The Aurora Sampson Mining Company and the H.E.M. Mining Company, holders of adjoining properties including a large group of claims and a millsite on Revenue Gulch in Evolution Mining District, Shoshone County, Idaho, about two miles west of Wallace, merged early in 1916 to form the Western Union Mining Company, as incorporated under the laws of the state of Idaho. The first set of directors for the new company included D.H. Anderson, J.E. Burbank, William Bjorklund, George Allen, William Holm, Erick Hagman and Russell F. Collins, essentially the group which would run the company for its first eight years. A considerable amount of galena lead ore was extracted, with the years 1921-1923 showing the highest profit. In addition to working the mine and a millsite, Western Union leased property on what was known as The Western Union Townsite, later Silverton, Idaho.
The Western Union Mining Company continued to develop and operate its property until the lead market became unfavorable. Thereafter portions of the land were worked and mined by lessors. About 1923 the Hercules Mining Co. began purchasing all available stock in the Western Union company. The discovery that the Western Union secretary Ben L. Collins had sold all his stock and advised his friends to do the same led to a public quarrel among the Western Union directors. By 1924 Hercules had obtained enough Western Union stock to be able to take control of the company and install a new board of directors including Harry L. Day, Jerome J. Day, August Paulsen, L.W. Hulton, and Frank M. Rothrock. M.H. Sullivan and Herman J. Rossi were carried over from the old board, apparently because of their connections at the Bunker Hill Smelter and their contract with Western Union.
For the next twenty-three years the Western Union Mining Company operated mainly by leasing out its property, including claims and tunnels for mining, timberland for logging, property for the operation of a fish hatchery, and the Western Union Townsite for residential development. In 1930 the Western Union bought out one of their lessors, The Wilbur Mining Company, and took over that firm's remaining property.
In 1934 Western Union decided to abandon twenty-seven unpatented mines in order to avoid the expense of annual assessment work. Western Union Mining Company stock was dropped from the Standard Stock Exchange of Spokane in 1939. The Western Union Mining Company continued to exist until 1947 when it merged with other companies to become Day Mines, Inc.
The records of the Western Union Mining Company span the years 1916-1951, with the bulk of the material covering the years 1922-1947. Included are minutes of meetings and related material, general correspondence with stockholders and suppliers, annual statements and reports to state agencies, records relating to stock assessments and transfers, stock ledgers and a stock journal, financial ledgers and other related material, records of silver shipments, assays and ore settlements, and employee time books and payrolls.
The records of the Western Union Mining Company are divided into five series.
The first series, Records of the Board of Directors and the Stockholders, includes minutes of the meetings and other records such as financial statements, proxy statements, lists of stockholders, proofs of publication and reports of elections for officers and directors.
General Correspondence and Related Records, the second series, is an alphabetical file containing, in addition to correspondence, agreements, annual reports to state agencies, audits, contracts, deeds, leases and other legal documents, and lists of stockholders.
The third series is Capital Stock Records. Included are correspondence with stockholders regarding assessments and stock transfers, an assessment journal, several stock ledgers and a stock journal, and capital stock tax returns.
Financial records comprise the fourth series. Included are a ledger for the Western Union townsite, a financial ledger, financial statements, appraisals, and correspondence concerning the company's 1922 corporate income tax return.
The fifth series, Ore Production and Shipment Records, contains records of silver shipments, assays, and ore settlement sheets
The final series is Personnel Records, which includes employee time books, an employee earning ledger, payrolls for the years 1922-1927, and workmen's compensation reports filed with the Aetna Insurance Company.
The records of the Western Union 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 Lena M. Johnson in October 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.
Water rights, 1928; Western Sanitation Corps, 1938-1943; Western Union Townsite Sewer System, 1941