Series 24154

Point Look Out Mining District (Utah). Recorder Mining records, 1896.

1 microfilm reel

These records are housed in the Utah State Archives' permanent storage room.

Historical Note

See history of the records' creator.

Summary of Records

When A.M. and D.N. Murdock discovered gold near Look Out Station (former pony express station in Tooele County) in April 1896 they and others organized the Point Look Out Mining District the following month. According to federal law, mineral deposits in the public domain were free and open to exploration, and locators of the same had exclusive right of possession (Statutes at Large, Treaties, and Proclamations, of the United States of America, vol. 17, 1872, chap. 152). The law authorized local mining districts to keep records and oversee mining operations within specified boundaries.

Scope and Content

When A.M. and D.N. Murdock discovered gold near Look Out Station (former pony express station in Tooele County) in April 1896 they and others organized the Point Look Out Mining District the following month. According to federal law, mineral deposits in the public domain were free and open to exploration, and locators of the same had exclusive right of possession (Statutes at Large, Treaties, and Proclamations, of the United States of America, vol. 17, 1872, chap. 152). The law authorized local mining districts to keep records and oversee mining operations within specified boundaries. The Point Look Out record book is very small because less than one year after organization, the Utah Legislature enacted a mining law which transferred responsibility for keeping mining records to county recorders (Laws of Utah, 1897, chapter 36). The record book includes a copy of by-laws for the district, an abstract of claims recorded, and notices of location (claims). Each abstract entry is signed bythe district recorder and includes the name of the claim, an assigned number, recording date, and page number where notice of location was recorded. Each notice of location includes the name of the claim, descriptive information, names of locators, and discovery date. All claims in the Point Look Out District were discovered April-July 1896.

Arrangement

The Point Look Out record book begins with a copy of mining district by-laws, followed by an abstract of claims, followed by notices of location. The abstract entries are alphabetically arranged. No arrangement is apparent for notices of location.

Additional Forms

This series is available on microfilm.

Access Restrictions

This series is classified as Public.

Use Restrictions

These records are available for reproduction and use.

Preferred Citation

Cite the Utah State Archives and Records Service, the creating agency name, the series title, and the series number.

Acquisition Information

These records were acquired from the creating agency through established retention schedules.

Processing Information

Point Look Out Mining District records were processed by Rosemary Cundiff in September 2002.

Other Finding Aids

Other: Abstracts at the beginning of the book provide reference by page number to notices of location.

Related Material

Mining records from Tooele County (Utah). County Recorder,
, would contain records for the Point Look Out District recorded after 1897.

Container List

ReelDescription
11896