The Saginaw and Manistee Lumber Company Collection pertains to the company's business in Northern Arizona, specifically Williams and Flagstaff. The majority of the collection consists of correspondence during the 1940's. However, the collection also includes financial, employee, legal, tax, insurance, and motor vehicle records from 1893 to 1954. There are also maps of the lumber company's logging activities between 1924 and 1949.
Collection Number
NAU.MS.84
Language
English.
Repository
Cline Library. Special Collections and Archives Department.
Northern Arizona University
Box 6022
Flagstaff, AZ 86011-6022
Phone: 928 523 5551
Fax: 928 523 3770
Email: Special.Collections@nau.edu
Historical Note
The Saginaw and Manistee Lumber Company was founded circa 1870 in the state of Michigan. In 1893 the company opened a lumber mill in Williams, Arizona Territory. The company virtually built the town of Williams and supplied the town with both power and water for nearly the entire first half of the twentieth century. The Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railroad (earlier known as the Atlantic and Pacific) also depended on the company to provide their trains with water.
Saginaw and Manistee incorporated in 1899. Much of the early success of Saginaw and Manistee in Arizona can be attributed to the acquisition of large tracts of land from Edward Perrin in 1903. The railroads of the Saginaw and Manistee quickly branched north and south of the mill to log these newly acquired regions.
The lumber mill in Williams was under the ownership of Saginaw and Manistee which appears to have moved to Delaware and eventually to Chicago. H.F. Chaney was the president of the organization in Chicago for much of the time period that this collection covers (1893-1954). The Chicago company was in turn owned by Baker and Fentress, a holding company in Chicago. Baker and Fentress also owned lumber yards in Loyalton, California and Coos Bay, Oregon. William F. Dermont and William Wente were each managers between 1905 and 1916. R.A. Nickerson became manager of the Williams operation from 1917 to 1930 when J.M. Bedford took over. Jack Bedford in Williams was the son of J.M. Bedford, the manager at the Loyalton yard (Clover Valley Lumber Company).
In 1941 Saginaw and Manistee leased the Arizona Lumber and Timber Company's mill from Joseph Dolan in Flagstaff and soon moved their entire operations to Flagstaff while selling the Williams plant to Klammath Iron Works for salvage. During the Second World War, Saginaw and Manistee worked closely with the government to make war supplies. The company also worked with the National War Labor Board to solve employment and union problems. Other important individuals during the 1940's were Blaine Shimmel, who was their lawyer, and the company of Marsh and Mclennan, who was their principal insurer.
In 1949 Jack Bedford was killed in an automobile accident on Ash Fork Hill. Enfred Johnson began running the mill in Bedford's place until 1953 when Southwest Lumber Mills Inc. absorbed Saginaw and Manistee.
For further information on Saginaw and Manistee's operations in Northern Arizona see: Kenneth J. LaBoone, The Arizona Lumber and Timber Company 1881-1981 (1981) and Robert L. Matheny, The History of Lumbering in Arizona before World War Two (1975). Both books are available in the Special Collections and Archives Department, Cline Library at Northern Arizona University.
Scope and Content Note
The Saginaw and Manistee Lumber Company Collection pertains to the company's business in Northern Arizona, specifically Williams and Flagstaff. The collection consists of fourteen and one-half boxes of archival material, mainly correspondence during the 1940's. However, the collection also includes financial, employee, legal, tax, insurance, and motor vehicle records from 1893 to 1954. There are also maps of the lumber company's logging activities between 1924 and 1949.
Approximately two-thirds of the collection consists of correspondence from the 1940's. This part of the collection is valuable because of the role that the company played with the federal government as a war industry. The company appears to have worked very closely with the National War Labor Board and other government agencies to help with the war effort. There also appears to be considerable correspondence with other lumber companies in the Southwest and the Saginaw and Manistee parent company in Chicago. These correspondence could reflect the nature of business relationships between large corporations in the 1940's. The balance of the material is made up of more specific papers dealing with operations between 1893 and 1941, and 1950 to 1954. This section can be useful in that it documents the relationships that Saginaw and Manistee had with its employees and contractors. Especially interesting are the documents in the subseries Contracts and Agreements dealing with the purchase of land from Edward Perrin around 1900.
The original order of the collection has been retained whenever possible. However, some anomalies still exist. For example, items of interest from the 1940's may be stored in either the Correspondence Series or in another appropriate series and vice-versa. Items can also be stored in either the specific folder or general folder for that topic (e.g. EBY machinery papers could be in a file labeled as EBY in the Contracts and Agreement Series or in the General Contracts and Agreements Subseries). It is recommended that the user look under all possible titles and subjects for a particular name. For example, in the Correspondence series tax information has been found under 'T', 'I' (for Internal Revenue Service), or 'C' (for Collector of taxes). Usually, government offices will be listed under 'O' for "Office of."
It is the responsibility of the user to obtain permission to publish from the owner of the copyright (the institution, the creator of the record, the author or his/her transferees, heirs,legates, or literary executors). The user agrees to indemnify and hold harmless the Arizona Board of Regents for Northern Arizona University, its officers, employees, and agents from and against all claims made by any person asserting that he or she is an owner of copyright.
Arizona Lumber and Timber Company Collection, NAU.MS.266
J.M. Dennis Lumber Company COLLECTION, NAU.MS.149
Mrs. John Faught Collection, NAU.MS.123
Hayward and Flagstaff Lumber Company Collection, NAU.MS.224
Inland Forest Resource Council Collection, NAU.MS.272
McGonigle Lumber Company Collection, NAU.MS.123
David Rees Collection, NAU.MS.61
Saginaw and Manistee Lumber Company Collection, NAU.MS.43
Separated Material
Twenty-one maps from the Saginaw and Manistee Lumber Company Collection have been removed to the Special Collections and Archives Department map collection. Following are a listing of the maps and their SCA Map number.
NAU.MAP.519, Happy Jack Campsite,1949.
NAU.MAP.512, Navajo Nation Map by Navajo Curriculum Center.
NAU.MAP.513, Street Map of Phoenix and Vicinity, 1929.
NAU.MAP.515, Part of North Central New Mexico, Northern New Mexico, and Southern Colorado. Atlas Sheets. June 30, 1881.
NAU.MAP.516 Saginaw and Manistee Lumber Mill,1945.
NAU.MAP.517 Saginaw and Manistee Lumber Company, 1948.
NAU.MAP.518 Saginaw and Manistee Lumber Company, 1948.
NAU.MAP.519 Happy Jack Campsite. October 1949.
NAU.MAP.520, Barney Pasture Unit base map. Coconico, Gila and Salt River Meridian. 1912.
NAU.MAP.521 South Rogers Lake Unit.
NAU.MAP.524 (missing) Kaibab Timber cut. 1935.
NAU.MAP.525 S-sales Tusayan. Grand Canyon Unit (proposed). Cutover 1930.
NAU.MAP.526 S-sales Tusayan. Grand Canyon Unit (proposed). Cutover 1931.
NAU.MAP.527 S-sales Tusayan. Grand Canyon Unit (proposed). Cutover 1933.
NAU.MAP.528 S-sales Tusayan. Grand Canyon Unit (proposed). Cutover 1934.
NAU.MAP.529 S-sales Tusayan. Grand Canyon Unit (proposed). Cutover 1935.
NAU.MAP.522 and 523 Timber Cut, Forest Industries Schedule, 1935.
This series consists of 91 folders, of correspondence, arranged chronologically and alphabetically within each year. The documents are general incoming and outgoing correspondence and other important papers (contracts, employee records, tax information, etc.) that pertain to the years within this series. Unfortunately the record is not complete. S-Z of 1944, A-S of 1945, S-Z of 1946, A-L of 1947, and all of 1948 are missing from the collection.
Many subjects and companies are important enough to have their own folders. Some of these include: Applications for employment, Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railroad (dealt with Saginaw and Manistee for railroad ties, water, and shipping of products), Baker and Fentress (the holding company), Clover Valley Lumber Co., Foxworth and Galbraith, Klammath Iron Works, Marsh and Mclennan (insurers), Saginaw and Manistee - Chicago, Taxes, Wood Sales, National War Labor Board (described in more detail in the Scope and Content Note), Telegrams, and Bids.
Box-folder
1.1
Collection information.
,
Box-folder
1.2-7
Correspondence "A,"
, 1942.
Box-folder
1.8-14
Correspondence "B,"
, 1942.
Box-folder
1.15-18
Correspondence "C,"
, 1942.
Box-folder
1.19-1.22
Correspondence "D,"
, 1942.
Box-folder
1.23-24
Correspondence "E,"
, 1942.
Box-folder
1.25-30
Correspondence "F,"
, 1942.
Box-folder
1.31-34
Correspondence "G,"
, 1942.
Box-folder
1.35-38
Correspondence "H,"
, 1942.
Box-folder
1.39-41
Correspondence "I,"
, 1942.
Box-folder
1.42-43
Correspondence "J,"
, 1942.
Box-folder
1.44-46
Correspondence "K,"
, 1942.
Box-folder
1.47-49
Correspondence "L,"
, 1942.
Box-folder
2.50-54
Correspondence with Marsh and Mclennan,
1942.
Box-folder
2.55-62
Correspondence "M,"
, 1942.
Box-folder
2.63-66
Correspondence "N,"
, 1942.
Box-folder
2.67-68
Correspondence "O,"
, 1942.
Box-folder
2.69-75
Correspondence "P,"
, 1942.
Box-folder
2.76-81
Correspondence "R,"
, 1942.
Box-folder
2.82-84
Correspondence with S and M Chicago,
1942.
Box-folder
2.85-91
Correspondence "S,"
, 1942.
Box-folder
2.92-96
Correspondence "T,"
, 1942.
Box-folder
2.97
Correspondence "U,"
, 1942.
Box-folder
2.98
Correspondence with Valley Lumber and Feed,
1942.
Box-folder
2.99-105
Correspondence "W,"
, 1942.
Box-folder
2.106
Correspondence "X, Y, and Z,"
, 1942.
Box-folder
3.107-111
Correspondence "A,"
, 1943.
Box-folder
3.112-114
Correspondence "B,"
, 1943.
Box-folder
3.115-117
Correspondence "C,"
, 1943
Box-folder
3.118
Correspondence "D,"
, 1943.
Box-folder
3.119
Correspondence "E,"
, 1943
Box-folder
3.120-122
Correspondence "F,"
, 1943.
Box-folder
3.123
Correspondence "G,"
, 1943.
Box-folder
3.124
Correspondence "H,"
, 1943.
Box-folder
3.125-126
Correspondence "I,"
, 1943.
Box-folder
3.127
Correspondence "J,"
, 1943.
Box-folder
3.128-130
Correspondence "K,"
, 1943.
Box-folder
3.131
Correspondence "L,"
, 1943.
Box-folder
3.132-134
Correspondence "M,"
, 1943.
Box-folder
3.135-136
Correspondence "N,"
, 1943.
Box-folder
3.137
Correspondence "O,"
, 1943.
Box-folder
3.138-139
Correspondence with Office of Price Admn.,
1943.
Box-folder
3.140
Correspondence "P,"
, 1943.
Box-folder
4.141-143
Correspondence "R,"
, 1943.
Box-folder
4.144-147
Correspondence with S and M Chicago,
1943.
Box-folder
4.148-154
Correspondence "S,"
, 1943.
Box-folder
4.155
Correspondence "T,"
, 1943.
Box-folder
4.156-157
Correspondence "U,"
, 1943.
Box-folder
4.158
Correspondence "V,"
, 1943.
Box-folder
4.159-170
Correspondence "W,"
, 1943.
Box-folder
4.171
Correspondence "X,Y,Z,"
, 1943.
Box-folder
4.172-179
Correspondence "A."
, 1944.
Box-folder
4.180-181
Correspondence "B,"
, 1944.
Box-folder
5.182
Correspondence "C,"
, 1944.
Box-folder
5.183-184
Correspondence "D,"
, 1944.
Box-folder
5.185
Correspondence "E,"
, 1944.
Box-folder
5.186-188
Correspondence "F,"
, 1944.
Box-folder
5.189
Correspondence "G,"
, 1944.
Box-folder
5.190
Correspondence "H,"
, 1944.
Box-folder
5.191-194
Correspondence "I,"
, 1944.
Box-folder
5.195
Correspondence "J,"
, 1944.
Box-folder
5.196-197
Correspondence "K,"
, 1944.
Box-folder
5.198
Correspondence "L,"
, 1944.
Box-folder
5.199-203
Correspondence "M,"
, 1944.
Box-folder
5.204-210
Correspondence with National War Labor Board,
1944.
Box-folder
5.211-213
Correspondence "N,"
, 1944.
Box-folder
6.214-216
Correspondence "O,"
, 1944.
Box-folder
6.217
Correspondence "P,"
, 1944.
Box-folder
6.218-220
Correspondence "R,"
, 1944.
Box-folder
6.221-229
Correspondence "A,"
, 1945.
Box-folder
6.230-231
Correspondence "B,"
, 1945.
Box-folder
6.232-234
Correspondence "C,"
, 1945.
Box-folder
6.235
Correspondence "D,"
, 1945.
Box-folder
6.236-237
Correspondence "E,"
, 1945.
Box-folder
6.238-240
Correspondence "F,"
, 1945.
Box-folder
6.241
Correspondence "G,"
, 1945.
Box-folder
6.242
Correspondence "H,"
, 1945.
Box-folder
6.243-244
Correspondence "I,"
, 1945.
Box-folder
6.245
Correspondence "J,"
, 1945.
Box-folder
6.246-247
Correspondence "K,"
, 1945.
Box-folder
6.248
Correspondence "L,"
, 1945.
Box-folder
6.249-250
Correspondence "M,"
, 1945.
Box-folder
7.251-258
Correspondence with National War Labor Board,
1945.
These items have been removed from Series One due to their size (8 1/2" x 14"). This series has many monthly, quarterly, and annual balance sheets and statistical information.
Series Three consists of 35 folders in four subseries: Balance Sheets and Monthly Statements, Board of Directors, Power Plant, and Census, each arranged chronologically within their subseries. Papers in Series Three document the company's financial situation very clearly between 1919-1940.
Correspondence and documents detailing the wood products produced by the Saginaw and Manistee mill in a given year. The census was conducted by the Commerce Department.
This subseries contains contracts and agreements with specific companies and government agencies. Of special interest are the contracts with the railroads and oil companies. It also contains contracts concerning land acquisitions, primarily from Edward Perrin at the turn of the 20th century. These contracts are file in a folder called "Land." A section called Estates Sales documents items that the company was selling to the public in 1950. The last section in this subseries is general contracts and agreements for all other companies and individuals that did business with Saginaw and Manistee between 1893-1952. Logging Contracts are kept in this general section.
This subseries contains supplementary documents for annual tax returns (see subseries one). One can find inventories of equipment, and information related to lands logged and how much timber was taken.
Box-folder
14.507-510
Forest industries and schedules,
1925-1937.
Timber Cut maps that coincide with the Forest Industries Schedule reports have been removed and placed into the SCA map collection. The Numbers are as follows:
NAU.MAP.522 and 523 Timber Cut, Forest Industries Schedule, 1935
This series consists of three folders arranged chronologically. Most of the records in this series concern purchasing and registration of automobiles, trucks, and heavy equipment for the company.
This volume contains a series of maps followed by ledger pages describing company land holdings, timber harvesting, and annual summaries related to logging. Each section is arranged by township and range and covers from T19W R2E - T24W R7E.
