AGENCY: San Juan County (Utah). County Recorder
SERIES: 24000
TITLE: Mining location notices (petroleum)
DATES: 1905-1941.
ARRANGEMENT: Within each book claims are arranged chronologically as recorded, however the books are not chronological.
DESCRIPTION: Mining location notices in this series document the petroleum boom which peaked in San Juan County in 1908-1909. After oil prospectors opened a gusher in March 1908, the ensuing stampede to the San Juan and Colorado Rivers resulted in the recording of nearly 10,000 location notices by July 1909 (Osmond L. Harline, "Utah's Black Gold," Utah Historical Quarterly, vol. 31, no. 3, p. 297). Federal mining law provided that valuable mineral deposits in the public domain were free and open to exploration and that the locators of the same were to have exclusive right of possession as long as they complied with federal and local law (Statutes at Large, Treaties, and Proclamations, of the United States of America, vol. XVII, chap. 152, also Revised Statutes of the United States, chap. 6, title 32). The first step toward ownership was the discovery of a potentially productive site and recording the claim or notice of location. Each notice affirms that the locator has complied with federal andon local mining laws. Each notice names the claim and provides a description of it, and each notice provides the names of locators and their place of residence.
RETENTION
DISPOSITION
RETENTION AND DISPOSITION AUTHORIZATION
These records are in Archives' permanent custody.
FORMAT MANAGEMENT
Microfilm master: Retain in State Archives permanently with authority to weed.
Microfilm duplicate: Retain in State Archives permanently with authority to weed.
Paper: Retain in Office permanently.
Microfilm duplicate: Retain in Office permanently.
APPRAISAL
Historical
Location notices in this series document the oil boom on the San Juan and Colorado Rivers in 1908-1909.
PRIMARY DESIGNATION
Public