Series 3651
United States. General Land Office Mining district by-laws

Dates: 1872-1909.

1.20 cubic feet and 1 microfilm reelSkip to Containers

These records are housed in the Utah State Archives' permanent storage room.

Scope and Content

In May 1872 Congress passed a general mining law called, "An Act to promote the Development of the mining Resources of the United States." This act declared that mineral deposits in lands belonging to the United States are free and open to exploration and purchase by citizens of the United States, according to provisions detailed in the law, and also according to local customs and to the rules established by miners in various districts. The law validated the mining districts which had been and would continue to be established to govern mining activity in localized areas. The law authorized mining districts to govern the method of locating and recording claims, and to specify the amount of work necessary to hold the claims in so far as district regulations were not in conflict with the laws of the United States or the laws of Utah (Statutes at Large, Treaties, and Proclamations, of the United States of America, 1872, vol. XVII, chap. 152). At least 90 mining districts were organized in Utah Territory and by-laws for many of these were filed in the General Land Office in Salt Lake City. These are contained in the book and file which comprise this series. Each set of by-laws defines the boundaries of the mining district and designates the name by which it was to be called. By-laws define the responsibilities of a mining district recorder, designate his term of office, provide for his election, and specify the amounts he can charge for his services. Additional district officials may be authorized. By-laws specify how records should be kept and designate who had access to them. They detail requirements for marking, recording, and working mining claims.

Arrangement

Sequential by file number

Some mining district by-laws were recorded in a hard bound book (box 3) and others were filed (boxes 1 and 2). No order is apparent for entries in the book, but each set of filed by-laws was assigned a number. By-laws are arranged sequentially by assigned number, which initially was also alphabetical, but later not so.

Research Note

This series notes a beginning date of 1872 because that is when Congress passed a general mining law authenticating the already established practice of organizing mining districts to manage local mining activity. Many of the by-laws filed with the General Land Office were created and adopted before that date.

Custody History

By-laws for Utah mining districts were filed with the General Land Office, which became the Bureau of Land Management. When mining districts became obsolete as independent agencies, the Bureau of Land Management transferred these records to Utah State Archives.

Access Restrictions

This series is classified as Public.

Preferred Citation

Cite the Utah State Archives and Records Service, the creating agency name, the series title, and the series number.

Gaps in Series

In a number of cases the General Land Office created files for particular mining districts, but no by-laws were received. Empty folders, which were inscribed "no by-laws on file," have been identified in the series inventory container list.

Processing Note

Mining district by-laws were processed in March 2002 by Rosemary Cundiff. At that time an original microfilming of the by-laws was deaccessioned and new microfilming was requested.

Finding Aids

Indexes: This series includes an index which alphabetically lists the districts and identifies their file number. By-laws recorded in the book are alphabetically indexed on the inside cover of the book.

Indexing Terms

  • Mines and mineral resources--Utah.
  • Mining claims--Utah.
  • Mining districts--Utah.

Container List

REEL BOX FOLDER DESCRIPTION
1 1 1 1, American Fork Mining District
1 1 2 2, Adams Mining District
1 1 3 3, Ashbrook Mining District
1 1 4 4, Beaver Lake Mining District
1 1 5 5, Big Cottonwood Mining District
1 1 6 6, Blue Ledge Mining District
1 1 7 7, Box Elder Mining District
1 1 8 8, Bradshaw Mining District
1 1 9 9, Castle Peak Mining District (no by-laws on file)
1 1 10 10, Carbonate Mining District (no by-laws on file)
1 1 11 11, Camp Floyd Mining District
1 1 12 12, Columbia Mining District
1 1 13 13, Coyote Mining District
1 1 14 14, Clifton Mining District
1 1 15 15, Detroit Mining District
1 1 16 16, Dugway Mining District
1 1 17 17, Elk Horn Mining District
1 1 18 18, Emery Mining District
1 1 19 19, Gordon Mining District
1 1 20 20, Granite Mining District (no by-laws on file)
1 1 21 21, Grantsville Mining District (Third Term Mining District)
1 1 22 22, Hard Scrabble Mining District
1 1 23 23, Harrisburg Mining District
1 1 24 24, Hot Springs Mining District
1 1 25 25, Henry Mining District
1 1 26 26, Iron Springs Mining District
1 1 27 27, Juab Mining District (no by-laws on file)
1 1 28 28, Lake Side Mining District
1 1 29 29, Little Cottonwood Mining District
1 1 30 30, Lincoln Mining District
1 1 31 31, Lower Placer Mining District
1 1 32 32, Lucin Mining District
1 1 33 33, Mono Mining District
1 1 34 34, Mountain Lake Mining District
1 1 35 35, Mount Baldy Mining District
1 1 36 36, Mount Nebo Mining District
1 1 37 37, North Star Mining District (no by-laws on file)
1 1 38 38, Ohio Mining District
1 1 39 39, Ophir Mining District
1 1 40 40, Pinto Iron Mining District
1 1 41 41, Provo Mining District
1 1 42 42, Pruess Mining District
1 1 43 43, Rocky Mining District
1 2 1 44, Rush Valley Mining District
1 2 2 45, San Francisco Mining District
1 2 3 46, Silver Lake Mining District
1 2 4 47, Snake Creek Mining District
1 2 5 48, Star Mining District
1 2 6 49, Tintic Mining District
1 2 7 50, Tooele Mining District (no by-laws on file)
1 2 8 51, Uintah Mining District
1 2 9 52, Utah Mining District (no by-laws on file)
1 2 10 53, Weber Mining District (no by-laws on file)
1 2 11 54, West Mountain Mining District
1 2 12 55, Willard Mining District
1 2 13 56, Paradise Mining District
1 2 14 57, Gold Mountain Mining District
1 2 15 58, Fish Springs Mining District
1 2 16 59, Spring Creek Mining District
1 2 17 60, North Tintic Mining District
1 2 18 61, Tidwell Rideout Mining District
1 2 19 62, West Tintic Mining District
1 2 20 63, Willow Springs Mining District
1 2 21 64, Newton Mining District
1 2 22 65, White Canyon Mining District
1 2 22 66, Washington Mining District (no by-laws on file)
1 2 23 67, Leanington Mining District
1 2 24 68, Erickson Mining District
1 2 25 69, Blue Mountain Mining District
1 2 26 70, Lehi Mining District
1 2 27 71, Big Indian Mining District
1 2 28 72, Blue Bell Mining District
1 2 29 73, State Line Mining District (no by-laws on file)
1 2 29 74, LaSal Mining District (no by-laws on file)
1 2 29 75, Pine Grove Mining District (no by-laws on file)
1 2 30 76, Tutsugabet Mining District
1 2 31 77, Newfoundland Mining District (no by-laws on file)
1 2 32 78, Argenta Mining District (originally Weber Mining Dist.)
1 2 33 79, Santaquin Mining District (no by-laws on file)
1 2 33 80, Bolter Mining District (no by-laws on file)
1 2 34 81, Wheeler Desert Mining District
1 2 35 82, Sierra Madre Mining District
1 2 36 83, Richmond Mining District (no by-laws on file)
1 2 36 84, Alpine Mining District (no by-laws on file)
1 2 36 85, Sulphur Mining District (no by-laws on file)
1 2 37 86, Free Coinage Mining District
1 2 38 87, Miners Basin Mining District
1 2 39 88, Monumental Mining District
1 2 40 89, Imperial Mining District
1 2 41 90, Goldstrike Mining District
1 2 42 index to mining districts
1 3 n/a West Mountain Mining District (p. 1)
1 3 n/a Bingham Canyon Placer Mining District (p. 13)
1 3 n/a Lincoln Mining District (no by-laws included, p. 18 )
1 3 n/a Star Mining District (p. 28)
1 3 n/a Little Cottonwood Mining District (p. 32)
1 3 n/a Big Cottonwood Mining District (p. 38)
1 3 n/a Tintic Mining District (p. 40)
1 3 n/a Camp Floyd Mining District (no by-laws included p. 52)
1 3 n/a Ophir Mining District (p. 62)
1 3 n/a American Fork Mining District (p. 81)
1 3 n/a Lucin Mining District (p. 87)
1 3 n/a Ohio Mining District (no by-laws included p. 95)
1 3 n/a Uintah Mining District (p. 104)
1 3 n/a Rush Valley Mining District (p. 117)

Page Last Updated October 18, 2012.