Railroads and Railways

"City of Kansas City" Records, 1947 (K0093)
2 f

 Finding Aid

Press kit distributed prior to the inaugural run of the "City of Kansas City" rail service between Kansas City and St. Louis. It contains facts about the train and its schedule, as well as photographs of the train's interior.

Counties

A

Adair County, Missouri, Railroad Bond Election Notice, 1870 (C2877)
0.02 cubic feet (1 folder)

 Finding Aid

Notice of election held March 29, 1870, in Adair County on bond issue to subscribe $100,000 to the capital stock of the Quincy, Missouri, and Pacific Railroad Company. OVERSIZE.

Counties

James R. Alderman Papers, 1838-1876 (C3153)
0.06 cubic feet (3 folders)

 Finding Aid

Miscellaneous documents and notes, largely concerning real estate transactions, licensing of lawyers and preachers, indentures, government appointments, and elections, and railroad charters. Arranged chronologically.

Counties

Charles Allonby Photographs, 1877-1971 (P0053)
0.19 cubic feet

Photographs of Thomas Hart Benton, the Newton County Courthouse, L. Carroll Gum, the Herman Jaeger property (near Neosho, MO), and relating to the Kansas City Southern #805 train wreck.

Counties

Clarence W. and Idress Head Alvord Collection, 1759-1962 (C0970)
21.2 cubic feet, 1 oversize volume

 Digitized Materials

 Finding Aid

Correspondence, writings, and collected materials of Alvord, professor of history at the universities of Illinois and Minnesota; and his wife, writer and former curator of the Missouri Historical Society in St. Louis. The collection includes territorial documents and Ste. Genevieve records; LIBERTY TRIBUNE papers; Missouri state and county records; and Civil War and military papers.

George H. Ambrose Papers, 1858-1924 (R0641)
0.25 cubic foot (6 folders)

 Finding Aid

The George H. Ambrose Papers contain the personal and business papers of George H. Ambrose, a county judge of Lafayette County, Missouri, and president of the Lexington & St. Louis Railroad Company. The collection includes correspondence, legal and business papers, memoranda books, and bank account books.          

Counties

American Zinc, Lead & Smelting Company Records, 1901-1965 (R0010)
157 cubic feet (3700 folders, 27 rolls of microfilm)

 Finding Aid

The American, Lead and Smelting Company (commonly known as "American Zinc") was a large nonferrous metals firm which mined, processed, smelted, and marketed basic zinc and lead products. It had major mining and milling operations in Missouri, Wisconsin, and Tennessee, smelters in Kansas and Illinois, and interests in ore processing machinery. Founded in 1899, the company became a leader in the zinc industry.

Charles Annegan Photograph Collection, 1910, no date (P0192)
2 photographs

Photos of a train accident near Collins, MO, ca 1900, and employees of the Missouri Pacific Railroad, Kansas City, 1910.

Counties

Atlantic and Pacific Railroad Company Records, 1870-1880 (R0086)
(2 rolls of microfilm)

 Finding Aid

The Atlantic and Pacific Railroad Company Records contains a microfilm copy of the records for the company. The records include indexed accounts of operating expense and revenue.

Counties

Atlantic and Pacific Railroad Company Records, 1870 (R0095)
0.01 cubic foot (1 folder)

 Finding Aid

The Atlantic and Pacific Railroad Company Records contains photocopies of a quitclaim deed by which the Atlantic and Pacific Railroad Company sold fort acres of land in Dallas County, Missouri to William Miller. The deed was executed on December 29, 1870 and was filed for record on January 12, 1904.

Counties

Atlantic and Pacific Railroad Company Records, 1876-1877 (R1288)
(1 oversize volume)

 Finding Aid

This Atlantic and Pacific Railroad volume is a register of warranty and quitclaim deeds by the for lands
sold by the company in Barry, Franklin, Gasconade, Greene, Lawrence, McDonald, Newton, Phelps,
Pulaski, Stone, and Webster Counties in Missouri.

Bertram Atwater Photographs, 1894 (S0563)
0.01 cubic foot

 Digitized Materials

This collection consists of copy negatives of photographs of Union Station taken in 1894 by Bertram E. Atwater. Atwater was a professional photographer hired to take publication-relations photographs of the new Union Station. He was murdered in Webster Groves in 1896, resulting in the first double-hanging in St. Louis.

Counties

B

Jean Coover Babcock Papers, 1944-1996 (K0740)
5.5 cubic feet

 Finding Aid

Family, personal, and professional materials of Babcock, a ballerina and dance instructor. Family papers include photographs, printed materials, ephemera, and material regarding her father's his job as a railroad engineer. Personal and professional papers include correspondence; photographs; clippings; programs from dance and theatre performances; material documenting her ballet career in Germany and Canada; and administrative and financial records of her Kansas City dance schools.

Counties

Thomas Frazier Baker III Papers, 1959-1967 (C2465)
8.4 cubic feet (716 folders, 8 volumes)

 Finding Aid

Papers of a state representative from Stoddard County, 1961-1967. Campaign correspondence and publicity, correspondence with constituents in regard to legislation and welfare assistance, political correspondence on such matters as gubernatorial succession, reapportionment, conflict of interest legislation, and ouster of House Speaker Graham.

Counties

Leslie S. Barber Papers, 1950-1966 (K0118)
10 f

 Finding Aid

Research notes and writing relating to biographical sketches of postal clerks who worked on the Kansas City and Pueblo Railway Post Office line. Also included are lists of postal clerks who served on other lines as well as reminiscences about Barber's family and friends. Genealogical notes on the Barber family and assorted newspaper clippings is included.

Counties

Franklin Hoke Barnitz Papers, 1860-1894 (R0164)
(1 roll)

 Finding Aid

This collection consists of correspondence and miscellaneous papers of Franklin H. Barnitz of Lake Spring, Dent County, Missouri. He was a native of Pennsylvania and freighter who operated from the railhead of the Southwest Branch of the Pacific Railroad in Phelps County before moving to Lake Spring. The collection includes letters from his family in York, Pennsylvania, and from friends and business associates in Arkansas, Kansas, and Missouri.

Larry Bauman Photograph Collection, 1894-1905 (P0473)
5 photographs

Copy photos of the St. Joseph Union Station, ca. 1894-1905

Counties

Israel J. Baumgardner Photograph Collection, 1880-1940 (R1299)
5 cubic feet (58 folders, 18 CDs, 3,685 negatives, 14 glass plate negatives)

 Finding Aid

The Israel J. Baumgardner Photograph Collection contains the negatives created by Baumgardner, a photographer in Rolla, Missouri. Many of the images are studio portraits, but others include roadside landmarks of Route 66, World War I and II era images, and the local area. He also engaged in commercial and advertising photography.

Mary Alice Beemer Photograph Collection, circa 1885-1955 (R0496)
0.1 cubic foot (1 folder, 37 photographs)

 Finding Aid

These are photographs of the town of Newburg and vicinity in Phelps County, Missouri. Included are views of employees, equipment, and facilities of the "Frisco" railroad, businesses, buildings, and street scenes, and miscellaneous photographs of locations near Newburg including the Dana Lead Mine and Stonydell Swimming Pool.

Counties

Belchamber Family Papers, 1892-1993 (CG0041)
3.2 c. f.

 Finding Aid

The Belchamber family papers contain photographs, correspondence and scrapbooks from the Belchamber family and its various branches. This collection also includes photographs and memorabilia relating to Will Mayfield College in Marble Hill, the Iron Mountain Railroad, and regional buildings and environs from the late 19th and early 20th centuries.

Benecke Family Papers, 1816-1989 (C3825)
90.8 cubic feet (7592 folders, 62 volumes, 413 glass plate negatives), 4 audio tapes, 5 audio discs

 Digitized Materials

 Finding Aid

Correspondence, business and law firm records, civic, political, legislative, and personal papers of a German American family of Brunswick, Missouri.

Counties

Marion Tinsley Bennett Papers, 1941-1948 (C1043)
14.0 cubic feet (1492 folders), 69 audio discs

 Finding Aid

Congressional papers and correspondence of Philip Allen Bennett (1881-1942) and his son and successor, Marion T. Bennett. M.T. Bennett served from 1943 to 1948. His committees were Census, Territories, Veterans, and Foreign and Interstate Commerce.

Counties

Richard Charles Blanchard Collection, 1890-1940 (K0787)
35 c.f.

Architectural and engineering drawings for various track and yard layouts for Kansas City area railroads.

Counties

Wells Howard Blodgett Letter, 1916 (C1586)
0.02 cubic feet (1 folder)

 Finding Aid

To [Benjamin McAllister] Anderson, [Columbia, MO], from St. Louis, MO, March 3, 1916. Blodgett sent Anderson a copy of the "Act to incorporate the Louisiana and Columbia Railroad," approved January 27, 1837.

Blount Family Papers, 1861-1947 (C0047)
4 cubic feet (246 folders, 82 volumes), 15 oversize volumes

 Finding Aid

Business papers recording farming, mining, and mercantile activities in southeast Missouri, particularly Potosi and Washington County. The collection contains family correspondence, legal and financial records, as well as medical notebooks from Barnes Hospital in St. Louis.

Counties

Ashleigh P. Boles Papers, 1886-1960 (C2431)
10 cubic feet

 Finding Aid

The papers of Ashleigh P. Boles contain correspondence, photographs, and publications of horticultural agent and director of Agricultural Development Department of the Missouri Pacific Lines. The collection also contains similar materials relative to his participation in short courses on railroad transportation of agricultural products; and membership in Friends of the Land Society, Civitan Club, and American Railway Development Association.

Boone County and Jefferson City Railroad Company Petition, 1866 (C1472)
0.02 cubic feet (1 folder)

 Finding Aid

The collection consists of a petition for condemning land which James E. Johnson refused to convey to the railroad. Petition to G.H. Burckhartt, Judge of the Boone County Circuit Court, and summons to James E. Johnson to appear at the Columbia Courthouse.

Counties

Botts-Lewis Family Letters, 1837-1877 (C0213)
0.06 cubic feet (3 folders)

 Finding Aid

Letters from the Botts and Lewis families in Virginia to the Peyton and James Botts families in Missouri. Farm crops, operations, land conditions, prayer meetings, collection of debts, slave prices, family matters, and other miscellaneous topics.

John F. Bradbury, Jr. Postcard Collection, 1889-2022 (R1551)
4 cubic feet (122 folders, 4,432 postcards)

 Finding Aid

The John F. Bradbury, Jr. Postcard Collection contains postcards collected by Bradbury, containing images from the Ozarks and Southern Missouri. The postcards consist of real photograph, commercially printed, and illustrated postcards. The images mainly feature Missouri towns, railroads, Route 66, resorts, and rivers.

Elzie Brand, "History of East End and the Community" Collection, no date (R0172)
0.01 cubic foot (1 folder)

 Finding Aid

The Elzie E. Brand, “History of East End and the Community” Collection contains a photocopy of a history of the community of East End, Missouri. Located in Iron County, East End was the eastern terminus of the Sligo and Eastern Railroad. It served as a shipping point for lumber and cordwood from 1912 to 1929.

Counties

William Clark Breckenridge Papers, 1752-1927 (C1036)
4.75 cubic feet (117 folders, 21 volumes), 1 card file, 3 rolls of microfilm

 Finding Aid

The papers of the St. Louis businessman, writer, and historian contain correspondence, scrapbooks, book sale announcements, and miscellaneous materials, with an emphasis on St. Louis and Missouri history.

Counties

Brinkerhoff and Smith Land Agency and Loan Company Papers, 1867-1878 (C0055)
2.7 cubic feet (162 folders)

 Finding Aid

The papers contain correspondence of Brinkerhoff and Vial, land agents in Clinton, Missouri, later Brinkerhoff and Smith Land Agency. The materials cover renting and selling land, paying taxes on property for non-resident owners and checking titles, and loans on property in southwestern Missouri, particularly Henry County.

Counties

Dutton Brookfield Papers, 1844-1979 (C2732)
72.4 cubic feet (5702 folders, 5 audio cassettes, 2 volumes, 1 microfilm reel)

 Finding Aid

The papers of Dutton Brookfield contain the business, political and personal papers and photographs of a Kansas City, MO, community leader. Brookfield was President of Unitog Company (1953-1979), a mayoral candidate (1963, 1971), and on boards of numerous corporations and educational and civic organizations. Family papers include letters from the Civil War, World War I and II, and Vietnam.

Counties

Robert C. Brown Photograph Collection, 1900-1971 (P0004)
51 photographs

 Finding Aid

Photographs of Missouri railroad depots, primarily for the Chicago, Burlington, & Quincy Railroad. Photographs relating to A.F. Schliecker of Kansas City, Missouri.

Bill Brush Lantern Slide Collection, ca. 1890-1970 (S1105)
12 cubic feet, 343 lantern slides

 Finding Aid

The Bill Brush Lantern Slide Collection consists mainly of glass lantern slides dating from approximately 1890 to 1970 which provide a visual record of St. Louis and the surrounding area. The slides came from St. Louis Public Schools, Schwarz Taxidermy Studio, and the St. Louis Naturalists Club. Highlights include images of steamships such as the Admiral and the Robert E. Lee, the 1904 World’s Fair, the St. Louis Zoo, and historic buildings in St. Louis. Both photographic images and drawings are used in the slides, and some slides are title cards. Contained with boxes located off-site are images pertaining to major events in United States and world history. Also included are 35mm film slides, and small number of nitrate film photographic negatives.

Counties

Burlington Northern Railway Company, Seniority Roster Collection, 1956-1988 (R1368)
0.5 cubic foot (5 folders)

 Finding Aid

Burlington Northern Railway Company Seniority Rosters consist of lists of employees ranked by their seniority within the company.

Counties

Butler County, Missouri Collection, 1968 (R0318)
0.01 cubic foot (1 folder)

 Finding Aid

The Butler County, Missouri Collection contains photocopies of typescripts of historical interviews with residents of Butler County, Missouri, by Robert Manns of Poplar Bluff. Topics include life along the Black River and in the communities of Hamtown, Qulin, and Rombauer, logging and railroads in Butler County, and the tornado of 1927.

Counties

C

Cairo and Fulton Railroad Company Papers, 1857-1866 (C1785)
0.02 cubic feet (1 folder)

 Finding Aid

Letters about the exchange of railroad land certificates for land; includes $650 in certificates, a blank bond bearing coupons, and samples for redesign of land certificates.

Cairo and Fulton Railroad Company Seals, 1853 (C3247)
0.02 cubic feet (1 folder)

 Finding Aid

Examples of two kinds of seals to be used on wax or paper, and handwritten description of one seal.

Scott Carey Papers, 1917-1961 (C2336)
0.38 cubic feet (18 folders)

 Finding Aid

The papers of Scott Carey contain correspondence, reports of arrests, affidavits, and photographs pertinent to Carey's work as a private detective and Frisco Lines agent in Scott and Pemiscot Counties. A private detective for more than fifty years, Carey was also a special officer for the St. Louis and San Francisco Railroad in the Missouri Bootheel region.

Counties

Carpenters' District Council of Greater St. Louis, AFL-CIO Records, 1892-1979 (C3696)
34 rolls of microfilm (290 folders, 118 volumes)

 Finding Aid

Minutes, correspondence, financial records, labor contracts and apprenticeship records. The St. Louis District Council, one of four in the state of Missouri, worked to unionize carpenter shops, provided benefits for members, and mediated jurisdictional disputes between unions.

Counties

Charles L. Carr Papers, 1915-1951 (K0909)
2 c.f.

Carr was an attorney in Kansas City, MO and the General Solicitor for the Kansas City Public Service Company. Includes the personal and professional papers of Carr: correspondence, printed materials from various organizations, files related to the streetcar company and the Missouri State Supreme Court..

Counties

John C. Carr Papers, 1914-1920 (C0082)
0.5 cubic feet

 Finding Aid

Papers of a Chicago, Burlington and Quincy Railroad claim agent located in Cameron, MO, concerned with injury claims and law cases.

Counties

Carthage Horse Railway Company Records, 1883-1891 (R0734)
(1 roll of microfilm)

 Finding Aid

This volume contains corporate minutes of the Carthage Horse Railway Company and a predecessor firm, the Carthage Railway Company. The company operated a horse-drawn transit system in Carthage in Japser County, Missouri.

Counties

Terence W. Cassidy Collection, 1879-1991 (K0302)
95 c.f.

 Finding Aid

Collected materials of Cassidy, librarian and historian, concerning the history of street railway systems, interurbans, and buses in the Midwest, particularly the Kansas City area. Includes Cassidy's personal and research files: printed materials, publications, articles, and photographs. Also administrative records of the Kansas City Street Railway Company, the Kansas City Public Service Company, and the Kansas City Area Transit Authority.

Counties

Cassville and Exeter Railway Company Records, 1909-1976 (R0421)
5 folders

 Finding Aid

These are papers concerning a short-line railroad which connected the towns of Cassville and
Exeter in Barry County, Missouri, begun as the Cassville & Western Railway in 1896 and reorganized
as the C&E in 1919. The collection includes letters, documents, clippings, and photographs

Counties

Centralia, Missouri, Centennial Celebration Papers, 1957 (C3162)
0.12 cubic feet (6 folders)

 Finding Aid

Research notes and typed drafts of histories of many of Centralia's clubs, businesses, institutions, and prominent citizens, compiled for the city's centennial celebration in 1957.

Counties

J. D. Champlin Papers, 1867 (R0952)
(1 folder)

 Finding Aid

This is a letter dated September 15, 1867 from J. D. Champlin of Champlin, Balch and Company, railroad contractors, in St. Louis, Missouri, to his son, John. The letter concerns construction of the Iowa Central Railroad and some family matters.

Counties

Chariton River Blockhouse Photograph, no date (C0789)
0.02 cubic feet (1 folder)

 Finding Aid

Photograph of blockhouse guarding the Chariton River, Macon County, on Hannibal and St. Joseph Railroad.

Counties

Chester, Perryville, Sainte Genevieve and Farmington Railroad Company Collection, 1894 (R0861)
(1 folder)

 Finding Aid

This is a numbered, blank, stock certificate for the Chester, Perryville, Ste. Genevieve & Farmington Railroad Company. Organized in 1894, the company was part of Louis Houck's railroad network in southeasten Missouri.