Montana Historical SocietyLibrary & Archives
MC 8
Hope Mining Company of St.
Louis
Hope Mining Company of St. Louis
records
1878-1904
5 linear feet
The Hope Mining Company of St. Louis was a Missouri-based
company with mining operations in Philipsburg, Montana. Records consist primarily of
correspondence (1889-1901) between the home office in St. Louis and the mine office at
Philipsburg (1889-1901). There is also correspondence with other companies about supplies,
annual reports, and financial records.
1:1-6
English
The original Hope Mine was located July 1, 1867, in the Granite Mining District by Samuel
T. Hauser, Granville Stuart, James Stuart, and several others. Hauser then approached the
St. Louis and Montana Mining Company, which had an unsuccessful mill at Argenta, with a
proposition for the sale of the Hope property. The owners of the claim were to receive St.
Louis and Montana Mining Company stock in exchange for their property and the Company was to
invest capital to develop the mine. Under this agreement the Company built a wagon road to
the mine site and a 10-stamp mill to process the ore. Unfortunately, a combination of
circumstances prevented the profitable operation of the property. First, the geology of the
Hope hill made prospecting difficult and unpredictable. Little valuable ore was located in
the early years. Second, the management of the property was poor. In 1872 the Company was
unable to pay either the principal or the interest on its bonded indebtedness. To protect
their investment, the bondholders purchased the property and reorganized as the Hope Mining
Company. A further reorganization in 1887 changed the name to the Hope Mining Company of St.
Louis. In 1881, the first really important silver strike was made on the Hope property. From
then until 1901 the operation was almost continually on a paying basis. It was able to
survive the disastrous 1893 drop in the price of silver by the discovery of an especially
rich vein of ore. In December, 1901, both the mine and the mill were shut down as
unprofitable. The following spring the owners of the Granite-Bimetallic properties purchased
the Hope Mine and mill.
These records consist primarily of interoffice correspondence (1889-1902) between the
Company's home office in St. Louis, Missouri, and the mine office at Philipsburg, Montana.
This correspondence discusses in considerable detail the day-today operation of the mine.
There is also incoming correspondence (1890-1898) from several companies from which they
bought supplies and letterpress books (1881-1900) of outgoing correspondence. In addition
there are annual reports (1880-1900, 1903), bullion records (1892-1901) an account book
(1898-1901), and claim records and deeds (1878-1897).
This collection is arranged into six series: Interoffice Correspondence (1889-1902);
Incoming Correspondence (1891-1898, 1904); Outgoing Correspondence (1881-1900); Financial
Records (1892-1901); Reports (1880-1900, 1903); and Miscellaneous (1878-1893, 1897).
Collection open for research.
Researchers must use collection in accordance with the policies of the Montana Historical
Society Library & Archives. The Library & Archives does not necessarily hold
copyright to all materials in the collection. In some cases permission for use may require
additional authorization from the copyright owners. For more information contact an
archivist.
item description and date. Collection Title. Collection Number. Box and Folder numbers.
Montana Historical Society Library & Archives. Helena, Montana.
Aquisition information available upon request.
This collection is indexed under the following headings in the Montana Historical Society
Archives catalog. Researchers desiring materials about related topics, persons, or places
should search under these terms.
Hope Mining Company of St.
Louis
Philipsburg (Mont.)
Banks and Banking
Mines and Mineral Resources--Montana--Granite
County
Silver Mines and Mining
Stamp Mills
Montana
Mines and Mineral
Resources
Detailed Description of the Collection
Interoffice Correspondence
1 / 1-2
St. Louis office to Montana office (correspondents
include Louis Duestrow, Charles A. Cuno, John T. Field)
1889
1 / 3-4
St. Louis office to Montana office (correspondents
include Charles A. Cuno, John C. Porter, John T. Field)
1890
1 / 5-6
St. Louis office to Montana office (correspondents
include John C. Porter, Charles A. Cuno)
1891
1 / 7
St. Louis office to Montana office (correspondents
include John C. Porter, Charles A. Cuno)
1892
2 / 1
St. Louis office to Montana office (correspondents
include John C. Porter, Charles A. Cuno)
1892
2 / 2-3
St. Louis office to Montana office (correspondents
include John C. Porter, Charles A. Cuno, John J. Taussig)
1893
2 / 4-5
St. Louis office to Montana office (correspondents
include John C. Porter, Charles A. Cuno, John J. Taussig)
1894
2 / 6-7
St. Louis office to Montana office (correspondents
include John C. Porter, Charles A. Cuno, John J. Taussig)
1895
3 / 1-2
St. Louis office to Montana office (correspondents
include John C. Porter, Charles A. Cuno, John J. Taussig)
1896
3 / 3-4
St. Louis office to Montana office (correspondents
include John C. Porter, Charles A. Cuno, John J. Taussig, Walter C. Guels)
1897
3 / 5-6
St. Louis office to Montana office (correspondents
include John C. Porter, Charles A. Cuno, John J. Taussig, Walter C. Guels)
1898
3 / 7-8
St. Louis office to Montana office (correspondents
include John C. Porter, Walter C. Guels)
1899
3 / 9-10
St. Louis office to Montana office (correspondents
include John C. Porter, Walter C. Guels)
1900
3 / 11
St. Louis office to Montana office (correspondents
include John C. Porter, Walter C. Guels)
1901
4 / 1-2
Montana office to St. Louis office (correspondents
include N.B. Ringling, C.B. Stevens; some letters include mine drawings)
1890
4 / 3
Montana office to St. Louis office (correspondents
include N.B. Ringling; some letters include mine drawings)
1891-1894
4 / 4-6
Montana office to St. Louis office (correspondents
include N.B. Ringling, John R. Lucas; some letters include mine drawings)
1895
4 / 7
Montana office to St. Louis office (correspondents
include N.B. Ringling, John R. Lucas; some letters include mine drawings)
1896
4 / 8-12
Montana office to St. Louis office (correspondents
include N.B. Ringling, John R. Lucas; some letters include mine drawings)
1897
5 / 1
Montana office to St. Louis office (correspondents
include N.B. Ringling, John R. Lucas; some letters include mine drawings)
1897
5 / 2-7
Montana office to St. Louis office (correspondents
include N.B. Ringling, John R. Lucas; some letters include mine drawings)
1898
6 / 1-3
Montana office to St. Louis office (letterpress
books; correspondents include John R. Lucas, W.C. Guels, Henry Rehfeldt)
1898-1902
Incoming Correspondence
7 / 1
Anaconda Copper Mining Company
1896-1898
7 / 2
A (correspondents include Edward P. Allis Company,
American Diamond Rock Boring Company, R. Anderson)
1891-1897
7 / 3
Baker and Harper, Civil Engineers (includes Thomas T.
Baker and Joseph H. Harper)
1892-1897
7 / 4
Big Blackfoot Milling Company
1896-1898
7 / 5
B (correspondents include G.B. Ballard, Bennett
Brothers Company, George F. Blake Manufacturing Company, E.L. Bonner Company, Boston
and Montana Consolidated Copper and Silver Mining Company, Bridal Veil Lumbering
Company, Buffalo Forge Company, M.C. Bullock Manufacturing Company, Butte City Water
Company, Butte Hardware Company)
1892-1898
7 / 6
C (correspondents include California Powder Company,
J.T. Carroll, Chicago Iron Works, Chrome Steel Works, J. Ross Clark and Company, F.W.
Cole, Continental Oil Company, Custer Mine)
1891-1897
7 / 7
Deer Lodge County government
1891-1897
7 / 8
D-E (correspondents include Davis and Peck Abstracts
of Title, William De Lacy, Dessau Company, George T. Dougherty, Durfee and Brown, S.
Elliott, Eureka Company)
1891-1897
7 / 9
Forbis and Forbis, Attorneys (John F. Forbis)
1892-1897
7 / 10
F (correspondents include J.A. and J.B. Featherman;
Fraser and Chalmers; Freyschlag, Huffman and Company)
1892-1897
7 / 11
Granite Mountain Mining Company
1892-1898
7 / 12
G (correspondents include Garlock Packing Company,
W.W. Gleason, Granite County government)
1893-1898
7 / 13
A.M. Holter Hardware Company
1892-1897
7 / 14
H (correspondents include Woodford D. Harlan, Henry
Heil Chemical Company, Hine and Robertson Company, Alfred E. Holmes)
1892-1898
7 / 15
Inland Crystal Salt Company
1892-1898
7 / 16
K-L (correspondents include M. Kaiser, Kenyon-Connell
Commercial Company, John King, Kleinschmidt and Brother, Knowles Steam Pump Works,
J.A. Leggat, Theodore Lexow, J.H. Leyson, George W. Lord)
1892-1897
7 / 17
McKechney Milling Company (re water right)
1893
7 / 18
Montana Hardware Company
1897
7 / 19
Montana [government agencies]
1892-1897, 1904
7 / 20
M-N (correspondents include J.K. MacDonald, John
McCormick, McKeen and McQuarrie, Mines and Minerals, Montana Electric Company, Montana
Lumber and Manufacturing Company, W.E. Moore, W.A. Morgan, National Lead Company,
National Tube Works Company, Nicols and Dean, Northern Pacific Railroad Company),
1891-1898
7 / 21
Pelton Water Wheel Company
1892-1897
7 / 22
P-R (correspondents include H.M. Parchen and Company,
W.R. Parker, Prospect Oil Company, Puritan Mining and Milling Company, Racine Wagon
and Carriage Company, Repauno Chemical Company, Revere Rubber Company, Rose and
Company, George Ross, L.M. Rumsey Manufacturing Company, Russell Process Company)
1892-1898
7 / 23
Granville Stuart
1891-1893
7 / 24
S (correspondents include Charles E. Sackett; St.
Paul and Tacoma Lumber Company; William Scallon; Settlers and Muller; Josiah Shull;
Spaulding, Jennings and Company; Sullivan Machinery Company; Sunrise Mining and
Milling Company; W.H. Sutherlin)
1891-1897, 1904
7 / 25
Tuttle Manufacturing and Supply Company [see also
successor Anaconda Copper Mining Company Hardware Dept.]
1892-1896
7 / 26
T-W (correspondents include Tacoma Mill Company,
Tacoma Smelting and Refining Company, John Taylor and Company, Charles Tetzen, Tip Top
Mine, L.C. Trent and Company, Union Iron Works, United States Assay Office, United
States Land Office, United States Surveyor General, Victor Bishop and Company, Visalia
Stock Saddle Company, Western Valve Company, Oscar W. White, H.R. Whitehall, World's
Columbian Commission)
1892-1898
Outgoing Correspondence
8 / 1-3
Letterpress books
1881-1882, 1884-1886
9 / 1-2
Letterpress books
1890-1892
10 / 1-2
Letterpress books
1892-1894
11 / 1-2
Letterpress books
1894-1898
12 / 1
Letterpress book
1897-1900
Financial Records
1
Account book (letterpress volume including cash,
supplies, expenses, inventory)
1898-1901
12 / 2-3
Bullion record
1892-1901
12 / 4
Tax assessment
1901
Reports
12 / 6
Annual Reports
1880-1900, 1903
Miscellaneous
12 / 5
Descriptions of claims; deeds; patents
1878-1893, 1897