly of in-house communications from the main office in St. Paul, Minnesota, and from various freight agents along the line to the General Agent or his staff regarding movement of and rates on commondities shipped on the Railway. It consists of correspondence, memos, telegrams, rate schedules, Joint Freight Tariffs, waybill corrections, lists of businesses, car locations, car movements, circulars, publicity, rate changes, building plans, loading plans, meetings, some clippings, and information on the creating and exploiting of markets. The bulk of the Correspondence Series dates from 1903-1923.
The Ledger Series consists of one bound ledger which contains tariffs, joint tariffs, ammendments, lists of general agents, rules and regulations of the Great Northern and associated railroads and the Transcontinental Freight Bureau, an independent regulatory body which governed the freight charges of its twenty-six member railroads. Although the series is dated from 1903-1911, most of its material is from 1903.
The description on each archival folder is an abstract of a longer description on the original folder (which has been retained); in addition, the original filing number of the Great Northern's filing classification system appears on both the original folder and the archival folder, although not in this container list. This system has determined the order of each file, the logic of which may be more fully revealed through perusal of the files.
There are approximately 18,000 individual items in the first series; these items are grouped into 910 bundles of one or more items attached with a brass staple.
Administrative Information
Publication Information
Washington State University Libraries Manuscripts, Archives, and Special Collections © 2012
http://www.libraries.wsu.edu/masc/
Terrell Library
P.O. Box 645610
Pullman, WA, 99164-5610 USA
509-335-6691
mascref@wsu.edu
Restrictions on Access
This collection is open for research use.
Acquisition Information
The records of the Seattle General Agent of the Great Northern Railway were donated to the Washington State University Libraries by Bruce Stewart in November 1977 (77-64).
Names and Subjects
Corporate Name(s)
Creator(s) :
- Great Northern Railway Company (U.S.). General Agent --Archives
Personal Name(s)
Donor(s) :
- Stewart, Bruce. waps
Subject(s)
- Railroads -- Washington (State)--Seattle
- Railroad companies--Washington (State)--Seattle--Records and correspondence
- Transportation
Detailed Description of Collection
Series 1: Correspondence 1900-1948 |
||||
box | folder | |||
Laws 1905-1919 8 items. |
1 | 1 | ||
Lists (Customers) 1905-1921 46 items. |
1 | 2-7 | ||
Cars, American Trading Co. 1920-1921 1 item. |
1 | 8 | ||
Cars, Excessive Dimensions 1903-1917 1 item. |
1 | 9 | ||
Mining & Dump Cars 1906-1914 1 item. |
1 | 10 | ||
Flat Cars 1905-1916 2 items. |
1 | 11 | ||
Cars, Northern Pacific 1907-1910 1 item. |
1 | 12 | ||
Cars,Stokes Steel 1907-1914 1 item. |
1 | 13 | ||
Street Cars 1912-1913 1 item. |
1 | 14 | ||
Cars, Loading 1913 1 item. |
1 | 15 | ||
Cars, Logging Service 1916-1917 1 item. |
1 | 16 | ||
Cars, Stealing 1917-1918 1 item. |
1 | 17 | ||
Cars, Southern Pacific 1917 1 item. |
1 | 18 | ||
Cars, Double Loading 1917-1918 1 item. |
1 | 19 | ||
Cars, Rules 1918 1 item. |
1 | 20 | ||
Cars, Rates 1921 1 item. |
1 | 21 | ||
Divisions (Charged) 1904-1920 7 items. |
1 | 22-23 | ||
Tonnage 1906 1 item. |
1 | 24 | ||
Car Supply 1905-1907 4 items. |
1 | 25 | ||
Car Shortage 1906 2 items. |
1 | 26 | ||
Empty Cars 1906-1911 2 items. |
1 | 27 | ||
Car Delay 1907 1 item. |
2 | 28 | ||
Complaints 1907-1908 2 items. |
2 | 29 | ||
Car Supply 1907 2 items. |
2 | 30 | ||
Refrigerator Cars 1908-1910 1 item. |
2 | 31 | ||
Equipment for Loading Ship 1909 1 item. |
2 | 32 | ||
Union Tank Line Cars 1909 1 item. |
2 | 33 | ||
Car Supply 1909 2 items. |
2 | 34 | ||
Car Supply 1911-1911 3 items. |
2 | 35 | ||
Rates 1903-1909 11 items. |
2 | 36-46 | ||
Western Pine Manufacturer's Assn. 1907 1 item. |
2 | 47 | ||
B.C. Distillery Spur 1904-1907 1 item. |
2 | 48 | ||
Trans-Continental Rates (Changes) 1904-1907 1 item. |
2 | 49 | ||
Inspections 1903-1905 2 items. |
2 | 50 | ||
Inspections 1904-1909 2 items. |
2 | 51 | ||
Switching 1906-1907 2 items. |
2 | 52 | ||
Wharfage 1910-1913 1 item. |
2 | 53 | ||
Railroad Passes 1907-1908 1 item. |
2 | 54 | ||
Asiatic Imports 1905-1907 2 items. |
2 | 55 | ||
Coal & Briquettes (Utah) 1934-1937 4 items. |
2 | 56-59 | ||
Coke 1937-1941 5 items. |
2 | 60-61 | ||
I.C.C. Docket 1930-1937 27 items. |
2 | 62-63 | ||
Complaints 1932-1948 12 items. |
3 | 64-69 | ||
Kettle Valley Lines 1905-1906 1 item. |
3 | 70 | ||
Spokane International Railroad 1906 1 item. |
3 | 71 | ||
Chicago, Milwaukee & Puget Sound Railway 1910 1 item. |
3 | 72 | ||
Chicago Telephone Supply Co. 1909 1 item. |
3 | 73 | ||
Pacific Coast S.S. Co. 1904-1909 3 items. |
3 | 74 | ||
American Hawaiian S.S. Co. 1908-1912 2 items. |
3 | 75-76 | ||
Great Northern S.S. Co. 1911 1 item. |
3 | 77 | ||
Nipon Yusen Kaisha 1906 2 items. |
3 | 78 | ||
Boston S.S. Co. 1906 2 items. |
3 | 79 | ||
Trans-Continental Docket 1907-1914 1 item. |
3 | 80 | ||
Kosmos Line 1905-1919 1 item. |
3 | 81 | ||
Monthly Reports 1909 1 item. |
3 | 82 | ||
Frank Waterhouse & Co. 1909 1 item. |
3 | 83 | ||
Vancouver General Agent 1905-1906 1 item. |
3 | 84 | ||
Standard Oil Co. 1905-1907 1 item. |
3 | 85 | ||
Spokane General Agent 1905 1 item. |
3 | 86 | ||
Tariffs 1905-1920 10 items. |
3 | 87-89 | ||
Postings 1907-1908 2 items. |
3 | 90 | ||
Tariffs 1907-1914 4 items. |
4 | 91 | ||
Tariffs (Canada) 1909-1918 1 item. |
4 | 92 | ||
Tariff Distribution 1913-1914 1 item. |
4 | 93 | ||
Duty, Payment of 1914-1915 1 item. |
4 | 94 | ||
Tariffs 1915-1917 2 items. |
4 | 95-96 | ||
Concurrences in Canadian Tariffs 1915 1 item. |
4 | 97 | ||
Joint Tariffs 1906-1919 1 item. |
4 | 98 | ||
Bills 1902-1919 2 items. |
4 | 99 | ||
Distribution of Cars 1910-1911 1 item. |
4 | 100 | ||
Expense Accounts 1905-1919 3 items. |
4 | 101-103 | ||
Vouchers 1906 1 item. |
4 | 104 | ||
Telephone 1905-1918 25 items. |
4 | 105-107 | ||
Telegraph 1902-1918 3 items. |
4 | 108-110 | ||
Merchandise Cars 1908 1 item. |
4 | 111 | ||
Service 1906-1911 1 item. |
4 | 112 | ||
Washington State Railroad Commission 1905-1908 12 items. |
4 | 113-116 | ||
Interstate Commerce Commission 1906-1914 8 items. |
4 | 117-119 | ||
Embargoes 1916-1918 1 item. |
5 | 120 | ||
Lumber 1914-1917 1 item. |
5 | 121 | ||
Agricultural Implements 1905-1920 11 items. |
5 | 122-123 | ||
Alaska Engineering Commission 1915 1 item. |
5 | 124 | ||
Rate Basis 1907-1913 2 items. |
5 | 125 | ||
Bowers' Hotel 1911 1 item. |
5 | 126 | ||
Alum 1910-1916 1 item. |
5 | 127 | ||
Ammonia 1904-1914 3 items. |
5 | 128 | ||
Logs 1935-1938 1 item. |
5 | 129 | ||
Brattice Cloth 1902-1903 1 item. |
5 | 130 | ||
Brick 1905-1908 7 items. |
5 | 131 | ||
Cable 1909 1 item. |
5 | 132 | ||
Potash 1902-1906 1 item. |
5 | 133 | ||
Calendars, Almanacs 1906 1 item. |
5 | 134 | ||
Canned Goods 1905 1 item. |
5 | 135 | ||
Calcium Carbide 1907-1916 1 item. |
5 | 136 | ||
Calcium Cloride 1904-1915 1 item. |
5 | 137 | ||
Caskets 1911 1 item. |
5 | 138 | ||
Routing 1903-1915 2 items. |
5 | 139-140 | ||
Equalizing Rates 1906-1907 1 item. |
5 | 141 | ||
Routing 1906-1921 11 items. |
5 | 142-143 | ||
Celluloid 1910 2 items. |
5 | 144 | ||
Cement 1900-1913 7 items. |
5 | 145-147 | ||
Grain 1903-1906 3 items. |
5 | 148-149 | ||
Hay & Grain 1905-1906 1 item. |
5 | 150 | ||
Grain 1905-1909 9 items. |
5 | 151-157 | ||
Grain & Hay Rebates 1907-1908 1 item. |
5 | 158 | ||
Grain 1901-1930 10 items. |
6 | 159-166 | ||
Milling in Transit 1901-1907 6 items. |
6 | 167 | ||
Claims 1901-1908 1 item. |
6 | 168 | ||
Coal 1908-1911 6 items. |
6 | 169 | ||
Coke 1905-1907 6 items. |
6 | 170 | ||
Coffee 1909-1910 1 item. |
6 | 171 | ||
Conduits 1907-1911 2 items. |
6 | 172 | ||
Confectionary 1905 1 item. |
6 | 173 | ||
Refrigerator Material 1910 1 item. |
6 | 174 | ||
Copper 1904-1911 3 items. |
6 | 175 | ||
Cotton 1906-1909 5 items. |
6 | 176 | ||
Creosote 1903-1909 2 items. |
6 | 177 | ||
Crow's Nest Pass Coal Co. 1903-1907 1 item. |
6 | 178 | ||
Fruit 1905-1910 14 items. |
6 | 179-180 | ||
Reshipped Goods 1904-1906 1 item. |
6 | 181 | ||
Diversion of Shipments 1904-1909 4 items. |
6 | 182 | ||
Diversion of Cars 1906-1911 3 items. |
6 | 183 | ||
Drugs 1906 2 items. |
6 | 184 | ||
Buchu Gin 1907 1 item. |
6 | 185 | ||
Tariffs 1903-1906 1 item. |
6 | 186 | ||
Hosiery 1907-1908 1 item. |
6 | 187 | ||
Crockery 1905-1906 4 items. |
6 | 188 | ||
Butter & Eggs 1909 1 item. |
6 | 189 | ||
Electrical Appliances 1910 2 items. |
6 | 190 | ||
Emigrant Movables 1905-1915 1 item. |
6 | 191 | ||
Alaska Yukon Pacific Exposition 1909 1 item. |
6 | 192 | ||
United States Land Irrigation Exposition 1909-1911 1 items. |
6 | 193 | ||
National Apple Show 1910 1 item. |
6 | 194 | ||
Canadian Apple Show 1910 1 item. |
6 | 195 | ||
National Apple Show 1911 1 item. |
6 | 196 | ||
Saddle Felt 1907 1 item. |
6 | 197 | ||
New Lines 1913-1922 4 items. |
7 | 198-201 | ||
Fish 1914-1925 2 items. |
7 | 202 | ||
Fire Extinguishers 1905-1917 1 item. |
7 | 203 | ||
Chinese Firecrackers 1919-1923 1 item. |
7 | 204 | ||
Flax 1916-1924 1 item. |
7 | 205 | ||
Ties, China 1906 1 item. |
7 | 206 | ||
Forest Products 1903-1929 61 items. |
7 | 207-257 | ||
Forest Products 1923-1925 12 items. |
8 | 258-269 | ||
Logs 1903-1923 41 items. |
8 | 270-309 | ||
Furniture 1903-1913 4 items. |
8 | 310 | ||
Stamped Ware 1906-1922 1 item. |
8 | 311 | ||
Glass Bulbs 1911 1 item. |
8 | 312 | ||
Washington Water Power Co. 1904-1907 1 item. |
8 | 313 | ||
Confectionaries 1903-1909 1 item. |
8 | 314 | ||
Government Freight 1906-1911 3 items. |
8 | 315 | ||
Glycerine 1907 1 item. |
8 | 316 | ||
Sand 1906-1914 7 items. |
8 | 317 | ||
Axle Grease 1904-1908 1 item. |
8 | 318 | ||
Cigars 1906-1911 1 item. |
8 | 319 | ||
Metal Sash Carriers 1909 1 item. |
8 | 320 | ||
Smoke House, Appliances 1909 1 item. |
8 | 321 | ||
Harness 1905-1909 2 items. |
8 | 322 | ||
Hay 1905-1910 4 items. |
8 | 323 | ||
Refrigerator Cars 1905-1911 8 items. |
8 | 324 | ||
Hemp 1907-1908 2 items. |
8 | 325 | ||
Hides 1903-1910 7 items. |
8 | 326 | ||
Hops 1904-1905 2 items. |
8 | 327 | ||
Ice 1905 1 item. |
8 | 328 | ||
Steel Products 1906-1911 8 items. |
8 | 329-330 | ||
Ballard Business Conditions 1908-1911 1 item. |
8 | 331 | ||
Vancouver, Help 1906 1 item. |
8 | 332 | ||
Charcoal 1906 1 item. |
8 | 333 | ||
Lumber to Orient 1906-1908 1 item. |
9 | 334 | ||
Slack 1906 1 item. |
9 | 335 | ||
Siding 1908-1909 1 item. |
9 | 336 | ||
Lyman Papers 1906 1 item. |
9 | 337 | ||
Slag 1906-1908 2 items. |
9 | 338 | ||
Poles 1903-1906 1 item. |
9 | 339 | ||
Ale and Stout 1906 1 item. |
9 | 340 | ||
Bog House Dross 1907-1911 1 item. |
9 | 341 | ||
Leases 1906-1909 2 items. |
9 | 342 | ||
Wenatchee Valley & Northern RR 1909 1 item. |
9 | 343 | ||
Harriman Line 1911 1 item. |
9 | 344 | ||
Express Charges 1909-1910 1 item. |
9 | 345 | ||
Terminal Service 1904-1906 1 item. |
9 | 346 | ||
Crushed Steel 1906 1 item. |
9 | 347 | ||
Olds Wortman & King 1909 1 item. |
9 | 348 | ||
Lands 1906-1908 4 items. |
9 | 349-350 | ||
Steamer Victoria 1905-1906 1 item. |
9 | 351 | ||
Peanuts 1906-1910 2 items. |
9 | 352 | ||
Ferro-titanium 1911 1 item. |
9 | 353 | ||
Commercial Organizations 1906-1907 3 items. |
9 | 354 | ||
Canadian Railway Commission 1909 1 item. |
9 | 355 | ||
Lead 1902-1910 3 items. |
9 | 356-357 | ||
Leather 1905-1909 2 items. |
9 | 358-359 | ||
Liquors 1902-1908 1 item. |
9 | 360 | ||
Livestock 1903-1910 19 items. |
9 | 261-276 | ||
Machinery 1904-1911 4 items. |
9 | 377-380 | ||
Sugar 1905-1911 3 items. |
9 | 381 | ||
Marble 1902-1908 2 items. |
9 | 382 | ||
Stone 1905-1915 6 items. |
9 | 383 | ||
Rock 1911 1 item. |
9 | 384 | ||
Matting 1905-1906 1 item. |
9 | 385 | ||
Packing House Products & Fresh Meat 1905-1911 11 items. |
9 | 386-390 | ||
Condensed Milk 1905-1911 2 items. |
9 | 391 | ||
Mill Rollers 1907 1 item. |
9 | 392 | ||
Moulding 1911 1 item. |
9 | 393 | ||
Powered Musical Instruments 1908-1910 1 item. |
9 | 394 | ||
Builder's Scaffolds 1910-1911 1 item. |
9 | 395 | ||
Salad Oil 1906 1 item. |
9 | 396 | ||
Oil & Grease 1906-1908 |
9 | 397 | ||
Terabentine 1906-1907 1 item. |
9 | 398 | ||
Kleenatine 1906-1907 1 item. |
9 | 399 | ||
Salad Oil, Westbound 1907 2 items. |
9 | 400 | ||
Ore 1905-1911 14 items. |
9 | 401-414 | ||
Ore 1902-1911 20 items. |
10 | 415-434 | ||
Seed 1904-1911 4 items. |
10 | 435 | ||
Show Cases 1904-1910 1 item. |
10 | 436 | ||
Claims 1908-1909 1 item. |
10 | 437 | ||
Sash Doors 1905-1911 3 items. |
10 | 438 | ||
Track Scales 1911 1 item. |
10 | 439 | ||
Salt 1904-1911 4 items. |
10 | 440 | ||
Salt Petre 1903-1907 1 item. |
10 | 441 | ||
Rubber 1905 1 item. |
10 | 442 | ||
Rulings 1906-1908 5 items. |
10 | 443 | ||
Paper 1906 1 item. |
10 | 444 | ||
Paving Blocks 1909 1 item. |
10 | 445 | ||
Peas & Beans 1905-1907 1 item. |
10 | 446 | ||
Penalty 1905-1906 2 items. |
10 | 447 | ||
Marble Scrap 1905 1 item. |
10 | 448 | ||
Wooden Pipe 1911 1 item. |
10 | 449 | ||
Claim 1909 1 item. |
10 | 450 | ||
Leatheroid 1910 1 item. |
10 | 451 | ||
Grits 1910-1911 1 item. |
10 | 452 | ||
Rice 1910-1911 1 item. |
10 | 453 | ||
Roadmaking Machinery 1904-1905 1 item. |
10 | 454 | ||
Candy Pails 1905-1906 1 item. |
10 | 455 | ||
Paints 1904-1907 2 items. |
10 | 456 | ||
Signs 1907-1911 2 items. |
10 | 457 | ||
Soap 1905-1909 6 items. |
10 | 458 | ||
Staves 1905-1906 2 items. |
10 | 459 | ||
Construction, New Lines 1909-1911 2 items. |
10 | 460 | ||
Chip Board 1905-1921 1 item. |
10 | 461 | ||
Track Repair 1906 1 item. |
10 | 462 | ||
Trackage 1906-1911 9 items. |
10 | 463-466 | ||
Puget Sound Electric Co. 1906-1908 1 item. |
10 | 467 | ||
Talc & Silica 1902-1910 2 items. |
10 | 468 | ||
Tanks 1905-1917 1 item. |
10 | 469 | ||
Trackage 1923-1924 1 item. |
10 | 470 | ||
Vegetables 1922-1924 1 item. |
10 | 471 | ||
Rental of Lots 1904-1908 1 item. |
10 | 472 | ||
Box Shocks 1927-1930 1 item. |
10 | 473 | ||
Flour 1905 1 item. |
10 | 474 | ||
Leather Dressing 1902-1922 1 item. |
10 | 475 | ||
Salmon 1905-1906 1 item. |
10 | 476 | ||
Port Arthur 1907 1 item. |
10 | 477 | ||
Seattle 1903-1904 1 item. |
10 | 478 | ||
Vancouver, Washington 1908 1 item. |
10 | 479 | ||
Vancouver, B.C. 1907-1908 1 item. |
10 | 480 | ||
Claims 1906-1908 3 items. |
11 | 481 | ||
Complaint 1920-1922 1 item. |
11 | 482 | ||
Similkameen 1907 1 item. |
11 | 483 | ||
Meetings 1909-1910 6 items. |
11 | 484-489 | ||
Walnuts 1909-1910 1 item. |
11 | 490 | ||
Yellow Metal 1904-1907 1 item. |
11 | 491 | ||
Railway Commissioners for Canada 1911 2 items. |
11 | 492-493 | ||
Demurrage 1910-1911 1 item. |
11 | 494 | ||
Rules 1908-1910 4 items. |
11 | 495-496 | ||
Hickory Dust 1908 1 item. |
11 | 497 | ||
Randomite 1908-1910 1 item. |
11 | 498 | ||
Bridges, Columbia River 1909-1911 1 item. |
11 | 499 | ||
Wine 1908-1909 1 item. |
11 | 500 | ||
Albers Brothers 1908 1 item. |
11 | 501 | ||
Portland Railway 1908-1909 2 items. |
11 | 502 | ||
Three Lakes Lumber Co. 1909 1 item. |
11 | 503 | ||
Whiton Hardware Co. 1909 1 item. |
11 | 504 | ||
George Carter & Co. 1906 1 item. |
11 | 505 | ||
|
||||
Series 2: Ledger 1902-1911 |
||||
box | folder | |||
Ledger 1902-1911 1 item. |
12 | 506 | ||
|
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