Table of Contents
Collection
Information
Historical Background
Scope and Content Note
Box and Folder Listing
Cataloging Information
Processed by
Paul Brockman
18 May 1998
Revised 18 January 2002
Manuscript Collections Department
William Henry Smith Memorial Library
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VOLUME OF COLLECTION: |
10 manuscript boxes, 40 bound volumes, 12 reel audio tapes. |
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COLLECTION DATES: |
1874-1968 |
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PROVENANCE: |
David L. Chambers, Indianapolis, IN, 21 June 1968 |
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RESTRICTIONS: |
None |
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REPRODUCTION RIGHTS: |
Permission to reproduce or publish material in this collection must be obtained from the Indiana Historical Society. |
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ALTERNATE FORMATS: |
Reel audio tapes. |
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RELATED HOLDINGS: |
Samuel & Charles Rauh Papers (M 406) |
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ACCESSION NUMBER: |
1976.0619 |
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NOTES: |
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The Indianapolis Belt Railway Company was incorporated on 28 June 1873 for the purpose of constructing, operating, and maintaining a railroad around the city from North Indianapolis to Brightwood. A movement for the erection of a stockyard near the west bank of the White River took shape a short time later and was contingent upon the railroad's construction.
Both ideas were not new. In 1870, Joel F. Richardson proposed a belt line be constructed around the city to relieve the downtown track congestion. The first need for a stockyard occurred in 1863 when Kingan and Company opened the world's largest pork producing plant. Kingan later opened a small stockyard operation near their plant. Prior to that time, livestock were sold in the private yards of packers and butchers. Nicholas McCarty furthered the argument for a large, central stockyard complex after touring the facilities in Chicago and St. Louis.
The panic of 1873 and legal right-of-way battles delayed the construction of the railroad and the stockyards a short time later, but the company formed its articles of association in 1876 under the name of the Union Railroad Transfer and Stock Yards Company. In the fall of 1876 the city of Indianapolis agreed to loan the firm $500,000 to complete the project. Indianapolis mayor John Caven, who viewed the railroad and stockyards as a stimulant to the economy, was chiefly responsible for the loan's approval and solution to the right-of-way problem. The railroad and stockyards opened on 12 November 1877 with over 200 freight cars passing over the fourteen miles of track on the first day. The new livestock buildings had the capacity for holding 25,000 hogs and 3,000 head of cattle or mules and was located on eight acres of former river bottom land acquired from the heirs of Nicolas McCarty, Sr.
In 1881 the firm's name was changed to the Indianapolis Belt Railroad and Stock Yard Company, and the following year, the Belt Railroad facilities were leased to the Indianapolis Union Railway Company for 999 years. Founded in the early 1850s, the locally operated Union Railway Company owned and maintained the Union Railway Passenger Station (Union Depot) and approximately one mile of track around the facility. The Pennsylvania Railroad and the New York Central systems (now Conrail) later acquired the company, but the railway continued operating as a distinct organization while leasing the track, equipment (engines and cars), and facilities from the Belt Railroad.
A second Indianapolis Belt Railroad Company was formed in May 1883, to construct, maintain, and operate a small section of track on the city's outskirts. In December of the same year, the operation was consolidated with the Indianapolis Belt Railroad and Stock Yard Company to form the Indianapolis Belt Railroad and Stock Yards Company. The rail facilities were then leased to the Union Railway Company.
A fire in 1904 nearly destroyed the entire stockyard complex with the exception of the Livestock Exchange Building but new and enlarged structures were soon erected. A truck department was added to the stockyard operation in 1919 and a hog division followed in 1926. Over the years, the stockyards expanded to encompass 147 acres, 60 of which were used for the livestock industry. At its peak in the 1930s and 1940s, the stockyards handled three million animals a year. In 1964, the company's name was altered to the Indianapolis Stockyards Company, Inc.
The decline of the Indianapolis meat packing industry resulted in a substantial decrease in shipments in the late 1950s and 1960s, and in 1967 Indianapolis Stockyards, Inc. was sold to Eli Lilly and Company, and they, in turn, leased the area to the United Stockyards Company of Chicago. In 1973, the stockyards were moved from their original location at 1400 Kentucky Ave., to a new sixteen acre site at 2577 Kentucky Ave. The old stockyard area was also razed in 1973 to make way for Lilly's Kentucky Ave. Industrial Center.
The Rauh family directed the Indianapolis Stockyards' operation from 1897-1967. Samuel E. Rauh assumed the corporate presidency in 1897 and continued to direct the company until his death in 1929. His son, Charles S. Rauh succeeded him and continued to direct the corporation until his death in 1956, at which time David L. Chambers, Jr., a grandson-in-law of Samuel Rauh took over the operation. Chambers remained in control of the stockyards until it was sold to the Lilly Company in 1967. Previous company presidents included William Riley McKeen, 1876-1889; William Putnam Ijams, 1889-1897; and Deloss W. Minshall for one month in 1897.
Sources: Sources in collection.
Indianapolis Star, 27 September 1953, p. 2H; 22 November 1967, p. 1; 7
November 1971, Sec. D, p. 21; 19 February 1978 (Star Magazine).
Dunn, Jacob P., Greater Indianapolis, Vol. 1, pp. 256-263.
The records of the Indianapolis Belt Railroad and Stock Yards Company cover the period from the period from the Articles of Association in 1874 to 1968, one year after the sale of the Indianapolis Stockyards Company, Inc. to Eli Lilly and Company. The largest portion of the records includes the company's management, capital stock, and property documents. The majority of the records deal with stockyard proceedings since the Belt Railroad and Stock Yards Company leased its rail properties to the Union Railway Company in 1882. Most of the railroad records pertain to dealings prior to 1882 and in the agreements with the Union Railway Company (Box 7).
Included in the Belt Railroad and Stock Yard's Company's management records are documents relating to the firm's organization, mergers, and general operations along with annual reports and director's meetings. The collection contains annual presidential reports, 1917-1967, as well as appraisal reports, expenses, expenditures, tax reports, and audits, 1870s-1960s. There are also two volumes of the financial records of the Union Reduction Company of Cincinnati, Ohio, 1913-1921, a firm that had ties to the Rauh family.
The records also contain the firm's capital stock records including stock certificates and ledgers, 1877-1931. There are also items relating to the purchase, sale, and transfer of stock, including investment diversification material. Also included among the stockholder records are meeting minutes and reports, 1876-1967.
The collection also contains a significant amount of material regarding property sale, leasing, and the granting of right-of-ways. Included in the records are acquisition and sales document such as deeds, correspondence, diagrams, and blueprints. Among these items are neighboring businesses obtained by Belt Railroad and Stock Yards Company, 1876-1967; land leased, sold, or right of wayed to the city for municipal purposes, 1915-1967; and right of way agreements between the Stock Yards Company and the Union Railway Company, 1878-1958.
Among the other materials in the collection are historical related items, labor records, the construction and expansion of stockyard property, and the records of the Indianapolis Stock Yards Marketing Institute. Historical related materials include newspaper clippings and scrapbooks, 1920s-1950s, and items relating the company's 50th anniversary celebration, 1927. The records of the Stock Yards Marketing Institute include corporate organizational materials as well as financial records, and advertising and media promotions, 1954-1968. Labor records center on the company's pension plan with some payroll files and scattered dealings between labor and management, 1891-1967. Construction and expansion records include the erection and remodeling of stockyard buildings, 1920s-1950s.
BOX 1: Corporate Information, 1874-1966; Historical Information;
Meetings & Reports, 1879-1940
FOLDER CONTENTS
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1 |
Organizational records, 1874-1881 |
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2 |
Organizational records, 1883, 1939 |
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3 |
By-laws, 1898-1956 |
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4 |
Officials & directors, 1884-1965 |
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5 |
Corporate information, 1966 |
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6 |
Corporate history, 1904 |
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7 |
Newsclippings, 1920s-1950s (also BV 702-703) |
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8 |
50th anniversary celebration, 1927 |
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9 |
50th anniversary celebration (newsclippings), 1927 |
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10 |
Meetings & reports, 1879-1926 (also BV 699-701) |
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11 |
Annual Reports 1906, 1917-1940 |
BOX 2: Meetings & Reports, 1941-1967; Financial Records, 1878-1964
FOLDER CONTENTS
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1 |
Annual reports, 1941-1953 |
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2 |
Annual reports, 1953-1967 |
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3 |
Board of directors meetings, 1963-1965 |
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4 |
Earnings & expenses, 1878-1888 (comparison) |
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5 |
Earnings & expenses, 1885 |
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6 |
Mortgage, 1885 |
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7 |
Weigh scale patent, 1903-1906 |
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8 |
Union Trust Company agreement, 1909 |
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9 |
Financial records, 1918; 1932-1936 |
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10 |
Financial reports & appraisals, 1898-1964 |
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11 |
Appraisal reports, 1920-1955 (also BV 0676-0698) |
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12 |
Records & expenses, 1949-1963 |
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13 |
Legal opinions, 1879-1961 |
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14 |
(BV 0672-0675) Account books & financial records, 1877-1882 |
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15 |
(BV 0711-0712) Union Reduction Co. (Cincinnati, Ohio), financial & stock records, 1913-1921 |
BOX 3: Tax Reports & Audits, 1917-1968; Indianapolis Stock Yards
Marketing Institute, 1954-1968
FOLDER CONTENTS
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1 |
Tax reports, 1917-1920 |
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2 |
Audits, 1926-1931 |
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3 |
Tax receipts, 1940-1955 |
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4 |
Statements & audits, 1965-1966; assessment notice, 1961 |
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5 |
Tax return, 1968 |
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6 |
Marketing Institute--organizational records, 1954 |
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7 |
Marketing Institute--corporate structure & by-laws, 1957-1965 |
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8 |
Marketing Institute--financial records, 1954-1968 |
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9 |
Marketing Institute--highway signs advertising Indianapolis Stock Yards, 1963-1967 |
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10 |
Marketing Institute--radio promotions, 1961-1965 |
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11 |
Marketing Institute--activities, 1955-1961 |
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12 |
Marketing Institute--farmers marketing practices and market preference survey, 1956 |
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13 |
Marketing Institute--general public relations information for press, 1956-1968 |
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14 |
Marketing Institute--livestock truckers and stockyard personnel meeting, 3 December 1964 |
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15 |
Captialization records, 1876-1966 |
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16 |
Original stock owners installment script--Union Railroad Transfer & Stock Yards Company, 1877-1879 |
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17 |
(BV704-710) Stock ledgers, 1877-1940 |
BOX 4: Capital Stock Records, 1879-1966
FOLDER CONTENTS
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1 |
Stock certificates, 1879-1907 |
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2 |
Certification to sell capital stock and deal on the live stock exchange, 1897-1920 |
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3 |
Stockholders meeting, 1890 |
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4 |
Stockholder proxies and basic meeting information, 1879-1961 |
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5 |
Stock held in other corporations, 1940, 1966 |
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6 |
Proposed increase in capital stock, 1910-1920 |
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7 |
Proposed purchase & retirement capital stock, 1960-1963, folder 1 |
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8 |
Proposed purchase & retirement of capital stock, 1960-1963, folder 2 |
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9 |
Proposed purchase & retirement of capital stock, 1960-1973, folder 3 |
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10 |
Amendments to articles of incorporation (recapitalization), 1966 |
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11 |
Common stock transfers, 1916-1924 |
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12 |
Transfer & disbursing agent change, 1964 |
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13 |
Stock holder agent list, 1964 |
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14 |
Indianapolis Stockyards Company pension fund, 1963 |
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15 |
Stockholders meeting, 1965 |
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16 |
Common & preferred stockholders list, 1966 |
BOX 5: Stockholder Lists, 1967; Labor Records, 1891-1967
FOLDER CONTENTS
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1 |
Common & preferred stockholders list, 1967 |
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2 |
"Grube Goup" stockholdings, 1967 |
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3 |
Payroll records, 1891-1901 |
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4 |
Labor & management agreements, 1920-1965 |
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5 |
Pension plan study, 1947-1967, folder 1 |
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6 |
Pension plan study, 1947-1967, folder 2 |
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7 |
Proposed pension plan revision, 1963 |
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8 |
General pension plan, 1963 |
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9 |
Instructions for weighmasters, 1940s & 1967 |
BOX 6: Construction & Expansion of Stockyards, 1878-1962; Land
Deeded for Municipal Use, 1910-1965
FOLDER CONTENTS
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1 |
Railroad bed construction agreement, 1883 |
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2 |
Construction expenses, 1878-1955 |
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3 |
Track additions, 1918-1919 |
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4 |
Kentucky Ave. entrance construction, 1948-1950 |
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5 |
Russell Dean Memorial Expressway (proposed construction), 1958 |
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6 |
Industrial development plans, 1950-1961 |
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7 |
Rebuilding & remodeling agreements, 1947-1962 |
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8 |
Pneumatic tube construction, 1945-1951 |
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9 |
Indpls. Power & Light & Water Co. leases, 1910-1948 |
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10 |
Sewer line construction, 1912-1963 |
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11 |
Land deeded for flood control, 1927-1938 |
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12 |
Land deeded for flood control, 1962 |
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13 |
Possible land sale for city dump, 1955, 1965 |
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14 |
Changes in city right-of-way (summary), 1882-1937 |
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15 |
Proposed Route 37 right-of-way boundaries, 1959 |
BOX 7: Leases to Outside Businesses, 1915-1967; Leases/Agreements with
Union Railway Co., 1878-1951
FOLDER CONTENTS
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1 |
Lease & sale to Rauh Realty Co., 1915-1946 |
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2 |
Terre Haute, Indianapolis, & Eastern Traction Co. agreement, 1924 |
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3 |
Exchange Building lease, 1938-1966 |
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4 |
Wright-Bachman material, 1945-1966 |
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5 |
Oil (gas) station construction lease, n.d. |
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6 |
Tenant rail rights & restrictions, 1946-1962 |
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7 |
Land sale diagrams, 1946-1961 |
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8 |
Exchange Building rent increase, 1961 |
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9 |
Nutrena Mills feed tank construction, 1965-1966 |
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10 |
Szabo Food Service lease, 1960-1961 |
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11 |
Industrial Catering Company, Inc. & Merrill's Catering lease, 1961 |
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12 |
William Arens Cafeteria lease, 1965 |
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13 |
Price's Cafeteria lease, 1967 |
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14 |
Kenmar Development Corporation lease, 1966 |
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15 |
Union Railway right of way agreements, 1878-1883 |
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16 |
Union Railway agreements with Belt Railroad & Stock Yards Co., 1882-1903 |
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17 |
Union Railway leases & agreements with Belt Railroad & Stock Yards Co., 1908-1914 |
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18 |
Union Railway leases & agreements with Belt Railroad & Stock Yards Co., 1918-1936 |
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19 |
Union Railway leases & agreements with Belt Railroad & Stock Yards Co., 1939-1951 |
BOX 8: Leases/Agreements With Union Railway Co., 1954-1958; Property
Acquisition, 1876-1967
FOLDER CONTENTS
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1 |
Union Railway leases & agreements with Belt Railroad & Stock Yards Co., 1954-1958 |
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2 |
Union Railway station changes (map/blueprint), 1946-1959 |
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3 |
Land deeds, 1876-1899 |
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4 |
Land acquisition from McCarty family, 1877-1916 |
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5 |
Farmers & Drovers Stock Yard Co. acquisition, 1895 |
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6 |
Land acquisition--deeds & descriptions, 1883-1889 |
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7 |
Interstate Stock Yards acquisition, 1899-1903 |
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8 |
Property acquisition, 1899-1939 |
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9 |
American Aggregates Co. acquisition, 1961-1965 |
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10 |
Changes in land & property boundaries, 1897-1967 |
BOX 9: Property Acquisition (Blueprints & Diagrams), 1902-1951;
Management Meetings, 1964-1965
FOLDER CONTENTS
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1 |
Blueprints & diagrams of stockyard area, 1906-1945 |
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2 |
Property additions & sales (maps), 1950 |
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3 |
Detailed diagram of stockyard area, 1951 |
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4 |
Land owned by Rauh Realty Co. & stockyards, n.d., folder 1 |
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5 |
Land owned by Rauh Realty Co. & stockyards, n.d., folder 2 |
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6 |
Land owned by Rauh Realty Co. & stockyards, n.d., folder 3 |
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7 |
Executive Committee Meeting, 1 April 1964; annual stockholder meeting 16 April 1964; phone conversation Chambers & Fogelson, 17 April 1964 (reel audio tapes) |
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8 |
Annual stockholder meetings, 22 April 1965, 28 April 1965 (reel audio tapes) |
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9 |
Annual stockholder meeting, 27 April 1967; board of directors meeting, 27 May 1965 (reel audio tapes) |
BOX 10: Board of Directors Meetings, 1965; Special Shareholders
Meetings, 1966-1967; National Starch Negotiating Committee
FOLDER CONTENTS
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1 |
Board of directors meetings, 8 June 1965, Sept., 1965 (reel audio tapes) |
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2 |
Board of directors meeting, 27 Oct. 1965; special shareholders meeting 15 Dec. 1966 (reel audio tapes) |
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3 |
Special shareholders meeting 15 Dec. 1967; National Starch Negotiating Committee, n.d. (reel audio tapes) |
For additional information on this collection, including a list of subject headings that may lead you to related materials: