Stephen H. Sturges was one of ten children born to William W. and Hattie (Black) Sturges on August 9, 1896. In 1907 the family moved from Meadville, Missouri to Yuma where his brother Charlie bought a 40-acre farm. The Sturges boys went to work early. Stephen said, “I could go to school only every other year. Farm work came first, school second.” He finished high school at age 22. He went on to become President of Sturges Farms which cultivated 2,500 acres, rented 2,000 additional acres, and also held state leases on 2,000 acres. He experimented with almost every crop and agricultural process known to the Yuma area.
As of this date, very little remains of Stephen Sturges’ personal and business papers. The bulk of this collection consists of checks and invoices in a narrow date range from 1954-1956. Given his contributions to Yuma agribusiness and his reputation as a generous, civic-minded man, this is a real loss to the historical record. However, he and his wife live on through the Stephen H. Sturges and Rose P. Sturges Charitable Trust.
This collection is arranged in four series and chronological or alphabetical within: Series I: General Correspondence, Series II: Investments, Series III: Cancelled Checks, Series IV: Invoices.
