Collection comprises the administrative and financial records of the Argonaut Mining Company of Jackson, California, from 1890 to 1984, with the bulk of the materials dating from 1893 to 1948.

The Argonaut Mine was a gold mine in Jackson, California. It was originally discovered in 1850 by two freed slaves, William Tudor and James Hager, who mined it until the 1860s. The mine was purchased by the Argonaut Mining Company in 1893 and would become one of the most developed mines in California, producing more than $25 million in gold by the time it ceased operations in 1942. The Argonaut mine was the site of the worst mining disaster in California, when a fire killed 48 miners, primarily immigrants, on August 27, 1922. Although the fire and deaths were attributed to unsafe working conditions, the Argonaut Mining Company was not fined or punished as the US Bureau of Mines was largely ineffectual in enforcing safety regulations of mines. The Argonaut mine is now a registered California historical landmark.

6 linear feet (1 carton, 24 volumes)

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Collection is open for research.