Collection 2109 - Helen Brooke Herford Papers, 1886-1957
Creator: Herford, Helen Brooke, 1887-1972
Provenance Note: Personal papers and ranch records created or collected by Helen Herford were donated to Special Collections by Richard K. Slayton of Billings, Montana on May 22, 1973. Additional materials were purchased from the AKM Group of Aurora, Colorado, on September 18, 2015.
Historical Note: Helen Brooke Herford (1887-1972) was the daughter of John ("Jack" Brooke Herford and Susan Whitney Herford of Yellowstone County, Montana. Jack Herford (1857-1923) was one of nine children of Reverend Brooke Herford (1830-1903), an English clergyman. Jack's oldest brother, William, immigrated to the United States in the early 1870s where he established a New Mexico sheep ranch. By 1876 the rest of the Herford family temporarily settled in Chicago. Jack soon joined William in New Mexico while two other siblings pursued careers that would bring them national prominence: Oliver Herford became a writer famous for his wit and sarcasm while Beatrice Herford achieved fame as a Broadway actress. Jack and William eventually moved on to Kansas and Nebraska where they continued ranching. By the early 1880s Jack had located in Montana Territory where he established a ranch of his own on the Mussellshell River. He studied for the bar and held several government positions in Montana including: Yellowstone County Attorney, 1894-1896; Yellowstone County Sheriff, 1908; Billings City Attorney, 1911. Jack also served in the Third United States Volunteer Cavalry during the Spanish American War and in the Canadian Expeditionary Forces in World War I. He married Susan Whitney, daughter of Billings postmaster Lucius Whitney, around 1885 and the couple had three children; Nye, Whitney, and Helen, the principal creator of this collection. Following her education in Germany and Massachusetts, Helen Herford returned to Montana where she taught school in Carbon County and worked on her parent's ranch. In 1929, she and a cousin, Helen Underwood Wellington, entered into a partnership to establish a dude ranch near Limestone (Stillwater County) Montana. The Swinging H Ranch operated until 1937 when financial pressures forced Helen Herford to suspend operations and sell. She returned to teaching afterwards and died in Columbus, Montana in 1972.
Content Description Note: The Herford papers consist of family letters, ranch operation documents, and photographs all pertaining to the Herford family and the Swinging H ranch arranged in four series. Series one consists of family letters, written from various locations in Montana, Massachusetts, England, and elsewhere pertaining to Herford family activities, Helen Herford's early education, the operation of the Jack Herford Ranch, and Jack Herford's Spanish American War service. Ranch letters in series two specifically relate to the operation of the Swinging H ranch, ranch guests and employees, and Helen Underwood Wellington, Helen Herford' business partner. Series three, Ranch Operation Files, document the financial transactions of the Swinging H, promotional essays written by Helen Herford for publication, and subject files for facilities, livestock, and the Levi Strauss and Company's introduction of women's pants in 1934. 674 individually numbered photographs and seven photograph albums in series four pertain to the Herford family and relatives, Montana towns and natural features, Yellowstone National Park, and ranch life.
Related Collection: Researchers are advised that the Montana Historical Society in Helena, Montana holds the John B. Herford Papers, MC 394.
Contents
Series 1 | Herford family letters, 1886-1957 |
Series 2 | Ranch letters, 1929-1957 |
Series 3 | Ranch operation files, 1929-1937 |
Series 4 | Photographs, 1900-1937 |
Series 1: Herford Family Letters, 1886-1957
Letters exchanged by members of the Herford family and friends pertaining mostly to family and personal matters. Included are letters from Beatrice Herford, Reverend Brooke Herford, Helen Herford, Jack Herford, Susan Whitney Herford, Oliver Herford, William Herford, Dolly Whitney, Harvey W. Louther, Sue Larabie Cunningham, and Kula Thuss. Letters were written from various locations in Massachusetts, Montana, England, and elsewhere. Included are letters written by Jack Herford while serving in the Spanish American War and related documents. For letters between Helen Herford and her business partner, Helen Underwood Wellington see series two, ranch letters. Many of the letters are undated, and the identification of many writers is unclear. The letters have been loosely arranged by the name of the supposed writer or recipient.
- Box 1
- 1. Beatrice Herford, 1906-1909
- 2. Beatrice Herford, 1930-1957
- 3. Beatrice Herford, no date
- 4. Beatrice Herford, no date
- 5. Reverend Brooke Herford, 1886-1892
- 6. Reverend Brooke Herford, 1893-1901
- 7. Helen Herford (sister of Jack, William, and Oliver) 1890-1894
- 8. Helen Brooke Herford, 1902-1908
- 9. Helen Brooke Herford, January-February, 1909
- 10. Helen Brooke Herford, March-April, 1909
- 11. Helen Brooke Herford, May-August, 1909
- 12. Helen Brooke Herford, October-December, 1909
- 13. Helen Brooke Herford, 1910
- 14. Helen Brooke Herford, 1911-1936
- 15. Helen Brooke Herford, 1947, no date
- 16. Helen Brooke Herford, no date
- 17. Helen Brooke Herford, no date
- 18. Sue Larabie Cunningham, no date
- 19. Jack and Susan Herford, 1886-1889
- 20. Jack and Susan Herford, 1895
- 21. Jack and Susan Herford, 1898
- 22. Jack and Susan Herford, 1899
- 23. Jack and Susan Herford, 1900-1901
- 24. Jack and Susan Herford, 1905, no date
- 25. Dolly Whitney, 1931-1935
- 26. Oliver Herford, no date
- 27. William Herford, 1892-1897
- 28. Other Herford relatives, 1882-1898
- 29. Other Herford relatives, 1900-1947
- 30. Harvey W. Louther, no date
- 31. Kula Thuss, no date
Contents | Special Collections
Series 2: Ranch Letters, 1929-1937
Letters created or collected by Helen Brooke Herford pertaining to the establishment and operation of her dude ranch, the Swinging H, near Limestone, Montana. Included are: letters to and from her partner, Helen Underwood Wellington, that were written before and during the ranch establishment; letters from various guests who stayed at the ranch or requested information regarding its facilities; notes and memorandum regarding employees; personal letters of Helen Brooke Herford written after the closing of the ranch in 1937.
- Box 2
- 1. Helen Underwood Wellington letters, 1912-1928
- 2. Helen Underwood Wellington letters, 1929
- 3. Helen Underwood Wellington letters, 1930
- 4. Helen Underwood Wellington letters, 1931
- 5. Helen Underwood Wellington letters, transcripts, 1929-1931
- 6. General correspondence, 1926-1929
- 7. General correspondence, 1930
- 8. General correspondence, 1931
- 9. General correspondence, 1932
- 10. General correspondence, 1933
- 11. General correspondence, 1934
- 12. General correspondence, 1935
- 13. General correspondence, 1936
- 14. General correspondence, 1937
- 15. General correspondence, 1938-1957
- 16. Christmas cards
Contents | Special Collections
Series 3: Ranch Operation Files, 1929-1937
Financial records, promotional essays, diaries and subject files pertaining to the operation of the Swinging H ranch. Papers include: bank statements and tax records; promotional essays written by Helen Brooke Herford for submission to dude ranch magazines; brief memoranda diaries from 1930 and 1934; subject files pertaining to the ranch automobiles, livestock, legal matters, facility construction, and the development of women's pants by Levi Strauss and Company in 1934. Additional folders were added to this container on September 18, 2015 for the inclusion of Helen Herford materials purchased from the AKM Group.
- Box 3
- 1. Bank statements, 1929-1930
- 2. Bank statements, 1931-1932
- 3. Bank statements, 1933
- 4. Bank statements, 1934
- 5. Bank statements, 1935
- 6. Bank statements, 1936
- 7. Petty cash ledger, 1931-1934
- 8. Tax assessments, 1929-1936
- 9. Essay, Dude Rancher
- 10. Essay, Dude Ranching
- 11. Essay, Reminiscences
- 12. Essay, Montana Ranch Women
- 13. Essay, Moose and Moose
- 14. Essay, What does a dude rancher do?
- 15. Essay, What Oliver Herford might call a woman's view of the west
- 16. Essay, With only one woman
- 17. Diary, 1930
- 18. Diary, 1934
- 19. Automobiles
- 20. Cabin plans
- 21. Lawsuit, 1934
- 22. Levi Strauss and Company
- 23. Ranch operations
- 24. Sheep Dogs
- 25. Cambridge Country School pamphlets
- 26. Helen Brooke Herford diaries, 1898, 1903; blank pocket calendar 1923
- 27. Brooke Herford eulogy, 1904
Contents | Special Collections
Series 4: Photographs, 1900-1937
674 individually numbered prints, six albums, and multiple negatives of images taken by Helen Brooke Herford, the Herford family, or commercial photographers of a wide variety of subjects and people. Included are images of: The Herford family and residences; Montana communities; Yellowstone National Park; Montana lakes, rivers, and mountains; vacation and leisure activities; ranch life on both the Herford and Swinging H ranches. The photographs have been arranged in alphabetical order based on broad subject headings. Photograph albums and negatives have been stored in separate containers. The negatives for prints found in the photograph albums are collected in small booklets bearing the same volume number. Loose negatives which have no corresponding prints have been gathered in similar subject headings as the numbered prints in boxes 4 and 5.
- Box 4
- Folder 1. Photos #1-13
- #1-2. Agricultural Extension Service, Women
- #3. Alpine, Montana 1914
- #4-9. Arnold, John B. Ranch (a number of pictures identified as Herfords were taken here)
- #10-13. Artist's Carnival
- Folder 2. Photos #14-27
- #14-24. Automobile 1914
- #25. Avalanche Lake
- #26-27. Barn
- Folder 3. Photos #28-40
- #28-40. Beartooth Mountains - scenic
- Folder 4. Photos #41-53
- #41-47. Beartooth Mountains - scenic
- #48. Beartooth summit
- #49-50. Cody rodeo parade (?)
- #51. Billings - railroad siding
- #52. Billings - Paradise Park
- #53. Billings - Riverside Park
- Folder 5. Photos #54-67
- #54. Billings roundhouse crew
- #55-57. Billings parade 1940 (55956 Chapple's Petek photo)
- #58. Boulder River (Bray Photo)
- #59-62. Branding cattle
- #63-64. Bridge - Glendive
- #65. Broken bridge (Yellowstone)
- #66-67. Buffalo
- Folder 6. Photos #68-79
- #68-69. Buffalo Bill traveling show
- #70-73. Butchering a bear
- #75-77. Camping in Beartooth Mountains
- #78-79. Camping on West Rosebud
- Folder 7. Photos #80-92
- #80-83. Camps
- #84-88. Cattle Range (Herford Ranch)
- #88-89. Chickens (Herford Ranch)
- #90-92. Children
- Folder 8. Photos #93-106
- #93-97. Clark Fork Canyon area
- #98-100. Cody Rodeo Parade
- #101-103. Cooke City 1930
- #104-106. Cooke City area
- Folder 9. Photos #107-120
- #107-115. Corrals
- #116-117. Crow Fair
- #118. Deer
- #119. Demet Maybelle, Fishing on West Fork
- #120. Demet Maybelle, Riding
- Folder 10. Photos #121-131
- #121-122. Ditching on Herford Ranch
- #123-124. Dude Ranch (Beartooths)
- #125-131. Dude Ranch Publicity
- Folder 11. Photos #132-146
- #132-146. Dudes
- Folder 12. Photos #147-161
- #147-148. Dudes, camping
- #149-154. Dudes, fishing
- #155-156. Dudes, hunting
- #157-161. Dude in the mountains
- Folder 13. Photos #162-173
- #162-166. Dudes, older ladies
- #167-173. Dudes on horseback
- Folder 14. Photos #174-189
- #174-175. Dudes on the trail (Modern Studio, Columbus, Montana, LA Maxson)
- #176-189. Dudes on the trail
- Folder 15. Photos #190-204
- #190-204. Dudes on the trail
- Folder 16. Photos #205-218
- #205-218. Dudes picnicking (216, 217 Modern Studio, Columbus, LA Maxson)
- Folder 17. Photos #219-231
- #219-221. Dudes swimming
- #222-231. East Rosebud
- Folder 18. Photos #232-244
- #232-238. East Rosebud
- #239-243. East Rosebud Lake
- #244. Eaton: Alden, Bill, & Willis
- Folder 19. Photos #245-258
- #245-247. Elk
- #248-249. Farm yards
- #250-251. Fences
- #252-253. Fishing
- #254-255. Flathead Lake
- #256-258. Flood - Yellowstone River
- Folder 20. Photos #259-276
- #259-276. Glacier National Park, Set from: Redshirts, Pahaska Tepee, Cody, Wyoming
- Folder 21. Photos #277-289
- #277. Goose Lake
- #278-279. Granite Peak
- #280. Grass Mountain
- #281-289. Grasshopper Glacier
- Folder 22. Photos #290-301
- #290-295. Haying
- #296. Hell-Roaring Falls
- #297-298. Herford, Brooke
- #299-301. Herford, Helen Brooke
- Folder 23. Photos #302-313
- #302-313. Herford, Helen Brooke
- Folder 24. Photos #314-325
- #314-320. Herford, J.B. and Ivan
- #321. Herford, J.B. - Warehouse
- #322-324. Herford, Mrs. J.B.
- #325. Herford, Mrs. J.B. and Brooke
- Folder 25. Photos #326-336
- #326-329. Herford, Rose
- #330-334. Herford family
- #335-336. Herford friends (men)
- Folder 26. Photos #337-348B
- #337-348. Herford Ranch (+348A & 348B)
- Folder 27. Photos #349-365
- #349-355. Herford Residence
- #356-359. Herford station wagon
- #360-365. Homestead fun
- Folder 28. Photos #366-378
- #366-378. Horsemen
- Box 5
- Folder 1. Photos #379-389
- #379-389. Horses
- Folder 2. Photos #390-400
- #390-400. Horses
- Folder 3. Photos #401-409
- #401-407. Horses (Brooke Herford) not the same man identified as Brooke Herford in photos 297, 298 & 325
- #408-409. Horses, standing
- Folder 4. Photos #410-421
- #410-421. Horses, Morgans in Vermont
- Folder 5. Photos #422-431
- #422. Indian Craft Shop - St. Mary's (?)
- #423. Indian Cave, Billings
- #424. Jacobn's private car
- #425-428. Lillian's cards (Beartooth and family)
- #429. Limestone Post Office
- #430-431. Log bridges
- Folder 6. Photos #432-443
- #432-443. Log cabins
- Folder 7. Photos #444-454
- #444-446B. Logging (446 Photo Service, Newport, Washington)
- #447. Lowther, H.W.
- #448. Mammoth, Wyoming
- #449. Mary's Lake
- #450. Milking a cow
- #451. Mill (aluminum mill on the Stillwater - maybe)
- #452. Montana State College laboratory
- #453. Mount Aeneas, Jewel Lakes
- #454. Mount Lockhart & Mount Reargard, Red Lodge
- Folder 8. Photos #455-466
- #455-458. Oil wells
- #459. Oil well workers (?)
- #461-461. Pack horses in winter
- #462-466. Pack outfits
- Folder 9. Photos #467-479
- #467-472. Pack outfits
- #473-477. Pets (dogs)
- #478-479. Picnics
- Folder 10. Photos #480-490
- #480-481. Pigs
- #482-483. Chief Plenty Coups
- #484-486. Railroad, Wyoming and Southern
- #487-490. Ranch hands at work
- Folder 11. Photos #491-501
- #491-497. Ranch houses
- #498-501. Rattlesnakes
- Folder 12. Photos #502-512
- #502-512. Red Lodge (set of commercial photos)
- Folder 13. Photos #513-524
- #513-520. Red Lodge area (set of commercial photos)
- #521. Red Lodge area
- #522. Red Lodge - Cooke City Highway
- #523. Road in winter
- #524. Rock Creek
- Folder 14. Photos #525-538
- #525-535. Rodeos (Photos by R.R. Doubleday)
- #536. Saloon
- #537. Sawmill in Beartooth Mountains
- #538. Shadow Lake (composite print)
- Folder 15. Photos #529-550
- #539-543. Sheep
- #544-547. Sheep camp
- #548. Shoeing a horse
- #549. Slough Lake
- #550. Skiing
- Folder 16. Photos #551-563
- #551-554. South Fork Ranger Station, Big Horn Mountains
- #555. Spring wagons
- #556-563. Stillwater canyon and Basin
- Folder 17. Photos #566-577
- #564-577. Stillwater Basin
- Folder 18. Photos #578-591
- #578. Stillwater Meadows
- #579-591. Stillwater River and West Fork
- Folder 19. Photos #592-602
- #592-594. Stocking fish in Beartooth Mountains
- #595-602. Surveying from Beartooth Plateau
- Folder 20. Photos #603-611
- #603-607. Swimming in the Yellowstone
- #608. Telephone line
- #609. Tennis
- #610. Train
- #611. Train wreck (L.G. Webber, Silesia, Montana)
- Folder 21. Photos #612-620
- #612-619. Wagons and buggies
- #620. Wash day, bachelor camp
- Folder 22. Photos #621-634
- #621-634. West Rosebud
- Folder 23. Photos #635-648
- #635-639. Westfork (635 is same bridge I.D. as Kerwin's Ranch in another negative)
- #640-646. Women, 1915
- #647-648. Yellowstone Canyon
- Folder 24. Photos #649-663
- #649-658. Yellowstone Park, 1921
- #659-662. Yellowstone River
- #663. Boulder R.
- Folder 25. Photos #664-674
- #664-667. Camping trip, 1919
- #668. Fleming, Dave 1919
- #669-670. Hay drag
- #671-674. Lewis Ranch on the Clark Fork, 1917-1918
- Box 6
- Volume 1. Photograph album, ca. 1920s
- Pack outfit; Beartooth Mountains; Yellowstone National Park, ca. 1925; Herford Ranch; Native Americans; Buffalo
- Volume 2. Photograph album, 1890-1915
- Jack Herford family; Billings; Germany; England; Salt Lake City; Beatrice Herford
- Volume 3. Photograph album, 1914-1918
- Chesnut, 1914; Bozeman parade, 1914; Indian Cave, Billings, 1914; Kirby Ranch, 1915; Prior Agency, 1915; Glendive bridge, 1915; World War I training camp, location unknown.
- Volume 4. Photograph album, ca. 1920s
- Beartooth Mountains
- Box 7
- Volume 5. Photograph album, 1916
- Daily's Ranch; Woods Ranch; Stillwater River; Stillwater basin; Woodbine Falls; Devil's Washtub; Sioux Charley Lake; Big Park Ranger Station; Horseshoe Creek; Wounded Man Lake; Lake of the Woods; Lake Abundance; Daisy Pass; Cooke Ranger Station; Broadwater River; Kersey Lake; Fox Lake; Rock Island Lake; Clark's Fork Falls; Cooke City; Elk Park; Beartooth Lake; Deep Lake; Mirror Lake
- Volume 6. Photograph Album, ca. 1930s
- Beartooth Mountains; Herford Ranch; Stillwater River; Swinging H Ranch; Rosebud River; Sheep
- Volume 7. Photograph album, 1913-1916
- Lame Deer Reservation; Indian Caves; Kirby Ranch; McCormick Cabin; Rosebud Lake; Shadow Lake; Slough Lake; Snow Lake; Miles City Roundup
- Box 8
- Negatives for volumes 1-5
- Numbered image negatives: 4, 5, 6, 8, 26, 27, 98, 100, 102, 121, 130, 131, 132, 133, 134, 135, 136, 157, 167, 168, 174-184, 201, 202, 214, 215, 216, 292, 297, 298, 302, 305-317, 321, 326, 346-348a, 352-355, 376-378, 379-381, 422, 424, 432-434, 455-457, 462, 463, 431, 482, 521, 539-541, 544, 548, 550, 551, 605, 635, 639, 647, 648
- Loose negatives by subject:
-
Arnold, John B. Ranch
Automobiles 1914
Beartooth Mountains
Big Timber
Billings - railroad siding
Cattle Feeding
Cattle Range
Children
Cody, Woming
Corrals
Dead Indian panorama
Deer
Dude Ranch
Dude Ranch Publicity
Dudes
Dudes, fishing
Dudes in the mountains
Dudes on horseback
Dudes on the trail
Dudes picnicking
Dudes swimming
Farm showGeese
Goat cart
Haying
Herford, Brooke
Herford, Helen Brooke
Herford, J.B. in office
Herford, Mrs. J.B.
Herford, Mrs. J.B. and Brooke
Herford friends
Herford Ranch Herford Residence
Herford station wagon
Horsemen
Horses
Indian Craft Shop - St. Mary's (?)
Kerwins Ranch
Log cabins
Mckay, Mary Ellen
Milk Cows
Navajo rugs
Mystic Lake
Oil WellsPack Mules
Pack Trip
Picnic
Ranches on Stillwater
Ranch Houses
Red Lodge
Russell, Charles M., painting
Rosebuds near Red Lodge
Sheep Wagon
Skiing
Stillwater River
Tennis
Wading
Wellington, Helen
White, Dudley, ranch
Wright, Eleanor
Wright, Fred
Wright, George
Wright, Harr
Yellowstone National Park
Contents | Special Collections
Updated: 4/11/13