Ozark Land and Lumber Company, Records, 1887-1933 (C37)

8 linear feet, 100 oversize volumes

INTRODUCTION

The business papers and record books of a Shannon County, Missouri, lumber company consists of correspondence, financial records, minutes of directors’ and stockholders’ meetings, store records, cutting and other lumber records, land records, and survey maps.

DONOR INFORMATION

The Ozark Land and Lumber Company Records were donated to the University of Missouri by J.H. Hahn on 28 August 1945 and 10 October 1945 (Accession No. 272). Addition to the records were made by Paul D. Kelleter on 14 December 1948 (Accession No. 2975) and by Marvin Havens on 11October 1976 (Accession No. 4014).

AGENCY HISTORY

The Ozark Land and Lumber Company was formed in 1895 upon the merger of the Ozark Lumber Company (founded 1887) and the Hershey Land and Lumber Company. The company sawed yellow pine lumber from 1887 until 1912 and in the process built over 80 miles of standard gauge railroad track. The company owned saw mills, lumber yards, and a company store for employees. In 1915 the company reincorporated as a land selling corporation, setting up demonstration farms and actively promoting immigration to the area, particularly Carter, Oregon, and Shannon counties. Relatively little land was sold to individuals interested in agriculture; the bulk of the land was sold to the T.J. Moss Tie Company of St. Louis in 1923. The company remained in existence until at least 1933 as a wholesale distributor of lumber and building materials.

SCOPE AND CONTENT NOTE

The Ozark Land and Lumber Company Records are arranged by type of record and then chronologically within each record type. This collection provides a fairly comprehensive view of the workings of one of the larger yellow pine lumber companies in southern Missouri. The volumes, accounts, and trial balances yield the most information on the company’s lumbering and related activities.

The correspondence provides insight into the ways in which the company’s officers tried to dispose of the cut-over land. Potential immigrants were encouraged to try agricultural activities as varied as dairying, sheep-grazing, and angora goat-raising. The correspondence documents these efforts to encourage immigration into the region and sheds light on area social and economic conditions. The collection includes material from the company’s two predecessors—the Ozark Lumber Company and the Hershey Land and Lumber Company, as well as information on related companies such as the Security Land and Abstract Company.

FOLDER LIST

f. 1-7Bank Material, 1918-1920. Lists of check deposits sent to Hershey State Bank, Muscatine, Iowa. Also contains deposit slips from Hershey State Bank and material of similar nature from other banks.
f. 8-24Bills of Lading, 1917-1932. Bills of lading for lumber shipped from Winona, West Eminence, and Birch Tree, Missouri.
f. 25-31Plats, 1915-1929. Contains township and section plats showing certain land this company held. Purpose of plats was to show prospective buyers where the land was located.
f. 32-182Accounts General, 1911-1933. Copies of letters of remittance and acknowledgement of shipments, invoices of lumber shipped to buyers, and letters of notice concerning bills and rents.
f. 183-342Accounts General, Trial Balances, 1900-1921. Contains trial balances for the Security Land and Abstract Company, 1918-1921, and Ozark Land and Lumber Company, 1900-1915. The trial balances list the assets and liabilities of the company for a period of a month at a time.
f. 343-679Correspondence, 1913-1933. These folders contain, primarily, the correspondence of J.H. Hahn, secretary-treasurer of the company, arranged in chronological order. The bulk of the letters are copies of ones that Hahn wrote; incoming letters are not as plentiful. Much of the correspondence is routine, pertaining to accounts and to merchandise purchased and sold. However, many of the letters document efforts to sell cut-over land and to encourage agricultural endeavors such as dairying, sheep-grazing and goat-raising. Correspondents include local citizens, company officers and stockholders, potential immigrants, and others.
f. 3431913-1914
f. 344-3591915
f. 360-4381916
f. 439-5521917
f. 553-6091918
f. 610-6321919
f. 633-6411920
f. 642-6541921
f. 655-6601923
f. 661-6621924-1927
f. 663-6671928
f. 668-6701929-1931
f. 671-6751932
f. 676-6791933
f. 680-688Miscellaneous, n.d., 1887-1932. Purchase orders, invoices, bills, freight tickets, and miscellaneous financial records.
v. 1-19Cash Books
v. 1Ozark Lumber Company, 1888-1889
v. 2Ozark Lumber Company, 1889-1892.
v. 3Hershey Land and Lumber Company, 1891-1892
v. 4Ozark Lumber Company, 1892-1894
v. 5Ozark Lumber Company, 1894-1895
v. 6Hershey Land and Lumber Company, 1893-1895
v. 7Hershey Land and Lumber Company, 1896
v. 8Ozark Land and Lumber Company, 1897
v. 9 Ozark Land and Lumber Company, 1898
v. 10Ozark Land and Lumber Company, 1899
v. 11Ozark Land and Lumber Company, 1900
v. 12Ozark Land and Lumber Company, 1901
v. 13Ozark Land and Lumber Company, 1902
v. 14Ozark Land and Lumber Company, 1903
v. 15Ozark Land and Lumber Company, 1904
v. 16Ozark Land and Lumber Company, 1908
v. 17Ozark Land and Lumber Company, 1909
v. 18Ozark Land and Lumber Company, 1910
v. 19Ozark Land and Lumber Company, 1911-1912
v. 20-42Journals
v. 20Ozark Lumber Company, 1888-1892
v. 21Hershey Land and Lumber Company, 1890-1893
v. 22Ozark Lumber Company, 1892-1895
v. 23Hershey Land and Lumber Company, 1893-1895
v. 24Ozark Land and Lumber Company, 1896
v. 25Ozark Land and Lumber Company, 1897
v. 26Ozark Land and Lumber Company, 1898
v. 27Ozark Land and Lumber Company, 1898
v. 28Ozark Land and Lumber Company, 1899
v. 29Ozark Land and Lumber Company, 1899
v. 30Ozark Land and Lumber Company, 1900
v. 31Ozark Land and Lumber Company, 1900-1903
v. 32Ozark Land and Lumber Company, 1901
v. 33Ozark Land and Lumber Company, 1902
v. 34Ozark Land and Lumber Company, 1903
v. 35Ozark Land and Lumber Company, Log Camp Journal, 1903-1908
v. 36Ozark Land and Lumber Company, 1904
v. 37Ozark Land and Lumber Company, Birch Tree Log Camp Journal, 1940-1909.
v. 38Ozark Land and Lumber Company, 1908
v. 39Ozark Land and Lumber Company, 1909
v. 40Ozark Land and Lumber Company, Camp Journal, 1909-1912
v. 41Ozark Land and Lumber Company, 1910
v. 42Ozark Land and Lumber Company, 1911-1913
v. 43-78Ledgers
v. 43Ozark Lumber Company, 1888-1891
v. 44Hershey Land and Lumber Company, 1891-1892
v. 45Hershey Land and Lumber Company, Index to Ledger, 1891-1892
v. 46Ozark Lumber Company, 1892-1894
v. 47Ozark Lumber Company, Sargeant Ledger, 1892.
v. 48Hershey Land and Lumber Company, 1893.
v. 49Hershey Land and Lumber Company, Index to Ledger, 1893.
v. 50Hershey Land and Lumber Company, 1894.
v. 51Hershey Land and Lumber Company, Index to Ledger, 1894.
v. 52Hershey Land and Lumber Company, 1895
v. 53Hershey Land and Lumber Company, Index to Ledger, 1895
v. 54Ozark Lumber Company, 1895
v. 55Ozark Lumber Company, Index to Ledger, 1895
v. 56Ozark Land and Lumber Company, 1896
v. 57Ozark Land and Lumber Company, Index to Ledger, 1896
v. 58Ozark Land and Lumber Company, 1897
v. 59Index to Ledger, n.d.
v. 60Ozark Land and Lumber Company, Index to Ledger, 1897
v. 61Ozark Land and Lumber Company, 1898
v. 62Ozark Land and Lumber Company, Index to Ledger, 1898
v. 63Index to Ledger, [1898]
v. 64Ozark Land and Lumber Company, 1899.
v. 65Ozark Land and Lumber Company, Index to Ledger, 1899
v. 66Ozark Land and Lumber Company, 1900.
v. 67Ozark Land and Lumber Company, Index to Ledger, 1900.
v. 68Ozark Land and Lumber Company, 1901
v. 69Ozark Land and Lumber Company, Index to Ledger, 1901
v. 70Ozark Land and Lumber Company, 1902
v. 71Ozark Land and Lumber Company, Index to Ledger, 1902.
v. 72Ozark Land and Lumber Company, 1903
v. 73Ozark Land and Lumber Company, 1904
v. 74Ozark Land and Lumber Company, 1905
v. 75Ozark Land and Lumber Company, 1908
v. 76Ozark Land and Lumber Company, 1909
v. 77Ozark Land and Lumber Company, 1910
v. 78Ozark Land and Lumber Company, 1911-1913
v. 79-100Miscellaneous Volumes
v. 79Minute book, 1887-1923. Record of board of directors’ and stockholders’ meetings. Begins with formation of Ozark Lumber Company, includes the consolidation with the Hershey Land and Lumber Company in 1895, and concludes with the reduction in capital stock decision in late 1923.
v. 80Ozark Lumber Company, Order Book, 1888-1891.
v. 81Ozark Lumber Company, Stores Sales Book, 1905-1907.
v. 82Hershey Land and Lumber Company, Shipping Record, 1891-1895.
v. 83Hershey Land and Lumber Company, Tax Record, 1891-1893. Includes details on land purchases and sales, primarily in Carter and Oregon Counties.
v. 84Hershey Land and Lumber Company, Log Book, 1892-1895.
v. 85Store ledger, 1894
v. 86Ozark Land and Lumber Company, Shipping Record, 1896-1900.
v. 87Ozark Land and Lumber Company, Order Book, 1896-1904
v. 88Ozark Land and Lumber Company, Shipping Record, 1896-1904
v. 89Ozark Land and Lumber Company, Stores Sales Book, 1901-1905.
v. 90Ozark Land and Lumber Company, Winona Mill Cutting Records, 1901-1907.
v. 91Ozark Land and Lumber Company, Shipping Record, 1904-1912. Also includes orders (incomplete) for 1926, wood record, 1915-1917, and oak shipping record, 1908-1919.
v. 92Ozark Land and Lumber Company, Order Book, 1904-1912. Includes local orders, 1911-1915
v. 93Hardware inventory, 1912
v. 94Dry goods inventory, 1912
v. 95Dry goods inventory, 1912
v. 96G.M. Parker, Winona, Missouri, Letter Book, 1915
v. 97Ties Sales Book, 1922
v. 98Ozark Land Lumber Company, Store Sales Book, c. 1915-1924.
v. 99Lumber inventory, 1924
v. 100Plat book. Includes surveys and plats primarily for Oregon, Carter and Shannon counties.

INDEX TERMS

These index terms are the subjects, people, places, etc. under which this collection is listed in all available indexes at The State Historical Society of Missouri-Columbia. If you are interested in a specific index term, please contact the reference staff.