Pinto Iron Mining District (Utah). Recorder Location notices, 1874-1894.

The Pinto Iron Mining District was organized in 1868 to facilitate iron mining in the mountains southwest of Cedar City. In accordance with established practice, which Congress enacted into law in 1872 (see Statutes at Large, Treaties, and Proclamations, of the United States of America, vol. XVII, chap. 152), mineral deposits in the public domain were free and open to exploration, and locators of the same had exclusive right of possession. Local mining districts managed mining operations and recorded claims. The Pinto Iron Mining District record books primarily contain notices of location for mining claims. For each notice the mining district recorder reported the names of locators, the name of the mining claim, and a description of the claim, including both a legal description and a description of the way the claim had been marked. The recorder reported dates for location and recording. In addition to location notices, these record books contain some of the following documents: minutes for miners' meetings, notices of location for mill sites, notices of relocation or amended location, intentions to hold and work a claim, deeds selling mines or mining interests, and notices about water rights.