Archives West Finding Aid

On November 11, 1882, the Joint Stock Association, a London syndicate, agreed to purchase the Drumlummon Mine in Marysville, Montana Territory, from Thomas Cruse. Cruse filed a claim on the Drumlummon in 1876 and he spent the next four years driving a 500-foot tunnel. Two years later a five stamp mill constructed by the Mayger Bros. was processing Drumlummon ore and turning a profit. That same year Cruse transformed his small claim into a return of $1,500,000 by selling the Drumlummon to British investors. The Drumlummon would become Montana's richest gold mine, delivering over $16,000,000 in bullion over time. In 1883 the British syndicate organized the Montana Mining Company, Limited, to repurchase and operate the property. The company appointed George Attwood as general manager. He was forced to resign, along with the company's directors, in 1884 due to stockholder dissatisfication with his managment of the property. The stockholders were especially unhappy with the uneven balance between capital investments for expanded milling capacity and production revenues. That same year, Henry Bratnober and R.T. Bayliss took over management of the Drumlummon. Their management soon increased production yielding dividends averaging 22.5 percent by 1887. Thereafter profits declined due to lower grade ore. In addition, between 1889-1907, the company became involved in costly and disrupting apex litigation over several adjoining properties. The most important of these suits was brought by the St. Louis Mining and Milling Company. When that suit was finally settled in the United States Supreme Court in 1911, the Montana Mining Co., Ltd. was forced to sell the Drumlummon Mine to the St. Louis Mining and Milling Company at sheriff's sale. In 1916 the St. Louis Mining and Milling Co. reopened Marysville operations with increased mill capacity. Over its lifetime 1880-1940, miners in the Marysville District extracted over $40,000,000 in gold and silver ore.