Laclede Mining Company, Limited

Records, 1903-1950
2 cubic feet

The records of the Laclede Mining Company are part of the records of Day Mines, Inc., donated to the University of Idaho by Henry Day in 1984-1985. Initial processing of this manuscript group was done by Judith Nielsen in October 1987. Processing was completed by Michael Tarabulski in June 1991. Funds for processing were provided by the National Historical Publications and Records Commission, the U.S. Department of Education HEA Title II-C "Strengthening Research Library Resources" program, the Library Associates of the University of Idaho and other donors.

COMPANY HISTORY

The first organizational meeting of the Laclede Mining Company was held October 19, 1903; attending were Otto Brown, Emil Tomsch, W.J. Bracking, and L.J. Columbus, the fifth director, A.C. Olsen, was absent. The lode claims consisting of the Montana, Irene, Tacoma, and Tacoma Fraction were located in the Lelande and Placer Center mining districts of Shoshone County. Capitalization was 1,000,000 shares with a par value of $1.00.

The property was extensively developed between 1903 and the fall of 1916 or spring of 1917, but no commercial ore was found and the mine was shut down. The money for the development work was secured by the sale of stock and by levying between 25 and 30 stock assessments.

By 1915 the company had an entirely new board of directors consisting of C. Fred Kratzer, T.N. Barnard, O.W. Lewis, J.W. Weyer, and James A. Wayne. Following the death of T.N. Barnard in early 1916, E.H. Knight was elected to the board in March. In September of 1916, E.H. Gnaedinger replaced J.W. Weyer. In 1917 when the number of directors was increased to seven, J.M. Sheets and C.E. Sogn were added.

In 1916 the capital stock of the corporation was increased from 1,000,000 to 1,500,000 shares. The 500,000 shares of stock secured by the increase were sold at approximately two cents per share, as well as over 98,000 shares of treasury stock from the original issue, netting the corporation $11,964.92, which together with the cash in the treasury gave the corporation $12,745.94. However, no systematic work was done on the property and no meetings of the Board of Directors or the stockholders were held between March 10, 1917 and September 12, 1927.

On September 12, 1927, the shareholders met and elected a new Board of Directors: O.W. Lewis, W.H. Hoover, A.T. Jenkins, John E. Ryan, Henry L. Day, W.B. Heitfeld, and P.J. Maggy. The new officers and directors reviewed the mine's history and could see no way of spending the $9,215.49 remaining in the treasury with a reasonable hope of making the property more valuable. The money was converted into certificates of deposit, which would yield the corporation a small amount of interest. No further meetings were held until September 11, 1933.

In December 1938 the corporation had $10,409.89. The members of the board had been convinced for some years that there was no way of spending the money to make the property more valuable and the only way to save anything for the shareholders was to dispose of the mining claims for the best price available. At the solicitation of Laclede's officers, the Hercules Mining Company, the largest individual stockholder, offered $4,700.000 for all the property, thus enabling the corporation to declare a final liquidating dividend of one cent per share on the outstanding stock.

SCOPE AND CONTENT

The records of the Laclede Mining Company span the years 1903 to 1950, with the bulk of the material covering the years 1903 to 1939. Included are minutes of meetings, financial statements, correspondence with stockholders, annual statements and reports to state agencies, a stock ledgers, cancelled stock certificates, stockholders, financial ledgers and journals, vouchers, check registers, bank statements and paid checks, and tax returns.

Related materials can be found in the records of the Hercules Mining Company.

ARRANGEMENT AND DESCRIPTION

This manuscript group is divided into five series: Records of the Board of Directors and the Stockholders, 1903-1939; General Correspondence and Related Records, 1927-1939; Capital Stock Records, 1903-1945; Financial Records, 1916-1939; Tax Records, 1925-1939.

The first series, Records of the Board of Directors and the Stockholders, includes two minute books. These provide consistent coverage from 1903 through 1939. Notices of meetings and assessments, proofs of publication, and reports are glued into these volumes. A folder of records related to meetings, 1927-1939, organized chronologically, contains copies of minutes, reports, by-laws, correspondence, and lists of stockholders. Most of these records are from 1938-1939. A final folder contains annual financial statements, 1929-1928.

General Correspondence and Related Records, the second series, contains only a folder of Annual Reports for the State Inspector of Mines, 1927-1939, and Annual Statements of Domestic Corporations, 1928-1938.

In the third series, Capital Stock Records, there is a ledger, 1903-1932, but no journals. There are five volumes and two folders of cancelled stock certificates, 1903-1945, and a single folder of correspondence, 1927-1944, organized chronologically.

The fourth series, Financial Records, contains a voucher register, 1916-1930; a ledger and a journal, both 1927-1939; three check registers, 1916-1939, covering transactions not covered by the previous records; and a folder of bank statements and paid checks, 1940-1950. These records, likewise, cover transactions not covered by other records and extend a decade beyond the dissolution of the company, into the period of Hercules ownership.

Tax Records, the final series, includes federal and state tax returns. State returns date only 1931-1939, and included in the folder are county tax receipts, 1927-1930.

Removal of returned assessment notices, vouchers, paid checks, bank statements, and duplicate materials reduced the size of this collection by one cubic foot.

SERIES LIST

								Container
I.	Records of the Board of Directors and the Stockholders, 1903-1939	1
II.	General Correspondence and Related Records, 1927-1939	1
III.	Capital Stock Records, 1903-1945	1-2
IV.	Financial Records, 1916-1939	1-2
V.	Tax Records, 1925-1939	1

LACLEDE MINING COMPANY
INVENTORY

Box Folder Description

I. Records of the Board of Directors and the Stockholders, 1903-1939

1	1-2	Minutes, 1903-1939
1	3	Records relating to meetings, 1927-1939
1	4	Financial statements, 1929-1939

II. General Correspondence and Related Records

1	5	Annual Reports and Statements, Idaho, 1927-1939

III. Capital Stock Records, 1903-1945

1	6	Stock ledger, 1903-1932
1	7	Correspondence, 1927-1946
2	8-14	Cancelled stock certificates, 1903-1945

IV. Financial Records, 1916-1950

2	15	Voucher register, 1916-1930
1	16	Ledger, 1927-1939
1	17	Journal, 1927-1939
1	18-19	Check registers, 1916-1939
1	20	Bank statements and paid checks, 1940-1950

V. Tax Records, 1925-1939

1	21	Federal tax records, 1925-1939
1	22	Idaho tax records, 1931-1939

mg242.htm / February 1995

Special Collections & Archives