Willow Springs Mining District (Utah). Recorder File book, 1891-1897.

The Willow Springs Mining District, organized 21 May 1891 in the Deep Creek Mountains of western Tooele County (Utah), was an extension of mining activity at Gold Hill. Gold Hill prospectors organized this district in accordance with federal law, which stated that mineral deposits in the public domain were free and open to exploration, and locators of the same had exclusive right of possession (Statutes at Large, Treaties, and Proclamations, of the United States of America, vol. 17, 1872, chap. 152). The law authorized local mining districts to keep records and oversee mining operations within specified boundaries. The Willow Springs Mining District file book begins with a copy of by-laws for the district. By-laws are followed by a chronological list of claims or notices of location filed in the district. Each entry includes the claim name, the date filed, and the book and page number where notice was recorded. The flow of file entries is interrupted by notices of intention to holdclaims recorded in 1894 and by affidavits showing proof of labor in 1895. These documents relate to federal requirements for annual assessment work to hold claims.