BLACK MOUNTAIN MINING DISTRICT (UTAH). RECORDER

Agency History #3198

CREATION

The decade of the 1890s was a boom time for mining in the state of Utah, and one of the state's major mineral belts extends through the Wah Wah and Tushar Mountains of Piute and Beaver Counties. Beaver County prospectors organized the Black Mountain Mining District at Minersville in July 1895. The boundaries of this district extended from the Minersville Reservoir, south to the Beaver/Iron County line, west to the Parowan Canyon road, north to the Beaver River, and east to the beginning. The Black Mountain District was organized according to federal law which allows individuals to claim mineral wealth in the public domain (Statutes at Large, Treaties, and Proclamations, of the United States of America, vol. 17, 1872, chap. 152). In the nineteenth century, miners in local areas organized districts to manage mining activity and keeps records of claims. 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).

FUNCTIONS

By federal regulation claims could be 1500 feet along a lode with 300 feet on each side. In order to maintain the claim, prospectors were required to do at least $100 worth of work on the claim annually. Local districts could impose additional requirements as long as they were not in conflict with federal law. The miners of the Black Mountains District simply stated in their by-laws that they adopted federal law. Claims were to be recorded within 30 days of discovery.

ADMINISTRATION

Miners in the Black Mountain District elected recorders for one year terms. By-laws required that the recorder be a claim holder in the district and allowed him to collect $1 for each claim recorded.

ORGANIZATIONAL HISTORY

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 Black Mountain district were transferred to the office of the Beaver County recorder.

DISTRICT RECORDERS
Luther J. Smith	1895-1896
Isadore Lessing	1896

COMPILED BY: Rosemary Cundiff , February 2003

SOURCES

Black Mountain Mining District (Utah). Recorder. Mining records. Utah State Archives (Series 23986).

Laws of Utah, 1897, Chapter 36. Utah State Archives (Series 83155).

Statutes at Large, Treaties, and Proclamations, of the United States of America, 1872, vol. 17, chap. 152. Published by authority of Congress, Boston: Brown, Little and Company.