AGENCY: San Juan County (Utah). County Recorder
SERIES: 84250
TITLE: Mining records
DATES: 1891-1914.
ARRANGEMENT: Chronological as recorded.
DESCRIPTION: San Juan County mining record books document the boom and bust of wealth-seekers searching for gold in the late nineteenth century and then for oil in the early twentieth century. While these books contain a variety of mining records, they are dominated by claims or notices of location along the banks of the Colorado and San Juan Rivers. Federal mining law enacted in 1872 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 of mineral deposits was the discovery of a potentially productive site and recording the claim or notice of location.
RETENTION
DISPOSITION
RETENTION AND DISPOSITION AUTHORIZATION
These records are in Archives' permanent custody.
FORMAT MANAGEMENT
Paper: Retain in Office permanently after being microfilmed.
Microfilm master: Retain in State Archives permanently.
Microfilm duplicate: Retain in State Archives permanently with authority to weed.
APPRAISAL
Historical
San Juan County mining record books document the boom and bust of wealth-seekers searching for gold in the late nineteenth century and then for oil in the early twentieth century.
PRIMARY DESIGNATION
Public