San Francisco Mining District (Utah). Recorder

Entity: 3207
Entity Type: Mining District

Abstract

The San Francisco Mining District, organized 12 August 1871, includes both flanks of the San Francisco Mountains which are located about 15 miles due west of Milford, Utah. The San Francisco District was organized the year before Congress passed a general mining law validating the already established precedent that mineral deposits in the public domain are free and open to exploration, and locators have exclusive right of possession. In local areas groups of miners organized districts to manage mining activity and keep records of claims. The highly productive Horn Silver Mine, located in the mid 1870s, revitalized Milford and resulted in the settlement of a mining town, Frisco. By the early 1880s Frisco had a population of 6,500. In 1880 the Utah Southern Railroad completed a line to Milford in order to transport silver from Frisco mines. In 1884 the Horn Silver Mine caved in, and thereafter mining activity in the San Francisco District declined. By 1895 Frisco had become a ghost town. The records of the San Francisco District were transferred to the office of the Beaver County recorder in 1897, when the Utah Legislature enacted a mining law transferring responsibility for keeping mining records to county recorders.

Biography/History Notes

Originally, San Francisco prospectors were allowed to claim only 200 feet along a lode, with the exception that the original discoverer was allowed an extra 200 feet. After discovery, locators were allowed ten days to have the claims recorded by the district recorder, and an additional twenty days to complete work on the claim. By-laws required ten days of work for each claim or 2 days of work for each 200 feet. This work would hold the claim for one year. After Congress passed a general mining law in 1872, the San Francisco District adapted district by-laws to conform to federal regulations. Locators could claim up to 1500 feet along a lode with 300 feet on each side. Mining law required an annual labor assessment of one hundred dollars worth of work to hold a claim.

San Francisco District recorders kept all records relating to mining claims. Miners in the district elected recorders for one year terms. Original district by-laws allowed recorders to collect 50 cents for each name recorded on a claim. By-laws required recorders to go to the ground and inspect claims if requested to do so. Recorders kept record in suitable bound books which were open for miners in the district to inspect.

San Francisco 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 San Fransicso District were transferred to the Beaver County recorder's office.

Hierarchy

San Francisco Mining District (Utah). Recorder