JOHN MUSSER:

An Inventory of His Papers at the Minnesota Historical Society

Manuscripts Collection

OVERVIEW


	Creator:	Musser, John, 1908-1990, creator.
	Title:	John M. Musser and family papers.
	Dates:	1918-1991.
	Abstract:	Correspondence, estate files, business files, community affairs files, travel files, diaries, biographical and genealogical materials documenting the career and family life of a Weyerhaeuser corporate executive and St. Paul (Minn.) community leader.
	Quantity:	35.50 cubic feet (35 boxes).
	Location:	See Detailed Description section for shelf locations.

John Miller Musser, Weyerhaeuser Company executive and St. Paul (Minn.) community leader, was born in Muscatine, Iowa, the son of Clifton Robert and Margaret (Kulp) Musser. The Musser family was closely involved in Weyerhaeuser corporate interests, and John's grandfather, Peter Miller Musser (1841-1919), was Frederick Weyerhaeuser's partner in the formation of the Weyerhaeuser Timber Company in 1900.

John Musser graduated from the Hotchkiss School (1929), Yale University (1930), and the Harvard Business School (1933). Musser joined the General Timber Company, a Weyerhaeuser subsidiary, in 1934 as an auditor in its St. Paul offices, from which position he rose to become its president, as well as an officer or board member in many other Weyerhaeuser firms, including a long tenure (1950-1978) on the Weyerhaeuser Company's board of directors.

Musser's community service encompassed a wide range of activities on the local, national, and international scenes, including service as a trustee of Carleton College (Northfield, Minn.) and Yale University; as a leader of such local organizations as the Boy Scouts, the United Way, the St. Paul Chamber Orchestra, the St. Paul Urban Coalition, and St. John the Evangelist Episcopal Church; as a trustee of the Aspen Institute for Humanistic Studies; and with environmental groups like the Nitrogen Fixing Tree Association (Hawaii).

Musser married Elizabeth Willet in 1936 and died in St. Paul in 1990. Biographical information was taken from the collection.

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SCOPE AND CONTENTS

Correspondence, estate files, business files, community affairs files, travel files, diaries, and biographical and genealogical materials documenting the career and family of a Weyerhaeuser corporate executive and St. Paul (Minn.) community leader.

The papers contain a great deal of information on the Musser family, particularly on Clifton and Margaret Musser, with emphasis on the business interests owned by Clifton Musser and the family's financial and other contributions to Muscatine, Iowa. The largest groups of papers, however, document John Musser's Weyerhaeuser corporate activities and his involvement in other business interests They contain a good deal of information on the operation of Weyerhaeuser firms, as well as on the development of the U.S. lumber industry during this period.

They also evidence his involvement in the affairs of many nonprofit institutions. These include his work as a trustee for Carleton College, Yale University, and other educational institutions; as a leader in such local organizations as the Boy Scouts, the United Way, the St. Paul Chamber Orchestra, the St. Paul Urban Coalition, and St. John the Evangelist Episcopal Church; as a trustee of the Aspen Institute for Humanistic Studies; and with environmental groups like the Nitrogen Fixing Tree Association (Hawaii).

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ARRANGEMENT

Personal and Family Papers:

Organizational Files:

Miscellaneous Printeds:


		Biographical and Genealogical Information
		Musser Family Business Background Materials
		Clifton R. and Margaret K. Musser Estate Files
		John M. Musser Personal Files
		Educational Institutions
		Nonprofit Organizations
		Business Enterprises
		Weyerhaeuser Firms
		Miscellaneous Timber Industry Printed Materials

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ADMINISTRATIVE INFORMATION

Availability:

The collection is open for research use.

Preferred Citation:

[Indicate the cited item and/or series here]. John M. Musser and Family Papers. Minnesota Historical Society.

See the Chicago Manual of Style for additional examples.

Accession Information:

Accession number: 14,756; 14,771; 17,804

Processing Information:

Processed by: Kathryn M. Johnson, January 1995; Leif Kopietz, September 2021

Catalog ID number: 990017347190104294

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DETAILED DESCRIPTION

PERSONAL AND FAMILY PAPERS

Location

Box

143.G.6.1B

Biographical and Genealogical Information:

Obituaries of John M. Musser and other family information, 1974-1990.

"The Mosier, Moser, Musser, Muser Family in America," undated. 58 p., bound.

Information on the Swiss-German origins of the family; the immigration of its members to the U.S. and subsequent experiences, as gleaned from passenger lists, military and cemetery records, deeds, and other legal documents; and information from published sources in Pennsylvania, Ohio, Illinois, and Maryland. Includes an index and copies of heraldic images.

Location

Box

142.E.7.2 (dov)

"Musser Genealogy," December 1956.

The printed genealogy (no compiler given) contains the family line of Richard (1819-1896) and Sarah Berger (1836-1902) Musser; the family line of Peter (1826-1910) and Tamson Rhodes (1831-1896) Musser; and the family line of Peter Miller (1841-1919) and Julia Elizabeth Hutchinson (1845-1917) Musser.

"Genealogical Chart of Johann Musser (1712-1777)," compiled by C. R. Musser, undated.

Typed and carbon copies included.

Printed genealogy of Clifton Robert (1869-1956) and Margaret Kulp (1875-1967) Musser, and Seymur Barrett (1885-1960) and Grace B. Morrell (1886-1972) Willett, 1977.

Sketches of Musser family home at 260 Salem Church Road in St. Paul, Minnesota, 1938-1939.

Drawn by architect Edwin Lundie.

Location

Box

143.G.6.1B

Musser Family Business Background Materials:

Correspondence, contracts, expense accounts, biographical information, and copies of business records compiled by Sonia Bowe-Gutman (1987-1988) and Don Hanson (1987) for a history of the Musser family businesses. The files contain Hanson's notes on Musser family history, on Peter M. and Clifton R. Musser, and on the growth and development of the companies from their inceptions through the 1950s. Following those notes are photocopied selections from Musser business and family records including tax records, journals, trial balances, stock lists, and net worth statements from the following firms: Prairie Timber Company, P.M. Musser Company, Fir Tree Company, and the Mississippi River Logging Company. There are also minutes and related records of the Musser Lumber Company, the Red Jacket Manufacturing Company, and the Boise Cascade Lumber Company.

Contract and expense accounts of Sonia Bowe-Gutman, 1987-1988.

Notes and other information compiled by Don Hanson, undated. 4 folders.

Inventories of business and family records:

Inventories of family and business papers in the collections of the state historical societies of Iowa and Minnesota, and in Yale University. Includes correspondence between those institutions and Elwood Maunder of the Forest History Society, who prepared the inventories.

Forest History Society correspondence, 1964-1973.

State Historical Society of Iowa correspondence, 1970-1982. 3 folders.

Includes Elwood R. Maunder's "Inventory and Register of Musser Family Papers, 1880-1960, in the State Historical Society of Iowa."

John M. Musser transfer files: Weyerhaeuser Companies.

Inventories of Weyerhaeuser Records in the Minnesota Historical Society, 1964.

Clifton R. and Margaret K. Musser Estate Files:

Correspondence and some financial records concerning the estates of John's parents. Included are condolence letters received following Margaret's death, as well as holdings-related files on the following companies: Fir Tree, Weyerhaeuser, Boise Payette, and Northwest Papers.

Correspondence and related papers, 1954-1962. 4 folders.

Analyses of securities, 1943-1947.

Clifton and Margaret Musser gifts, 1955-1957.

Estate tax returns to I.R.S., 1957.

Company files:

Fir Tree Company, 1941-1945.

Weyerhaeuser Companies, 1934-1962.

Boise Payette Lumber Company and Northwest Paper Company, 1950.

John Musser's correspondence and financial records regarding Clifton Musser estate, 1937-1968. 4 folders.

Location

Box

143.G.6.2F

Margaret Musser estate:

John Musser's correspondence and financial records, 1955-1970. 7 folders.

Funeral and condolence correspondence, 1967. 3 folders.

Illinois inheritance tax return, 1967. 2 folders.

Estate tax return to I.R.S., 1968. 2 folders.

C.R. and Margaret K. Musser Trust for the City of Muscatine, Iowa, 1957-1958.

John M. Musser Personal Files:

Miscellaneous correspondence, 1958, 1991.

Harvard Divinity School speech and article, 1963.

Musser was invited to speak on religion as it related to contemporary business affairs as part of a larger "religion in American life" colloquium. The speech was subsequently published.

Dedication of Endowment to Boston General Hospital following death of son Peter, 1987.

Passports:

John and Elizabeth Musser, 1935.

John Musser, 1969.

Appointment calendar, 1948.

Pocket diaries, 1923-1976. 29 volumes in small box.

The earliest (1923-1924) diary describes life at the Hotchkiss School. A complete set for the 1948-1976 period give only very brief notations of daily activities. There is also a 1948 appointment calendar.

Sketchbook/notebook, 1978.

"The Four White Majesties," 1930-1931. Photocopied typescript. 1 volume.

Correspondence and photographs documenting a trip around the world taken by Musser and three Yale classmates, 1930-1931. Contains detailed descriptions of the Atlantic voyage to Europe, followed by his impressions of the following places: Scandinavia, Russia, Turkey, Egypt, Syria, Iraq, Iran, India, Burma, China, Siam, Indo-China, the Malay Straits, the island of Bali, the Philippines, and Japan.

Location

Box

143.G.6.3B

Trip files:

Itineraries, correspondence, invoices, and notes describing countries visited by the Mussers. The only substantial file of trip correspondence consists of typescript copies of letters to family and friends during a 1963 European trip.

Africa, 1975.

Caribbean, 1976.

England, 1982.

England, Germany, and Italy, 1974.

Europe, 1963. 2 folders.

Indonesia, 1982.

Japan, 1975.

Persepolis Symposium.

Japan, 1957, 1980. 2 folders.

South Korea, 1980.

Mexico, 1969, 1975, 1976, 1981. ( 3 folders.

Scandinavia and Soviet Union, 1971.

Southeastern Europe, 1972.

Correspondence regarding personal contributions, 1957-1991. 21 folders.

Investment files:

American Research and Development Corporation, 1972.

Camargo Associates, 1969-1972. 2 folders.

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ORGANIZATIONAL FILES

Location

Box

143.G.6.4F

Educational Institutions:

The majority of these files are devoted to Musser's long involvement as a trustee with both Carleton College and Yale University, especially regarding fund raising and the selection of new presidents. In addition, he served on the Yale University Council, on the Yale Development Board, and was very closely involved with the Yale School of Forestry. There are also files on Musser's 50th, 55th, and 60th class reunions.

Breck School (Minneapolis), 1964-1988.

Carleton College:

General files, 1947-1991. 3 folders.

Asian Religions, 1970-1989.

J.M. Musser Trust beneficiary:

Trustees meeting correspondence, May 5, 1961.

Capital campaigns, 1960-1978. 3 folders.

Correspondence Regarding Musser's Financial Contributions, 1972-1990. 2 folders.

Presidential Search Committee, 1961:

Minutes.

Candidate list number 2.

Candidate files:

Gilman, Richard.

Hutchinson, Eric.

Keast, William R.

Martin, Harold C.

Nason, John W.

Villard, Oswald Garrison, Jr.

Watts, Charles.

South Africa: Divestment of funds, 1978. 2 folders.

Episcopal Theological Seminary (Cambridge, Massachusetts). Correspondence and related papers, 1953-1976. 2 folders.

Universities Field Staff International:

General files, 1952-1989. 2 folders.

Correspondence regarding Musser's financial contributions, 1969-1987.

Yale University:

General file, 1962-1989. 5 folders.

Location

Box

143.G.6.5B

Yale University Council:

Minutes and related records, 1966-1977. 5 folders.

Thirtieth Anniversary Dinner, December 1978.

Correspondence and miscellaneous records, 1962-1987. 5 folders.

Fund raising and contributions:

Clifton R. Musser Fund, 1973-1985.

John M. Musser:

General contributions, 1973-1990. 3 folders.

Matching pledge, 1978.

President's discretionary fund, 1968-1978.

Margaret K. Musser Professorship Fund, 1966-1988.

Yale Development Board, 1988.

Yale Development Committee, 1983-1984.

A. Bartlett Giamatti visit, March 1983.

The Campaign for Yale:

St. Paul, 1969-1980. 2 folders.

Twin Cities, 1970-1979. 3 folders.

Class of 1930 reunions:

General file, 1970-1985.

Fiftieth (1980):

General file, 1977-1980. 3 folders.

Special gifts, 1979-1980.

Non-special gifts, 1979-1980.

Pledges, 1979-1981.

Location

Box

143.G.6.6F

Fifty-fifth (1985):

General file, 1984-1985.

Special gifts, 1984-1985.

Musser speech notes.

Musser pledge, 1985.

Sixtieth (1990):

General file, 1988-1990.

Subject files:

Alumni Fellows for Yale, 1965-1970.

Kingman Brewster Chair, 1978-1979.

A. Bartlett Giamatti (president), 1978-1985.

John M. Musser Professor of Economics Chair, 1978-1986.

John M. Musser Professorship: Psychology, 1988.

John M. Musser honorary degree, 1980.

Benno C. Schmitt (president), 1986-1988.

Charles Seymour Professorship: History, 1964-1985.

Skull and Bones Program, 1971.

School of Forestry:

General file, 1954-1990. 5 folders.

The Campaign for Yale, 1975-1978. 3 folders.

Dean's Discretionary Fund, 1974.

Development program, 1966-1988.

Fund raising, 1965-1978. 8 folders.

Dean John C. Gordon visit, September 1983.

Location

Box

143.G.6.7B

New Dean, 1974-1980.

Report (draft), May 1977.

Strategic Advisory Council. Minutes and related records, 1986-1989. 2 folders.

Nonprofit Organizations:

Adler Seminar, 1978-1982.

Advanced Technology Services, 1980-1990. 4 folders.

American Friends Service Committee. Musser speech outline and notes, July 1948.

Aspen Institute for Humanistic Studies:

General file, 1966-1990. 4 folders.

Financial contributions, 1971-1989.

Environment:

Miscellaneous, 1970-1973.

Seminar: "Environment and Development in the West: A Reappraisal of Issues, Priorities, and Prospects," June 1970.

Trip to the Orient, 1969.

Correspondence, contact lists, and miscellany.

Boy Scouts of America, 1961-1970.

Commission on Public Philanthropy and Private Needs:

Correspondence, fund raising materials, and miscellany, 1973-1977. 4 folders.

Musser speech notes and background materials, May 1976.

Community Development Corporation of Greater St. Paul:

General file, 1970-1978.

Annual reports, 1970-1973.

Community Housing Corporation, 1977-1978. 2 folders.

Financial statements and audits, 1969-1973. 2 folders.

Location

Box

143.G.6.8F

Financial statements, 1974-1977.

Personnel, 1970-1972.

Community Human Services, 1981-1982.

Developing Countries Farm Radio Network, 1979-1980. 2 folders.

General Service Foundation:

A philanthropic foundation funded by the Clifton R. and Margaret K. Musser Estate.

Background and historical information files, 1983.

Board of Directors:

Minutes and related records, 1985-1988. 3 folders.

Correspondence and memoranda, 1970-1991. 2 folders.

Membership: Minutes and related records, 1973-1989. 2 folders.

Annual reports, 1981-1989. 5 folders.

Financial information:

Correspondence and a few audits, 1985-1992.

Account analyses, 1981-1987.

Performance data, 1972-1984.

Investment files:

Investment Committee:

Minutes, 1967-1986.

Correspondence and miscellany, 1984-1990. 2 folders.

Alliance Capital Management Corporation. Performance reviews and reports, 1987-1990. 4 folders.

C.C. Dunnavan and Company Investment Counselors. Correspondence and reports, 1979-1987. 2 folders.

Location

Box

143.G.6.9B

Essex Investment Management Company. Correspondence and reports, 1983-1990. 2 folders.

Subject files:

General file, 1975-1990.

Environment, 1965-1984. 3 folders.

Peace, 1982-1983.

Hmong Enterprise Advisory Board. Minutes, financial records, and miscellany, 1983.

International Timesharing Corporation (Chaska, Minnesota):

Computer time sharing business.

Directors', Executive Committee, and Shareholders' minutes, 1967-1975. 7 folders.

Annual and quarterly reports, 1969-1975.

S.E.C. reports: Beneficial Ownership, 1968-1978.

Operating plan, 1968.

United Telecommunications, Inc. Correspondence and legal documents regarding merger, 1974-1976. 2 folders.

Audit Committee reports and miscellany, 1972-1975.

Correspondence and miscellaneous records, 1971-1976. 2 folders.

Location

Box

143.G.6.10F

Institute of Current World Affairs (The Crane-Rogers Foundation):

Correspondence and miscellaneous records, 1946-1990. 4 folders.

Iowa State College Agricultural Foundation:

Founded by Clifton R. Musser.

H.H. Kildee's history of the foundation, 1949.

Board of Trustees. Minutes, reports, and correspondence, 1938-1971. 3 folders.

Correspondence and related materials, 1937-1973. 3 folders.

Japan Institute of Christian Education (Saint Paul's University, Tokyo). Miscellaneous materials, 1961-1973. 2 folders.

Metropolitan Economic Development Association:

A nonprofit association devoted to further economic development within the Twin Cities (Minnesota) metropolitan area.

Articles of incorporation and tax status information, 1971.

Objectives and goals, 1971-1983.

Board of Directors. Minutes, agendas, reports, and related records, 1971-1990. 5 folders.

Annual reports, 1972-1989. 2 folders.

There are no reports for 1985, 1986, and 1988.

Reports and studies:

First year operational plan, 1972-73.

Metropolitan minority business survey, 1974.

Status reports, 1977-78.

Status and planning report, 1980-81.

Proposed strategic plan, 1982.

Miscellaneous reports.

First year performance of MEDA, 1972; Plan, 1985; Strategic plan, 1986-1989; Strategic plan, 1990-1993.

Financial records:

Audits and miscellaneous records, 1972-1986. 2 folders.

Musser contributions, 1973-1990.

Fund raising:

Correspondence and related materials, 1981-1990. 2 folders.

Proposals, 1983-1986. 3 folders.

[Manual], [1988?].

Location

Box

143.G.7.1B

Miscellaneous records:

Clients, 1981-1990. 2 folders.

Includes client directories.

Martine Ortho-Mapping Corporation (Saint Paul), 1974-1981.

Personnel, 1972-1990.

General file, 1971-1984. 4 folders.

Minnesota Committee on Private Support and Public Need, 1973-1974. 2 folders.

National Training Laboratory in Group Development:

Correspondence and related materials, 1951-1964.

Seminar materials, 1955. 3 folders.

Nitrogen Fixing Tree Association (Hawaii):

This organization was created to expand the cultivation of Leucaena, a fast growing nitrogen-fixing tree that could be used for soil enrichment in Third World countries.

Articles of incorporation, bylaws, and tax status, 1981-1988.

Objectives, case statements, and mission statement, 1988-1989.

Organizational file, 1984-1991.

Leucaena Meeting, Seattle, June 17-18, 1980.

Board of Directors:

Membership lists and minutes, 1980-1992. 2 folders.

Lists, correspondence, and related materials, 1981-1990.

Presidential search committee, 1988-1990. 2 folders.

Musser contributions and memorial, 1981-1988, 1990.

Fund raising:

Requests to foundations and individuals, 1984-1990. 4 folders.

Location

Box

143.G.7.2F

Grants and trusts, 1981-1990. 3 folders.

Grants received before 1985, 1981-1986. 2 folders.

Prospective associate members, 1981-1990.

Resource people, 1980-1989.

Contacts and program, 1979-1982.

Communications and publications, 1982-1990.

Communications Associate candidates, 1988.

Workshops:

Bellagio germplasm, 1982-1988.

Other workshops, 1982-1988.

Correspondence and related materials, 1981-1990. 3 folders.

Photographs, undated and 1979-1988. 6 folders, containing 90 images.

Photos are from annual and other meetings.

Correspondence files:

Borlaug, Norman, 1980-1981.

Brenan, P. J., 1982-1988.

Brewbaker, James L., 1980-1990. 3 folders.

Burley, Jeffrey, 1989-1990.

Challinor, David, 1987-1990.

Chamberlain, James L., 1987-1990.

Glover, Nancy, 1989-1990.

Hartshorn, Gary S., 1980-1981.

Hueg, William F., 1989-1990.

MacDicken, Kenneth G., 1982-1990. 2 folders.

Macklin, William D., 1987.

Ravenholt, Albert V., 1980-1990.

Sullivan, Gregory, 1990.

Swaminathan, M. S., 1987-1990.

Treacey, Mark, 1988-1989.

Van den Belt, Richard, 1980-1983.

Wijewardine, Ray, 1983-1990. 2 folders.

Willers, Kathryn B., 1987.

Withington, Dale, 1985-1987.

Location

Box

143.G.7.3B

Subject files:

Agency for International Development, 1981-1990.

CARE, 1986-1990.

Development:

General file, 1983-1990. 2 folders.

Linkage, 1984-1989.

Washington, D.C., 1984-1988.

Winrock Institute for Agency Development, 1986.

EMBRAPA, 1982-1983.

Empresa Brasileira de Pesquisa Agropecuria.

Enterprise Development, Inc., 1982.

General Service Foundation, 1984-1986.

International Council of Research in Agroforestry, 1984-1985.

International Irrigation Management Institute, 1983-1990.

Caesar Kellogg Wildlife Research Institute (Texas), 1982-1985.

Leucaena trees, 1979-1987.

National Academy of Sciences research grant, 1981-1984.

New Forests Project, 1983-1985.

Nitrogen fixation by tropical agricultural legumes (Hawaii), 1982-1989.

Oxfam America, 1985-1990.

Research files, 1980-1989. 2 folders.

Save the Children, 1986-1990.

Trammel Crow, 1990.

World Bank forestry activity, 1984-1987.

World Neighbors (Oklahoma City), 1984-1990. 2 folders.

World Resources Institute, 1984-1988.

World Wildlife Fund, 1989-1990.

Population Crisis Committee (Washington, D.C.):

Fund raising, 1976-1990. 5 folders.

Musser financial contributions, 1985-1990.

Latin American trip, March 1977.

Correspondence and related materials, 1980-1990. 2 folders.

Location

Box

143.G.7.4F

Population Council (New York, New York):

General file, 1976-1990. 2 folders.

Musser financial contributions, 1982-1989.

Fund raising, 1978-1984.

Southeast Asia trip, 1982.

World Population Year trip, 1974.

St. Paul Chamber Orchestra:

General file, 1977-1992. 2 folders.

Annual meeting, September 1984.

Development:

General file, 1983-1991. 2 folders.

Board of Directors, 1983-1984.

Fund plan, 1984-1989. 2 folders.

Packets, 1987, 1988. 2 folders.

Endowment, 1985-1991.

Finance Committee, 1988-1990. 2 folders.

Includes minutes.

Fund raising and Sustaining Fund materials, 1987-1989.

Future of the SPCO: Luncheon, May 1986.

Music Director:

Pinchas Zuckerman, 1983-1986.

Contract, 1984-1986.

Musser financial contributions, 1976-1990. 2 folders.

President, 1983.

President's Advisory Committee, 1983-1985.

St. Paul Urban Coalition:

Miscellaneous information, 1967-1969.

Includes background materials, information on its organization, and lists of directors.

Bylaws.

Board of Directors and Executive Committee:

Minutes, 1968-1975. 5 folders.

Includes annual meeting materials from 1970 and 1972.

Location

Box

143.G.7.5B

Correspondence and related materials, 1968-1977. 4 folders.

Musser financial contributions, 1968-1974.

General file, 1967-1975.

Subject files:

Education, 1968-1975.

Employment, 1968-1974.

Evaluation Task Force, 1976.

Housing Task Force. Minutes, 1968-1970. 2 folders.

Minority businesses, 1971.

Model Cities Program, 1967-1969.

Opportunities Industrialization Center, 1968-1971. 2 folders.

Special study committee, 1969.

Business Enterprises:

Extensive files on business firms in which Musser had a financial or managerial interest. Many of the firms are Weyerhaeuser subsidiaries or Musser family concerns.

The Musser family business operations began in Muscatine and Davenport, Iowa in the mid-1850s. The core and progenitor of the family business operations, Richard Musser and Company, was a lumber wholesaling and retailing firm based in Muscatine. The Musser family businessmen were close collaborators with their Weyerhaeuser family peers, whose interests were headquartered in the Rock Island (Illinois) area, as common members of the sometimes close-knit community of Mississippi Valley lumbermen.

The first formal business collaboration of the two families was an 1871 syndicate of Mississippi Valley lumber concerns headed by Frederick Weyerhaeuser and named the Mississippi River Lumber Company. In 1886 the two families entered the Minnesota area, along with Stillwater (Minnesota.) lumbermen William Sauntry and David Tozer, as the Musser-Sauntry Land, Logging and Manufacturing Company. The business was formed to exploit land tracts purchased from the Omaha Railroad in the St. Croix pineries.

In 1890 Musser, Weyerhaeuser-Denkmann, and Laird-Norton interests organized the Pine Tree Lumber Company (Little Falls, Minnesota), which operated on land acquired from the Northern Pacific Railroad in the Upper Mississippi pineries of north central Minnesota. This was the first Minnesota-based company of the Musser family, and it was jointly managed by scions Charles Weyerhaeuser and R. Drew Musser. In 1898, Charles Weyerhaeuser and Drew Musser organized another joint project, the Northwest Paper Company (Cloquet, Minnesota). Musser family members were closely involved in Weyerhaeuser businesses thereafter, sitting on the boards of the following companies: Weyerhaeuser Timber Company, Boise Payette Lumber Company, Potlatch Lumber Company, Northwest Paper Company, and Wood Conversion Company.

Allied Building Credit, Inc. (Saint Paul, Minnesota):

Articles of incorporation; bylaws, 1935, 1946-1947; and descriptive booklet, 1949.

Minutes of board of directors, executive committee, and stockholders, 1945-1947. 2 folders.

Board of Directors. Correspondence and related materials, 1946-1948.

Key personnel, undated and 1946.

Robert A. Love, "Observations on the Administration and Operation of Allied Building Credits, 1942.

Operations and program data, undated and 1943, 1945.

Financial reports, statements, and related materials, 1936-1953. 5 folders.

General file, 1944-1945.

Location

Box

143.G.7.6F

Sale of firm to Transamerica Corporation:

Includes correspondence, notes, reports, and related materials.

Decision to sell, 1944-1945.

Suggested purchasers, 1945.

Transamerica Corporation, 1944-1948.

Boise Cascade Corporation. Correspondence and related materials, 1962-1990.

Boise Payette Lumber Company:

"A General Survey of Boise Payette Lumber Company Timberlands," 1949.

"Operating History: Boise Payette Lumber Company Retail Yards Department," 1950. 1 volume.

Correspondence and related materials, 1947-1955. 6 folders.

Drew Timber Company (Muscatine, Iowa). Correspondence and related materials, 1935-1943. 4 folders.

Fir Tree Company (Muscatine, Iowa). Correspondence, 1938-1940.

First National Bank of Saint Paul:

Financial reports, 1969-1974.

Personnel Committee, 1967-1975. 2 folders.

Examining Committee, 1967-1972.

Transcript of historian Merrill Jarchow's interview with Musser, June 1976.

Manual, 1971-1973.

General file, 1963-1976. 4 folders.

General Home Financial Corporation. Correspondence and related materials, 1936.

May have formed part of Allied Building Credits firm.

Hawkeye Lumber Company (Oskaloosa, Ia.). Correspondence and financial statements, 1950-1959.

Holly Hills Fruit Products Company, Inc. (Davenport, Florida). Correspondence and financial reports, 1941-1970. 2 folders.

Location

Box

143.G.7.7B

Iowa Farms (Muscatine, Iowa):

Minutes of board of directors and stockholders, 1937-1957. 2 folders.

Financial statements, 1934-1956. 3 folders.

Annual financial reports, 1937-1951. 2 folders.

Sale of farms: correspondence and related materials, 1957-1958.

Information on individual farms, 1955-1975.

General correspondence and related materials, 1947-1961.

Journals, 1948-1958. 2 volumes.

Ledger, 1948-1956. 1 volume.

Mississippi Land Company (Saint Paul, Minnesota). Financial records, 1935-1964.

Mississippi Lumber Company (Saint Paul, Minnesota). Corporate and financial records, 1958-1990.

Musser Mine (Crow Wing County, Minnesota). Legal documents, 1951-1960.

The documents concern its sale to the Pine Tree Manufacturing Company.

Northwest Paper Company:

Historical sketch and background material, 1959-1960.

Minutes of board of directors and stockholders, 1944-1961. 6 folders.

Lists of directors and officers, 1954, 1960.

Location

Box

143.G.7.8F

Reorganization:

Miscellaneous correspondence, 1945, 1947.

Sale of Brainerd mill, 1947.

Correspondence and related materials, 1940-1941. 2 folders.

Compensation Committee. Minutes and related records, 1956-1960.

Long-range plans, 1958-1961. 2 folders.

Financial records:

Corporate shares, 1944-1960.

Stock options, 1956-1957.

Lists of stockholders, 1958-1961.

Financial statements, 1936-1964.

Statistical comparisons with other producers, 1955-1962.

General files, 1946-1964. 2 folders.

Northwest Paper Foundation:

Articles of incorporation, bylaws, and tax status documents, 1953-1954, 1969.

Corporation data, 1960-1975.

Minutes and related materials, 1969-1978.

Financial statements and audits, 1965-1978. 2 folders.

Correspondence and related materials, 1952-1979. 4 folders.

Pine Land Lumber Company (Little Falls, Minnesota). Correspondence, minutes, financial data, and related materials, 1955-1990. 7 folders.

Pine Tree Manufacturing Company (Little Falls, Minnesota). Correspondence and related materials, 1937-1951.

Location

Box

143.G.7.9B

Red Jacket Manufacturing Company (Davenport, Iowa):

The firm manufactured water pumps and related equipment, later expanding into air conditioners. It acquired several companies in related businesses: Gould pumps (Seneca Falls, New York), Sta-Rite Products (Delavan, Wisconsin.), and Weil-McLain Company (Michigan City, Indiana). In 1978 the company was reorganized as Wylain, Inc., with headquarters in Dallas, Texas.

Articles of incorporation, 1937; bylaws, 1960.

Objectives, 1943.

Organizational charts and lists, 1965.

Handbook, 1948.

Minutes of the board of directors and stockholders, 1936-1966. 6 folders.

Report to the board of directors from Carl R. Rogers, June 1956.

Board of Directors. Special Committee on Management and Employee Relations. Correspondence and related materials, 1952-1960. 7 folders.

Special Committee on Red Jacket Forum and Office Forum. Minutes and related materials, 1949-1952.

Location

Box

143.G.7.10F

Personnel Committee.

Minutes, 1946-1965. 3 folders.

Correspondence and related materials, 1936-1966. 2 folders.

Planning: Correspondence and related materials:

Incentives, 1947-1966.

Marketing, [1965?].

Profit sharing, 1936-1946. 3 folders.

Operations. Correspondence and reports, 1958-1966. 2 folders.

President (Foster C. Simonson):

Plant operations correspondence, 1936-1944. 2 folders.

Other correspondence, 1945-1947.

Includes items relating to his resignation.

Financial and accounting records:

Reports, 1935-1965. 9 folders.

Condensed balance sheets, 1945-1962. 3 folders.

Location

Box

143.G.8.1B

Sales charts and related materials, 1945-1970.

Five-year financial forecasts, 1965, 1966.

Stock options, 1956-1965.

Miscellany, 1949-1969. 2 folders.

Gould Pumps, Inc. (Seneca Falls, New York). Correspondence and related materials, 1963-1966.

Concerns potential merger with Red Jacket Manufacturing Company.

Sta-Rite Products, Inc. (Delavan, Wisconsin):

Correspondence regarding purchase of equipment by Red Jacket Manufacturing Company, 1965-1966. 2 folders.

Correspondence and related materials, 1946-1966.

Roach and Musser Company (Muscatine, Iowa):

Lists of stockholders, 1954, 1956; list of employees, 1962.

Correspondence and related materials, 1954-1967. 7 folders.

Financial and accounting records:

Balance sheets, 1936-1958.

Corporate balance statement, 1955-1957.

Inventory, March 1957.

Report on special examination, December 1956.

Sales of products, 1950-1955.

Survey of operations, 1956. 2 folders.

Trial balances, 1954-1965.

Yearly customer comparisons by state and by city, 1950-1955.

Miscellany, 1954-1963.

The St. Paul Companies:

Miscellaneous information, 1976-1990.

Annual meeting notices and proxy forms, 1969-1990.

Weil-McLain Company (Michigan City, Indiana):

Executive structure and staffing, 1967-1977.

Preliminary merger discussions with Red Jacket Manufacturing Company, 1965-1966.

Merger agreement and proxy forms, 1966-1974.

Location

Box

143.G.8.2F

Correspondence and related materials, 1966-1980. 5 folders.

Wylain, Inc. (Dallas, Texas):

Pension Investment Committee:

Board of directors minutes, 1973-1978.

Guidelines, 1973-1977.

Quarterly financial reviews, 1973-1978.

General file, 1972-1978.

Location

Box

143.G.8.2F

Weyerhaeuser Firms:

The Weyerhaeuser section of the Musser business records is organized around the major entities represented in the collection materials: the Weyerhaeuser Timber Company, its successor the Weyerhaeuser Company, and the Weyerhaeuser Sales Company. Following the records of those firms are undifferentiated subject files pertaining to all of the Weyerhaeuser business interests.

Historical Information:

Historical background and charts, [195-]-1975.

Correspondence regarding publication of Timber and Men: The Weyerhaeuser Story, 1950-1963. 2 folders.

Weyerhaeuser Timber Company/Weyerhaeuser Company:

Records predating 1959 are those of the Weyerhaeuser Timber Company.

Articles of incorporation, 1950-1956.

Board of Directors:

Minutes and related materials, November 1950-June 1965. 17 folders.

Location

Box

143.G.8.3B

Minutes and related materials, August 1965-October 1974. 24 folders.

Location

Box

143.G.8.4F

Minutes and related materials, February 1975-April 1978. 13 folders.

Information on potential incumbents, role, and compensation, 1961-1977. 4 folders.

Quarterly financial reports to the board, 1974-1977. 5 folders.

Review of land and timber, 1974.

Location

Box

143.G.8.5B

Tours:

Twin Harbors, Washington, August 9, 1967.

Willamette Region of Oregon, October 4, 1974.

Vail McDonald Tree Farm, Everett, Washington, April 15, 1975.

Northern Washington Region, August 14, 1975.

Japan, May 1975.

Eastern Oregon Region, November 8-9, 1976.

Miscellaneous correspondence and related materials, 1959-1978.

Executive Committee:

Minutes, October 1957-September 1976. 18 folders.

New Products Division reporting session, February 15, 1961.

Location

Box

143.G.8.6F

Annual reports of divisions, 1960.

Includes North Carolina Pulp Company; Container Division: Western, Eastern, and Central regions; milk cartons; pulp and paperboard; personnel; Mississippi-Alabama Operations.

Annual meetings of shareholders: Proxy forms and annual reports, 1964-1990. 3 folders.

Financial reports of Weyerhaeuser companies, 1950-1973. 9 folders.

Auditor's reports concerning amount to be credited to bonus reserve, 1961-1962.

Accounting and Reporting Standards Committee. Minutes and related materials, 1974-1978. 10 folders.

Includes audit reports by Arthur Andersen and Company.

Research Division. Report and program, 1960.

Maps of production and distribution facilities, 1965.

Company publications:

You Asked For It, 1977-1978.

Today, 1978-1980.

The Clipsheet, 1971-1980.

Reporter, 1979-1980.

Location

Box

143.G.8.7B

Interview transcripts:

Norton Clapp, 1976. 2 folders.

John M. Musser, 1979.

Norton Clapp correspondence, 1959-1965. 8 folders.

Clapp's correspondence during his tenure as president.

Compensation Committee:

Minutes, correspondence, and related materials, 1951-1964. 15 folders.

Summaries of salary rate adjustments and related materials, 1951-1959. 2 folders.

American Management Association Special Compensation Committee, 1960-1962. 3 folders.

"A Review of Executive Compensation Administration," 1963.

Location

Box

143.G.8.8F

Correspondence and related materials, 1947-1990. 4 folders.

Weyerhaeuser Timber Company:

Historical information. 1 volume.

Thompson Yards (Saint Paul, Minnesota):

Annual reports, 1952-1954.

See Box 35.

Annual reports, 1955-1957. 3 folders.

Consolidated financial statements, 1943-1948; Report of General Manager to stockholders, 1949. 2 folders.

Upper Cuts (publication), 1918-1958.

Fact book on forest product industries in Oregon and Washington, 1958.

Location

Box

142.E.7.2 (dov)

Thompson Yards:

Annual report of general manager, 1952.

Annual reports, 1952-1954. 3 folders.

Robert E. Thomas, "Timberland Acquisition and Management," 1950.

Marian C. McKenna, "The Problem of Taxation: A Chapter in the History of the Weyerhaeuser Timber Company," undated.

Stanford Research Institute, America's Demand for Wood, 1929-1945, 1954. 2 volumes.

Correspondence and related materials, 1950-1959.

Weyerhaeuser Sales Company:

Objectives, 1949.

General Manager's reports, 1941-1948. 8 folders.

Location

Box

143.G.8.9B

General Manager's reports, 1949-1959. 11 folders.

Executive policy manual, 1958-1959.

Operations Committee meeting, September 27-30, 1943.

Personnel administration manual, [195-]. 2 folders.

Personnel information, 1941-1958.

Includes bonus plan information.

Postwar planning, 1943-1945.

Fred W. Kohlmeyer, "A History of Marketing in Weyerhaeuser Companies, with Special Emphasis on the Policies and Practices of the Weyerhaeuser Sales Company," [ undated.

Correspondence and related materials, 1947-1959.

Weyerhaeuser Companies subject files:

Business development, 1959-1960.

Business ethics, 1976-1978.

Charts:

Sales: Weyerhaeuser Company, 1950-1970.

Sales: Prices and operating profits, 1950-1961.

Return on investment, 1953-1964.

Sales: Weyerhaeuser and other firms, [1975?].

Columbus investment, 1957-1958.

Competitors, 1963-1976.

Corporate midterm plan update, June 13, 1974.

Location

Box

143.G.8.10F

Corporate responsibility, 1968-1973.

Crocker, Burbank and Company (Fitchburg, Massachusetts), 1961-1962.

A Weyerhaeuser subsidiary.

Dierks Forests, Inc. (Hot Springs, Arkansas), 1969-1970.

Disclosure file: Securities and Exchange Commission, 1976.

Dropsy, S.A. (Rheims, France): Possible acquisition, 1963-1965.

Environment, 1970-1976.

Financial information, 1954-1978. 3 folders.

Includes some financial correspondence.

Financial data: Comparative mill and logging costs, 1963-1966.

First Bancredit Corporation review, 1959.

Forecasts: Weyerhaeuser Sales Company, 1943-1960.

Forecasts: General, 1974-1976.

Foreign investments:

Africa, 1975.

Europe, 1963.

General, 1961-1976.

Japan, 1969-1975.

Southeast Asia, 1964-1975.

Southeast Asia: Log rule comparisons, September 1965.

Foreign operations:

Australia:

Associated Pulp and Paper Mills, Ltd., 1959-1971.

Australian Pulp Manufacturers, Ltd., 1959-1970.

Contacts, 1960, 1964.

J. Fielding and Company, Ltd., 1959-1962.

General Correspondence, 1960-1967.

General information, 1958-1960.

Includes brochures, maps, and statistics.

The Kauri Timber Company, Ltd., 1958-1961.

Other forest products, 1960.

Pulp and paper, 1959-1961.

State Building Supplies (C. W. Court), 1957-1960.

Timber, 1957, 1960.

Australia and New Zealand: Whakatane:

Correspondence and related materials, 1960-1963.

Reports, 1957-1960.

Location

Box

143.G.9.1B

Correspondence, reports, and related materials, 1960-1963, 2 folders.

South Africa:

General correspondence, 1960-1971. 2 folders.

Pulp and paper mill study, October 1964. 2 folders.

Shipping container plant, 1964-1965.

Foreign reinsurance subsidiary, 1959-1961.

Forest products: Transcripts of a conference on the implications of the environmental pressure to reduce timber harvests (New York, New York), June 6, 1989.

Ingram, E. Bronson and Frederick: Bribery case, 1977-1978.

Internal Revenue Code, Section 631: Capital gains tax on lumber. Correspondence, 1963.

Kieckhofer-Eddy merger, 1956-1957.

Legal and Tax departments. Opinions and related files, 1957-1972.

Lumber and building material stores, St. Louis Park, Minnesota:

General file, 1960-1964.

Financial correspondence, statements, exhibits, and analyses, 1960-1965. 3 folders.

Line yard:

Line Yard Study Committee:

Correspondence and related materials, 1959-1961.

A Study, July 1961. 2 folders.

A program for increasing the attractiveness of line yard investment, July 1961.

Marketing, 1957, 1960.

Sale of stores to Bedford Lumber Company and Hayes-Lucas Lumber Company, 1961. 2 folders.

Stores were then renamed United Building Centers.

Location

Box

143.G.9.2F

Sale of stores to Bedford Lumber Company and Hayes-Lucas Lumber Company, 1962-1967. 2 folders.

Thompson Yards (Aberdeen, South Dakota). Correspondence and related materials, 1955-1959.

Lumber, Plywood and Timberland Group. Report, 1961.

McKinsey and Company, Inc. Reports, 1956, 1961.

MacMillan and Bloedel, Ltd., 1956-1962.

Marketing: Wood Products Division, 1958-1971.

Mortgages, 1966-1971.

Musser, John M.:

Security clearance, 1965-1971.

Securities and Exchange Commission:

Form 144: Notice of Proposed Sale of Securities, 1973-1978. 6 folders.

Proxy and SEC statement, 1963.

Trips: Far East, 1969, 1980. 2 folders.

Northwest timber supply review: Presentation by G. H. Weyerhaeuser to Board of Directors, September 9, 1964.

Objectives, 1955-1963.

Operations, 1962-1978. 2 folders.

Organization, 1965-1975.

Par-West Financial (Los Angeles) and subsidiaries, [undated] and 1969-1970.

Includes Pacific Western Mortgage Company and Pardee Homes.

Personnel:

Correspondence and related materials, 1941-1985.

Printed materials, 1964-1973.

Location

Box

143.G.9.3B

Report of employee survey: Weyerhaeuser Timber Company, [undated].

Employee survey, 1977.

Employee attitudes study, June 1969.

Human resources management presentation to board of directors, August 15, 1977.

Labor negotiations, 1958-1960. 3 folders.

Management Bulletin (publication), 1952, 1970-1990. 2 folders.

Management development, 1956-1964.

Science Research Association, University of Chicago Industrial Relations Center:

Correspondence and related materials, 1950-1958.

"The Results of the Employee Inventory of the Weyerhaeuser Timber Company," January 1952.

Plant expansion: Prospective acquisitions and mergers, 1960-1977.

Public relations:

Correspondence, 1958, 1970.

Brochures, [194-]-[196-].

Pulp, paper, and paperboard: Correspondence and related materials, 1958-1967.

Stock exchange listings, 1956-1971.

Stock options, 1968.

"The Target Forest": A presentation to the board by H. E. Morgan, October 13, 1966.

"The Target Forest, Fir and Pine: A Revised Program of Management for Weyerhaeuser Company's Fir and Pine Areas," 1967.

Timber: Acquisitions, ownership, allowable cuts, and prism inventories, 1940-1976. 4 folders.

Timberlands:

High-yield forest plan and mid-term plan presented to the board by C. W. Bingham, October 7, 1971.

Timberlands investment analysis: The potential for tree improvements, presented to the board by C. W. Bingham, October 7, 1971.

Weyerhaeuser, George H. Correspondence, 1966-1988.

Weyerhaeuser Company Foundation:

Correspondence and related materials, 1951-1978.

United Way contributions, 1963-1978.

Weyerhaeuser Forest Products Company annual report, 1987.

Weyerhaeuser Real Estate Company Shelter Group update summary, 1979.

Wood Conversion Company relationship to the Weyerhaeuser Timber Company, 1948-1953.

Monographs on timber industry:

Fred W. Kohlmeyer:

"Product Development and Wood Utilization," undated.

"Technological Change in Midwestern Sawmills, undated.

"Timberland Acquisition in the Midwest," undated.

Marian McKenna, "A History of the Weyerhaeuser Steamship Company, 1906-1957," undated.

L. Rofinot, "Logging in the Pacific Northwest," undated.

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MISCELLANEOUS PRINTEDS

Location

Box

143.G.9.4F

Miscellaneous Timber Industry Printed Material

Miscellany, [undated] and 1940-1977. 4 folders.

Union contracts, 1954-1958.

Weyerhaeuser News, [195-].

Newsletter of Weyerhaeuser Sales Company.

Weyerhaeuser Magazine, February 1955.

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RELATED MATERIALS

Many other materials relating to the Musser family and its members are in the Minnesota Historical Society book and manuscript collections, including the papers of Elizabeth Musser.

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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:: Agricultural colleges -- Iowa -- Ames.; Air conditioning equipment -- Iowa.; Building materials.; Economic development -- Minnesota.; Economic development projects -- Asia.; Employee attitude surveys.; Environmental protection.; Forest conservation -- United States.; Forest management -- United States.; Forest productivity -- United States.; Forest products industry -- United States.; Foundations -- Iowa.; Foundations -- Minnesota.; International business enterprises -- Australia.; International business enterprises -- New Zealand.; International business enterprises -- South Africa.; Investments, Foreign.; Leucaena -- Hawaii.; Lumber trade -- United States.; Lumbering -- United States.; Minority business enterprises -- Minnesota -- Saint Paul.; Ocean travel.; Real estate business -- United States.; Trees -- Hawaii -- Development.; Universities and colleges -- Minnesota -- Northfield.

Places:: Asia -- Economic conditions, 1945-.; Australia -- Economic conditions, 1945-.; Europe -- Description and travel, 1945-1970.; Japan -- Description and travel, 1945-.; New Zealand -- Economic conditions, 1945-.; South Africa -- Economic conditions, 1945-.

Persons:: Clapp, Norton, author.; Hidy, Ralph W. (Ralph Willard), 1905-1977, author.; Kohlmeyer, Frederick W., 1920-2006, author.; Maunder, Elwood R., author.; Musser family.; Musser, Clifton R. (Clifton Robert), 1869-1956, author.; Musser, Margaret Kulp, 1875-1967, author.; Nevins, Allan, 1890-1971, author.; Lundie, Edwin, author.

Organizations:: Allied Building Credit, Inc. (Saint Paul, Minn.); Carleton College (Northfield, Minn.); First National Bank of Saint Paul.; General Service Foundation.; Metropolitan Economic Development Association (Minneapolis, Minn.); Nitrogen Fixing Tree Association (Hawaii); Northwest Paper Company (Cloquet, Minn.); Red Jacket Manufacturing Company (Davenport, Ia.); Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra.; Saint Paul Urban Coalition.; Weyerhaeuser Company.; Weyerhaeuser Sales Company.; Weyerhaeuser Timber Company.; Yale University -- Alumni.

Types of Documentation:: Diaries.; Interviews -- Minnesota.; Photographs.

Occupations:: Businessmen -- Minnesota.; Lumbermen.

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