The Hecla Consolidated Mining Company was involved in the mining, smelting, and reduction of gold, silver, copper, and lead in Beaverhead County, Montana. The company was organized in 1877 but was not profitable until 1881 when Henry Knippenberg took over as the general manager. This collection consists mostly of correspondence and other business-related ephemera produced by the company in the 1880s and 1890s. These materials include correspondence to prominent men in the company like Henry Knippenberg and George Conway. There are also many billheads and correspondence from other companies that sold supplies and equipment to the Hecla Consolidated Mining Company. Some examples include Tintic Iron, Fraser & Chamlers, California Power Works, Fort Scott Foundry and Machine Works, etc. There is also correspondence from various companies that sold coal and coke, two important components of the ore smelting process. Additionally, this collection includes an engineering report written about the Hecla mines in 1921. This report contains a great deal of information related to the history of the Hecla mines, as well as many maps and illustrations. Altogether, this collection is about one cubic foot, with four binders (with several hundred, if not 1000+, documents in each) and one bound report. Please see our online catalog for more details. [Theresa Nielson]Date: Country (if not USA): State: MontanaCity: Beaverhead CountyProvenance: Stuart Mackenzie Montana Ephemera Collection