Agency History
The Beaver Mining district, organized 14 March 1870, was one of several mining districts organized in Beaver County, Utah, in the early 1870s. The boundary description mentions Fremont's Pass and the Beaver River. Prospectors organized this district to manage mining operations and keep records of claims. Beaver miners met again and revised the by-laws in October 1871. Several claims were recorded on that day, but no records were made thereafter. The district was both organized and abandoned before Congress passed a general mining law (1872) validating the authority of mining districts and the already established precedent that individuals have the right to claim mineral wealth in the public domain.
Beaver prospectors were originally allowed to claim only 200 feet along a lode, with the exception that the original discoverer was allowed an extra 200 feet. Miners increased the allowed amount when by-laws were revised in 1871. Locators were allowed ten days after discovery to have the claim recorded by the district recorder. Until claims had been permanently worked, a location notice was required on the ground. Maintaining claims required ten days work, revised to one hundred dollars worth of work annually.
Miners in the Beaver District elected John Ward Christian as district recorder and commissioned him to keep a faithful record of all claims in a legible hand and in a suitable book which was to remain open for public inspection. By-laws gave him final say in all disputes.
Beaver Mining District by-laws authorized the district recorder to appoint deputies to assist him in carrying out his responsibilities. The Beaver District recorded only a handful of claims and operated only 19 months.