Archives West Finding Aid
Table of Contents
Rattlesnake Placer Claim File 10386, 1912-1922
Overview of the Collection
- Creator
- United States. Surveyor General of Montana
- Title
- Rattlesnake Placer Claim File 10386
- Dates
- 1912-192219121922
- Quantity
- 1 folder
- Collection Number
- Collection 0178, MtBC, us (collection)
- Summary
- The Rattlesnake Placer Claim File 10386 contains all the documentation for Benjamin F. Otten's petition for mineral rights on the Rattlesnake Placer Claim in 1922. Papers include the survey petitions, legal descriptions, survey maps, and other official forms submitted and approved by the Surveyor General's office.
- Repository
-
Montana State University Library, Merrill G. Burlingame Special Collections
Montana State University-Bozeman Library
Merrill G Burlingame Special Collections
P.O. Box 173320
Bozeman, MT
59717-3320
Telephone: 4069944242
Fax: 4069942851
- Access Restrictions
-
This collection is open for research.
- Languages
- English
- Sponsor
- Funding for encoding this finding aid was provided by a grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities
Historical NoteReturn to Top
The United States Department of the Interior has been charged with regulating the public lands of the nation since its infancy. Part of the responsibilities of the office have been carried out by the office of Surveyor General in various states including Montana. The office was held by appointees of the President, and in 1922 Gillman Bullard was the Montana official. Part of Gillman's work involved coordinating the activities of the subordinate office of the U.S. Mineral Surveyor. Those citizens interested in staking claims for mining activities on public lands were required to file their paperwork with the Surveyor, who would in turn forward his recommendation to the Surveyor General for approval.
In 1912, Benjamin F. Otten discovered gold bearing deposits in the unorganized Greenhorn Mining District of Lewis and Clark County, Montana. He initially filed his location papers with state offices and, in 1922, requested an official survey to formalize his claim with the federal government. The mineral surveyor for Montana, Albert S. Hovey, performed the necessary reconnaissance of the claim and filed the papers with the Surveyor General's office in March 1922. The claim's location, assigned survey number 10386, was accepted by the Department of the Interior the following month.
Content DescriptionReturn to Top
This case file contains all the documentation for Otten's petition for mineral rights on the Rattlesnake Placer Claim. Papers include the survey petitions, legal descriptions, survey maps, and other official forms submitted and approved by the Surveyor General's office.
Administrative InformationReturn to Top
Names and SubjectsReturn to Top
Subject Terms
- Gold miners-Montana-Lewis and Clark County
- Mineral lands-Montana-Lewis and Clark County
- Mining claims-Montana-Lewis and Clark County
Other Creators
-
Personal Names
- Hovey, Albert S.-(Albert Simeon),-1850-1936 (creator)
- Otten, Benjamin F. (creator)