Local History

Lead (LEED) was founded July 10, 1876, after gold was discovered here. Lead was originally founded as a company town. Fred and Moses Manuel staked the Homestake claim on July 9th 1876 when they found an outcropping of a vein of ore called a "lead". By 1877 George Hearst had purchased a large portion of mines in Lead and Deadwood and incorporated them as Homestake Mining Company. By 1910 Lead was the 2nd largest town in South Dakota with 8,382 citizens. Lead was a bustling town which once had many Saloons, Brothels, gambling houses, dance halls and colorful characters.

Colorado Charlie Utter once ran a dance hall in Lead. The" New Gem" also known as the" Lower Dance Hall" was once located on South Mill Street. The Bucket O Blood Saloon was also located on Mill Street. Lead had its own tenderloin district with residents including Dora DuFran, Irene Love and maybe the most famous at the time, Miss Fannie Hill.
     Lead had many neighborhoods of hard working, honest citizens. Once one of the most ethnically diversed towns of the old west, Lead had a English neighborhood, Italian neighborhood, German neighborhood, Slavonian neighborhood and many more. Each with it's own stores and shops. Today Lead still celebrates it's ethnic past every September with the "Flavor of Lead Fest".
    Homestake Mining Company and it's founders have made many contributions to the town of Lead, including the Homestake Opera House. After more then 125 years of continuous operation The Mine shut down in January of 2002. Before closing the Homestake Mine was the largest and deepest gold mine in North America, producing more than $1 billion in gold.
   The Homestake Mine is now famous in scientific circles for being the site at which the solar neutrino problems was first discovered. On July 10, 2007 the mine was selected by the National Science Foundation as the location for the Deep Underground Science and Engineering Laboratory (DUSEL), winning out over several other candidates.