This collection consists of the virtually complete business records of the Smith Brothers Lumber Company of Logan, spanning the period 1892 to 1988. It is divided into four series: business records, catalogs and artifacts, Wendell E. Smith’s personal and family papers, and a collection of architectural drawings, blueprints, and specifications produced by/for Smith Brothers Lumber Company that directly correlates to these business records.

Perhaps the most valuable aspect of this collection is its breadth. Standing as a complete business record, the components of this collection allow the researcher to gain an understanding of business practices throughout the late nineteenth and twentieth centuries. The plethora of meticulously kept ledgers not only contain valuable information, but they exhibit the art of bookkeeping prior to computer technology as well as how such practices changed over time. Perhaps the most interesting among these are the credit ledgers, which show how credit was awarded and collected before credit cards. Additionally, they are a valuable resource to anyone interested in local history or in investigating specific people in the community. Also of note are the bill of sale ledgers, which exist in their entirety as a complete run.

The business correspondence section is another point of interest as it demonstrates not only how businesses conducted themselves but offers insight into the language and courtesy of different time periods. Also, the inclusion of a vast array of intricate and interesting letterheads from both national and local companies is both noteworthy and thought-provoking.

Perhaps the most usable component of the collection is the catalogs and plan books. As did most other lumber companies during the early twentieth century, Smith Brothers Lumber Company offered its patrons the latest in domestic architectural trends through a wide variety of catalogs and plan books. As the modern housing movement swept through the country, builders relied heavily on these new purveyors of popular designs and styles and, as the companion collection of architectural blueprints shows, the customers of Smith Brothers Lumber Company used these books extensively. The collection is very broad, including plan books for dozens of different house types along with catalogs offering a variety of interior and exterior adornments. Again, the breadth of this collection allows these catalogs to show the shift in styles and trends over time, which is also of considerable interest.

Other items include personal papers of Wendell E. Smith and family, photographs, company advertising/promotional items, and artifacts. Overall, this collection presents a researcher with several different opportunities to learn about Cache Valley, domestic architecture, business practices, hundreds of different people, and to observe how all of these things changed and/or progressed throughout the twentieth century.