D. M. Renton papers

A collection of correspondence and business records dealing with the history of Santa Catalina Island, California. The vast bulk of the collection consists of letters between D. M. Renton and William Wrigley concerning operations of Wrigley enterprises on Santa Catalina Island, including Renton's ongoing management of the multiple enterprises on the island. Renton's letters detail visitation, public services ranging from food to entertainment, development of new facilities from the Casino ballroom to an on-island hospital; the letters also describe construction work to improve access to clean potable water, and the mining operations for lead, silver and zinc, and the ongoing labor to extract them. The letters also describe the Hollywood studios using the island for filming and the use of the island for baseball training and games. The letters also include correspondence with Ferdinand Ellerman, Herbert Hoover, Lawrence Mott, Johnny Noble, Joseph H. Patrick, Hugh Rodman, John Wayne, Ada Elizabeth Wrigley, and Philip Wrigley. The business records include monthly expense and revenue reports for the island, meeting minutes and correspondence for the Santa Catalina Island Company. The correspondence includes telegrams, autograph, typewritten, and carbon copied letters; the D. M. Renton and William Wrigley correspondence also includes letters from other suppliers, businesses, and corporate partners. The business records include correspondence, meeting minutes, expense and revenue reports. The collection also includes an autobiography written by D. M. Renton upon his retirement from the Santa Catalina Island Company; newspaper clippings, business cards, and U. S. patent papers for a stone spreader. Some of the letters are incomplete, and a small number have sustained water damage. The letters and other material are between D. M. Renton and William Wrigley unless otherwise noted.