Washington County (Utah). County Recorder Mining proof of labor, 1897-1956.

Federal mining law enacted in 1872 provided that all valuable mineral deposits in the public domain were free and open to exploration and purchase and that the locators of the same were to have exclusive right of possession as long as they complied with the laws of the United States and of the local mining district. The law authorized the democratic organization of local mining districts and charged them to record mining claims and manage mining operations in accordance with Federal law and local needs and customs. Final ownership of a mining claim involved more than discovery, possession and recording, but also required that the claimant work the ground and perform labor on the claim as required by Congress and the regulations of local mining districts. (Statutes at Large, Treaties, one hundred dollars worth of labor be performed or improvement made during each year.

The primary documents in this series are affidavits offering proof that the requisite labor had been performed. Incertain years Congress legislated exceptions to this labor requirement. For example, in 1917 Congress passed a joint resolution to suspend the requirement of annual assessment work on mining claims during the years 1917 and 1918. (Statutes at Large, Treaties, and Proclamations, of the United States of America, vol. XL, chap. 75). However, the law required that in order to obtain the benefits of this resolution, every claimant must file a notice of his desire to hold his claim. Other exceptions to the labor requirement were passed in 1933, 1934, 1937, and 1943-1944. In accordance with these, the documents in this series include notices of intent to hold a claim in addition to documents showing proof of labor.