Franchise Reports
Scope and Contents note
Statements by franchise holders including name, character of franchise, length, date originally granted, original holder of franchise, date of franchise transfer (if applicable), officers of company or corporation, ordinance numbers granting franchise, and other information concerning the franchise. The bulk of reports relate to railroad and street railway franchises, but also include telephone and telegraph services, utilities, and fire alarm systems.
Dates
- Creation: 1898-1986
Creator
- Seattle (Wash.). City Clerk (Organization)
Conditions Governing Access note
Records are open to the public.
Historical Note
The City Clerk maintains the City's legislative records, official filings, and the Seattle Municipal Archives; keeps the minutes of City Council meetings; and provides information services to City agencies and the public. Seattle's first City Charter allowed for a Clerk of the Common Council to be elected by the Council. In 1875 the position of City Clerk became elective and remained so until 1896 when the new Charter designated the Comptroller ex-officio City Clerk. The Comptroller served as City Clerk through 1992. A 1991 City Charter amendment transferred the Comptroller's function to the Department of Finance and the City Clerk's Office became a division of the Legislative Department effective in 1993.
Full Extent
2.8 Cubic Feet
Language of Materials
English
Arrangement note
Chronologically by Full Council Meeting date.
General Note
A Comptroller or Clerk File (CF) can consist of correspondence, reports, petitions, contracts, agreements, etc. from elected officials, City departments, other government agencies, or the general public, which have been placed on file with the Office of the City Clerk (OCC). They are primarily permanent records, but also include routine material which was periodically purged. Certain archival records identified in the CF have been removed, arranged into records series, and incorporated into the collection of the Seattle Municipal Archives, a program of the OCC.
Location of Records
SMA
Subject
- Young Men's Christian Association (Seattle, Wash.) (Organization)
- American District Telegraph Company (Organization)
- Mutual Light and Heat Company (Organization)
- Postal Telegraph-Cable Company (Organization)
- National District Telegraph Company of Seattle (Organization)
- James Street Construction Company (Organization)
- Madison Street Cable Railway Company (Organization)
- Illig, S.E. (Person)
- Independent Telephone Company (Seattle, Wash.) (Organization)
- Grant Street Electric Railway Company (Organization)
- Great Northern Railway Company (U.S.) (Organization)
- Seattle and International Railway Company (Organization)
- Seattle and Rainier Valley Railway Company (Organization)
- Northern Pacific and Puget Sound Shore Railroad Company (Organization)
- Oregon and Washington Railroad (Organization)
- North Seattle Cable Railway Company (Organization)
- Northern Pacific Railway Company (Organization)
- Chicago, Milwaukee, and St. Paul Railway Company (Organization)
- Chappell, William (Person)
- Callahan, Percy D. (Person)
- Burlington Northern Railroad Company (Organization)
- Burke, Thomas, 1849-1925 (Person)
- Baker, William F. (Person)
- Furth, Jacob, b. 1840 (Person)
- Frye Bruhn Company (Organization)
- First Avenue Railway Company (Organization)
- Diamond Ice and Storage Company (Organization)
- Crawford, William R. (Person)
- Consumers Electric Company (Organization)
- Columbia & Puget Sound Railroad (Organization)
- Seattle-Tacoma Power Company (Organization)
- Seattle-Tacoma Railway Company (Organization)
- Shute, James L. (Person)
- Sibley, M.R. (Person)
- Stone, Charles A. (Person)
- Sunset Telephone and Telegraph Company (Seattle, Wash.) (Organization)
- Third Street and Suburban Railway Company (Organization)
- Trucible, William P. (Person)
- Union Electric Company (Organization)
- Union Trunk Line (Organization)
- Webster, Edwin F. (Person)
- Seattle (Wash.). City Clerk (Organization)
- West Seattle Cable Railway Company (Organization)
- West Seattle Land and Improvement Company (Organization)
- West Street and North End Electric Railway Company (Organization)
- Western Union Telegraph Company (Organization)
- White, Wallace M.C. (Person)
- Seattle Athletic Club (Organization)
- Seattle and San Francisco Railway and Navigation Company (Organization)
- Seattle Cataract Company (Organization)
- Seattle Automatic Telephone Exchange Company (Organization)
- Seattle City Railway Company (Organization)
- Seattle Central Railway Company (Organization)
- Seattle Gas and Electric Company (Organization)
- Seattle Electric Company (Organization)
- Seattle Lighting Company (Organization)
- Seattle Instantaneous Fire Alarm Company (Organization)
- Seattle Steam Heat and Power Company (Organization)
- Seattle Lumber Company (Organization)
- Seattle Warehouse and Terminal Company (Organization)
- Seattle Traction Company (Organization)
- Seattle-Montana Railway Company (Organization)
- Seattle, Renton and Southern Railway Company (Organization)
- Young, W.H. (Person)
- Wilson and White Hotel Company (Organization)
Genre / Form
Geographic
Topical
- Title
- Guide to the Franchise Reports 1898-1986
- Language of description note
- Finding aid written in English.
Repository Details
Part of the Seattle Municipal Archives Repository