Register of the Smith & Lang Co. (Stockton, California)
Records,
1910-1947
Processed by Daryl Morrison; revised by Don Walker;
machine-readable finding aid created by Don Walker
Holt-Atherton Department of Special Collections
University Library, University of the
Pacific
Stockton, CA 95211
Phone: (209) 946-2404
URL:
http://www.pacific.edu/Library/Find/Holt-Atherton-Special-Collections.html
© 1998
University of the Pacific. All rights reserved.
Register of the Smith & Lang Co. (Stockton, California) Records,
1910-1947
Collection number: Mss135
Holt-Atherton Department of Special Collections
University
Library
University of the Pacific
Contact Information
- Processed by:
- Daryl Morrison; revised by Don Walker
- Date Completed:
- August 1998
- Encoded by:
- Don Walker
© 1998 University of the Pacific. All rights reserved.
Descriptive Summary
Title: Smith & Lang Co. (Stockton, Calif.) Records,
Date (inclusive): 1910-1947
Collection number: Mss135
Creator:
Hugh Hayes
Extent: 1.25 linear ft.
Repository:
University of the Pacific. Library. Holt-Atherton Department of
Special Collections
Shelf location: For current information on the location of
these materials, please consult the library's online catalog.
Language: English.
Administrative Information
Access
Collection is open for research.
Preferred Citation
[Identification of item], Smith & Lang Co. (Stockton, California)
Records, Mss135, Holt-Atherton Department of Special Collections, University of
the Pacific Library
Biography
Smith & Lang was Stockton, California's oldest department store,
established in 1899 by Alfred B. Lang and John H. Smith. Alfred B. Lang
(b.1874), a founding partner, first worked at the Alexander Chalmers Dry Goods
Store where he met another clerk, John H. Smith, with whom he opened a store at
124 E. Main. The company was incorporated in 1910 and six years later John
Smith died leaving Alfred Lang President for over thiry-five years. The
partners took over the Hale Brothers building at Main and San Joaquin Street
(1915) and, in 1939, expanded this structure by an additional 7,700 feet. In
July 1945 Smith & Lang was sold to J. Wesley Hearne, a veteran buyer and
merchandise manager in California and New York, and Alfred Lang retired, but
Walter Sampson continued as manager and the name "Smith and Lang" was retained
by the new owner. In February 1946 C. M. Dicker of Redding bought J W Hearne's
interest in Smith & Lang and Dicker became the general manager. By 1950 the
company employed 125. On July 22, 1958 Smith & Lang burned to the ground in
a fire called the "worst national mercantile fire of 1958." Insurance claims
totalled $3,000,000. Plans were soon made to rebuild the store and, on August
25, 1959, it reopened in a building designed by Welton, Beckett and Associates
of Los Angeles. In February 1963 Weinstock-Lubin purchased Smith & Lang and
the company ceased business.
Scope and Content
This collection includes the Smith & Lang Co.'s by-laws, a minute
book (1910-1947), a general ledger (1910-1929), stock book (1910-1943), bank
statements and checks (1945-1946), and other financial documents
(1922-1946).
BOX 1: SMITH & LANG CO. RECORDS, 1910-1947
1.1: STAFF RESEARCH FOLDER
-Stockton Record clippings
1.2: SMITH & LANG BY-LAWS
1.3: SMITH & LANG RECORD BOOK, 1910-1947 [pasted in
typescript (pp. 1-10); manuscript, 11-78, pasted in typescript
(pp.79-87)
-Minutes of incorporation, 1910
-Minutes of monthly meetings, 1916-1947 [including
resolution to honor memory of John H. Smith who died September 1, 1916;
agreement to liquidate assets, December 18, 1947]
1.4: STOCK JOURNAL AND LEDGER BOOK, 1910-1929
1.5: BOOK OF STOCK CERTIFICATES, 1910-1943 [manuscript
index to shares. Lists date issued, to whom, certificate number, and number of
shares, from 1910 to March 14, 1939]
1.6: BANK STATEMENTS AND RETURNED CHECKS, 1945-1946
[includes ledger sheets, August through October 1945]
1.7: MISCELLANEOUS FINANCIAL RECORDS,
1922-1944
-Ledger pages of stock certificates issued
-Scattered notes on dividends paid, 1922-26; 1940-44:
names, shares & amounts, 12 pp.]
-Memorandum to Mr. Sampson on stock prices,
1-19-39
-Analysis of stocks on March 1, 1940: names, shares, and
dividends
-Request for consent to transfer shares to Bessie Smith
Sampson and Golden Smith Bainbridge, daughter of Mary A. Smith, deceased,
4-2-41
-Premium Adjustment Statement, Insurance Co. of N.
America, 1944-45
-Notes Financial Statement of 1945, cash at
$296,084.00
-Bills and miscellaneous documents
-Journal entry: liquidity payment of capital $200,000,
1-15-46
-Bonuses: 1/31/45 to 6/30/45
1.8: BLANK CHECK FORMS: #1816-1851, Bank of America,
Stockton, California
