Papers of William F. Dalrymple, a native of Sugar Grove, Warren County, Pennsylvania, dealing with his investments in mills, railroads, farmlands, and city real estate in Pennsylvania, North Dakota, Minnesota, and Wisconsin. The collection consists primarily of incoming letters, but includes occasional drafts and copies of Dalrymple's replies. A number of letters written in 1876 by his brother Oliver concern their joint investment in vast wheat farms ("bonanza farms") in the Red River Valley of North Dakota. Also included are numerous letters written in the 1880s by other associates in the enterprise: Benjamin P. Cheney, the Grandin brothers, and the nephews and other members of the Dalrymple family who served as managers of and agents for the tracts. These letters contain information on crop conditions, prices, storage, and land sales, with occasional references to equipment and manpower. Letters from grain brokers in Duluth, Minnesota, and in Buffalo, New York, discuss storage, shipping, and marketing costs. Two volumes of sketchy financial records, 1891-1912, deal with the North Dakota farms. Other papers include letters about real estate in St. Paul, Minnesota, and abstracts of city lots in Milwaukee owned by Dalrymple. Numerous records of Dalrymple's investments in railroads are found in the collection. Included are papers of the Milwaukee & Dubuque Railroad, which was controlled by Dalrymple after 1878 and later was reorganized as the Milwaukee, Peoria & St. Louis Railroad. As secretary of the company Dalrymple corresponded with civil engineers C. B. Hall and J. P. Robinson concerning the construction of the road, and with representatives of other railway companies concerning connections with and purchase of the line. Records, 1857-1859, of the predecessor company, the projected Milwaukee & Beloit Railroad, which were acquired by Dalrymple, include deeds for the right of way, stock subscriptions, minutes, reports, and correspondence. Letters written after 1868 contain material on Bayfield, Wis. Correspondence of Andrew Tate and R. D. Pike contains brief observations on lumbering, land sales, road building, and residents of the locality. Drafts of Dalrymple's letters, 1882-1883, describe plans for the development of Bayfield as a lake port and railroad terminus through the agency of the Bayfield Transfer Railway Company, incorporated in 1883. Numerous letters exchanged after 1891 between Dalrymple and Herbert C. Hale, general manager of the railroad at Bayfield, concern the building, financing, and operation of the short line, which hauled passengers and freight in addition to its main cargo of lumber. The unbound papers are supplemented by letterbooks, 1892-1916, annual reports, and trial balances of the Bayfield Transfer Railway Company. A number of personal papers supplement the correspondence: memorandum books, 1847-1849, containing information on his investments in a store and gristmill in Pennsylvania; diaries, 1861-1891; records dealing with the settlement of his estate; and assorted maps and promotional materials designed to encourage settlement in the Dakotas and in northern Wisconsin.
