Title: Willow River Power Company Records
Inclusive Dates: 1866-1953

Creator:

• Willow River Power Company (Hudson, Wisconsin)

Call Number: River Falls Mss H

Quantity: 8.4 c.f. (14 archives boxes and 15 oversize volumes)

Repository:

Housed at the University Archives and Area Research Center, Chalmer Davee Library, University of Wisconsin-River Falls, ; owned by the Wisconsin Historical Society, Division of Library, Archives, and Museum Collections

Archival Locations:

COLLECTION MAY BE STORED OFF-SITE: see catalog entry to request materials and for additional information.

UW-River Falls, Chalmer Davee Library / River Falls Area Research Ctr. (Map)

Abstract:

Business records for the flour and gristmills and the electric power plants operated on the Willow River by Christian Burkhardt (1834-1931) and his family of Burkhardt and Hudson, Wisconsin. Burkhardt, a native of Germany, built his first dam and flour mill on the Willow River in 1868. By 1894 a new mill had been erected and electric generators had been installed, and by 1900 electrical power was being supplied to the city of Hudson for street lighting and residential use. In 1907 all company operations were consolidated into the Burkhardt Milling and Electric Power Company, but because of its continued growth and diversification, the power business was separated from the milling business by the creation in 1922 of the Willow River Power Company. In 1944 all of the Burkhardt properties were purchased by Northern States Power Company. The bulk of the collection is composed of financial and legal records. Minutes of meetings of the Burkhardt Milling and Electric Company, 1907-1947, together with cash and sales books, journals, ledgers, trial balances, and grain and shipping accounts of varied dates relate primarily to the operations of the flour and grain mills, mainly in the period after 1885. Sales records, 1901-1918, minutes of stockholders' and directors' meetings of the Willow River Power Company, 1922-1940, a few reports to state and federal agencies, and assorted legal papers relate to the production and sale of electricity. The collection also contains plat maps and correspondence concerning lands owned by the Burkhardt companies, 1900-1946, correspondence and financial records of investments held by the Burkhardts in St. Paul, Minn., 1904-1943, and a very few folders of personal family papers, 1873-1953.

Language: English

URL to cite for this finding aid: http://digital.library.wisc.edu/1711.dl/wiarchives.uw-whs-rf000h

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Christian Burkhardt (1834-1931) of Burkhardt and Hudson, Wisconsin, migrated from Germany to New York and worked as a millwright in New York, Illinois, and Iowa before moving to northwestern Wisconsin. In 1868, Burkhardt erected a small flour mill and timber dam on the Willow River in St. Croix County, Wisconsin The mill and an adjoining cooper shop were completely destroyed by fire in 1887. Burkhardt built a new mill and in 1891, installed electrical generators to supply power to the mill.

In 1894, after having been the manager of the Willow River Milling Company at North Hudson for several years, Christian Burkhardt and James Andrews purchased the company. Three years later, Burkhardt became the sole owner of Willow River Milling and about the same time, began to supply electric power to the city of Hudson for street lighting and residential use. Hudson was the first small community in northwestern Wisconsin to have electric lights.

Burkhardt continued to build new dams, mills, and power plants and in 1907, consolidated all operations into the Burkhardt Milling and Electric Power Company. Because of the growing size and diversity of the business, the Willow River Power Company was organized in 1922 to separate the electric power generation from milling operations. By 1944, when Northern States Power Company purchased all real and personal property owned by the Willow River Power Company, the company had 139 miles of rural electric lines.

Several histories of the origins and development of the Willow River Power Company, one with special emphasis on the technical and engineering problems of dams, mills, and power plants, can be found in Box 1, folders 1 through 4, of the collection.

The collection consists of four series: CORPORATE HISTORIES, papers of the BURKHARDT FAMILY, records of BURKHARDT MILLING AND ELECTRIC POWER COMPANY, and records of the WILLOW RIVER POWER COMPANY.

The CORPORATE HISTORIES series consists of four written histories of Burkhardt's businesses, written between 1918 and 1954. Included with the Midland Cooperator article is a series of citations to local newspaper articles (primarily the Hudson Star Observer,) regarding significant events in the lives of the Burkhardts and their company. The “Origin and Development of Willow River Power Company, 1868-1944” may be an official corporate history since the account was typed on corporate stationery.

Miscellaneous papers of Burkhardt family members are included in the BURKHARDT FAMILY series. Among the papers is Christian Burkhardt's will and family correspondence.

The corporate records included in the final two series, BURKHARDT MILLING AND ELECTRIC POWER and WILLOW RIVER POWER COMPANY, consist primarily of organizational and financial materials. Minutes of meetings of boards of directors as well as the stockholders are included as are annual reports of the Burkhardt Milling company. Both series contain rather complete compilations of financial records.

Of interest may be the grain and shipping records of Burkhardt Milling that detail the daily volume of sales and shipping done at the mills, 1884-1933. The miscellaneous electricity and power records, 1906-1920; give detailed information on the operations of the early electric power company. These are supplemented by electric sales records, 1901-1918.

Acquisition Information

Presented by Esther and Bertha Burkhardt, Hudson, Wisconsin, 1943, 1955, 1959, 1962-1964, and 1967; and by Willis H. Miller, Hudson, Wisconsin, 1971.

	Series: Corporate Histories
Box   1 Folder   1	Midland Cooperator, 1944 July 26 (typescript copy)
Box   1 Folder   2	Miscellaneous, 1918, 1945, undated
Box   1 Folder   3	“Origin and Development of Willow River Power Company, 1868-1944,” 1944
Box   1 Folder   4	Our Shield, 1954 September and October Note: A Northern States Power Company publication.
	Series: Burkhardt Family	⇧
	Burkhardt, Bertha A.
Box   1 Folder   5	Correspondence, 1931-1938, 1940, undated
Box   1 Folder   6	Lewerer, Louise C. (Burkhardt) Estate, Correspondence, 1945-1947
Box   1 Folder   7-8	Personal Income Tax - Federal, 1938-1945; State, , 1936; Audit, , 1942
	Burkhardt, Christian
Box   1 Folder   9	Appointments, Mortgages, Deeds, 1865-1880
Box   1 Folder   10	Correspondence in regard to Establishment of Electric Power Lines, 1891-1896
Box   1 Folder   11	Will, 1891 June 11
Box   1 Folder   12	Burkhardt, Louise - Diary, 1891
Box   1 Folder   13	Burhardt, Esther H. - Calligraphy copybook, undated
Box   1 Folder   14-15	Family Correspondence, 1834, 1854-1900, 1912-1953, undated
Box   1 Folder   16	Leffel's Construction of Mill Dams and Bookwalter's Millwright and Mechanic, 1881
Box   1 Folder   17	Legal Documents - Deeds and Contracts, 1873-1899
Box   1 Folder   18	Stock Certificates, 1911-1944, undated
	Series: Burkhardt Milling and Electric Power Company	⇧
	Annual Reports
Box   2 Folder   1	Electric Utility, 1929 December 31
	Federal Power Commission
Box   2 Folder   2	Report to, 1937-1942
Box   2 Folder   3	Correspondence and Work Papers, 1944-1945
Box   2 Folder   4	Financial, 1929 December 31
Box   2 Folder   5	Tool and Supply Inventories, 1906-1907
Box   2 Folder   6	Heating Utility, 1929 December 31
Box   2 Folder   7	Supplementary Schedules, 1944
Box   2 Folder   8	Stockholders - Report to, 1944 January 27
	Board of Directors
Box   2 Folder   9-10	Meetings, 1907, 1944-1947
	Building Accounts (St. Paul, Minnesota)
Box   2 Folder   11	American National Bank Building Monthly Financial Statements, 1909-1911
Box   2 Folder   12	Century Building - Financial Statements, 1905-1910
Box   2 Folder   13	Clapp-Thomssen Company, 1934 September 12 - 1943 May 15 Note: Real estate agents for Burkhardt Milling and Electric.
	Metropolitan Bank Building
Box   2 Folder   14	Correspondence, 1925 December - 1936 July
Box   2 Folder   15	Correspondence - Wezl and Welker, 1931-1936
Box   3 Folder   1	Correspondence - Wezl and Welker, 1937-1942
Box   3 Folder   2-3	Correspondence - P.N. Peterson estate, 1917 March 13 - 1926 July 8
Box   3 Folder   4	Earnings Statements, 1926-1940
Box   3 Folder   5-6	Financial Statements and Correspondence, 1934-1940
Box   3 Folder   7	Rental Receipts, 1941 February 6 - December 31
Box   3 Folder   8	Tax Returns and Related Documents, 1933-1941, 1943
Box   3 Folder   9-10	Miscellaneous Correspondence and Business Papers, 1904-1917
	St. Paul Building
Box   4 Folder   1	Accounts, 1906, 1909
Box   4 Folder   2	Correspondence and Miscellaneous Financial Records, 1911 November 28 - 1927 July 8
Box   4 Folder   3	Indenture, 1904 October 14
Box   4 Folder   4	Phelps, Mrs. Emma - Power of Attorney and Will, 1936 June 20
	Corporate Documents
Box   4 Folder   5	Articles of Organization and Incorporation, 1907, 1914, 1918, 1925
Box   4 Folder   6	Organization - Correspondence - Baker and Haven, Attorneys, 1907-1910
Box   4 Folder   7	Organizational Materials, 1907-1908
	Correspondence
Box   4 Folder   8-9	General, 1911 August 26 - 1915 August 9; 1918 March 22 - 1924 January 3
Box   4 Folder   10	General, A-W, 1937-1945
Box   4 Folder   11	General, G-W, 1945-1947 Note: Apparently incomplete.
Box   4 Folder   12	Ashley, Lynn H., Attorney, 1938 June - 1944 Oct
Box   4 Folder   13	Bell, G.W., 1914 October 12 - 1915 June 24 Note: Regarding purchase of building in Hudson.
Box   4 Folder   14	Chequamegon National Forest, 1932 March - 1935 April
Box   4 Folder   15	Gogebic Steam Boiler Works, 1915 January 2 - 1915 August 26
Box   4 Folder   16	Spencer Haven, Attorney, 1913 October - 1922 March
Box   4 Folder   17	Holland, Ackerman, and Holland, Consulting Engineers, 1915 July 26 - 1922 January 19
	Hudson Electric Light, Heat and Power Company
Box   4 Folder   18	Christian Burkhardt, 1891-1896, undated
Box   4 Folder   19	Plant and Equipment at Hudson, 1893 - 1896
Box   4 Folder   20	Kessel, Emma (Estate) 1943 November 30 - 1944 September 23
Box   4 Folder   21	Kimball, A.W. (accountant), 1940 January - 1945 July
Box   5 Folder   1	Liquidation, 1943 - 1948
Box   5 Folder   2	Minnesota - Secretary of State, 1914-1943
Box   5 Folder   3	Railroad Commission of Wisconsin, 1919 April 26 - 1922 January 19
Box   5 Folder   4	Real Estate Transactions, 1931, 1934, 1935, 1939, 1941, 1942, 1944-1951
Box   5 Folder   5	Miscellaneous, 1915, 1919, 1922, 1923, l934, 1944, 1946
	Financial Records
Box   5 Folder   6	Accountant's Schedule and Correspondence, 1922 Note: Regarding transfer to Willow River Power Company
Box   5 Folder   7	Accounts, Schedule of, 1917 October 2
Box   5 Folder   8	Accounts Payable and Receivable, 1915 January 18 - 1917 June 30
Volume   15	Apple River Milling Compnay, cash journal, 1920-1925
Box   5 Folder   9	Bills and Receipts, Miscellaneous, circa 1884-1893
Box   5 Folder   10	Capital Stock Tax Returns, 1922-1926; 1933-1945
Volume   14	Cash journal, 1909-1925
Volume   10-13	Electricity and Power Records - Miscellaneous, 1906-1920
Box   5 Folder   11-12	Electricity - Sales Records, 1901 November 30 - 1903 December 31; 1907-1909
Box   6 Folder   1-2	Electricity - Sales Records, 1911 December 30 - 1915 July; 1915 July 10 - 1918 October 12
Box   6 Folder   3	Federal Reserve Bank - Reports to, 1932 December 31
Box   6 Folder   4-8	Financial Statements, 1920-1924
Box   6 Folder   9	Fiscal Statements, Balance Sheets, Financial Papers, 1927, 1930-1940, 1943
Box   6 Folder   10	Financial Statements, 1933, 1937-1944
Volume   1-8	Grain and Shipping Records, 1884-1933
Box   6 Folder   11	1931 August 17 - 1942 December 19
Box   6 Folder   12	Miscellaneous, May 1 - 1914 July l
Volume   9	Miscellaneous, 1906-1923
Box   6 Folder   13	Income Accounts, 1911 June 30, 1912 June 30
Box   6 Folder   14	Internal Revenue Service - Correspondence, 1927, December 16 - 1929 December 17
Box   6 Folder   15	Journal, 1943 April - 1947 July 15
Box   7 Folder   1	Milling Operation Accounts Book, 1866-1873
Box   7 Folder   2	Railroad Commission of Wisconsin - Petitions, 1926 January Hudson Prairie Telephone Company
Box   7 Folder   3	Real Estate Tax Statement, 1930
Box   7 Folder   4	Rate Increase Hearing, Part 2, 1920 December 13 Note: Hearing Before Railroad Commission of Wisconsin.
Box   7 Folder   5	Shipping Bills, 1911 January 13 - 1912 February 5 Note: Indexed Letter Press Copybook of Shipping Bills. Includes to whom shipped, amounts, unit price, total charges.
	Taxes
Box   7 Folder   6	Capital Stock and Correspondence, 1915, 1918-1921
Box   7 Folder   7-8	Federal Income, 1926-1947
Box   8 Folder   1	Correspondence, 1921 September 2-7
Box   8 Folder   2	Real Estate, 1938-1946
Box   8 Folder   3-4	State Income, 1932-1941, 1947
Box   8 Folder   5	Correspondence in regard to State Departments of Taxation and Settlement Tax, 1940
Box   8 Folder   6	Wisconsin State Tax Commission - Reports, 1927, 1943
Box   8 Folder   7	Receipts - Miscellaneous, newspaper clippings, Inventory Statement of Personal Property, plat map of Clackmas County, Washington, 1890-1914
Box   8 Folder   8	War Savings Stamps Records, circa 1917, 1922
	Legal Documents
Box   8 Folder   9	Agreements and Contracts, 1922, 1931, 1934, 1937
Box   8 Folder   10	Lease to Midland Cooperative Wholesale, 1943-1944
Box   8 Folder   11	Litigation, 1921 March 8
	Physical Plant
Box   8 Folder   12	Baldwin - Meters Owned at, 1914 November 23
Box   8 Folder   13	Daily Station Report, undated
Box   8 Folder   14	Deeds, 1869, 1888, 1899, 1903-1909, 1917, 1931, 1944
Box   8 Folder   15	Manufactures, Censuses of, 1927, 1929, 1931, 1933, 1937-1938
Box   9 Folder   1	Photographs, undated
Box   9 Folder   2	Real Estate Holdings, 1900-1951
Box   9 Folder   3	Water Level Specifications, 1877, 1896, 1903
Box   9 Folder   4	Water Powers Owned by Christian Burkhardt; , 1904 February
	Stockholders
Box   9 Folder   5	Liquidation - Federal Information Returns, 1947
Box   9 Folder   6	Meetings, 1887 May 4 - 1894 June 14 Note: Also includes minutes of Board of Directors and Meeting of Incorporation.
Box   9 Folder   7	Meetings, 1923, 1925-26, 1937, 1940, 1943-1944, 1947-1948
	Series: Willow River Power Company	⇧
Box   9 Folder   8-10	Board of Directors Meetings, 1922-1942
Box   9 Folder   11	Corporate Documents (Organization, Incorporation, Stock Issuance, Agreements), 1922 June - 1936 May
	Correspondence
Box   9 Folder   12	A.W. Kimball, accountant, 1940 January - 1944 November
Box   9 Folder   13-15	Liquidation, 1943-1950
Box   9 Folder   16	Miscellaneous, 1925, 1943, 1944, 1946, 1948
Box   9 Folder   17-18	Railroad Commission of Wisconsin , 1919 August 8 - 1929 October 16
	Financial Records
Box   10 Folder   1	Accounts, Schedule of, 1922 December 19
	Auditors' Reports
Box   10 Folder   2	Thulin and Company, Public Accountants, 1927 Dec
Box   10 Folder   3	Wisconsin Department of Taxation, 1942-1944
	Earnings
Box   10 Folder   4	Expenses, Net Income, 1922-1939
Box   10 Folder   5-13	Reports, 1928-1936
Box   11 Folder   1-8	Reports, 1937-1944
Box   11 Folder   9	Electrical Line Locations and Accounts Book, 1924-1943 Note: Afton, Minnesota, Anchorage, Bayport Road, Fairview Road, Lakeland, Minnesota, Highway 12, Sunset Beach, Townline Road, and Valley Creek, Minnesota.
Box   11 Folder   10	Federal Reserve Bank - Report to, 1932 December
Box   11 Folder   11	Income and Balance Sheets, 1931 June - 1936 June
Box   11 Folder   12-13	Journal Vouchers, 1928 January - 1944 July
Box   11 Folder   14	Kilowatt Hours, Unbilled, 1945 January 1
Box   12 Folder   1	Monthly Statements, 1932-1944
Box   12 Folder   2	Railroad Commission of Wisconsin - Petitions, 1922-1925, 1929, 1936, undated
Box   12 Folder   3	Stock Issuance, 1922-1938
	Taxes
Box   12 Folder   4	Capital Stock - Returns and Correspondence, 1933-1945
Box   12 Folder   5-9	Federal Income, 1923, 1937-1946
Box   12 Folder   10	Privilege Dividend (State) , 1936-1944
Box   12 Folder   11	Real Estate, Statement, 1930
Box   12 Folder   12-14	State Income, 1937-1943
Box   12 Folder   15	Treasurer's Reports, 1923-1927, 1929-1934, 1938, 1939, 1941-1943
	Legal Documents
Box   12 Folder   16	Afton Power Company, 1939 November 1
Box   12 Folder   17	Indices to Document Files, undated
Box   12 Folder   18	Loan From City of Hudson, 1934, 1935, 1943
Box   13 Folder   1	Sale to Northern States Power Company, 1944-1946
Box   13 Folder   2-5	Support Materials, 1938-1939, 1944-1945, undated
	Litigation
Box   13 Folder   6	Miscellaneous, 1925, 1934, 1941-1945
Box   13 Folder   7-8	Willow River Power Company vs. U.S., 1935-1941
Box   13 Folder   9	Correspondence, 1942-1950
Box   13 Folder   10	Support Materials, 1934-1944
	Personnel Records
Box   14 Folder   1	Contracts, Pay Scale, Seniority, Correspondence, 1941-1944
Box   14 Folder   2	Life Insurance Plans, 1933, 1945
Box   14 Folder   3	Salary Increases - Correspondence, 1943 September 27 - November 10
Box   14 Folder   4	Social Security Data, 1937-1938
	Physical Plant
Box   14 Folder   5	Additions (to plant), 1927
Box   14 Folder   6	Bessemer Gas Engine Company - Correspondence, 1927
Box   14 Folder   7	Building Repairs - Correspondence with Contractors Siems, Helmers and Schaffner, Inc., 1925
Box   14 Folder   8	Depreciation Rates, Schedule of, 1939
Box   14 Folder   9	Photographs, 1944, undated
Box   14 Folder   10	Real Estate Holdings, 1922, 1925, 1927, 1927, 1930, 1935, 1941, 1945, undated
Box   14 Folder   11	St. Croix County Plat Book Map showing company holdings in , 1938
Box   14 Folder   12	Rural Electric Service Application, 1942 June 26
Box   14 Folder   13	Stations, Electric Light and Power Census, 1922, 1927, 1932, 1937
	Stockholders
Box   14 Folder   14	Agreements, 1926, 1939
Box   14 Folder   15	Common Stock Certificates, 1936, 1938-1940, 1944
Box   14 Folder   16-18	Dividends, 1933-1946, 1948, undated
Box   14 Folder   19	Ledger, 1922-1939(?)
Box   14 Folder   20	Liquidation - Reports of Distributions to Federal Government, 1945-1946
Box   14 Folder   21-22	Meetings, 1922-1945
Box   14 Folder   23	Minutes, 1922 July 17 - 1937 January 28
Box   14 Folder   24	Stock Books - Common Stock, 1938-1941
Box   14 Folder   25	Preferred Stock, 1935