OVERVIEW
Minnesota Historical Society
Saint Paul Union
Stockyards Company (South Saint Paul, Minn.).
Corporate
records,
1886-1982
(bulk 1903-1974).
Personnel files and financial and
miscellaneous records of a firm providing livestock transportation and
stockyard services to the meat packing industry in the vicinity of South St.
Paul (Minn.). Includes some financial and other records of related
companies.
80.5 cubic feet (73 boxes
and 2 oversize rolls).
See [Detailed Description](a9) section for shelf
locations.
HISTORICAL NOTE
The Saint Paul Union Stockyards Company was incorporated in 1886 for
the primary purpose of developing land for the feeding and yarding of livestock
en route to slaughterers, as well as providing adjacent lands for the
operations of private packing houses and for the offices of livestock
commission firms.
The chief organizers were apparently Alpheus B. Stickney, president of
the Chicago Great Western Railroad, and Constantine W. Benson, the head of C.
W. Benson and Company, a St. Paul foreign investment firm. The stockyards
company issued $1 million in capital stock and $2 million in mortagage bonds,
much of which was purchased for English investors by Robert H. Benson and
Company of London, which firm appeared to be quite active in the corporation's
affairs.
The stockyards were developed on 260 acres along the Mississippi
River, three miles south of St. Paul. It operated at a substantial loss until
1897, when Swift and Company purchased the packing plant located within the
yards. Swift acquired a half-interest in the stockyards company, which
succeeded in paying off its mortgage in 1916.
During the local period of the records (1886-1926), Ansel Oppenheim,
Mark D. Flower, and T. E. Good served as the firm's successive presidents;
Alexander A. McKechnie was its secretary-treasurer.
In 1982 the firm was owned by United Stockyards Corp, Chicago, and it
claimed to be operating the world's largest livestock market. In 1993 it was
apparently doing business as South St. Paul Livestock Market, a subsidiary of
United Market Services Company.
SCOPE AND CONTENTS
The records of the Saint Paul Union Stockyards Company include
historical and background materials, including information on the rival Twin
City Stock Yards at New Brighton, Minnesota, and the Minnesota Transfer
Railway; annual reports, minutes of meetings, and stockholders records;
personnel records (mostly 1930s-1950s); ledgers, journals, financial
statements, construction ledgers, and other accounting records; correspondence,
transcripts, and other materials related to Packers and Stockyards Docket 1211
(1955-1961) in which the company sought permission to charge higher rates for
its services; and real estate and equipment appraisal volumes (1919, 1923,
1956).
Records of related companies include financial and other records of
the Stockyards Terminal Railway (1907-1910), the St. Paul Bridge and Terminal
Railway Company (1908-1943), and the Stockyards Railway Company (1941-1970s).
There are miscellaneous materials relating to the Billings Union Stockyards
(Mont., 1940s-1961), the Union Stockyards Company of Fargo (N.D., 1959-1965;
known also as the West Fargo Union Stockyards), the United Stockyards
Corporation (1952-1966), the Canol-Randolph Corporation (1959-1966), the St.
Paul Livestock Exchange (1940), and the South St. Paul Livestock Market
Institute (1954-1966).
Personnel records contain medical, compensation, and
hiring/retirement/termination data on employees, and information on
work-related accidents.
ARRANGEMENT
These documents are organized into the following sections:
- Saint Paul Union Stockyards Company Records
- Records of Related Companies
- Pesonnel Files
RELATED MATERIALS
Markets newspaper and its successor,
Agricultural Markets, which were published by the
related company Markets, Incorporated, are in the Minnesota Historical Society
newspaper collection.
The 414-image West Fargo Union Stockyards Photograph Collection is
at the North Dakota Institute for Regional Studies, Fargo, North Dakota.
CATALOG HEADINGS
This collection is indexed under the following headings in the catalog of the Minnesota Historical Society. Researchers desiring materials about related topics, persons or places should search the catalog using these headings.
Topics:
Livestock--Marketing--Minnesota--South
Saint Paul.
Meat industry and trade--Minnesota--South Saint
Paul.
Railroads--Livestock transportation--Minnesota--South Saint
Paul.
Stockyards--Minnesota--New Brighton.
Stockyards--Minnesota--South Saint Paul.
Stockyards--Montana--Billings.
Stockyards--North Dakota--Fargo.
Places:
South Saint Paul
(Minn.)--Industries.
Organizations:
Billings Union Stockyards (Billings,
Mont.).
Canol-Randolph Corporation.
Markets, Incorporated (South Saint Paul, Minn.).
Minnesota Transfer Railway
Company.
St. Paul Bridge and Terminal Railway Company.
St. Paul Livestock Exchange (Minn.).
South St. Paul Livestock Market Institute (South Saint Paul,
Minn.).
Stockyards Railway Company (Minn.).
Stockyards Terminal Railway (Minn.).
Twin City Stock Yards (New Brighton, Minn.).
Union Stockyards Company of Fargo (N.D.).
United Stockyards Corporation.
Types of Documents:
Personnel records.
Occupations:
Livestock workers--Minnesota--South Saint
Paul.
ADMINISTRATIVE INFORMATION
Preferred Citation:
[Indicate the cited item and/or series
here]. Saint Paul Union Stockyards Company Records. Minnesota Historical
Society.
See the Chicago Manual of Style for additional
examples.
Accession Information:
Accession number: 9311; 12,192; GN-1833; 14,010
Processing Information:
Processed by: Kathryn A. Johnson, November 1962; additions by Dennis
E. Meissner, February 1978 and June 1988; addition by David B. Peterson, August
2000
Catalog ID number: 08-00010711
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
SAINT PAUL UNION STOCKYARDS COMPANY RECORDS
145.K.18.9B
1
Annual reports, 1908-1927, 1929-1936, 1945, 1961.
2 folders.
Historical background materials:
Miscellany, 1886-1924.
4 folders.
History of the Yards,
compiled 1920s.
Includes biographical material; relationship with New Brighton
stockyards; Minnesota Transfer Railway.
Record books, 1903-1945. 4 volumes.
Include minutes.
145.K.14.10F
2
Record books, 1945-1963. 3 volumes.
Minutes, 1950-1974.
4 folders.
Miscellaneous files:
Claims, 1950-1958.
Labor agreements, [ca.1951]-1953.
Leases, 1942-1966.
Livestock receipts and shipments,
[ca.1906]-1923.
Minnesota Commissioner of Agriculture: Transcript of
informal conference [cooperatives vs. old-line commission houses],
1924.
Pension committee minutes, 1951-1971.
Photographs, undated and [ca.1883],
1929-1947.
Primarily pictures of cattle in pens at the stockyards in
South St. Paul. Includes a photograph (ca.1883) of a packing plant in Medora,
Dakota Territory, established by Antonie Vallambrosa, the Marquis de Mores.
St. Paul Union Stockyards Company vs. Paine Webber,
1925.
Affidavits of John M. Valleau, Frank R. Hope, and C. H.
Lunsmann.
U.S. Secretary of Agriculture vs. St. Paul Union
Stockyards Company: Transcripts, 1924.
2 volumes in 2 folders.
Going Value: Testimony and
exhibits of L. R. Howson. Docket No. 116.
106.J.4.25
General plan of St. Paul Union Stockyards, South St. Paul, Minn., November 1937.1 blueline drawing.
142.D.4.873Maps, 1919-1921, [ca.1960s?].
4 items in 1 folder.
Newspaper clippings, 1886-1897.
A2/ov1
Maps, vicinity of Twin City Stock Yard, New Brighton,
Minn., undated and 1889.
2 maps.
145.K.14.11B
3
Stockholders' records:
Capital stock sales, 1936-1951.
Capital stock (miscellany), 1945-1961.
2 folders.
Dividends, [ca.1954]-1964.
2 folders.
Miscellany, 1962-1964.
Stockholders' meeting file, 1963.
Stock certificates, 1963-1968.
Stockholders' lists, 1952-1963.
4 folders.
Stock ledger, [ca.1920]-1923. 1 volume.
Includes a few land contracts, [ca.1919]-1927.
145.K.14.12F
4
Stock ledger, [ca.1886]-1925.
Stock ledgers, A-Z, [ca.1930s]-1950s. 2
volumes.
142.E.13.7B
5
Stock register, 1886-1930.
Stock journals, 1886-1963. 3 volumes.
145.K.14.13B
6
Financial miscellaneous files:
Financial miscellany, 1899-1907.
Financial miscellany, 1950s-1960s.
Annual statements, 1938-1940.
3 folders.
Statement of application of funds, 1939.
Audit documents, 1938-1939.
Auditor's reports, 1940-1962.
9 folders.
Valuation report, 1963.
142.D.4.8
73
Financial statements, 1956, 1958.
2 folders.
142.E.13.8F
7
Financial records:
Ledger, "Revenue Account No. 2," [ca.1921]-1934. 1
volume.
Side record of accounts, [ca.1920s]-1930s. 1
volume.
142.E.14.1B
8
General ledger, [ca.1963]-1982. 1 volume.
Leases, contracts, etc. 1 volume.
Real estate record, [ca.1886]-1941. 1
volume.
Monthly statements, 1898-1903. 1 volume.
142.E.14.2F
9
Monthly statements, 1915-1921.
9 folders.
142.E.14.3B
10
Monthly statements, 1922-1941. 3 volumes.
142.E.14.4F
11
Monthly statements, 1941-1959. 2 volumes.
142.E.14.5B
12
Monthly statements, 1961-1969.
9 folders.
142.E.14.6F
13
Construction transfer ledger, [ca.1906]-1933. 1
volume.
142.E.14.7B
14
Construction transfer ledger, [ca.1933]-1964. 1
volume.
Construction ledger, [ca.1918]-1935. 1
volume.
145.K.14.14F
15
P & S [Packers & Stockyards] Docket
1211:
Vols. 1-5: Correspondence and miscellany,
1955-1961.
145.K.15.1B
16
Vols. 1-7: Transcripts, 1958.
145.K.15.2F
17
Vols. 8-13: Transcripts, 1958.
145.K.15.3B
18
Subject file ST546. 5 volumes.
145.K.15.4F
19
Miscellaneous briefs, transcripts,
appraisals.
145.K.15.5B
20
Miscellaneous briefs, transcripts,
appraisals.
A2/ov1
Maps:
Appraisal map, 1938.
Land appraisal map, 1938.
Plat plan, 1956.
Zone map, 1956.
145.K.15.6F
21
Appraisals (American Appraisal Company, Milwaukee,
Wis.):
1919. 4 volumes.
145.K.15.7B
22
1923. 6 volumes.
145.K.15.8F
23
1956. 4 volumes.
A2/ov1
American Appraisal Company summaries,
1923:
Detailed summaries of sound values.
2 sheets.
Detailed summaries of reproduction costs. 2
sheets.
RECORDS OF RELATED COMPANIES
145.K.15.9B
24
Canol-Randolph Corporation, 1959-1966.
Markets, Incorporated:
This firm was established in 1938 to establish and publish a
periodical to be known as Markets and containing
market reviews, agricultural news, and literary material. This publication was
continued or succeeded in 1948 by Agricultural
Markets.
Corporate record book (disassembled),
1938-1952.
Financial record book, 1938-1948.
Includes record of checks drawn, journal entries, and general
ledger.
St. Paul Livestock Exchange: Transcript of legal case in
re: P. Vittum & Co., 1940.
Shippers Club: Minutes, etc., 1935-1956.
South St. Paul Livestock Market Institute,
Inc.:
Miscellany, [ca.1954]-1966.
Meetings file, 1955-1961.
LMI Stampede, 1961-1966.
4 folders.
Minnesota State Fair file, 1968-1974.
Union Stockyards Co. of Fargo [N.D.]:
Also (later?) known as West Fargo Union Stockyards.
1960-1963.
142.D.4.8
73
Trial balances and miscellany, 1959, 1962-1965.
1 folder.
145.K.15.9B
24
United Stockyards Corporation, 1952-1966.
Miscellany; includes some annual reports.
142.E.14.8F
25
Billings [Mont.] Public Stockyards/Billings Union
Stockyards:
Ledgers, [ca.1940s]-1960. 2 volumes.
Revenue journal, 1956-1961.
145.K.15.10F
26
St. Paul Bridge and Terminal Railway
Company:
Historical background.
Minutes, 1908-1943.
1 volume and 2 folders.
Stock certificates, 1909-1936. 1 volume.
Financial statements, 1909-1919.
Cashbooks, 1909-1919. 3 volumes.
Appraisal inventory, 1919. 1 volume.
142.E.15.1B
27
Journals, 1918-1923. 2 volumes.
Account 701: Investment in road and equipment,
1918-1932. 1 volume.
Financial statements, 1920-1922.
1 volume and 1 folder.
142.E.15.2F
28
Ledger, [ca.1909]-1918.
St.P.B.&T./Stockyards Terminal Railway.
142.E.15.3B
29
Ledgers, [ca.1918]-1923. 3 volumes.
Ledger, 1931-1934. 1 volume.
142.E.15.4F
30
Ledger, [ca.1918]-1932.
Stockyards Railway Company:
Monthly financial statements, 1944-1946, 1961-1969.
10 folders.
145.K.15.11B
31
Monthly financial statements, 1941-1960, 1970-1978.
19 folders.
Historical background, [ca.1941]-1970s.
Stock certificate book, 1941-1963. 1
volume.
142.E.15.5B
32
Ledgers, [ca.1940s]-1970s. 3 volumes.
142.E.15.6F
33
Stockyards Terminal Railway:
Minute book, 1907-1910. 1 volume.
Ledger, [ca.1907]-1910. 1 volume.
Cashbook, 1907-1910.
Financial statements, 1908.
PERSONNEL FILES
Materials date from ca.1912 to ca.1973 (bulk 1930s-1950s) and
appear to pertain primarily (perhaps exclusively) to employees of the Saint
Paul Union Stockyards Company. Files include applications for employment;
notices of suspension, dismissal or resignation forms; physical record forms
(give employee's height, weight, date of birth, etc.); wage and earnings
information; W-2, W-2b, and W-4 forms; workmen's compensation claim forms and
related papers and correspondence; sick and accident time reports; change of
employee's status reports; and recommendation for promotion, transfer or change
of pay forms.
145.K.15.12F
34
Miscellany.
145.K.15.13B
35
A-An.
145.K.15.14F
36
An-Ban.
145.K.16.1B
37
Bay-Ber.
145.K.16.2F
38
Bis-Bri.
145.K.16.3B
39
Bri-Car.
145.K.16.4F
40
Car-Cas.
145.K.16.5B
41
Cas-Crn.
145.K.16.6F
42
Cuc-Dev.
145.K.16.7B
43
Dev-Eif.
145.K.16.8F
44
Eif-Fei.
145.K.16.9B
45
Fei-Fri.
145.K.16.10F
46
Fri-Glu.
145.K.16.11B
47
Gro-Haa.
145.K.16.12F
48
Hae-Hay.
145.K.16.13B
49
Hay-Hol.
145.K.16.14F
50
Hol-Jam.
145.K.17.1B
51
Jan-Kai.
145.K.17.2F
52
Kai-Kla.
145.K.17.3B
53
Kla-Kre.
145.K.17.4F
54
Kre-Lar.
145.K.17.5B
55
Las-Luc.
145.K.17.6F
56
Luc-McV.
145.K.17.7B
57
McW-Mer.
145.K.17.8F
58
Mer-Mor.
145.K.17.9B
59
Mor-Nea.
145.K.17.10F
60
Nes-Ols.
145.K.17.11B
61
Ols-Ped.
145.K.17.12F
62
Ped-Pru.
145.K.17.13B
63
Pry-Rho.
145.K.17.14F
64
Rho-Rus.
145.K.18.1B
65
Rus-Sch.
145.K.18.2F
66
Sche-Schw.
145.K.18.3B
67
Sci-Smi.
145.K.18.4F
68
Smi-Sto.
145.K.18.5B
69
Sto-Vos.
145.K.18.6F
70
Voy-Whi.
145.K.18.7B
71
Whi-Wor.
145.K.18.8F
72
Wor-Zvo and miscellany.