The papers consist of account books, financial records, legal records, correspondence, and maps that document George Chorpenning's operation of an overland mail route in western states during the 1850s, his subsequent petition to the United States government for reimbursement, and other business, including his interest in a quartz mine in Sparta, Oregon, owned by E. E. Clough. The papers include correspondence of Chorpenning's sons George and Frank relating to continued claims against the United States government, 1895-1903.