From approximately 1927 until early 1932, the major stockholders and directors of the Blackfoot Gold Mining Company were Mark S. Welch, J. A. Walsh (who later became superintendent of the Wilma Building in Missoula, Montana), and M. L. Smith. The company's mining properties were located in the Ogden Mountain district of Powell County, Montana. By February 1932, the holdings of the Blackfoot Gold Mining Company, including deeds, easements, and paperwork were transferred to George T. Salzman, a mining engineer. This transfer occurred, at least in part, to satisfy debts incurred by the Blackfoot Gold Mining Company.
In 1934 the Blackfoot Gold Mining Company was purchased under execution sale and the new owners formed a new corporation under the name Western Montana Gold Mining Company. The directors of this new corporation were H. D. Morse, Elliott C. Pellens, and William P. Dillon (also a clerk at the Missoula Hotel). Elmer E. Hershey served as the attorney for at least the initial organization of the Western Montana Gold Mining Company. Hershey began his legal studies in 1889 under Judge Bickford of Missoula. He served a term in the Montana Legislature in 1895-96, was a member of several important committees, and helped formulate the codes of the state. In correspondence dated December 21, 1934, the Western Montana Gold Mining Company formally announce its ownership of the Blackfoot Gold Mining Company's holding, explained the results of ore assays, and described plans to recondition the existing mill.
This collection includes correspondence, legal documents, accounting records, and miscellaneous papers which suggest the financial problems of the Blackfoot Gold Mining Company and two subsequent transfers of its mining holdings, first to George T. Salzman and then to the Western Montana Gold Mining Company. The span of this collection extends from mid-1927 to 1934 with the majority of the materials from the early 1930s.
The collection is divided into three series:
Series I: Correspondence and General Company Papers, 2 folders, 1930-1934
Series II: Legal Documents, 4 folders, 1930-1934
Series III: Financial Records, 1 folder, 1927-1931
Researchers must use collection in accordance with the policies of Archives and Special Collections, the Maureen and Mike Mansfield Library, and The University of Montana--Missoula.
Researchers are responsible for using in accordance with 17 U.S.C. and any other applicable statutes. Copyright not transferred to The University of Montana.
[Name of document or photograph number], Western Montana Gold Mining Company Records, Archives and Special Collections, Maureen and Mike Mansfield Library, The University of Montana--Missoula.
Purchased from Jean's Antiques, 1972
The actions of the original processors are unknown. In 2000, the collection was reprocessed.
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.
This series contains miscellaneous stockholder correspondence and form letters intended for stockholders as well as a news clipping and other correspondence which document the transfer of the holdings of the Blackfoot Gold Mining Company to George Salzman in 1932 and to the Western Montana Gold Mining Company in 1934. Additionally, this series contains a mining report on the mine in question, lists of stockholders, and the minutes of the first meeting of the Western Montana Gold Mining Company stockholders. The material represents only scattered correspondence and transactions between 1930 and 1934.
This series is arranged in chronological order.
This series contains a variety of legal documents including a property transfer agreement, a legal summons, a notice of a missing stock certificate, a stock transfer, articles of incorporation of Inter-Mountain Coal Company, by-laws of the Western Montana Gold Mining Company, and stock certificates, in books and loose, some of which were filled out and issued while other certificates remain blank. The dates of these documents range from 4/7/1930 to 8/15/1934.
This series is arranged in chronological order.
This series contains Blackfoot Gold Mining Company receipts and expenses, the majority of which are for 1929 and 1930 although portions of some other years' accountings are included, journal statements, miscellaneous bills, and lists of stockholder's shares. The full time range of these incomplete accounting records is from 1927 through 1932.
This series is arranged in chronological order.