The Lead Crystals Mining Company was incorporated in Idaho on December 11, 1911. It owned a group of unpatented lode claims in the Eagle District north of Murray, Idaho. John E. Steen was president until 1926 when he was succeeded by Walter Keister. G.W. Daugherty served as secretary after 1922. Underfinanced, the company's efforts at development and ore sales were still insignificant by 1931. By the middle 1920s the company found itself unable either to pay the over $5,000 in debts (mostly owed to the two major stockholders for development and assessment work performed personally) or to perform further assessment work required to hold its claims. After debating and rejecting several proposed solutions for this dilemma, Lead Crystals consented to a proposal, apparently originating with Day legal advisor John Wourms, that a new company be formed to purchase their property for an even exchange of stock. Members of the Day family had been accumulating Lead Crystals stock beginning as early as 1915, at least in part for development work. While the capital stock of Lead Crystals had been non-assessable, the new firm, Crystal Lead Mines Company, would be authorized to levy assessments, providing working capital but dooming the hopes of the two major stockholders, Frank Fisher and John Steen, elderly men, neither of whom was able to pay assessments.
Crystal Lead Mines Company was incorporated in the State of Idaho on January 13, 1931, by W.B. Heitfeld, H.J. Hull, and E.P. Campbell, who became the first directors and officers. Henry Day was appointed manager. A few months later Walter Keister, who had been the last president of the Lead Crystals company, replaced E.P. Campbell as a director and secretary-treasurer. Heitfeld served as a director and president until 1939, when Jerome Day succeeded him. After Jerome's death in 1941, Henry Day became president. Hull served as vice-president for the life of the company.
Like its predecessor, Crystal Lead was authorized to issue 1.5 million shares of capital stock, but at a par value of only ten cents each, while Lead Crystals' shares had a par value of one dollar each, an over-valuation which had made it impossible for Lead Crystals to solve its financial problems by simply selling more stock. The new corporation agreed to pay 1,498,996 shares of its stock, exchanged on a share-for-share basis, plus the $3,317.32 of Lead Crystals' outstanding debts which it accepted as valid.
On August 31, 1931 the Crystal Lead directors levied an assessment of four mills per share on the company's stock to pay off the debts assumed from Lead Crystals and to pay the costs of annual assessment work. Altogether by 1943 ten assessments would be levied, ranging from one mill to one cent per share. The largest shareholders of the Lead Crystals company, Frank Fisher and John Steen, had been forced out by 1935, but more of their stock seems to have been purchased by Harry Day and his associates than was lost to assessments.
Crystal Lead Mines Company had twelve mining claims when it was incorporated. Seven of these were patented in 1936 and two were patented in 1937 and 1938. The company either hired independent contractors or leased its property rather than operate it itself. Commercial production was never large and was virtually limited to the years around World War II, and Crystal Lead stock never paid dividends.
Crystal Lead stockholders held their last meeting on September 24, 1947, when holders of 86 percent of the company stock voted to consolidate with eleven other Day controlled companies to form Day Mines, Inc.
The records of the Lead Crystals Mining Company span the years 1911 to 1930. Included are minutes and other records of the meetings of the directors and stockholders, correspondence with stockholders, leases, ore settlements, capital stock returns and related correspondence, lists of stock holders, a stock audit, financial material, and time books.
The records of the Crystal Lead Mines Company span the years 1931 to 1947. Included are minutes of meetings, financial statements, correspondence with suppliers and stockholders, annual statements and reports to state agencies, stock ledgers and journals, assessment records, lists of stockholders, financial ledgers and journals, vouchers, check registers, and tax returns.
This group of records is supplemented by material in the papers of Harry L. Day relating to investments, which concern the Day takeover of Lead Crystals Mining Co., and in the case files of John Wourms, regarding the operations of Crystal Lead Mines Company.
The records of both the Lead Crystals Mining Company and the Crystal Lead Mines Company are contained in this record group. Although boxes and folders are numbered consecutively, the inventory is in two parts, one for each company.
The records of the Lead Crystals Mining Company are contained in one small file box. Since there are so few records they are not divided into series, however, the physical arrangement of the material follows that of the larger groups in the Day Mines collection.
The records of the Stockholders and Directors include a minute book for the years 1914-1927, and two folders of other records including proxy statements, minutes of meetings for 1931, and a director's oath. General correspondence includes correspondence with stockholders, leases, ore settlements, certificate of incorporation, capital stock returns and related correspondence, annual statements to the state of Idaho, proofs of labor, and invoices for supplies and labor. Other items include lists of stock holders, a stock audit, cash book, bank statements and paid checks, and time books for the years 1925-1930.
The records of the Crystal Lead Mines Company are divided into five series.
The first series, Records of the Board of Directors and the Stockholders, includes a minute book for the years 1931-1945 which also includes the certificate of incorporation, articles of incorporation, and by-laws. Additional material in this series includes stockholder lists, notices of and agendas for meetings, proxy statements, reports of elections, annual reports of operations, and comparative balance sheets.
General Correspondence and Related Records, the second series, contains records which relate to all aspects of the finance, operation, and maintenance of the property. Included are correspondence, stock transmittal letters, stockholders lists, probate court documents, statements of account from the Hercules Mining Co., ore settlements, assay certificates, proofs of labor, employment cards, time sheets, other pay records; printed annual reports, typed manager's reports, financial statements, shift reports; federal and state income tax returns, related tax records, annual reports to the state inspector of mines, annual statements of domestic corporations to the secretary of state, and other records. Among the topics taken up are the exchange of Lead Crystals for Crystal Lead shares, stock transfers, assessments against stock, estate settlements, fire insurance, workman's compensation insurance, annual assessment work, mining equipment, leases, contracts for development work, progress in development, the evaluation of ore reserves, ore shipments, the financing and construction of an access road, strikes, employment applications, pay roll deductions, unemployment compensation claims, selective service classification, wartime rationing, a claim for exemption from federal capital stock tax, and federal wartime production regulations.
The third series is Capital Stock Records. Included are a stock ledger and journal and files relating to the numerous assessments levied against the stock to provide money for development of the property.
The fourth series, Financial Records, contains three financial ledgers and two journals/voucher registers which cover the entire operating period of the mine.
Personnel Records, the fifth series, contains payroll records for the years 1941-1944. The pay roll for 1941-1942 relates exclusively to construction of a mining road under a federal wartime grant to provide access to raw materials. The 1943-1944 pay rolls concern the operation of the Crystal Lead mines.
Removal of cancelled stock certificates, returned assessment notices, vouchers, paid checks, bank statements, and duplicate materials reduced the size of this collection by 2.5 cubic feet.
The records of the Crystal Lead Mines 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 Dixie Miller under the direction of Richard Davis in 1987 and 1988. Processing was completed under the direction of Michael Tarabulski in March 1992.
This collection is indexed under the following headings in the online catalog. Researchers desiring materials about related topics, persons, or places should search the catalog using these headings.