Kittson County Farmers Co-operative Mercantile Company, Hallock, Minnesota (S2646)

1904-1957

Historical Sketch

The Kittson County Farmers Co-operative Mercantile Company of Hallock, Minnesota, was incorporated in 1904. The intent of the farmers who organized the company was to cooperatively own and operate “a general mercantile, trading, shipping, forwarding, and commission business; [to engage in] buying, selling, exchanging, and dealing in all kinds of farm produce, supplies, implements, machinery, and other articles of merchandise incidental or necessary in operating and conducting a general store; [and] to buy and sell as much real estate as is reasonably necessary in conducting its business.” The “Farmers Store,” as it was commonly known, began by purchasing the inventory, frame building, and adjacent lots of a general merchandise store owned by C.J. McCollom.

In 1914 the store needed larger quarters, and a second public corporation, the Farmers Building Company, was formed to finance and manage a new building. A two-story, brick structure was built in 1915 on the site of the original store. The Kittson County Farmers Co-operative Mercantile Company rented space in the building from the Farmers Building Company, as did other businesses and individuals.

In 1956 the Kittson County Farmers Co-operative Mercantile Company and the Farmers Building Company merged to become the Farmers Store of Hallock, Inc., a privately owned corporation. The store continues to operate in Hallock as a general store.

Collection Description

Materials in this collection date from 1904 to 1972. The historical information includes the following: banking, bookkeeping, clothing prices, meeting minutes, publicity, rules and by-laws, and a stock book.

The minute book of the Kittson County Farmers Co-operative Mercantile Company, both a hard copy and a reel of microfilm, contain the minutes of the meeting of the company’s board of directors and stockholders for the years 1904-1957, in two separate sections. It also includes articles of incorporation, rules and by-laws, names of stockholders, and financial statements.

Inventory

Box 1

  • Ledger. 1904-46 

Box 2

  • Ledger. 1946-52; 1955-61
  • Bank Book. 1960-62
  • Cash Book. 1904-17; 1919-66
  • Checking. 1927-34; 1953-57
  • Clothes Catalog
  • Collection Register. 1907-23

Box 3

  • Awards, Certificates
  • Buyers Guide. 1920
  • By-Laws. 1904
  • Clothing Orders. 1955-
  • Correspondence
  • Minutes
    • Farmer’s Building Co.
    • Kittson County Farmers Co-operative Mercantile Company. 1904-57*
  • Miscellaneous
    • Newspaper Clippings. 1976 and undated
    • Postcard
  • Pricing Chart. 1950-52
  • Rebate Notices. 1972-73
  • Stock Book. 1905

*On microfilm