Administrative Information | Search Terms | Background Note | Scope and Contents Note | Arrangement | PDF of Finding Aid
 

COLLECTION SUMMARY

Title:     Chicago, Milwaukee and St. Paul Railway Company collection

Dates:     1913-1918

Creator:     Chicago, Milwaukee and St. Paul Railway Company

Physical Description:     1.47 linear feet—4 containers

Collection number:     MA 33

Language:     Collection material in English.

Repository:     South Dakota State University Archives, Hilton M. Briggs Library, South Dakota State University, Brookings, S.D.

Abstract:     Collection is composed of a compilation of various communications of the Chicago, Milwaukee, and St. Paul Railroad during 1913 to 1918, including regular daily telegraph correspondence as well as way-bill information and communication with shipping customers.

ADMINISTRATIVE INFORMATION

Provenance:     The collection originated from the Madison, S.D. Railway Depot and was then donated to Prairie Village of Madison.  The barn in which Prairie Village kept the records burned down but the records were salvaged.  The collection was then donated to SDSU Archives in 2003.

Access Restrictions:     This collection is open to research without restrictions. Items in this collection do not circulate and may be used in-house only.

Copyright Status: Copyright 2008 by South Dakota State University and SDSU Archives. Please credit the SDSU Archives if you copy or reproduce material from this finding aid.

It is the responsibility of anyone reproducing material to determine the copyright holders and obtain permission from them if necessary. Archives staff will provide available copyright information on request. Please note that most collections, especially those received before 1997, may not have complete information on file. (Revised 15 SEP 2003)

Preferred Citation:     [Identification of item]. Chicago, Milwaukee and St. Paul Railway Company collection, MA 33, South Dakota State University Archives, South Dakota State University, Brookings, S. D.

Processing Information:     This collection was damaged in a fire and so most records were difficult to handle. Because of this, all records received were photocopied and only a few samples of the originals were kept from each category of the collection.  Some unique samples were encapsulated for easier handling and display.

This collection was processed by Megan Sikkink on 26 February 2003 with revisions on July 9, 2008 (cjg).

SELECTED SEARCH TERMS

The following terms have been used to index the description of this collection in the subject guide. They are grouped by name of person or organization, by subject or location, and by occupation and listed alphabetically therein.

Subjects:

• Chicago, Milwaukee, and St. Paul Railway Company.

BACKGROUND NOTE

The Milwaukee Road, officially the Chicago, Milwaukee, St. Paul and Pacific Railroad (CMSP&P RR) was a Class I railroad that operated in the Midwest and northwest of the United States from 1847 until its acquisition by and merger with the Soo Line railway in 1985–1986. The company went through several official names and faced bankruptcy several times in that period. While the railroad does not exist as a separate entity anymore, it is still commemorated in buildings like the historic Milwaukee Road Depot in Minneapolis, Minnesota and in railroad hardware still maintained by rail fans, such as the Milwaukee Road 261 steam locomotive.

The Milwaukee Road appeared as the Milwaukee and Waukesha Railroad when incorporated in 1847, but soon changed its name to Milwaukee and Mississippi. After three years, the first train ran from Milwaukee to Wauwatosa, Wisconsin, and the first passenger train ran on February 25, 1851. In 1874 the name was changed to Chicago, Milwaukee, and St. Paul. By 1887, the railroad had lines running through Wisconsin, Minnesota, Iowa, South Dakota, and the upper peninsula of Michigan.

SCOPE and CONTENTS NOTE

The collection provides a variety of different communications and report information, and is an excellent source to view original documentation. However, the collection is not a complete record of all communications and so is not an effective source for researching specific transactions, etc.

ARRANGEMENT of the RECORDS

The collection is organized into folders each containing a different form of communication used by the railroad company. The beginning of the collection contains all photocopied material. The middle of the collection contains the encapsulated material, and the end of the collection contains the samples of original records.

Box 1.

Box 2.

Box 3.

Box 4.

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