Morse Bros. Machinery & Supply Co. records, 1898-1953

The town of Encampment, Wyoming, was founded in 1898 to service the Ferris-Haggerty Mine and other copper mines in the area. North American Copper Co. bought the Ferris-Haggerty Mine, and built a smelter with a 16-mile aerial tramway connecting it directly to the mine.

In 1905 Penn-Wyoming Copper Co. bought out North American. Penn-Wyoming operated eleven subsidiary companies within the Encampment area: Battle Lake Tunnel Site Mining Co. (aka Doane Rambler Copper Mine); Carbondale Coal Co.; Emerson Light Co.; Encampment Land & Town Site Co.; Encampment Pipeline Ditch Co.; Encampment Smelting Co.; Encampment Tramway Co.; Encampment Water Works Co.; Haggerty Copper Mining Co.; North American Mercantile Co.; and the Encampment Railway Co.

Two fires occurred at the smelter in March and May of 1906, which put a considerable financial strain on the company. In 1909 Penn-Wyoming's holdings were acquired by United Smelters, Railway and Copper Co. A year later United Smelters went into receivership and bankruptcy. The companies were purchased by the Bondholders Protective Committee and then sold to Morse Bros. Machinery & Supply Co. of Denver in 1919. Morse Bros. sold off most of the equipment of the smelter and mines. The Saratoga & Encampment Railway was operated under an agreement by the Union Pacific Company from 1921-1924. In 1926 the line was abandoned.