Clifton Mining District (Utah). Recorder Intent to hold claim notices, 1893-1894.

Federal mining law, enacted in 1872, confirmed that individuals had the right to claim mineral wealth in the public domain. However, the law required miners to annually work the ground and perform at least $100 worth of labor on their claims in order to maintain them (Statutes at Large, Treaties, and Proclamations, of the United States of America, 1872, vol. 17, chap. 152). During the years 1893 and 1894 Congress passed joint resolutions temporarily suspending the requirement of annual assessment work. In order to obtain the benefit of this exception, Congress required claim holders to file notices of their intention to hold their claims. Each document in this book is a notice of intent to hold a claim, and all were filed between December 1893 and December 1894. Each notice names a claim, declares the miner's intent to hold that claim, and cites the book and page number where a notice of location was originally recorded. Some notices also provide a legal description of the claiminvolved. Each notice includes the date filed and is signed by the district recorder.