This collection primarily includes the Beyster Land Company records and the John Beyster & Sons Company records. Both companies were primarily active in the late 1800s to the mid-1900s. The Beyster Land Company was responsible for developing manufacturing and industry properties in the Detroit, Michigan area. The John Beyster & Sons Company was a business for lumber, lath, shingles, and box manufacturing. Record types include correspondence, tax documents, architectural plans, and business ledgers. The collection also includes a small number of materials related to the Beyster family, such as a family tree, photographs, and estate papers.
This collection primarily includes records from the Beyster Land Company and John Beyster and Sons Company. The records present in the collection begin in the 1880s, shortly after the end of the Industrial Revolution. The Beyster Land Company was involved in land and property acquisition, as shown by the volume of property records in the collection. At least one of the property documents includes a racial covenant, which restricted certain racial groups from buying or occupying land. Other business records include correspondence, tax documents, property information (including deeds and mortgage records), private and business ledgers, audits, patent information, building plans, and automobile records. Along with the business records, the collection encompasses a small portion of family records, including a family tree, photographs, and the will and estate records of John Beyster.