Northern California Grain Exchange Papers, 1904-1993

Summary

Title:

Northern California Grain Exchange Papers,

Dates:

1904-1993

Creators:

Robert Gilbert

Language:

English.

Preferred citation:

[Identification of item], Northern California Grain Exchange Papers, Mss267, Holt-Atherton Department of Special Collections, University of the Pacific Library

Background

Scope and content:

The Northern California Grain Exchanges Papers consist of a wide range of director's and committee minutes (1904-1993), publications (1965-1993), legal and financial papers.

Biographical / historical:

I. San Francisco

The Merchants' Exchange of San Francisco was incorporated in 1866 for the purpose of providing a central commercial and maritime exchange for such tenants as the Chamber of Commerce, the San Francisco Stock Exchange, the Produce and Call Board, and the U.S. Hydrographic Office. The Association had about two hundred fifty members representing the principal wholesale merchants, banks, steamship lines, grain dealers, lumber merchants, and others, including some thirty Chinese mercantile houses.

Initially there were two separate exchange floors in the Merchants' Exchange building (at the corner of California and Leidesdorff): one for the Commercial Exchange and one for the Maritime Exchange. The former floor was used for produce and grain trade purposes and the latter was devoted to lumber and coal trading as well as to maritime purposes such as ship chartering, registering, and reporting.

By the turn of the century the Exchange building with its separation of functions was seen as both inadequate and obsolete. In 1905 the old structure was razed and a new larger building with a single exchange floor was erected at the same location.

In 1911 the Chamber of Commerce--at that time much more a deliberative than an active civic organization--the Merchants' Association, and the Down-Town Association, which concerned itself with issues affecting the retail trade in San Francisco, all were occupants of the building. The leaders of these various organizations decided at that time that their interests should be consolidated, and, in 1912, the organizations merged under the name: San Francisco Chamber of Commerce. In 1937, by mutual agreement, the Grain Exchange again separated from the Chamber of Commerce because the functions and activities of the two organizations had evolved in quite disparate directions.

II. Stockton

After 1946 construction of cereal and animal feed plants in the interior and the decline of grain production for export lead to a rapid decentralization of the markets. In 1957 grain traders, recognizing the need for an exchange closer to the producing and consuming areas, established the Stockton Grain Exchange. Within ten years the Stockton Exchange had so grown in importance that traders merged the San Francisco Exchange with it to form the Northern California Grain Exchange based at the Port of Stockton. The NCGE membership was comprised of elevator operators, grain merchants, feed and flour manufacturers, cattle and poultry feeders, producers, exporters, and cooperative marketing associations. It was governed by a seven member board elected for two year terms. The NCGE disbanded in 1993 due to a fall-off in dues revenues which resulted from increasing buy-outs and mergers in the industry. At its zenith the organization had 130 members, but when it closed there were only seventy-two. The functions of the NCGE were assumed by the Sacramento-based California Feed & Grain Association.

Arrangement:

SERIES I: SAN FRANCISCO

Box 1: Early San Francisco Grain Exchanges (1904-1937)

Box 2: Grain Exchange of the San Francisco Merchants' Exchange (1937-1963)

SERIES II: STOCKTON

Box 1: Stockton Grain Exchange (1958-1964)

Box 2: Northern California Grain Exchange (1964-1993)

Box 3: NCGE Review (1965-1972)

Box 4: NCGE Review (1973-1978)

Box 4: NCGE Review (1973-1978)

Box 6: NCGE Review (1986-1993)

SERIES III: RELATED BACKGROUND MATERIALS

Box 1: Misc. Papers & Printed Matter

Physical location:

For current information on the location of these materials, please consult the library's online catalog.

Physical description:

8.5 linear ft.

About this collection guide

Collection Guide Author:

Processed by Don Walker; machine-readable finding aid created by Don Walker

Date Prepared:

© 1998

Date Encoded:

Machine-readable finding aid derived from paper by means of scanning and OCR; OCR file edited for typographical errors before encoding. Date of source: 1995.

Restrictions:

Collection is open for research.

Preferred citation:

[Identification of item], Northern California Grain Exchange Papers, Mss267, Holt-Atherton Department of Special Collections, University of the Pacific Library

Location of this collection:

University of the Pacific

University of the Pacific, Holt-Atherton Department of Special Collections, University Library

Stockton, CA 95211, US

Contact:

(209) 946-2404

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