GREAT NORTHERN AND NORTHERN PACIFIC RAILWAY COMPANIES:

An Inventory of Their Annual Reports and Maps on Microfilm at the Minnesota Historical Society

Manuscripts Collection

Expand/CollapseOVERVIEW

Title:Great Northern and Northern Pacific Railway Companies annual reports and maps.
Dates:1870-1968 [microform].
Language:Materials in English.
Abstract:Microfilmed annual reports to the stockholders of the Great Northern Railway Company (1890-1968), of the St. Paul, Minneapolis & Manitoba Railway Company (1880-1899), and of the Northern Pacific Railway Company (1876-1968); and annual reports of the Northern Pacific to the United States Secretary of the Interior (1870-1877). They give information on directors, officers, and stockholders, on routes surveyed and selected for construction, and on the companies' operations and finances. Many include maps of the main and subsidiary lines (1876-1929).
Quantity:12 microfilm reels.
Location:M369: See Detailed Description for reel numbers.

Expand/CollapseHISTORICAL NOTE

The St. Paul, Minneapolis & Manitoba Railway Company, the major predecessor line of the Great Northern Railway Company, was organized in 1879 for the purpose of assuming the properties and franchises of the St. Paul and Pacific Railroad Company and its First Division. In 1890, all properties and operations of the St. Paul, Minneapolis & Manitoba were leased to the Great Northern, which was formed that year to permit the expansion of the Manitoba line. The Great Northern purchased all of the Manitoba line's corporate property in 1907.

The Northern Pacific Railway Company obtained a congressional charter in 1864. However, construction of the line did not begin until 1870, after Congress had authorized the company to mortgage its land grant and after Jay Cooke and Company had become the company's financial agent. The company was reorganized in 1875, following a period of severe financial difficulties precipitated by the panic of 1873, and reorganized again in 1896, following three years of receivership.

The Great Northern and Northern Pacific railway companies existed as separate corporate entities until 1970, when they merged with the Chicago, Burlington & Quincy Railroad Company and the Spokane, Portland and Seattle Railway Company to become Burlington Northern, Inc.


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Expand/CollapseSCOPE AND CONTENTS

The annual reports to the stockholders include the names of the companies' directors and officers, and narrative and statistical summaries of the companies' operations and finances. Reels 1-2 and 5-9 include the individual reports immediately followed by any supplemental materials (for example: statistical data, additional reports, accompanying maps).

Reel 5 includes the annual reports to the Secretary of the Interior, Lands and Railroads Division (reproduced from originals in the National Archives). These reports record the names and residences of the Northern Pacific stockholders, directors and other officers; the amount of stock subscribed and the amount actually paid in; a description of the routes surveyed, those selected for construction, and the cost of surveys; the amount of revenue received from passengers and freight; and statements of expenses and indebtedness, for the years 1870-1877.

The remainder of reel 5 documents the annual reports to the stockholders for the Northern Pacific Railway Company for 1876 to 1893. There is no report for 1894, and the reports of the comptroller and/or the receivers constitute its annual reports for 1895 and 1896. Reels 6-11 cover the Northern Pacific annual reports from 1897-1968.

Reel 12 contains a duplicate set of the maps that accompanied the annual reports to the stockholders of the St. Paul, Minneapolis & Manitoba, the Great Northern, and the Northern Pacific railway companies. The maps show the railways' main and subsidiary lines.


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Expand/CollapseARRANGEMENT

These documents are organized into the following sections:

Annual Reports
Annual Reports: Maps


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Expand/CollapseADMINISTRATIVE INFORMATION

Availability:

The collection is open for research use.

Preferred Citation:

[Indicate the cited item and/or series here]. Great Northern and Northern Pacific Railway Companies Annual Reports and Maps. Minnesota Historical Society.

See the Chicago Manual of Style for additional examples.

Microfilm Production:

Saint Paul: Minnesota Historical Society, 1979.

Available for sale or interlibrary loan from the Minnesota Historical Society.

Location of Originals:

Closed originals (4.25 linear feet, 75 maps) form parts of the records of the St. Paul, Minneapolis & Manitoba Railway Company, the Secretary's records of the Great Northern Railway Company, and the Secretary's records of the Northern Pacific Railway Company, all held by the Minnesota Historical Society.

Originals of Annual Reports to the Secretary of the Interior, 1870-1877, (Railroad Packages, 1849-1901; Records of the Office of the Secretary of the Interior, Record Group 48) are held at the National Archives at College Park, MD.

Accession Information:

Accession number: 12,636

Processing Information:

Catalog ID number: 990017154860104294

Work on the Great Northern and Northern Pacific railway company records was supported with funds by the Northwest Area Foundation, the Grotto Foundation, and the Jerome Foundation.


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DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Expand/CollapseANNUAL REPORTS

LocationReel
M3691St. Paul, Minneapolis & Manitoba Railway Company, 1880-1899.
Great Northern Railway Company:
1890-1913.
LocationReel
M3692 1914-1938.
LocationReel
M3693 1939-1958.
LocationReel
M3694 1959-1968.
LocationReel
M3695Northern Pacific Railway Company:
Annual reports to the Secretary of the Interior, 1870-1877.
Annual reports to the Stockholders:
1876-1896.
LocationReel
M3696 1897-1900.
LocationReel
M3697 1901-1903.
LocationReel
M3698 1904-1922.
LocationReel
M3699 1923-1939.
LocationReel
M36910 1940-1954.
LocationReel
M36911 1955-1968.

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Expand/CollapseANNUAL REPORTS: MAPS

LocationReel
M36912St. Paul, Minneapolis & Manitoba Railway Company, 1884.
Great Northern Railway Company, 1891, 1894-1906, 1908-1918, 1921-1929.
Northern Pacific Railway Company, 1876-1877, 1880-1885, 1890-1893, 1899-1906, 1908-1918, 1921-1929.

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Expand/CollapseCATALOG 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:
Railroads -- Surveying.
Organizations:
Great Northern Railway Company (U.S.)
Great Northern Railway Company (U.S.) -- Maps.
Northern Pacific Railway Company.
Northern Pacific Railway Company -- Maps.
St. Paul, Minneapolis & Manitoba Railway Company.
St. Paul, Minneapolis & Manitoba Railway Company -- Maps.
Document Types:
Annual reports.
Maps.
Microforms.

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