Forest Industries at MSU Archives & Historical Collections: Small Historical Collections

Marley R. Brown Research report (c.00583), 1981

• 3 folders
• Sonoma State University Academic Foundation was awarded a contract entitled "Redwood Logging Research on the Hume Lake Ranger District" by the U.S. Forest Service in October 1981. The Final Report is primarily based on primary and secondary documents and/or oral accounts.
• This collection consists of one copy of the Final Report, “An Historical Overview of Redwood Logging Resources within the Hume Lake Ranger District, Sequoia National Forest, California.” The Final Report is a historical overview of the redwood lumber areas of the Hume Lake Ranger District of the Sequoia National Forest.
• Finding aid to the collection: https://findingaids.lib.msu.edu/repositories/2/resources/1709

Jacob Gerrish papers (c.00273), 1836-1867

• 2 folders, 6 volumes
• This collection contains diaries kept by Jacob Gerrish to record his work as a carpenter and blacksmith. Also included are his dealings in lumber and land, agriculture and trade, daily expenses, and religious and social activities during the time he lived in New Buffalo, Michigan. In addition, deeds and tax receipts for land in Berrien and Van Buren, Michigan, as well as Laporte County, Indiana are included.
• Finding aid to the collection: https://findingaids.lib.msu.edu/repositories/2/resources/1402

Carrie Usewick Harvey papers (c.00174), undated                                              

• 1 folder
• This collection consists of Harvey’s reminiscences of her childhood in Wexford County, Michigan during the mid-1800s.  She describes early lumbering operations in the area.
• Finding aid to the collection: https://findingaids.lib.msu.edu/repositories/2/resources/967

E. B. Herrick collection (c.00362), 1887-1921                                          

• 0.1 cubic feet
• This collection contains an account book (1887 to 1906) of a loggers’ lodging house kept by L. S. Warren of Howell, Michigan.
• Finding aid to the collection: https://findingaids.lib.msu.edu/repositories/2/resources/1497

Huron Log Booming Company records (c.00167), 1864                         

• 1 folder
• This collection consists of the articles of association of the Huron Log Booming Company, which was involved in the running, booming, and rafting of logs on the Cass, Shiawassee, and Saginaw Rivers in Michigan.
• Finding aid to the collection: https://findingaids.lib.msu.edu/repositories/2/resources/961

Josiah Littlefield papers (c.00188), 1879-1958                                          

• 1 folder, 4 volumes
• This collection contains a portion of Josiah Littlefield's unpublished autobiography, which describes his early life on a farm in Monroe County, Michigan (1850-1865). The collection also contains four ledgers from Littlefield's lumber mill, recording workers' hours and business transactions.
• Finding aid to the collection: https://findingaids.lib.msu.edu/repositories/2/resources/1315

Horace D. Moore papers (c.00407), 1851-1925                                         

• 1 folder, 53 volumes
• Horace D. Moore operated a successful lumber business in Saugatuck, Michigan from 1857 to 1875.  His collection includes business account books, day books, and other ledgers.
• Finding aid to the collection: https://findingaids.lib.msu.edu/repositories/2/resources/1544

Harvey C. Saunders papers (c.00313), undated                                                  

• 1 folder
• This collection contains photocopies of reminiscences written by Saunders. Along with descriptions of his life in logging camps in the early 1900s, details are given on the building of dams, the format and operation of lumber companies, and the founding and growth of settlements.
• Finding aid to the collection: https://findingaids.lib.msu.edu/repositories/2/resources/1444

S. C. Overpack Company records (c.00095), 1907                                                          

• 1 folder
• This collection consists of advertising brochures for the S.C. Overpack Company of Manistee, Michigan, a manufacturer of logging wheels. The brochures contain pictures of the wheels and testimonials from users.
• Finding aid to the collection: https://findingaids.lib.msu.edu/repositories/2/resources/1292

Dean S. Smith collection (c.00502), 1859-1934                                         

• 2 Folders, 14 Volumes
• This collection contains the account books, ledgers, and expense records of Carmi R. Smith’s lumber business in Niles, Michigan.
• Finding aid to the collection: https://findingaids.lib.msu.edu/repositories/2/resources/1635

John Baptiste Soucie papers (c.00581), 1884-1996                                               

• 0.25 cubic feet, 17 photographs.
• John Baptiste Soucie was a professional cook, who worked in lumber mill campus in the Au Sable-Oscoda area of Michigan.  His collection includes his autobiography, Forty Years a Cookin’, a reprint of an 1897 news article announcing the closing of a lumber mill, and photographs of lumber camps.
• Finding aid to the collection: https://findingaids.lib.msu.edu/repositories/2/resources/1738

John W. Stelzer papers (c.00079), 1871-1891                                                      

• 2 folders
• This collection consists of four diaries kept by John W. Stelzer, a farmer near Oak Grove, Livingston County, Michigan.  These diaries include entries about Stelzer’s lumbering activities.
• Finding aid to the collection: https://findingaids.lib.msu.edu/repositories/2/resources/1275

Ralph W. Stroebel collection (c.00223), undated                                                

• 1 folder
• This collection contains lists of lumber firms and their log marks, taken from the books of the Tittabawassee Boom Company, located in the Saginaw Valley of Michigan.
• Finding aid to the collection: https://findingaids.lib.msu.edu/repositories/2/resources/1353

Treiber Family papers (c.00151), 1863-1889                                                                   

• 4 folders
• This collection contains correspondence from John Treiber to his wife, Mary, describing his shipping work on the Great Lakes and in lumber in Wisconsin.
• Finding aid to the collection: https://findingaids.lib.msu.edu/repositories/2/resources/945

Harold Tubbs papers (c.00171), undated                                                            

• 1 folder
• Harold Tubbs, a District Game Supervisor, interviewed pioneers in northern Michigan.  The interview of Elizabeth Foley includes recollections of lumbering in Grayling, Michigan in the late 1800s.
• Finding aid to the collection: https://findingaids.lib.msu.edu/repositories/2/resources/1734

Merton J. Whitman papers (c.00398), 1900-1949                                               

• 0.25 cubic feet
• The papers of Merton J. Whitman contain his memoirs, which describe lumbering in Ogemaw and Arenac Counties in Michigan during the 1880s and 1890s.  It also includes the records of Delano Camp No. 8732 of the Modern Woodmen of America, during the time that Whitman was the organization’s clerk.
• Finding aid to the collection: https://findingaids.lib.msu.edu/repositories/2/resources/1535

Wixom Family papers (c.00131), 1824-1907                                                                    

• 4 folders
• Included in this collection is a ledger (1890-1896) of W. C. Wixom and J. L. Sibley’s business, which had some dealings with lumber companies.
• Finding aid to the collection: https://findingaids.lib.msu.edu/repositories/2/resources/930

Wyman's School of the Woods publication (c.00372), 1911                                          

• 1 folder
• The school was organized in 1909 to teach forestry, logging, and natural science. It was under the direction of Thomas B. Wyman, Chief Forester of the Northern Forest Protective Association.  The collection contains a pamphlet describing Wyman's School of the Woods in Munising, Michigan. It lists courses offered, tuition, and graduates of the school.
• Finding aid to the collection: https://findingaids.lib.msu.edu/repositories/2/resources/1507