Bradshaw Mining District (Utah). Recorder
Abstract
Biography/History Notes
According to federal mining law, enacted in May 1872, claims could extend 1500 feet along a lode with 300 feet on either side. Federal law required the completion of at least one hundred dollars worth of labor annually in order to maintain claims. Bradshaw by-laws specified that any person discovering a lode or deposit of mineral bearing rock or ore should locate and record the same by placing a monument of stones not less than two feet high or a stake not less that three feet high at the point of discovery and similar monuments or stakes at each of four corners. Locators were also to sink a shaft at least two feet deep at the point of discovery. Bradshaw District recorders kept records of claims in well bound books which they provided at their own expense. Recorders were required to visit the ground of each claim to see that the claim was properly marked before making a record, and also to visit claims annually to ensure that the annual assessment labor had been satisfactorily completed.
Bradshaw District recorders were elected for one year terms and were required to be residents and claim holders in the district. For each recording they were entitled to collect a fee.
Bradshaw District recorders appointed deputies to assist them in carrying out their responsibilities. In 1897 the Utah Legislature enacted a mining law which transferred responsibility for keeping mining records to county recorders. (Laws of Utah, 1897, chapter 36). At that time the records of the Bradshaw District were transferred to the Beaver County recorder's office.