BIG FIVE MINING COMPANIES RECORDS
SCOPE AND CONTENT NOTE
The collection spans 1892-1921 with the bulk of the material ranging from 1895-1904. Included are six ledgers containing the corporate and financial records of constituent companies. Additional material includes correspondence and financial records for several affiliated companies. Stock subscriptions and proxies comprise the bulk of the financial records. The correspondence consists primarily of letters sent and received by Nathan C. Merrill, secretary of The Big Five Mining Companies, and secretary for most of the constituent companies represented in this collection.
Financial records comprise the bulk of this series. Included are stock subscriptions, proxies, stockholder lists, invoices and agreements. Additional material includes correspondence received and sent. A corporate journal contains records of the Orphan Boy Extension Mining and Milling Company and the Dew Drop Mining Company. Included are articles of incorporation, meeting minutes and by-laws. Additional records contain audit reports, financial statements and balance sheets. Records are arranged alphabetically by company and chronologically within each company.
The manuscript, The History of the Big Five Federation of Colorado, compiled by Nathan C. Merrill, provides historical information about the constituent mines and other organizations that comprised the Big Five Mining Companies between 1892 and 1906. Financial transactions and stock sales comprise the bulk of the history. Also included is a chronology of acquisitions and dissolutions. Company officers and principals are also mentioned. Correspondence primarily documents stock subscriptions and proxies.
Five ledgers comprise the bulk of this series. Included are records of the Columbia Mining Company, Ni Wot Mining Company, Adit Mining Company, Timberline Mines Company and the Big Five Tunnel, Ore Reduction and Transportation Company. Each ledger documents articles of incorporation, meeting minutes and by-laws. Additional material includes audit reports, financial statements and balance sheets. Most entries are hand-written with additional typed sheets pasted to ledger pages. The series also contains two drawings titled Cripple Creek Mining District and The Gold Fields of Colorado.
Dates
- 1892-1921
Conditions Governing Access
The collection is open for research.
Copyright
All requests for permission to publish, reproduce, or quote from material in the collection should be discussed with the appropriate librarian or archivist. Permission for publication may be given on behalf of the Denver Public Library as the owner of the physical item. It is not intended to include or imply permission of the copyright holder, which also must be obtained by the customer. The Library does not assume any responsibility for infringement of copyright or publication rights of the manuscript held by the writer, heirs, donors, or executors. Reproduction restrictions are decided on a case-by-case basis.
HISTORICAL NOTE
The companies that comprised the Big Five changed frequently. Company secretary Nathan C. Merrill's corporate history begins with the Orphan Boy Extension Mining and Milling Company, which was organized in August, 1892 near Copper Rock in Boulder County, Colorado. In 1894, the company purchased the Dew Drop Mine from John T. Duncan. Expansion continued in June 1895, when the company added the Adit Mining Company. In June 1897, the Adit Tunnel Company was organized. The Ni Wot Mining Company, located in Clear Creek County, Colorado, was organized in January, 1898.
In 1900, the Big Five began to consolidate its constituent companies. The Adit Tunnel Company sold its assets to the Big Five in August or September of that year, as did the Dew Drop. The Ni Wot followed in 1903.
The Big Five organized several subsidiary companies in September 1900, including the Big Five Tunnel, Ore Reduction and Transportation Company. This was followed by the Big Five Trust, the Big Five Expenses and the Big Five of Arizona. Each company kept separate books, however, dates of incorporation are not available.
Most of the affiliated companies appear to have merged into the Big Five Tunnel, Ore Reduction and Transportation Company by August of 1906.
Extent
1 box (.5 linear feet)
2 oversize box
1 oversize volume
1 oversize folder
Language of Materials
English
Other Finding Aids
Immediate Source of Acquisition
The Denver Public Library purchased the six ledgers included in this collection from Allen Reiver. Additional materials were purchased from Charles Applebaum1987. Records were donated by Alex Oliszewski in 1977 and by Robert Volz in 1983. Mining collections processed with funding provided by the El Pomar Foundation.
SIZE:
1 Box, .5 linear feet
Oversize: 2 OvBoxes, 1 OvVolume, 1 OvFolder
PROCESSED AND ENCODED BY:
Dennis Hagen
August 2004
PROJECT MANAGER:
Ellen Zazzarino
- Letters. Subject Source: Library of Congress Subject Headings
- Mines and mineral resources -- Clear Creek County. Subject Source: Library of Congress Subject Headings
- Mines and mineral resources -- Colorado -- Boulder County. Subject Source: Library of Congress Subject Headings
- Mines and mineral resources -- Colorado -- San Juan County. Subject Source: Library of Congress Subject Headings
- Mines and mineral resources -- Gilpin County. Subject Source: Library of Congress Subject Headings
- Title
- BIG FIVE MINING COMPANIES RECORDS
- Date
- 2004
- Language of description
- English
- Script of description
- Latin
Repository Details
Part of the Denver Public Library, Western History and Genealogy Repository
