Archives West Finding Aid
Table of Contents
Basin Mining Company Records, 1903-1925
Overview of the Collection
- Creator
- Basin Mining Company
- Title
- Basin Mining Company Records
- Dates
- 1903-1925 (inclusive)19031925
- Quantity
- .6 linear feet of shelf space
- Collection Number
- MC 311
- Summary
- The Basin Mining Company was a Granite County, Montana, gold mining company, with head offices in St. Louis, Missouri. Records include interoffice correspondence (1903-1923), general correspondence (1903-1925), records of a court case (1907), minor financial records, organizational records (1906-1922), and miscellany.
- Repository
-
Montana Historical Society, Library & Archives
Montana Historical Society Research Center Archives
225 North Roberts
PO Box 201201
Helena MT
59620-1201
Telephone: 4064442681
Fax: 4064445297
mhslibrary@mt.gov - Languages
- English
- Sponsor
- Funding for encoding this finding aid was provided through a grant awarded by the National Endowment for the Humanities.
Historical NoteReturn to Top
The Basin Gulch Syndicate was formed by Paul A. Fusz and other St. Louis, Missouri, businessmen to develop gold placer claims in the Rock Creek drainage southwest of Philipsburg, Montana. In June 1906, the syndicate incorporated as the Basin Mining Company. Directors of the new company were Paul A. Fusz, Auguste B. Ewing, Mark Ewing, L.M. Rumsey Jr., and Joseph P. Hartnett. The company's mines were never large producers. Little work appears to have been done after 1909, although small amounts of bullion continued to be sent to the Denver Mint until 1925. By 1922 most of the stock was held by heirs of the original owners. The company dissolved in 1926 when its twenty year term of existence expired.
Content DescriptionReturn to Top
Records consist primarily of interoffice correspondence (1903-1923) and general correspondence (1903-1925). Correspondents in the home office in St. Louis include Paul A. Fusz, president; George S. Zehnder, secretary; and Charles G. Ewing, president after the death of Fusz in 1910. Major correspondents in the general office files include companies supplying equipment; mine foremen Peter F. Scherr (1907), Sam L. Clark (1908), Joseph Sorenson (1909-1910), and Charles Campp (1916); surveyor E.A. Cralle; the Forest Service; and the U.S. Land Office in Missoula. There is a file for an appeal (1907) of a U.S. Land Office ruling concerning the company's mineral entry. Financial records inlcude assay reports, scattered bills and invoices, orders for supplies, bank deposits, time checks, etc. There is one accident report for an injured employee.
Administrative InformationReturn to Top
Detailed Description of the CollectionReturn to Top
The following section contains a detailed listing of the materials in the collection
Interoffice Correspondence Return to Top
| Container(s) | Description | Dates |
|---|---|---|
| Box/Folder | ||
| 1 / 1-9 | Home Office (correspondents include Paul A. Fusz, George A. Zehnder,
John R. Lucas, Charles G. Ewing, Jesse B. Mellor, W.T. Terrell) |
1903-1923 |
| 1 / 10 | Home Office (telegrams) |
1906-1916 |
General Correspondence Return to Top
| Container(s) | Description | Dates |
|---|---|---|
| Box/Folder | ||
| 1 / 11 | American Spiral Pipe Works |
1909, 1915-1916 |
| 1 / 12 | Anaconda Copper Mining Company |
1915-1916 |
| 1 / 13 | A-B (correspondents include Aetna Life Insurance Company, Anaconda
Standard, O.J. Berry, W.H. Bohn, Frank D. Brown, Business-Men's Clearing House) |
1903-1906, 1915-1917 |
| 1 / 14 | Charles Campp (foreman Basin Gulch) |
1916 |
| 1 / 15 | Sam L. Clark (foreman Basin Gulch) |
1908 |
| 1 / 16 | E.A. Cralle (surveyor) |
1903, 1907 |
| 1 / 17 | C (correspondents include J.T. Conner re Chinese workers, Continental
Oil Company) |
1907, 1916 |
| 1 / 18 | Daly Bank and Trust Company |
1904-1909, 1915-1917 |
| 1 / 19 | D (correspondents include O.C. Dallas, Denver Engineering Works Company,
Denver Fire Clay Company) |
1907, 1916 |
| 1 / 20 | Gorham Rubber Company |
1907 |
| 1 / 21 | Granite County offices |
1906-1909 |
| 1 / 22 | G-K (correspondents include General Naval Stores Company, Goodyear Tire
and Rubber Company, E.F. Houghton and Company, Hans J. Kolbeck) |
1909, 1915-1918 |
| 1 / 23 | Montana Industrial Accident Board |
1915-1919, 1925 |
| 1 / 24 | M-N (correspondents include Montana National Bank, Montana Secretary of
State, C.J. Morgan, W.S. Nott Company) |
1906-1908, 1918 |
| 1 / 25 | Pelton Water Wheel Company |
1909 |
| 1 / 26 | Risdon Iron and Locomotive Works |
1909 |
| 1 / 27 | L.M. Rumsey Manufacturing Company |
1907, 1916 |
| 1 / 28 | Peter F. Scherr (foreman at Basin Gulch) |
1907 |
| 1 / 29 | Joseph Sorenson (foreman at Basin Gulch) |
1909-1910 |
| 1 / 30 | S (correspondents include Square Employment Office re Chinese cook,
William Stahl, Standard Steel Works Company, D. Gay Stivers) |
1903-1908, 1916-1918 |
| 1 / 31 | United States Assay Office |
1907, 1909 |
| 1 / 32 | United States Forest Service |
1906-1909, 1918 |
| 1 / 33 | United States General Land Office / Land Office, Missoula |
1908-1909 |
| 1 / 34 | United States Mint |
1915-1925 |
| 1 / 35 | U-W (correspondents include Union Carbide Sales Company, United
Commercial Company, United States Food Administration, United States Geological Service, United States Surveyor
General, Walker Commercial Company) |
1904-1909, 1917-1918 |
Court Papers Return to Top
| Container(s) | Description | Dates |
|---|---|---|
| Box/Folder | ||
| 2 / 1 | In the matter of Mineral Entry 173 |
1907 |
Employment Records Return to Top
| Container(s) | Description | Dates |
|---|---|---|
| Box/Folder | ||
| 2 / 2 | Accident reports |
1918 |
| 2 / 3 | Time checks |
1919-1920 |
Financial Records Return to Top
| Container(s) | Description | Dates |
|---|---|---|
| Box/Folder | ||
| 2 / 4 | Bank deposits, etc. [scattered] |
1903-1922 |
| 2 / 5 | Bills and invoices [scattered] |
1915-1919 |
| 2 / 6 | Orders for supplies |
1915-1916 |
| 2 / 7 | Taxes |
1917-1919, 1922 |
| 2 / 8 | Voucher lists [scattered] |
1907, 1915-1918 |
Organization Return to Top
| Container(s) | Description | Dates |
|---|---|---|
| Box/Folder | ||
| 2 / 9 | Articles of incorporation [copied from Secretary of State's records],
proxies, minutes |
1906, 1922 |
Production Records Return to Top
| Container(s) | Description | Dates |
|---|---|---|
| Box/Folder | ||
| 2 / 10 | Assay reports |
1918-1922 |
Miscellany Return to Top
| Container(s) | Description | Dates |
|---|---|---|
| Box/Folder | ||
| 2 / 11 | Explosives license, copy of USGS topo map showing Basin Gulch area
|
1918, n.d. |
| 2 / 12 | Report on pits dug in Basin |
1915 |
Names and SubjectsReturn to Top
Subject Terms
- Gold mines and mining
- Industrial accidents
- Industrial safety
- Mines and mineral resources--Montana--Granite County
Geographical Names
- Basin Gulch (Granite County, Mont.)
- Granite County (Mont.)--Industries
- Philipsburg (Mont.)--Industries
