AGENCY: Shambip Mining District 1894-1897 (Utah). Recorder
SERIES: 24166
TITLE: Mining records
DATES: 1894-1897.
ARRANGEMENT: Miners' meeting minutes are followed by notices of location. Within each section documents are chronological by document date.
DESCRIPTION: In the shadow of large mining districts like Ophir, Rush Valley, and Camp Floyd, a number of small mining districts were organized in Tooele County in the 1890s. Residents of Clover and St. John organized the Shambip Mining District in February 1894, with boundaries extending in the area north and west of St. John and Clover. The records kept by the Shambip Mining District recorder begin with the minutes of miners' meetings as they met to organize the district. The minutes include a copy of the by-laws. These records are followed by notices of location for claims staked in the district. According to federal law, mineral deposits in the public domain were free and open to exploration, and locators of the same had exclusive right of possession. Local mining districts managed mining operations and recorded claims. (Statutes at Large, Treaties, and Proclamations, of the United States of America, vol. 17, 1872, chap. 152). Location notices for the Shambip District affirm compliance with federal and local laws. Each location notice names the locator, provides a name for the claim, and describes it both in terms of dimensions and location. Notices provide dates of discovery and filing and are signed by the district recorder.
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 after being microfilmed.
Microfilm duplicate: Retain in Office permanently.
APPRAISAL
Historical
On 11 July 1870 miners in the St. John precinct of Tooele County met to organize the Shambip Mining District. Boundaries for the district extended from the school house, where they met, north to the summit of the dividing ridge of the Grantsville Pass, west across the mountains between Rush and Skull Valleys, south following the base of the Skull Valley side to a point east of Look Out Station, then east to a point east of the old Faust Station. According to established precedent, which was later validated when Congress passed a federal mining law, mineral deposits in the public domain were free and open to exploration, and locators of the same had exclusive right of possession. In local areas miners organized mining districts and elected district recorders to oversee mining operations and keep records of claims. (See Statutes at Large, Treaties, and Proclamations, of the United States of America, vol. 17, 1872, chap. 152). The 1870s was a boom period for silver mining in the Tooele Co unty area.
PRIMARY DESIGNATION
Public