Basin Mining Company

Records, 1902-1938
1 cubic foot

The records of the Basin Mining Company are part of the records of Day Mines, Inc., donated to the University of Idaho by Henry Day in 1984 and 1985. Initial processing of this manuscript group was done by Kelly Clark in April 1987. Processing was completed by Michael Tarabulski in June 1991. Funds for processing were provided by the National Historical Publications and Records Commission, the U.S. Department of Education HEA Title II-C "Strengthening Research Library Resources" program, the Library Associates of the University of Idaho and other donors.

COMPANY HISTORY

The Basin Mining Company, Limited, was formed on October 29, 1902, in Wallace, in Shoshone County, Idaho. At their first meeting the stockholders organized and adopted the by-laws of the corporation and elected the board of directors. These directors then elected the officers from among themselves: president, John P. Gray; vice-president, John L. Smith; secretary/treasurer, L.C. Wilson; and manager, W.C. Miller. The Basin Mine was located in the Lelande Mining District in Shoshone County. It consisted of five lode mining claims: Selkirk, Smoke House, Roosevelt, Sky Line, and Big Horn.

John P. Gray was president of Basin from 1902 to 1914. On April 1, 1915, the company lost all of its property by a decree of the district court of Shoshone County, in the case of Cronin et al vs. The Basin Mining Co., Ltd. The five patented, unproductive mining claims were vested in the plaintiffs on June 1, 1915. Arrangements were made with the plaintiffs and an entirely new company bearing nearly the same name, Basin Mining Company (no longer limited), was formed.

The officers of the new company were O.W. Lewis, L.C. Wilson and Therrett Towles. The property was never productive, but it afforded protection to the other properties of the Hercules Mining Co., which owned the majority of the Basin stock. The cost of maintaining this property as a separate organization was deemed excessive and, in 1937, the Hercules purchased Basin and dissolved the company.

SCOPE AND CONTENT

The records of the Basin Mining Company span the years 1902 to 1938, with the bulk of the material covering the years 1915 to 1938. Included are minutes of meetings, financial statements, correspondence, annual statements and reports to state agencies, stock ledgers, cancelled stock certificates, assessment records, a financial ledger and journal, check registers, vouchers, and federal, state, and county tax records.

Related materials can be found in the records of the Hercules Mining Company.

ARRANGEMENT AND DESCRIPTION

This manuscript group is divided into five series: Records of the Board of Directors and the Stockholders, 1902-1937; General Correspondence and Related Records, 1916-1937; Capital Stock Records, 1902-1936; Financial Records, 1902-1937; and Tax Records, 1916-1938.

The first series includes three minute books covering 1902-1937 except for 1914. Volume two contains only the by-laws, 1902, also contained in volume one. Also included in this series are a folder of records related to meetings -- reports to stockholders, meeting notices, and lists of stockholders -- and a folder of annual financial statements. The former runs 1915-1937 but most items are 1927-1937. The latter contains a summary of activity 1918-1927, and yearly statements 1927-1936.

The second series contains a slim folder of records relating to the 1937 merger with the Hercules Mining Company; a folder of correspondence, 1919-1937, organized alphabetically; and a folder of annual reports to the Inspector of Mines and annual statements of domestic corporations for the Idaho Department of State.

The third series includes a folder of lists of stockholders. Most of the material is from 1924 or is undated, but there is a will (dividing the shares of stockholder John L. Smith) from 1907, and a stockholders list from 1915. There are ledgers and cancelled stock certificates, all 1902-1936, and an assessment journal. This journal contains only information about assessment one in 1906.

The fourth series contains a ledger, a journal, check registers, and vouchers. Overall there is little information in this series. The ledger runs only 1902-1906, and the journal 1902-1904. The check registers provide only sparse and sporadic details of activity 1915-1936. Vouchers, 1936-1937, were kept for lack of check register coverage.

The two folders in Tax Records, the final series, both date 1916-1938, and include tax returns and correspondence. The federal file includes capital stock tax returns, 1919-1926. The state file includes tax receipts from the Shoshone County tax office, 1916-1931.

This collection, as it arrived, consisted mainly of volumes. Only a very few items were discarded. These included bank statements, paid checks, and vouchers -- which are summarized in the check registers -- and duplicate reports.

SERIES LIST

									Container
I.	Records of the Board of Directors and the Stockholders, 1902-1937	1
II.	General Correspondence and Related Records, 1916-1937	1
III.	Capital Stock Records, 1902-1936	1
IV.	Financial Records, 1902-1937	1
V.	Tax Records, 1916-1938	1

BASIN MINING COMPANY
INVENTORY

Box Folder Description

I. Records of the Board of Directors and the Stockholders, 1902-1937

	1-3	Minutes, 1902-1937
	4	Records relating to meetings, 1915-1937
	5	Financial statements, 1918-1936

II. General Correspondence and Related Records, 1916-1937

	6	Records relating to merger with Hercules Mining Co., 1936-1937
	7	Correspondence, 1916-1937
	8	Annual Reports and Statements, Idaho, 1916-1937

III. Capital Stock Records, 1902-1936

	9	Lists of stockholders, 1907-1924
	10-11	Stock ledgers, 1902-1936
	12-14	Cancelled stock certificates, 1902-1936
	15	Assessment journal, 1906

IV. Financial Records, 1902-1937

	16	Ledger, 1902-1906
	17	Journal, 1902-1904
	18	Vouchers, 1936-1937
	19	Check register, 1915-1936

V. Tax Records, 1916-1938

	20	Federal tax records, 1916-1938
	21	State tax records, 1919-1938

mg239.htm / February 1995

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