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Tamarack & Custer Consolidated Mining Company Records, 1907-1948

Overview of the Collection

Creator
Tamarack & Custer Consolidated Mining Company
Title
Tamarack & Custer Consolidated Mining Company Records
Dates
1907-1948 (inclusive)
Quantity
77 cubic feet
Collection Number
MG247 (collection)
Summary
Minutes, bylaws, annual reports and other documents relating to the meetings of directors and stockholders; correspondence and other records relating to the operation of the company, including capital stock records, financial records, records of ore shipments and production, supplies and equipment, personnel and payroll, and insurance and tax records of a lead-silver mine in the Lelande and Placer Center mining districts of the Coeur d'Alene region of northern Idaho.
Repository
University of Idaho Library, Special Collections and Archives
Special Collections and Archives
University of Idaho Library
875 Perimeter Drive
MS 2350
Moscow, ID
83844-2350
Telephone: 2088850845
libspec@uidaho.edu
Languages
This collection is in English.
Sponsor
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.
Funding for encoding this finding aid was provided through a grant awarded by the National Endowment for the Humanities.
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Historical Note

The Tamarack & Custer Consolidated Mining Company was incorporated on July 24, 1912, under Nevada law, with an authorized capital stock of 2,000,000 shares at par value of $1.00 each. Tamarack & Custer was formed by the merger of two separate but jointly managed mining companies operating adjacent properties between Tiger Peak and Custer Peak near Gem, Idaho: the Tamarack & Chesapeak Mining Company and the Custer Consolidated Mining Company. Both of these firms were already controlled by the Day interests, whose Hercules mine adjoined the Custer on the east.

The two properties were located such that neither could operate without involving the other in possible boundary disputes; the Days had concluded that ore could not be extracted economically without unified management. Legal disputes over ownership of the Tamarack & Chesapeak claims, which had already kept that mine closed for over three years, delayed consolidation for some years further.

Jerome Day was the Tamarack & Custer's president, manager, and treasurer from 1912 until his death in 1941. He was followed in these capacities by Henry Lawrence Day, who had been assistant manager since 1930. Frank Rothrock, Paul Jessup, S.F. Heitfeldt, Wray Farmin, John Wourms, and Eleanor Day Boyce all served for extended periods on the Tamarack & Custer board of directors.

Over $600,000 was invested in development work in the first year after consolidation. World War I brought soaring metal prices and the Tamarack & Custer flourished. Production was centered at the east fork of Nine Mile Canyon around the No. 4 and 5 adits. A tramway system in Burke Canyon carried the ore to the newly purchased Frisco (concentrating) Mill. After a post-war shutdown, lead and zinc ore production increased steadily. New discoveries were made in Tunnel #2 at the 1200 foot level in 1925. Three years later all the equipment was moved to the No. 7, 1200 foot level whose portal faced the Burke Canyon. Losing heavily in the early depression years, by 1937 the mine again returned profits. A new concentrator replaced the burned Frisco Mill and during World War II, despite severe labor and material shortages, the Tamarack & Custer proved a major source of income. With incorporation into Day Mines, Inc., in 1947, Tamarack & Custer stockholders received the largest number of shares, 820,000, in the new conglomerate.

Over the years the Tamarack & Custer Consolidated purchased many nearby mining firms: Snowy Peak Mining Company, a property of Daniel Brien, former president of the Tamarack & Chesapeak, acquired in 1912; Sherman Lead Company, controlled through stock ownership after 1918; Hutton Mining Company, purchased in 1933; the Black Jack mine, purchased from Boyce and Callahan interests in 1937; Puritan Mining Company, purchased in 1939; and the Olympia mine purchased in 1943. Eventually Tamarack & Custer holdings included 90 claims covering over 1,000 acres in the Lelande and Placer Center Districts. Some of these other claims were: Tamarack Fraction, Monroe, Saddle Back, Indus, Crown Point, Tamerlain, Carbon, Fairview, October, Tuesday, Marion, and Hemlock lodes.

Depleted in 1957 by then current technology, working of the Tamarack & Custer site was thereafter limited to lessees.

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Content Description

The records of the Tamarack & Custer Mining Company span the years 1907 to 1948, with the bulk of the material covering the years 1912 to 1947. Included are minutes, bylaws, annual reports and other documents relating to the meetings of directors and stockholders, correspondence and other records detailing the operation of the company, stock records, financial records, and information on ore shipments and production, material concerning supplies and equipment, personnel and payroll information, and insurance and tax material.

Related materials can be found in the records of the Tamarack & Chesapeak, the Custer Consolidated and Hercules Mining Companies, and the papers of John H. Wourms.

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Administrative Information

Arrangement

The records of the Tamarack & Custer Mining Company were in no discernible order when received. Therefore, a series order utilizing seven major divisions was imposed during processing.

The first series contains minutes, bylaws, annual reports of the president and general manager, and other documents relating to meetings of the board of directors and stockholders.

The second series, General Correspondence and Related Records, 1907-1947, includes correspondence, reports, contracts, leases, financial statements, and other records relating to operation and production of Tamarack & Custer Consolidated Mining Company. There are files on accidents, child labor laws, mining appraisals, and insurance compensation. There is correspondence between Tamarack & Custer officers and Revenal MacBeth relating to Congressional bills and proposals, manuscripts of Jerome Day and Henry Day's speeches to Congress, and transcripts of Senate hearings. Several files contain correspondence of state and federal agencies, such as the Idaho Industrial Accident Board, Idaho State Insurance Fund, U.S. Bureau of Mines, U.S. Defense Saving Bonds, U.S. Departments of Labor, Treasury, and War; and the U.S. War Production Board. There is also correspondence with the Idaho State Chamber of Commerce. Correspondence and related material of the Tamarack Testing Plant is also included. Arrangement is alphabetical according to subject or name of correspondent.

The third series comprises stock records consisting of stock ledgers and journals, and correspondence with stockholders regarding dividends and stock transfers.

Series four, Financial Records, contains general ledgers and journals, cash journals, monthly trial balance sheets, an accounts receivable ledger and a volume of bank records which contains details of deposits and withdrawals from the Wallace National Bank with additional information of distribution of expenses.

Ore Shipment and Production records comprise the fifth series. Included are records of ore sent from Tamarack & Custer to the Hercules Mill, assay reports from various mills including ASARCO and the Dorn Mill, and ore settlements. Included with the settlement sheets are memoranda describing the lots, assay certificates, correspondence and other related documents

Also included in this series is material related to supplies and equipment. Included are invoice records and voucher registers. The records relating to electrical power include monthly lists of meter readings, Jan. 1929-Oct. 1933 (with a cover page titled, "Frisco Power Plant Daily Report Power Generated . . ."), with interfiled bills from the Montana Power Co. and correspondence between Tamarack and Idaho Power Transmission Co. officials and among Tamarack officials regarding the purchase of power, the terms on which the Tamarack might feed excess power generated into the transmission network, and the requirements for minimum monthly power purchases under the joint contract of the Federal, Callahan, Hercules, Tamarack, and Dayrock mining companies with the Thompson Falls Power Co., predecessor of the Montana Power Co. There are also inventories of electrical equipment in use and in storage and a report, Jan. 28, 1930, on the Tamarack company's main underground electrical cable. Another item is a loose-leaf notebook containing printed copies of United States patents issued to or acquired by Minerals Separation North American Corporation and furnished to licensed corporations. The patents relate primarily to the concentration or separation of ores.

The Personnel Records in series six include payroll journals, time books, time sheets, daily work and material reports which are Shifter's Daily Reports for both mine and mill, primarily giving numbers of workers at specific locations; daily Trainman's Reports, listing supplies delivered and carloads of ore and waste removed; Daily Summaries giving totals of men on all shifts and ore and waste removed; and Monthly Summaries of materials used in each specified part of the mine. Also included are annual accident and injury reports.

The final series contains Insurance and Tax material. The items relating to insurance are appraisements of the mine and equipment and a policy register.

Tax records relate to federal, Idaho state, and Shoshone County taxes, including returns, annual statements, balance sheets, work sheets, and other records.

Removal of cancelled stock certificates, returned assessment notices, vouchers and paid checks, bank statements, and duplicate reduced the bulk of this collection by 20 cubic feet.

Acquisition Information

The records of the Tamarack & Custer Consolidated Mining Company are part of the records of Day Mines, Inc., donated to the University of Idaho by Henry Day in 1984 and 1985.

Processing Note

Initial processing of this Manuscript Group was done under the direction of Richard Davis in 1987 and 1988.

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Detailed Description of the Collection

Detailed Description of the Collection

Names and SubjectsReturn to Top

Subject Terms

  • Lead mines and mining -- Idaho -- Coeur d'Alene Mining District -- History -- Sources
  • Mining corporations -- Records -- Idaho -- Coeur d'Alene Mining District
  • Silver mines and mining -- Idaho -- Coeur d'Alene Mining District -- History -- Sources

Other Creators

  • Corporate Names

    • Tamarack & Custer Consolidated Mining Company

Finding aid prepared by Michael Tarabulski and Jennifer Jenness
1992

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This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

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