Tooele County (Utah). County Recorder Mining records, 1885-1955.

Tooele County mining record books predominantly contain notices of location (mining claims) filed in the County recorder's office. In the late nineteenth and early twentieth century, gold, copper, silver, lead, mercury, and zinc were mined extensively in Tooele County. One of Tooele County's largest mining camps, Mercur (in the Camp Floyd Mining District), constructed a cyanide mill for processing gold. The Mercur mill enhanced local ability to extract gold from ore, and led to increased activity among miners searching for and mining gold. Each mine began with the discovery of a potentially productive site and the recording of a notice of location. Federal mining law enacted in 1872 provided that valuable mineral deposits were free and open to exploration and that the locators of the same were to have exclusive right of possession (Statutes at Large, Treaties, and Proclamations, of the United States of America, vol. 17, chap. 152, also Revised Statutes of the United States, chap. 6,title 32). Each notice of location affirms that the locator had complied with federal and local mining laws. Each notice provides a description of the claim, identifies it by a unique name, gives the mining district in which it was located, and provides the names of locators. Notices provide dates of location and recording and are signed by the Tooele County recorder.

In addition to notices of location, Tooele County mining record books include agreements relating to mining, amendments to notices of location, and affidavits showing proof of annual assessment labor. In order to maintain or patent a claim, the law required that miners do development work. Utah law required that they to file an affidavit in the county recorder's office upon completion of this work (Utah Code Annotated, 1953, 40-1-6). Each affidavit verifies the completion of at least $100 worth of labor on a specific claim and itemizes what that labor entailed. In 1893 and 1894 Congress temporarily suspended the annualwork requirement, but required miners to file their intention to maintain the claim. Many records of intent to hold a claim were recorded in 1893-1894. After 1903 Tooele County mining record books include many notices of location for petroleum claims in addition to location notices for hard rock minerals.

During Utah's territorial period location notices and other mining records were primarily kept in each separate mining district. Tooele County mining record books contain additional or duplicate copies of location notices and other records for Tooele County mining districts, including Camp Floyd, Rush Valley, Ophir, Clifton, Dugway, Tooele City, and the North Tintic District of Juab County. Book B is a full and complete transcript of Book B for the Camp Floyd Mining District. Tooele County mining records include mining records for numerous small districts such Shambip, Willow Springs, Third Term, Blue Bell, Erickson, Free Coinage, Lakeside, and Columbia. Utah territorial lawrequired that mining district by-laws be recorded by the county recorder in which the mining district operated. These mining record books contain by-laws for the Rush Valley District (Book C, page 511), the Hercules District (Book D, page 374), the Russell District (Book D, page 377), the Shambip District (Book D, page 379), the Free Coinage District (Book D, page 386), the Mercur District (Book D, page 431), the Blue Bell District (Book D page 493), and the Camp Floyd District (Book D page 567).