An Inventory of Its Records at the Minnesota
Historical Society
The Bemidji Development Corporation, a nonprofit industrial development corporation,
was formed in 1962 to establish and develop an industrial park on the south side of
Bemidji, Minnesota, and to thereby attract new industry and jobs to the area. It was
sponsored by the Bemidji Chamber of Commerce and was incorporated on August 4, 1962
by ten prominent local businessmen. The park eventually grew to more than 300 acres
in size. Information in the records indicates that the project was nearing
completion in 1981.
Bemidji is located in north central Minnesota some 230 miles northwest of the Twin
Cities, in an area of forests, resorts, and summer vacation homes. The city is the
seat of Beltrami County, and the home of Bemidji State University.
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The records document business meetings and other activities of the Bemidji
Development Corporation (BDC) and include information about firms that were
prospects for, or already located in, its industrial park.
The collection includes copies of the BDC articles of incorporation and bylaws;
correspondence; financial information (tax receipts, balance sheets, financial
statements, insurance policies, grant and loan information) pertaining to the BDC;
plat maps, USGS topographic maps, and a few small aerial photographs of the
industrial park site; newspaper clippings; real estate documents (easements,
options, contracts for deed, etc.); and an engineering study (1969) prepared by the
Walter Butler Company.
Minutes (photocopies) of BDC directors' and stockholders' meetings relate discussions
and decisions made about corporate prospects for the industrial park, the
installation of utilities and the construction of roads in the park, loans to park
businesses, the sale of BDC stock, the election of directors and officers, the sale
of parcels to firms locating in the park, real estate taxes, the purchase of land
for expansion, and similar matters.
Much of the material consists of correspondence with, and financial and other data
(including Dun & Bradstreet reports), about firms sought for, or already located
in, the industrial park.
Correspondents include officers of the corporation, particularly its longtime
president, Charles W. Naylor; officials of the Minnesota Department of Economic
Development, the Small Business Administration, the Burlington Northern and Soo Line
railroads, and of the Bemidji Chamber of Commerce and its successor, the Bemidji
Area Chamber of Commerce; attorneys; investment bankers; and a variety of small and
medium-sized businesses located in other cities and towns in Minnesota and
elsewhere.
There is some information about the Bemidji Area Chamber of Commerce, including a
copy of the organization's bylaws; literature (targeted at business and industry)
promoting the city of Bemidji, including "Community Profile" reports produced by the
Minnesota Department of Economic Development; a list (1963) of industrial
development corporations in Minnesota; and a copy of the Bemidji Council-Manager
Charter (1952).
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Availability:
The collection is open for research use.
Preferred Citation:
[Indicate the cited item and/or series here].
Bemidji Development Corporation (Bemidji, Minn.). Corporate Records.
Minnesota Historical Society.
See the Chicago Manual of Style for additional
examples.
Provenance:
The records were at one time in the collections of the former North Central
Regional Research Center at Bemidji State University, where they were cataloged
as S1559. They came to the Minnesota Historical Society in 1994 after the
Bemidji center closed.
Accession Information:
Accession number: 15,140
Processing Information:
Processed by: David B. Peterson, November 1996.
Catalog ID number: 990017336290104294
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