The collection is an excellent source of information on Milwaukee's Grain Trade before 1935. In addition, commercial information broader in scope is contained in the records of the early years, when the commercial interests of the exchange members were more diverse. The collection was received in the Archives in several transfers and was processed in two parts: the Original Collection arranged in 1970, and Additions arranged in 1987. The Original Collection portion contains materials which date from 1849 to 1960; the Additions date 1854-1974.
PART 1: THE ORIGINAL COLLECTION is arranged into three subseries corresponding to the history of the organization -- the Milwaukee Board of Trade; the Milwaukee Corn Exchange; and the Milwaukee Chamber of Commerce (including records after it became the Milwaukee Grain and Stock Exchange in 1931 and subsequently, in 1946, the Milwaukee Grain Exchange).
The Milwaukee Board of Trade records contain a 1935 company history and minutes from 1849 to 1957, which include the constitution and bylaws. The Milwaukee Corn Exchange records contain general minutes from 1855.
The Milwaukee Chamber of Commerce records, which encompass the bulk of Part 1 of the collection, have been subdivided topically into: Organizational Records, including charters, bylaws, and the constitution; General Meeting Minutes, containing minutes of the general membership meetings for the early years and of the annual meetings for the later period; the Board of Directors Minutes containing minutes and annual reports; Supervisors of Weighing and Inspection Minutes and Reports; Board of Arbitration Minutes; Committee Records including minutes, resolutions, and appeals from the Committee on Commerce and Manufacturers, and miscellaneous committee minutes and indexes; Membership Records, which contain membership lists and bound volumes of membership certificates; Financial and Shipping Records, including two “journals” (1881-1906), two ledgers (1909-1917), a cash book (1932-1965), payroll and membership account books, ledgers of fees charged by the Board of Arbitration, and records of the gratuity (insurance) fund; Scrapbooks and Memorabilia (1916-1960), chiefly consisting of newspaper clippings and providing information on the Exchange, its members, and on conditions in the regional and national grain markets; and Miscellaneous Materials, including a letter book, a constitution for the Board of Real Estate Brokers, and a product register.
The majority of this part of the collection is comprised of bound volumes. Those whose bindings were in a deteriorated condition have been placed in boxes.
PART 2: THE 1987 ADDITIONS are arranged in two subseries: General Records, which comprise most of the additions, and Other Records.
Among the General Records are several files of organizational records, including several variant and revised acts of incorporation, constitutions, charters, charter amendments, rules and amendments, bylaws, and name changes, from 1858-1956. There is also a copy of “Doings in Grain at Milwaukee, 86 years of progress, 1849-1935.”
The collection also contains minutes of annual and membership meetings of the Grain Exchange, 1917-1967, with indexes and poll lists for annual elections. Board of directors minutes span the period 1929 to 1967, with one index, and a summary of resolutions adopted regulating Exchange trading hours, 1876-1901. There are also minutes and an index of meetings of supervisors of grain inspection and weighing, 1925-1960.
The activities of the Grain Exchange are further illustrated in annual reports dating from 1854 to 1856 and from 1902 to 1953. (These annual reports also include those of predecessors, the Milwaukee Chamber of Commerce and Milwaukee Grain and Stock Exchange.) Also included is one volume of annual reports of the Milwaukee Board of Trade, 1854-1857, and annual reports of the board of directors, 1929-1962 and 1965-1973.
Committee and Fund Records include one volume of minutes of many committees, which were apparently formed for a special purpose only and met irregularly. Included are the following committees: business conduct, securities, rules, supplies, special committee on grading “scabby” barley, legislative, finance, building, publicity, formal opening of new building, grain and feed dealers national association convention, transportation, general meeting on screening ceiling prices, Milwaukee Cash Grain Commission Merchants Association, general meeting of grain sellers, general meeting of grain buyers, market letter committee and cash grain closing committee, special committee, labor relations, commodity credit corporation affairs, Great Lakes St. Lawrence Seaway, and membership. Other Committee and Fund records consist of a small file of records of the business conduct committee, concerning the suspension and reinstatement of a grain exchange member; hearings and decisions of the settlement committee, which apparently arbitrated disagreements between members; and minutes, members agreements, and liquidation papers of the gratuity fund, which was a pension plan for Grain Exchange members.
There is relatively little correspondence in these additions, and much of what exists consists of inspectors' letters of application to the board of directors for appointment and reappointment, letters from warehouse lessees and operators concerning the designation of regular warehouses, and committee reports to the board.
Financial and Shipping Records have been combined in a single group. Included are annual audit reports, signed authorizations of grain companies, grain elevators, and farm cooperatives permitting them to buy from and sell to the Milwaukee Grain Exchange, a record of receipts for the building fund, and numerous records of cargo received and shipped. Records of financial transactions are somewhat incomplete, but include records of cash received and disbursed, a journal, and two ledgers. There are extensive payroll ledgers covering the period 1932 to 1974; a time book; and a few pension plan records. The work of the inspection and weighing departments is illustrated by ledgers recording amounts of grain inspected and weighed, for whom, and fees collected.
Legal and related records include legal agreements, applications for licenses for solicitor or traveling representative, applications to permit storage houses to be designated as registered, and files of the board of arbitration, which settled disputes between Grain Exchange members. Other routine records consist of bond agreements, insurance policies, leases, petitions, stock records, and union contracts. Legal documents and opinions prepared in response to Grain Exchange inquiries were provided by Miller, Mack, and Fairchild (now Foley and Lardner) of Milwaukee. There are several files of these materials, together with correspondence.
Market reports, in near-print format and both bound and unbound, date from 1946 to 1969. They are daily official Grain Exchange quotations of grain markets.
Although membership information may be found throughout the collection, there are filed separately two membership record books, 1864-1878; membership sale and transfer letters, 1928-1936; and a case file regarding the suspension and reinstatement of an individual member.
Scrapbooks and Memorabilia include a variety of materials generally concerning the history and activities of the Grain Exchange. There are programs of social events and parties sponsored by the Milwaukee Grain Exchange, such as a debutante reception, a horse show, a minstrel show, and other entertainment programs. There are letters, telegrams, programs, mailing lists, financial records concerning the program accompanying the opening of the new exchange building in 1935, and an open house held after the remodeling of the exchange in 1954. Scrapbooks contain general clippings from newspapers and from the exchange's publication, Doings in Grain, and a few 1883 clippings about pertinent Wisconsin Supreme Court cases.
Photographs in the collection (housed in Madison) include portraits of Grain Exchange presidents; interiors of the Grain Exchange, including offices, trading floor, grading room, and sample tables in the Exchange Room, circa 1913; other operations; and a minstrel group, possibly the group for which there is a 1911 program.
Other Records consist only of a stock transaction record book from the Ontario and Erie Ship Canal Company.
