Baldwin Corporation Records

Collection

Identifier: Mss 160

Staff Only

Scope and Contents

The collection documents the origins, operations, and decline of the Baldwin Corporation, as well as the Baldwin family and their exploits. Materials span 1823 to 1954, with the bulk falling between 1898 and 1936. Included are: correspondence, journals, ledgers, trial balances, audit reports, property lists, articles of incorporation, and insurance policies. Although the Corporation was involved in business in many states, the records primarily document the Baldwins' business ventures in North Dakota including the bonanza farming operations. Most fully represented are financial aspects of the Corporation. Overall business activity is documented in summary form, and detailed individual transactions are represented as well. The general management and operation of the Corporation as a family owned and administered company is well documented through the corporate records and correspondence. The correspondence is the most extensive and comprehensive series of records. The Baldwin bonanza farming operation including crop and livestock management, the tenant system, and large unit farming is documented within the ranch records. However, information on the ranches is also abundant within the records of the overall Corporation, including mainly the correspondence and financial records. Aspects of the corporation as a land and mortgage company are documented primarily with respect to real estate ventures in North Dakota. There is also a small amount of information on the personal aspects of members of the Baldwin family. The collection has been arranged in eight series: Personal Papers (1823-1951), Corporate Records (1898-1954), Correspondence (1890-1951), Financial Records (1907-1945), Ranch Records (1902-1948), Elevator Records (1918-1947), Ellendale Office Records (1917-1940), and Property Records (18741935). The Personal Papers Series contains manuscripts of five generations of the Baldwin family. The earlier materials include personal account books, wills, obituaries, deeds, legal agreements, clippings, lawyer's licenses, and other miscellany. The George B. Baldwin Jr. correspondence is mainly with family and friends. The earliest is to his immediate family while in school, and then to his family reporting land descriptions during his travels for the company. Later George writes to other family members concerning the estate of George B. Baldwin Sr., managing of investments, financial affairs, and other family matters. The final letters are mostly to George's nephews, George N. and Karl P. Baldwin, and to his wife and stepson. The correspondence of Charles F. Baldwin is mainly to his parents, brother, and later to his sons and a few other relatives. A small amount concerns his mental illness and hospitalization. George N. and Karl P. Baldwin's letters are mainly to their parents and to their uncle. The Corporate Records Series of the Baldwin Corporation are somewhat sketchy and sparse. The only documents which exist prior to 1917 are the articles of incorporation of 1898 for the Baldwin Land Company, predecessor to the Baldwin Corporation. There are later articles of incorporation of 1917 when the company became the Baldwin Corporation. Included with these are correspondence, notes, and other working papers surrounding the 1917 incorporation. The remaining materials are miscellaneous files for the years 1918-1954. These files may contain any of the following: correspondence, amendments to articles, financial statements, resolutions, annual reports, certificates of reduction of capital, and tax returns. The Correspondence Series is one of the more complete series of the records of the Corporation. There are some gaps within the series which will be further discussed, but in general it represents thorough and long term documentation of the operations of the Corporation in North Dakota. The correspondence is that of the office in Appleton, Wisconsin, although most of the correspondents were located in North Dakota, with the major correspondent being the company's Ellendale office. The correspondence is arranged alphabetically within each year. This arrangement follows the original recordkeeping system established by the Corporation. The correspondence starts out rather sparse in 1890, but by 1900 is a regular alphabetic file. Gaps appear throughout 1923-1927 and 1937-1945. After 1947 the files again become sparse and then end in 1951. It appears as if the missing files existed at one time but are no longer present. The correspondence generally contains information on the operation of affairs of the company in North Dakota, including the ranches and the Baldwin Corporation Elevator at Keyes Spur. The following topics are included: management of the ranches including ranch buildings and improvements, livestock and grain, and renters; land transactions in and around Oakes and Ellendale; and the buying and selling of livestock, grain, ranches, and other properties. There are files of several major correspondents which are present for many years. A brief discussion of the content of these correspondents follows. Correspondence with the E.G. Baldwin Agency in Oakes, Geer & Randall agency in Ellendale, and Irwin & Irwin Abstractors in Ellendale concerns farm and city property sales and other real estate matters around the area. George H. Keyes acted as North Dakota land agent for the Corporation; his correspondence is consistently present from 1900 into the 1920s. The Corporation worked consistently with Benjamin Porter in Fullerton, Thomas Sefton in Ellendale, A.L. Beggs (later Oscar D. Beggs) in Ellendale, and G.J. Johnson in Monango in matters of real estate transactions, rental of land, and land mortgages and contracts. Correspondence of other frequent real estate companies include R. H. Hankinson Realty Company in Hankinson, Lunds Land Agency in Oakes, Marshall-McCartney Company in Oakes, Star Land Company in Oakes, and W.W. McCulley Land Company in Oakes. The H.J. Johnson Company in Oakes is also a frequent correspondent. This material relates to farm lands for sale, buying and selling of cattle, horses, and other livestock, and of grain and other crops. Included in the correspondence are letters between the Appleton office and George B. (Jr.) and Charles F. Baldwin. These are present from 1903 up into the 1920s. Some of the early letters are addressed to the Baldwin family and include reports on land in various states, and reports on crops, harvest, and other ranch operations. Mainly the letters were written from Oakes and Ellendale, and other places around North Dakota. There is also correspondence between the Corporation's Appleton office and Ellendale office. This correspondence is usually found under "Baldwin Corporation - Ellendale office," but is also found under names of the various office managers, Charles E. Davis, J.C. Hoke, and Norman Lees. This correspondence relates mainly to daily ranch operations including ranch improvements and construction of buildings, crop and weather conditions, livestock transfer and registration, ranch tenants and their business with the Baldwin Corporation Elevator and Store. Some correspondence also concerns buying and selling of North Dakota lands. Correspondence files of the Baldwin Corporation Elevator and Store are found under "elevator," and also under the names of two of the managers, W.H. Hazzard and Charles O. Sizer. The material concerns grain accounts, coal sales, elevator and store inventory, and operation of the store including sales to ranch tenants. Correspondence concerning ranch operations including livestock acquisition and ranch property appears under "ranches" in the correspondence files. It may also appear under the names of the various tenants: Ernest Beecher, Ed Bellon, G.F. Bergenske, Clair C. Brown, L.E. Brown, Chester A. Johnson, Herman Johnson, Joseph Keller, John Lebedoff, Vern Ojala, Clifford Pritchard, Emil Ritola, and Ed Whitney. The Financial Records Series includes materials both of the George Baldwin Estate and of the Baldwin Corporation. The estate journal, cash, and ledger record properties owned by George Baldwin Sr., at the time of his death in December 1907, and continue through 1909. The remaining financial records, those of the Baldwin Corporation including journals, cash receipts and disbursements, ledger, trial balances, and audit reports, all begin around 1908 and continue into the 1930s with the latest records running into the 1940s. As the record of original entry the journals and cash books provide the most detail in the corporation's finances, containing entries made every few days or the last day of each month. Of the various accounts included are the ranches and ranch employees. Only one ledger (1909-1916) exists for the Baldwin Corporation. It appears as if others existed at one time but are no longer present. The ledger has no index and includes accounts for Catherine Baldwin, George Baldwin Jr., Charles Baldwin, Charles E. Davis, George Keyes, Benjamin Porter, H.J. Johnson Company, ranches, ranch tenants, grain, lands, mortgage notes, bonds, rent, and salaries. Other financial records, i.e., the trial balances and audit reports, represent more summarized information with less detail on the Corporation's finances. These records are especially useful in gaining overall financial description of the Corporation from 1907-1938. The trial balances include monthly totals for Baldwin family members, George Keyes, Benjamin Porter, mortgages, land contracts, cash, loans, securities, salaries, expenses, grain, and various expenses for each ranch. From 1908-1915 trial balances are separated into "general" and "mortgages and land contracts." After 1915 the mortgages and land contracts are included in the general. The audit reports provide annual summarized financial data on real estate by state, mortgages and land contracts by name, and personal property of the Baldwins including mineral rights and stocks and bonds by name. In addition the ranches are listed with inventories, income, and expenditures for each. The Baldwin Corporation Elevator and other offices are listed as well. Within the audit reports are also balance sheets which list assets and liabilities. There are gaps within the audit reports which occur in 1924 and between 1928 and 1935. Despite the gaps the audit reports contain the most comprehensive list of properties of the Corporation. The reports provide excellent documentation of the financial status of the ranches from year to year. Although the data is in summary form, detail is shown, as often each ranch is listed separately and ranch expenses are specified. Although the ranches are represented in the Corporation's correspondence and financial records, separate Ranch Records exist as well. The financial records of the ranches include the distribution of ranch expenses (1913-1916) which lists for ranches 1-8 buildings and improvements, livestock, and expenses. The transfer ledger includes mainly the years 1916-1919 but extends through to 1948, overlapping the other two ledgers which cover 1936 to 1945. The transfer ledger includes accounts for ranches 1-9. The other two ledgers have indexes and include ranches 1, 2, 7, 8, 10-13. The ledgers list distribution of ranch accounts, buildings, livestock, maintenance, and depreciation. The ranch property records include ranch plats, soil maps, crop layouts, inventories, livestock registers, and insurance policies. The ranch payroll is a monthly record which includes the ranch, occupation, and wage of each individual. Records of the Baldwin Corporation Elevator Series include grain purchases and storage reports. These monthly reports are in reverse chronological order and list grain purchases, price, and bushels. The report of coal sales is also in reverse chronological order. Miscellaneous accounts receivable are scattered for years 1930-1936. The Baldwin Corporation Store orders are a monthly record of store sales to ranch tenants. Records of the Ellendale Office Series include office orders which consist of distribution of expenses to the ranches, various individuals, the Baldwin Corporation Elevator, and the Ellendale office. The office orders are in reverse chronological order. The Property Records Series of the Baldwin Corporation include land records, which in their various forms list real estate held in North Dakota and other states. Some of the records list lands by county or by state and some include indexes; some include lists of mortgages and land contracts. In a few cases a brief description of the land, price, and buyer is included. Some of these volumes of land records were dismantled and only those sections dealing with North Dakota lands were retained. The property records also include records of land contracts and mortgages. These list name of contractor or mortgager; some have indexes, some do not. As with the land records, some of these volumes have been dismantled and only North Dakota sections have been retained.

Dates

1823-1954 (bulk 1898-1936)

Creator

Baldwin Corporation. (Organization)

Access

The collection is open under the rules and regulations of the Institute.

Copyrights

The Institute does not hold the copyright of this collection.

History

The origins of the Baldwin Corporation lie with George B. Baldwin Sr., who was born in Vermont in 1830. George moved to Wisconsin and there was involved in local politics and various law partnerships. He married Catherine Plunkett in 1850. In 1875 he gave up his law practice to devote himself to the real estate business. George moved in 1883 to Appleton, Wisconsin, from where the Baldwin Corporation would continue to operate until 1955. It was during the years from 1885 to 1898 that George acquired his extensive holdings of land in the Dakotas, Wisconsin, Michigan, Oregon, Washington, and other states. Lands were bought cheap by the quarter section and sold at higher prices to settlers by accepting notes or mortgages. It was around 1890 that the first lands were bought in Dickey County, North Dakota. George formed the Baldwin Land Company in 1898 in Appleton and dealt in real estate as well as held mortgages, stocks, and bonds. From 1898 up until 1907 he continued to acquire more land predominantly in Wisconsin, North Dakota, South Dakota, and Michigan. By 1905 George had bought 75,000 acres in Dickey County, the greatest amount he would hold in North Dakota. During this time George B. Baldwin Jr., born in 1876, began to participate quite heavily in the affairs of the business and traveled frequently to North Dakota. Although none of the Baldwins ever resided in North Dakota, they were frequent visitors. When the senior George died in December 1907, George Jr., now an attorney, and his brother Charles, who had finished medical school, assumed the affairs of the Baldwin Estate and of the Baldwin Land Company. The senior George had stipulated in his will that his estate be in trust and not be divided for ten years. It was during this period of trusteeship that the bonanza farming operation in North Dakota was established. The Baldwins preferred to call their farms "ranches." Thirteen North Dakota ranches were originally established, although some were quickly sold. In 1914 eight ranches were operating under a plan of improving each one half section farm by adding house, barn, and granary. The ranches were rented to tenants on a one half share livestock lease, with the Baldwins directing all matters pertaining to farming operations and care of livestock. J. C. Hoke was hired as manager of the North Dakota ranches. Because of management problems, mainly that tenants were sometimes hard to find, it was decided the company would direct the ranches more as one institution. Operations remained organized by ranch with each managed by a foreman. 1917 marked the end of the trusteeship under the senior George Baldwin's will. At this time the Baldwin Land Company was incorporated to form the Baldwin Corporation. Operations in North Dakota continued with offices located in Ellendale. There was a land department with George Keyes acting as land agent to handle all real estate transactions and farm mortgages in North Dakota. The ranch department was managed by J.C. Hoke and later by J.W. McNary, with Charles E. Davis acting as bookkeeper for both departments. Some of the farm land was rented out to tenants supervised by a farm manager. A foreman was employed on each ranch to direct hired men, supervise farm work, and carry out orders of the farm manager. Often the foreman's wife was hired to cook for the farm workers. The remaining land not rented was operated as a single unit. In 1925 6,000 acres were within one single unit of production, one of the largest single operating units of any of the North Dakota bonanza farms. The Baldwin Bonanza was based on diversified agriculture, i.e., raising corn, alfalfa, and wheat, but mainly cattle, wool, cream, and hogs. The Corporation was a major breeder of registered cattle and hogs, maintaining very large herds of champion breeds. The Corporation also maintained its own elevator located at Keyes Spur. As part of the Baldwin Corporation Elevator, there was a general store at which ranch tenants could purchase goods on credit. Despite the apparent success of the Corporation's operations in North Dakota, it had been gradually selling off the North Dakota lands since the death of George Baldwin Sr. in 1907. The North Dakota ranches were being sold as well, often at unusually reduced prices. Since the ranches required the highest maintenance of any of the Corporation's land, they represented a continual source of expense. It appears as if the ranches were consistently losing money. The Baldwins continued to withdraw their business from North Dakota. In 1952 the Corporation dissolved into the Baldwin Company; a partnership between George N. and Karl P. Baldwin, sons of Charles Baldwin. Around 1954 Charles E. Davis retired as manager of the Baldwin Company in North Dakota. The office building in Ellendale was sold and the handling of North Dakota property was turned over to the Northwestern Mortgage Company. In August of 1955 the final sale of the Baldwin's North Dakota lands was made. The three remaining ranches (numbers 1, 8, and 12) totaling 5,600 acres were sold to Ralph Redlin of Ellendale. Baldwin Genealogy Nathan (1758-1844) son Jonathan (1798-1842) son George B. (1830-1907) wife Catherine Plunkett (1850-1945) son George B. (1876-1951) wife Suzanne Bournique (? - 1950) children from previous marriage Douglas P. Bournique Mrs. Eugenie Finsne son Charles F. (? - 1950) wife Margaret son Karl P. (1911- ) wife Theresa son George N. ( ? - ) wife Barbara Bibliography:

Fuller, Orville N. Farm organization as applied to the Baldwin farms, Dickey County, North Dakota. Master's thesis, North Dakota Agricultural College, 1924.

Hunter, William C. "The Baldwin farms in North Dakota." North Dakota History 33 (Fall 1966): 400-419.

Extent

31.6 Linear Feet (31.6 linear ft.)

Language of Materials

English

Additional Description

Abstract

The Company was founded in 1898 and was based in Appleton, Wisconsin with large land holdings (75,000 acres) in Dickey Country, ND. The collection consists of personal family papers of George Baldwin (1830-1907), its founder; his son, George B. Baldwin (1876-1949); and Charles F. Baldwin (1879-1947), as well as other family members. The extensive business records, beginning in 1853, cover Mr. Baldwin's early legal and land interests, the Baldwin Land Company, his estate and the Baldwin Corporation.

Provenance

Donated by Karl P. and George N. Baldwin, November-December 1960 (Acc. 1116)

Separation Record

The following non-manuscript items were removed from the Baldwin Corporation Records and have been sent to the section indicated.

Maps - Baldwin Property Map, Menasha, Wisconsin, July 1937, 1 sheet  City of Oakes, no date  Elkton, N.D., no date  Map of proposed emergency landing field, Ottawa National Forest, Elmwood, Iron County,  Wisconsin, no date  Map of Baldwin addition to Oakes, ND, 1904

Blue Prints - Barn Blue Print Design #1015 by Welles Thompson Co., 5 sheets 1 sheet each:  Stock Barn Blue print #390, James Mfg. Co., Ft. Atkinson, Wisconsin, 6/22/14  Detail Plan for Flue #377, James Mfg. Co., Ft. Atkinson, Wisconsin, 6/1/14  Modern Dairy Barn Blueprint #378, James Mfg. Co. Ft., Atkinson, Wisconsin, 6/22/14  NDAC Cattle pens, James Mfg. Co., Ft. Atkinson, Wisconsin, 6/21/12  Elevator Blueprint by Albert Laurent, Minneapolis, Minnesota, 5 sheets  House interior details ca. 1910, 3 sheets, Shed plan - no date, no architect  Barn Plan - no date, no architect, 3 sheets  House Plan - Welles-Thompson Co. no date, 2 sheets Photographs  2 photographic prints of Baldwin family and farms. (Photo Folio 61)