The Imperial Mining Company began life as the A.D. Monroe & Bilberg & Thennis Mining Company, founded in 1904 and named for its directors. The name change came in late 1906, although directorship remained constant. In 1908 Imperial Mining was working on the Tiger-Poorman vein, in its Timber Queen claim, east of Burke, Idaho. Ill-equipped for extensive efforts at the Timber Queen claim, the company contracted another ADM & B & T enterprise, the Imperial Development Syndicate, to develop it. As the work progressed, Imperial Mining bought up the Imperial Development Syndicate. The claim yielded ore that was 43 to 48 percent lead. This rich ore ran out in 1915, but work at the site continued.
From 1924 to 1936 the company survived by levying assessments. In 1936 the Hercules Mining Company bought a large majority of the Imperial Stock. In addition, Henry Day, John Wourms, R.W. Anno, Fred Serafin, and S.F. Heitfeld, all Hercules officers, bought up Imperial stock. These men soon took control of the Imperial.
The change in ownership brought no change in productivity. In 1943 the directors proposed selling Imperial to the King Mining Company for 142,439 shares of King's capital stock. Also proposed was an exchange of all Imperial stock certificates for those of the King Mining Company. The directors explained that these actions would eliminate the expense of maintaining the Imperial, now long unprofitable. On May 31, 1944 all assets of the Imperial Mining Company were sold and the corporation dissolved.
The records of the Imperial Mining Company span the years 1904 to 1945. Included are minutes of meetings, correspondence, stock ledgers and cancelled stock certificates, assessment records, financial ledgers and journals, and a check register.
Related materials can be found in the records of the King Mining Company.
There are five series in this group: Records of the Board of Directors and the Stockholders, 1904-1943; General Correspondence and Related Records, 1905-1944; Capital Stock Records, 1906-1945; Financial Records, 1906-1942; and Tax Records, 1918-1944.
The first series reflects activities of the board of directors and the stockholders. Included are announcements of meetings and proposals for the dissolution of the corporation. The minutes date from January 4, 1904 to October 20, 1943. The minute book contains the majority of the minutes and the original and revised by-laws.
The second series, General Correspondence and Related Records, consists of an alphabetically organized file of general correspondence and business records, maintained by the company throughout its history, and a folder of annual reports and statements for the state of Idaho dating only 1937 to 1944
In the third series, Capital Stock Records, there are two stock ledgers. In combination they cover the whole of the company's history. Also included are eleven volumes of cancelled stock certificates, dating 1906 to 1942, kept because the extant stock journal covers only the years 1936-1942. A variety of assessment records provide coverage of assessment activities from 1908 to 1942. A stock audit, 1906-1933, performed by R.W. Anno, shows that most stock activity took place between 1906 and 1920.
Financial Records, the fourth series, contains two ledgers, two journals, a cash book, three check registers, and a voucher journal. The earlier ledger, dating 1913-1924, is also a stock ledger. The later ledger covers the years 1936-1942. A check register and the voucher journal provide a little information about financial activities during the break in ledger coverage. The cash book, 1908-1910, includes an inventory of equipment.
The final series, Tax Records, contains federal, state, and capital stock returns, all of which date from after 1930. A file of miscellaneous records, 1918-1939, contains a few early tax returns, Shoshone County tax notices and receipts, and a 1939 letter from Imperial attorney John Wourms to the State Forester regarding a forest protection tax dispute.
Removal of assessment receipts, vouchers, check registers, and duplicate materials reduced this collection by 2.5 cubic feet.
The records of the Imperial 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 Dana Miller in November 1987.
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.