LOUIS N. SCOTT AND FAMILY:

Louis N. Scott, son of Robert and Mary (Conneff) Scott, was born May 10, 1859, in Petersburg, Jefferson County, Kentucky. About 1876, he came to St. Paul as an employee of the St. Louis and St. Paul Packet Company, which was owned by William F. Davidson. In 1882, Davidson placed Scott in charge of the Grand Opera House in St. Paul, a position he held until 1888. He became, successively, manager of the Newmarket Theater (1888) and the Metropolitan Opera House (St. Paul, 1890). He managed other opera houses in St. Paul, Minneapolis, and Duluth. He also was president of the Northern Display Advertising Company. Scott died December 30, 1929, in St. Paul and is buried in Oakland Cemetery.

Scott married Elizabeth M. Goodell (1876-1955), who continued the management of theaters in Minneapolis and St. Paul until about 1940.

Return to top

Letters, financial records, minutes, contracts, agreements, clippings, and memoranda relating to the career of Louis N. Scott as a theater manager and owner in Minneapolis and St. Paul. The papers document his business negotiations with booking agents, managers, and agencies in New York and elsewhere; his interests in civic affairs; the business details of the productions performed in his theaters; and the management of the several companies of which he was a part, notably the Metropolitan Opera House Company, the Scott-Stafford Opera House Company, and the Syndicate Opera House Company. The papers detail Mrs. Scott’s struggle to secure the backing of local citizens to preserve the legitimate stage in the Twin Cities.

Included are data on Scott's business associates, among them Theodore L. Hays, Jacob Litt, and Lac Stafford; the Litt-Stafford Opera House Company, Metropolitan Opera House Company, Peoples Theater Building Company, Scott-Stafford Opera House Company, Syndicate Opera House Company, and Twin City Amusement Company; the companies' affairs, such as property management; theater financing and construction; theater management, including advertising, personnel, heating, lighting, insurance, furnishings, and fixtures; and business details of plays and other productions.

There is also substantial information on transactions with theatrical agencies, agents, and managers, most of them located in New York City, which brought dozens of performers to the Scott theaters.

Miscellaneous subjects include the Legion of Decency's efforts to influence selections of motion pictures shown at the Metropolitan Theatre (1930s); Mrs. Scott's efforts to preserve legitimate theater in Minneapolis (1930s); excursions of the Streckfus Steamboat Line; Scott's interests in the Co-operative Packing House Association of St. Paul (1915) and the Mizpah Gold Mines Company (1912); his administration of the estate of Amanda F. Barnard (1923); and the Scotts' interest in civic affairs.

Return to top

These documents are organized into the following sections:

Return to top

Availability:

The collection is open for research use.

Preferred Citation:

[Indicate the cited item and/or series here]. Louis N. Scott and Family Papers. Minnesota Historical Society.

See the Chicago Manual of Style for additional examples.

Accession Information:

Accession number: 7780

Processing Information:

Processed by: David B. Peterson, September 2023

Catalog ID number: 990017309890104294

Return to top

The documents in boxes 1-12 are arranged in chronological order. However, some documents relating to specific topics have been gathered together and filed under one date. The list of subjects and significant documents contained in this finding aid do not reflect order in the boxes; if a specific date is identified, the topic or document will be found in its chronological sequence.

Return to top

Return to top

Return to top

The William F. Davidson and Family Papers are in the Minnesota Historical Society manuscript collections.

Return to top

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:

Businesswomen--Minnesota.

Entertainers--Minnesota.

Motion pictures.

Theaters--Management.

Theaters--Minnesota--Minneapolis.

Theaters--Minnesota--Saint Paul.

Women-owned business enterprises--Minnesota.

Persons:

Reed, Charles A., 1858-1811, author.

Scott, Elizabeth M., 1876-1955, author.

Davidson, William Fuson, 1825-1887.

Hays, Theodore L., 1867-1945.

Litt, Jacob, 1860-1905.

Stafford, Lac, 1852-1919.

Organizations:

Co-operative Packing Association of St. Paul, author.

J.B. McElfatrick & Sons (New York, N.Y.), author.

Litt-Stafford Opera House Company, author.

Metropolitan Opera House Company (Minneapolis, Minn.), author.

Metropolitan Opera House Company (Saint Paul, Minn.), author.

Metropolitan Theater (Minneapolis, Minn.), author.

Metropolitan Theater (Saint Paul, Minn.), author.

Peoples Theater Building Company (Minneapolis, Minn.), author.

Scott-Stafford Opera House Company, author.

Syndicate Opera House Company (Minneapolis, Minn.), author.

Twin City Amusement Company (Minneapolis, Minn.), author.

Grand Opera House (Saint Paul, Minn.).

National Legion of Decency.

Mizpah Gold Mines Company.

St. Paul Southern Electric Railway Company.

Streckfus Steamers, Inc.

Document Types:

Architectural drawings (visual works).

Blueprints (reprographic copies).

Checks (bank checks).

Return to top