Custer Consolidated Mining Company

Records, 1899-1924
1 cubic foot

The records of the Custer Consolidated 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 under the direction of Richard Davis in April 1988. Processing was completed by Michael Tarabulski in July 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 Custer Consolidated Mining Company was organized in 1910 to manage a number of older mines in Burke Canyon near Gem, Idaho: the Custer, located in 1885; the Carbon Lode, located 1885; and the Fairview Fraction, located in 1886. The Custer mine was one of the earliest silver producers in the region -- in 1890 workers hit a vein at the 600 foot level. It was the deepest mine at the time and proved that the ore veins in that area ran vertically. Custer was also noted for its successful labor strike in 1891, the settlement of which, after 28 days, set the regional standard $3.50 per day wage. The widespread labor trouble of the following year did not effect the miners at the Custer. Work there continued while violence rocked the rest of the Silver Valley.

After disputes between the original owners -- R.K. Neill, Charles J. Morse, and Edward Moffitt -- left the Custer almost completely idle, Harry Day obtained a lease in 1910 and organized a new company for the management of it and nearby claims. The members of the first board of directors of the Custer Consolidated Mining Company were Harry Day, Jerome Day, Arthur Booth, Chester Richlie, and May C. Kirby. Harry Day was president and manager. In 1911, Eugene Day became vice-president. Organized under the laws of Nevada, the Custer Consolidated was authorized to issue one million shares of stock with a par value of $1.00 each.

In 1913, the Custer Consolidated Mining Company merged with the adjacent Tamarack & Chesapeak Mining Company, forming the Tamarack & Custer Consolidated Mining Company.

SCOPE AND CONTENT

The records of the Custer Consolidated Mining Company span the years 1899 to 1924, with the bulk of the material covering the years 1906 to 1912. Included are minutes of meetings, leases and deeds, correspondence with suppliers and stockholders, cancelled stock certificates, assessment records, lists of stockholders, a financial ledger and journals, check registers, and time and pay roll records.

Related materials can be found in the records of Tamarack & Chesapeak and the Tamarack & Custer Consolidated Mining Companies.

ARRANGEMENT AND DESCRIPTION

The records of the Custer Consolidated Mining Company are divided into six series: Records of the Board of Directors and the Stockholders, 1910-1912; General Correspondence and Related Records, 1899-1924; Capital Stock Records, 1910; Financial Records, 1906-1916; Ore Production and Shipment Records, 1906-1907; and Personnel Records, 1906-1911.

The first series contains only a minute book and a folder containing the by-laws and articles of incorporation, all dating 1910-1912.

The second series contains three folders of leases, deeds, and property agreements, 1899-1924. One of these is a general file; the other two concern, respectively, the Day family and P.J. Maggy. Another folder contains records relating to the purchase of the Custer group of mines, by Harry Day and others, in 1907-1908. There are two files of general correspondence: the first runs 1906-1910, the second, each organized alphabetically, runs 1911-1912. Finally there is one file of correspondence between Harry Day and Patrick Clark, a New York stockbroker, 1906-1910, concerning the purchase of the Custer Consolidated Mining Company by the Tamarack & Chesapeak Mining Company.

The third series contains only a thin folder of thirteen cancelled stock certificates, all from 1910 and a few blank stock certificates.

The fourth series contains a financial ledger, 1906-1910, and two journals, 1906-1912. Other records from these years include a development account, check registers, and invoices. The second half of the voucher record book, 1906-1909, is the voucher record for the Tamarack & Chesapeak Mining Company for those years. (A complementary volume, for 1910-1911, is boxed with the Tamarack & Chesapeak records.) There are two audits, from 1911 and 1916, by F.W. Bland, and another from 1915 by H.R. Allen. Bank statements and a bank book, from two Wallace banks, date 1911-1913. Finally, there are two folders of statements of expenses for the Day family, and one for H.B. Hochschild. These folders all date 1907-1912, in loose chronological order.

The fifth series includes only a thin file of assay certificates dating between June 1906 and January 1907.

Personnel Records, the final series, contains two folders of monthly payrolls, 1906-1911, and a slender folder of time checks and board bills for 1906-1908.

Removal of blank stock certificates, bills, receipts and invoices, vouchers and cancelled checks reduced the bulk of this collection by 2 cubic feet.

SERIES LIST

									Container
I.	Records of the Board of Directors and the Stockholders, 1910-1912	1
II.	General Correspondence and Related Records, 1899-1924	1
III.	Capital Stock Records, 1910	1
IV.	Financial Records, 1906-1916	1
V.	Ore Production and Shipment Records, 1906-1907	1
VI.	Personnel Records, 1906-1911	1