Series 23996

STAR MINING DISTRICT (UTAH). RECORDER [3200]

MINING RECORDS, 1870-1897.
2 microfilm reels

A separate agency history is available.

DESCRIPTION: Beaver County miners organized the Star Mining District in the Star Range southwest of Milford on 8 July 1870. The Star District included Shauntie, a significant mining settlement which was the hub of Beaver County mining activity during the decade of the 1870s. The Star District was organized two years before Congress passed a general mining law validating the already established precedent that individuals had the right 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 local areas groups of miners organized districts to manage mining activity and to elect recorders to keep records of claims. The Star District books primarily contain notices of location or records of claims. Each notice identifies a claim by a unique name, provides a description of its location, and identifies the names of locators. Since early claims were limited to 200 feet along a lode, several locators were generally listed on each claim. Notices include dates for discovery and filing and are signed by the district recorder or his deputy. Early location notices also include the recorder's record of work competed on the claim. In addition to notices of location, Star District books include the minutes of miners' meetings and copies of district by-laws.

ARRANGEMENT: Volumes of Star District record books are chronological. Within each book records are arranged by document type, and thereunder by date recorded. Miners' meeting minutes and by-laws appear at the beginning of Books A-C and are followed by notices of location. Early labor records were kept on the same page as the notice of location. Labor reported for 1892-1894 was kept in a separate book.

RELATED RECORDS: The Beaver County recorder's NOTICES OF LOCATION BOOKS, series 23992, contain many location notices for claims in the Star District. Copies of by-laws as filed with the General Land Office can be found in MINING DISTRICT BY-LAWS, series 3651.

FINDING AIDS: Each Star Mining District record book includes an index at the beginning of the book which provides reference by claim name.

PROCESSING NOTE: Star Mining District record books were microfilmed in January 2002 as part of Utah State Archives Millennial Project and processed by Rosemary Cundiff in February 2003.

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

CONTAINER LIST

Reel	Description
1	1870, Jul - 1871, Apr (Book A)
1	1871, Apr - 1873, Jan (Book B)
1	1873, Feb - 1878, Jan (Book C)
1	1878, Jan - 1885, Apr (Book D)
2	1885, Apr - 1897, Jan (Book E)
2	1892, Aug - 1894, Dec (Labor Record Book)