Bower Brothers Sheep Company records
Scope and Contents
Records. 1880-1907. .2 linear foot. This collection consists of a small quantity of correspondence and three bound volumes. One volume, a land book, is a record of the holdings of the Bower Brothers Sheep Company, providing such information as the locations of Bower land (the book contains plats showing townships and ranges), acreage, leases, improvements, survey status, and if the land was taxable. The two other volumes are records of sheep and wool which provide a seasonal record of the company's flocks, including counts, losses, purchases, prices, sales, pounds of wool, pelts sold, and the name of the herder. These materials were kept by Arthur W. Bower and were preserved by George M. Fowler who worked for the Bower Brothers Sheep Company as bookkeeper and purchasing agent.
Dates
- Creation: 1880-1907
Language of Materials
English
Conditions Governing Access
Collection open for research.
Conditions Governing Use
Researchers must use collection in accordance with the policies of the Montana Historical Society. The Society does not necessarily hold copyright to all materials in the collection. In some cases permission for use may require additional authorization from the copyright owners. For more information contact an archivist.
Biographical / Historical
Bower Brothers Sheep Company owned and operated in partnership one of the largest sheep companies in the state of Montana. Originally from New York, two of the Bowers, Arthur and Edward, arrived in 1880 to homestead on Surprise Creek located in the Judith Basin near Stanford, Montana. In September of that year, they made two purchases of sheep near Deer Lodge and drove the flock, numbering 1052 head, to their ranch. A third brother, Calvin, arrived from the East in 1881 and was taken into the firm which became known as Bower Brothers Sheep Company. The Bowers gradually increased their holdings, purchasing water rights, buying out homesteads, and leasing government lands. At one point, their 50,000 acres, extending toward Arrow Creek and Denton, ran more than 90,000 head of sheep annually. The wool from these flocks was freighted to Fort Benton and then East where it was in great demand by the large manufacturing houses. The company's holdings were sold in October 1907, to J.B. Long Company.
Extent
0.2 linear feet
Abstract
The Bower Brothers Sheep Company, located near Stanford, Montana, was one of the largest sheep operation in Montana. The owners, Authur Bower, Edward Bower, and Calvin Bower, operated the firm from 1880 to 1907. This collection (1880-1907) consists of correspondence; a land book; and two volumes listing number of sheep, losses, purchases, sales, pounds of wool, pelts sold, and the name of the herder.
Arrangement
Arranged by series
Physical Location
1:2-7
Immediate Source of Acquisition
Acquisition information available upon request
Geographic
Topical
- Title
- Guide to the Bower Brothers Sheep Company Records 1880-1907
- Author
- Finding aid prepared by MHS Staff
- Date
- 2008
- Description rules
- Finding Aid Based On Dacs ( Describing Archives: A Content Standard 2nd Edition)
- Language of description
- English
- Script of description
- Code for undetermined script
- Language of description note
- Finding aid written in English.
- Sponsor
- Funding for encoding this finding aid was provided through a grant awarded by the National Endowment for the Humanities.
Repository Details
Part of the Montana Historical Society, Research Center Archives Repository
225 North Roberts
PO Box 201201
Helena MT 59620-1201 United States
406-444-2681
406-444-2696 (Fax)
mhslibrary@mt.gov