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Lead, SD

Lead
City
Lead, South Dakota
Aerial photo of Lead
Aerial photo of Lead
Location in Lawrence County and the state of South Dakota
Location in Lawrence County and the state of South Dakota
Coordinates: 44°21′3″N 103°45′57″W / 44.35083°N 103.76583°W / 44.35083; -103.76583Coordinates: 44°21′3″N 103°45′57″W / 44.35083°N 103.76583°W / 44.35083; -103.76583
Country United States
State South Dakota
County Lawrence
Incorporated 1890
Area
 • Total 2.06 sq mi (5.34 km2)
 • Land 2.06 sq mi (5.34 km2)
 • Water 0 sq mi (0 km2)
Elevation 5,213 ft (1,589 m)
Population (2010)
 • Total 3,124
 • Estimate (2015) 2,999
 • Density 1,516.5/sq mi (585.5/km2)
Time zone Mountain (MST) (UTC-7)
 • Summer (DST) MDT (UTC-6)
ZIP code 57754
Area code(s) 605
FIPS code 46-36220
GNIS feature ID 1265276
Website http://cityoflead.com/
www.leadmethere.org
Lead Historic District
Lead, South Dakota is located in South Dakota
Lead, South Dakota
Lead, South Dakota is located in the US
Lead, South Dakota
Location Roughly bounded by the Lead city limits
Coordinates 44°21′6″N 103°45′45″W / 44.35167°N 103.76250°W / 44.35167; -103.76250
Area 580 acres (230 ha)
Built 1880
Architectural style Greek Revival, Hip cottage
NRHP reference # 74001892
Added to NRHP December 31, 1974

Lead (/ˈld/ LEED) is a city in Lawrence County, South Dakota, United States. The population was 3,124 at the 2010 census. Lead is located in western South Dakota, in the Black Hills near the Wyoming state line.

The city was officially founded on July 10, 1876, after the discovery of gold. The city was named for the leads or lodes of the deposits of valuable ores. It is the site of the Homestake Mine, the largest, deepest (8,240 feet [2,510 m]) and most productive gold mine in the Western Hemisphere before closing in January 2002. By 1910, Lead had a population of 8,382, making it the second largest town in South Dakota.

Lead was founded as a company town by the Homestake Mining Company, which ran the nearby Homestake Mine. Phoebe Hearst, wife of George Hearst, one of the principals, was instrumental in making Lead more livable. She established the Hearst Free Public Library in town, and in 1900 the Hearst Free Kindergarten. Phoebe Hearst and Thomas Grier, the Homestake Mine superintendent, worked together to create the Homestake Opera House and Recreation Center for the benefit of miner workers and their families. Phoebe Hearst donated regularly to Lead's churches, and provided college scholarships to the children of mine and mill workers.

In the early 1930s, due to fear of cave-ins of the miles of tunnels under Lead’s Homestake Mine, many of the town’s buildings located in the bottom of a canyon were moved further uphill to safer locations.


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