Great Northern Railway Company Wellington Disaster records, 1907-1911 (bulk 1910).

ArchivalResource

Great Northern Railway Company (U.S.). Great Northern Railway Company Wellington Disaster records, 1907-1911 (bulk 1910).

Great Northern Railway Company Wellington Disaster records, 1907-1911 (bulk 1910).

http://www.worldcat.org/oclc/191733696

The collection consists of Great Northern records, most or all of which appear to have been generated by the Legal Dept. These include twelve photographs of the aftermath of the disaster, clippings, and a legal file consisting mainly of correspondence among various Great Northern attorneys, and between attorneys and claim agents. The correspondence from the days immediately following the disaster concerns the sorting out of the facts and responding to criticism and questions of liability; it includes coded telegrams sent between company officials, some of which include handwritten translations of coded words. Some of the correspondence concerns the coroner's inquest; a statement of the verdict is also included. Later correspondence concerns specific claims by various parties--employees, victims' relatives, and companies with goods being shipped--for compensation from the company in the months following the incident. Among the correspondents are J.D. Armstrong, Great Northern's assistant general solicitor in St. Paul; D.H. Kimball, General Claims Agent; and Louis W. Hill, President of Great Northern and son of railroad "Empire Builder" James J. Hill, founder of the Great Northern Railway. Though the photographs in the collection are not attributed, they are believed to have be taken by J.A. Juleen. Juleen took photographs of the scene soon after the avalanche; he may have been working for the Great Northern Railway Company.

1 box (.21 cubic ft., including 12 photographs)

Museum of History and Industry