Greene Cattle Company. Greene Cattle Company Collection, 1836-1970 1900's-1940's.
Title:
Greene Cattle Company Collection, 1836-1970 1900's-1940's.
The collection is arranged into five series: Series I: Legal; Series II: Financial; Series III: Correspondence; Series IV: Maps, and Series V: Oversized. Files are arranged alphabetically within each series, except where noted. The bulk of this collection was donated to the Arizona Historical Foundation in 1974 and was restricted for access for unknown reasons until 1980. During the restricted years and the decades to follow, the collection was disassembled and reorganized. Therefore, the original order of the Greene Cattle Collection is primarily unknown. At some point, a few of the Spanish documents were transcribed as well. The collection has been arranged and organized by company or individual. The companies include vendors, customers, and the various divisions of the Greene Cattle Company (Green Cattle Company Inc., Greene Cattle Company of Arizona, Greene Cattle Company of California). When the materials apply to general Greene Cattle Company transactions and records, they are organized by type or subject. Each box is then organized alphabetically and chronologically within. Series I: Legal includes land transactions, abstracts of titles, mortgage agreements, meeting minutes, and various other legal documents. Series II: Financial includes financial statements, stock certificates, cattle sales records, and shipping invoices. Series III: Correspondence primarily consists of correspondence between industry partners, such as the J.G. Boswell Company, and correspondence regarding the patenting of land parcels. Also of note, within this series is a letter dated 1906 from President Theodore Roosevelt to Colonel Greene discussing Greene's hunting success. Series IV: Maps is a small collection of county and ranch maps concerning the holdings of the Greene Cattle Company. Series V: Oversized includes 29 oversized boxes the majority of which are the financial ledgers of the Greene Cattle Company. A few boxes contain other items of interest including photographs, memorabilia, and a rare book from 1910 titled Recuerdo del Centenario de la Independencia Mexicana Las Fiestas en Cananea, Sonora. This series is organized by subject and then chronologically within. Among the many items of interest within this collection, there are a few that deserve special mention. Of particular importance are the documents pertaining to the Luis Maria Baca Grant. The Baca Grant was awarded to Luis Maria Cabeza de Baca (originally de Vaca) in the mid-sixteenth century by the King of Spain. The grant was made up of five floats or tracts of land totaling almost one million acres. In 1936, the Greene Cattle Company acquired the Luis Maria Baca Grant, Float #5 which is located 50 miles north of Prescott near Seligman, Arizona. The Baca Float as it was called totaled 95,000 acres and would be the last running ranch owned by the Greene Cattle Company until its sale in 1973. Documents pertaining to the Luis Maria Baca Float can be found within every series of this collection. For a short history of the acquisition and operations of the Baca Float, refer to Big Outfit: Ranching on the Baca Float, written by Robert L. Sharp, the general manager of the ranch from 1937 to 1952. For more information regarding the history of the Luis Maria Baca Grant, see http://www.sharlot.org/archives/history/dayspast/text/2000_10_24.shtml Also deserving mention are the records relating to the J.G. Boswell Company out of California. J.G. Boswell II, the biggest farmer in America and commonly referred to as the 'King of California.' The company, started by his uncle J.G. Boswell I in the 1920s, is one of the largest producers of cotton in the United States. During the 1930's, the J.G. Boswell Company also owned feedlots in California, which were used by the Greene Cattle Company to transport and house their cattle. During the Great Depression, the Greene Cattle Company and the J.G. Boswell Company entered into a joint venture to raise and sell cattle. The continuation of both companies was in part due to the partnership they formed. These records on the J.G. Boswell Company are some of the few records available pertaining to this cotton giant. They can be found in Series I-III of this collection. For a definitive history of J.G. Boswell, refer to The King of California: J.G. Boswell and the Making of a Secret American Empire, by Mark Arax and Rick Wartzman.
ArchivalResource:
54.5 linear feet (51 boxes)
http://www.worldcat.org/oclc/123915785 View
View in SNAC
