Archives West Finding Aid
Table of Contents
Madison County Commissioners Records, 1863-1875
Overview of the Collection
- Creator
- Madison County (Mont.). Board of County Commissioners
- Title
- Madison County Commissioners Records
- Dates
- 1863-187518631875
- Quantity
- microfilm aperture card copies
- Collection Number
- Collection 295, MtBC, us (collection)
- Summary
- The Madison County Commissioner Records consist of mining claim record books for the Fairweather, Summit, and Junction mining districts from 1863 through 1866. Also included in the records are the Commissioners record books which contain the transactions of the group during their periodic meetings from 1864-1875. The information in these books includes the name of the petitioner, the legal description of the claim, and any other parties involved with the ownership or sale of the claim. The record books also discuss the establishment of roads and improvements, the appointment of county officers, the care of indigents in the community, and other governmental operations in Madison County.
- Repository
-
Montana State University Library, Merrill G. Burlingame Special Collections
Montana State University-Bozeman Library
Merrill G Burlingame Special Collections
P.O. Box 173320
Bozeman, MT
59717-3320
Telephone: 4069944242
Fax: 4069942851
- Access Restrictions
-
This collection is open for research.
- Languages
- English
- Sponsor
- Funding for encoding this finding aid was provided by a grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities
Historical NoteReturn to Top
Madison County, Montana Territory, was first created in the Territory of Idaho on January 16, 1864. Local government was organized on April 22, 1864 went the commissioners took the oath of office and began work. Montana Territory was admitted to the Union on May 26, 1864 and Madison County became officially recognized as part of the new jurisdiction on February 2, 1865. Although formal government operations came long after the discovery of gold in the Alder Gulch area first led to a massive influx of prospectors, the need to establish the legal rights of those who sought to stake claims was immediate. Claim books, administered by representatives of the first miners themselves, recorded the first holdings of prospectors and later became part of the county records.
Content DescriptionReturn to Top
The Madison County Commissioner records consist of mining claim record books for the Fairweather, Summit, and Junction mining districts from 1863 through 1866. The information in these books includes the name of the petitioner, the legal description of the claim, and any other parties involved with the ownership or sale of the claim. Also included in the records are the Commissioners record books which contain the transactions of the group during their periodic meetings from 1864-1875. Information includes the establishment of roads and improvements, the appointment of county officers, the care of indigents in the community, and other governmental operations in Madison County. The aperture cards on which the books appear have been arranged within the two groups of mining claim books and commissioners record books.
Administrative InformationReturn to Top
Acquisition Information
Microfilm aperture card copies of the Madison County Commissioners records, comprising the commissioner meeting record books and the mining claim registration books, were purchased by Special Collections from Frank E. Blair of Virginia City, Montana, on April 29, 1969.
Processing Note
This collection was processed 1999 April 29
Detailed Description of the CollectionReturn to Top
Mining claim booksReturn to Top
Container(s): Box 1
| Container(s) | Description | Dates |
|---|---|---|
Fairweather District, Book A no pagination (23 cards)
|
1863-1864 | |
Fairweather District, Book B pages index; 2-156; 296-320; 1-8 (101 cards)
|
1863-1864 | |
Summit District, Book 1 pages 15-20; 25-26; 29-160 (72 cards)
|
1863-1866 | |
Summit District, Book 2 pages index; 1-104; 128-165 (78 cards)
|
1863-1866 | |
Summit District, Book 3 pages 1-17 (10 cards)
|
1863-1866 | |
Junction District, Book 1 pages 3-310 (155 cards)
|
1863-1866 |
County Commissioners RecordsReturn to Top
Container(s): Box 1
| Container(s) | Description | Dates |
|---|---|---|
Book A 129 pages (66 cards)
|
April 22, 1864 - June 2, 1866 | |
Book B 269 pages (137 cards)
|
July 2, 1866 - August 6, 1869 | |
Book C 469 pages (231 cards)
|
October 4, 1869 - June 6, 1872 | |
Book D 273 pages (137 cards)
|
June 6, 1872 - April 7, 1873 | |
Book E 400 pages (201 cards)
|
June 2, 1873 - December 3, 1873 | |
Book F 400 pages (199 cards)
|
December 3, 1873 - September 4, 1874 | |
Book G 396 pages (201 cards)
|
September 9, 1874 - April 9, 1875 |
Names and SubjectsReturn to Top
Subject Terms
- County government-Montana-Madison County
- Mining claims-Montana-Madison County
- Poor-Services for-Montana-Madison County
- Roads-Montana-Madison County
Geographical Names
- Madison County (Mont.)-Politics and government-19th century
Form or Genre Terms
- Public records-Montana-Madison County
Kim Allen Scott, 1999
September 17, 2015
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
