SHERMAN HOLBERT:

Sherman Holbert was born in Texas in 1915. His parents soon separated and he came to live with his grandparents in the Mille Lacs area and grew up in Sherman's Point, adjacent to the Mille Lacs Band of Ojibwe Indian reservation. As a child he played with the Indian children and learned the Ojibwe language. Following his service in the Army Air Force during World War II, Holbert returned to the Mille Lacs area and began his career as a business entrepreneur. In 1946 he started a maple syrup business in which sap from the maple trees of local landowners was processed in his factory in Onamia. The maple syrup business was closed in 1952. Holbert then started a business to collect and nationally market the wild rice of the Mille Lacs area. Rice was collected primarily from Mille Lacs Band members and processed and sold by Holbert. This venture was the largest distributor of wild rice in the United States during the 1950s and 1960s. Holbert sold the wild rice business in 1969.

In the meantime, Holbert and his wife Maxine began developing a gift shop and tourist stop with the old maple syrup factory buildings. During the 1950s and 1960s they developed "Fort Mille Lacs," a landmark tourist attraction along Highway 169 near Onamia. It included an Indian village, gift shop, museum, and restaurant. Over the years more than thirty members of the Mille Lacs Band were hired to demonstrate craftmaking, staff the Indian village, and perform traditional dances. In the years following World War II, Holbert began amassing his extensive collection of American Indian objects and became a noted expert in woodland Indian artifacts. His collection was displayed as part of the exhibits at the Fort Mille Lacs tourist attraction. During this time Holbert produced several educational films on wild rice and maple sugaring and on local Ojibwe culture. After the Fort Mille Lacs site closed, Holbert turned his attention to developing his collection and to buying and selling Indian artifacts and handcrafts. He also undertook several development projects with his property which were operated under his corporation, the Fort Mille Lacs Development Corporation. The Fort Mille Lacs site was eventually sold to the Mille Lacs Band of Ojibwe in the 1990s.

Sherman's maternal grandfather, Cyrus A. Sherman, was a typesetter and invented the "circus type" font used for posters. He owned the Standard Printing Company in St. Paul and the National Lithograph Company in Chicago. He later retired in the Mille Lacs area and was the publisher of the Mille Lacs Messenger, the newspaper of the Mille Lacs area. Georgia Sherman Holbert (1888-1981), born in Wisconsin to Gertrude Hall and Cyrus A. Sherman, was educated in music and sang professionally until her marriage to Ben Holbert in 1915. Ben and Georgia had three sons: Ben Jr., Sherman, and Frederic Patten (Pat).

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The collection mainly consists of the files of Sherman Holbert relating to his life and business ventures in the Mille Lacs area of Minnesota. It documents his many entrepreneurial undertakings including the development of his property near Onamia, his maple sugar business, his wild rice business, his collection of Indian photographs and artifacts, the operation of his tourist attraction, Fort Mille Lacs, and the eventual sale of the property to the Mille Lacs Band of Ojibwe. Most of the business files relate to the development, management, and sale of his property during the 1990s. There are also several files relating to the Fort Mille Lacs attraction mainly during the 1950s and 1960s. The collection contains information on the development of the Mille Lacs area as well as Holbert's interactions with the local Ojibwe Indians including their employment at Fort Mille Lacs and through his collecting efforts.

Included are organizational records of the various businesses entities, minutes, correspondence, legal documents, sales agreements, photographs, postcards and tourist memorabilia, subject files with letters, clippings, photographs, articles, organizational records, and miscellaneous materials. There are also photographs of Ojibwe Indians of the area engaged in traditional craftmaking. The collection also includes a scattering of family history materials relating to Holbert's mother, Georgia Sherman Holbert, and his grandparents, Gertrude Hall and Cyrus Sherman. These materials include miscellaneous letters, photographs, journals and reminiscences of Holbert and Sherman family members, some relating to the Mille Lacs area.

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These documents are organized into the following sections:

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Availability:

The collection is open for research use.

Use Restrictions:

Copyright in that portion of the photographs associated with the Film Research Company has been reserved by the Mille Lacs Band of Ojibwe Federated Cultural Resources Board. Reproduction or publication requires written permission. For further information concerning copyright status and/or permission to publish, please consult the reference staff.

Preferred Citation:

[Indicate the cited item and/or series here]. Sherman Holbert Papers. Minnesota Historical Society.

See the Chicago Manual of Style for additional examples.

Accession Information:

Accession number: 16,085; 16,501

Processing Information:

Processing and cataloging of this collection was supported with a Basic Project grant awarded by the National Historical Publications and Records Commission (NHPRC).

Catalog ID number: 990061781250104294

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Sherman Holbert was president and board chair of the Fort Mille Lacs Development Corporation. It was the corporation under which he operated various businesses associated with his property including a gas station and motel. The records include board of directors files, correspondence and legal files connected with several legal actions with which the Corporation was involved, including the bankruptcy of Brockton Holbert. There are files relating to the various business operations, the leasing of property, and the sale of property to the Mille Lacs Band of Ojibwe.

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Photographs, postcards, clippings and articles and other memorabilia from the Fort Mille Lacs Village tourist attraction. Most of the materials date from the 1950s-1960s during the high point of operations at the site. There are black and white and color photographs of the site grounds and interiors as well as many local Indians demonstrating craftmaking. Many of the Indians in the photos are identified by name.

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These files were created by Holbert and represent his various business undertakings and interests. There are files concerning the development of the Mille Lacs area including the US Highway 169 Safety and Development Association and the Mille Lacs Lake Association, Holbert's collection of Indian artifacts, topics relating to the Ojibwe Indians, the wild rice industry, and the maple syrup industry including the Minnesota Maple Syrup Producers Association. The files contain letters, clippings, photographs, articles, organizational records and miscellaneous materials.

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These files contain many of the photographs Holbert had as part of his collection of Indian artifacts. Most depict local Ojibwe Indians at work in craftmaking or wild rice operations, but there are some portraits as well. Many of the Indians in the photos have been identified by name. Most of the photos are black and white, but some are color. There are also photos of Holbert's maple syrup operations and an Minneapolis Aquatennial birchbark canoe trip. Also included are general information on Holbert's artifact collection and photocopies of further photographs from Holbert's collection that have been separated out into the sound and visual collection.

Photographs relating to C. A. Sherman, his family, and time spent on the reservation, circa 1905-1938.

Images from this folder are also available in digital format.

Georgia Sherman with Zaagajiw's wife and child, 1910.

Canoe making at Zaagajiw's camp with Georgia Sherman second from left, 1910.

Canoe making at Zaagajiw's camp, 1910.

Zaagajiw outside dwelling, 1908.

Children outside wigwam at Lake Mille Lacs, Mille Lacs Indian Reservation, 1922.

Jim Boyd's son Moqua, 1911.

C. A. Sherman's residence at 1023 White Bear Avenue in St. Paul, 1905.

Chippewa Home, Lake Mille Lacs, 1910.

Georgia Sherman holding Naabaw's mat, 1906.

Wild rice that has been tied in preparation for harvest, 1910.

Charley Boyd (Quaykosh) with his wife Poeschewzigan, and their baby Raining Boyd, 1910.

Billie Bedasky's wife Equay with their children, George, Selma (Misasowagside) and Rose (Gaybagbe), 1911.

Naabaw at Zaagajiw's wigwam, Mille Lacs Indian Reservation, 1911.

C. A. Sherman and Zaagajiw at Sherman (Wigwam) Point, 1910.

C. A. Sherman and Jim Boyd, Mille Lacs Indian Reservation, 1915.

Unidentified baby in cradle board, Mille Lacs Indian Reservation, 1910.

Weaver making anakin, Mille Lacs Indian Reservation, 1910.

Group of Ojibwe women and children, Mille Lacs Indian Reservation, 1910.

Canoe that Zaagajiw made for Georgia Sherman, Mille Lacs Indian Reservation, 1906.

Canoe that Zaagajiw made for Georgia Sherman, Mille Lacs Indian Reservation, 1906.

Howard Crosby, Eddie Butterfield and Violet Butterfield inside Blue Goose Liquor Store, Garrison, 1938.

The Queen Ann on Lake Mille Lacs, 1905.

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Family materials mainly include items from Sherman Holbert's mother, Georgia Sherman Holbert, and his grandparents, Gertrude Hall and Cyrus Sherman, and most materials date from their time in the Mille Lacs area. There are also a few later items from Sherman and Maxine Holbert. Included are miscellaneous letters, photographs, journals, reminiscences, and a scrapbook. Some of Georgia's materials date from before she was married and was involved in singing. A photo album of Georgia includes snapshots of the Mille Lacs family cabin and of local Ojibwe Indians. Cyrus Sherman materials include documents relating to his business venture, the Wigwam Point Company.

Georgia Sherman Holbert: Snapshot photo album, 1910s-1920s.

Tne first part of the album depicts life in Texas, later in Minnesota around Mille Lacs, some images showing local Indians, sugar camp, Georgia, her father Cyrus A. Sherman, her mother Gertrude Sherman, and the Sherman cabin.

Selected images from this album are also available in digital format.

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Additional Sherman photos of Mille Lacs area Indians and Mahnomen: Harvest of the North, a film co-produced by Holbert, are in the sound and visual collection of the Minnesota Historical Society.

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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:

Indian land transfers -- Minnesota.

Indians of North America -- Antiquities -- Collectors and collecting -- Minnesota.

Ojibwa Indians -- Basket making.

Ojibwa Indians -- Boats.

Ojibwa Indians -- Material culture -- Minnesota.

Ojibwa Indians -- Minnesota -- Mille Lacs.

Ojibwa Indians -- Minnesota -- Onamia.

Ojibwa Indians -- Minnesota -- Photographs.

Tourism -- Minnesota.

Wild rice -- Minnesota.

Maple syrup.

Entrepreneurship -- Minnesota.

Places:

Mille Lacs Lake (Minn.).

Onamia (Minn.).

Persons:

Holbert, Brockton.

Holbert, Georgia Sherman, 1888-1981.

Holbert, Maxine.

Sherman, Gertrude Hall.

Sherman, Cyrus A.

Organizations:

Fort Mille Lacs Development Corporation.

Fort Mille Lacs Village.

US Highway 169 Safety and Development Association.

Wigwam Point Company.

Mille Lacs Band of Chippewa Indians.

Mille Lacs Lake Association.

Minnesota Maple Syrup Producers Association.

Minneapolis Aquatennial.

Types of Documents:

Photographs.

Postcards.

Occupations:

Businessmen -- Minnesota.

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