Lead

Lead, South Dakota
—  City  —
Buildings on Lead's western side
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; -103.76583
Country	United States
State	South Dakota
County	Lawrence
Area
- Total	2 sq mi (5.2 km2)
- Land	2 sq mi (5.2 km2)
- Water	0 sq mi (0 km2)
Elevation	5,213 ft (1,589 m)
Population (2000)
- Total	3,027
- Density	1,513.5/sq mi (582.1/km2)
Time zone	Mountain (MST) (UTC-7)
- Summer (DST)	MDT (UTC-6)
ZIP code	57754
Area code(s)	605
FIPS code	46-36220[1]
GNIS feature ID	1265276[2]

Lead (pronounced "leed"^[4]) is a city in Lawrence County, South Dakota, United States. The population was 3,027 at the 2000 census. Lead is located in western South Dakota, in the Black Hills near the Wyoming state line.

History

The city was officially founded in July 10, 1876, after the discovery of gold. It is the site of the Homestake Mine, the largest, deepest (8240 feet) 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.^[5]

Lead was originally founded as a company town by the Homestake Mining Company, which ran the nearby Homestake Mine. Phoebe Hearst, wife of 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. She donated regularly to Lead's churches, and provided college scholarships to the children of mine and mill workers.^[6]

Lead and the Homestake Mine have been selected as the site of the Deep Underground Science and Engineering Laboratory, a proposed NSF facility for low-background experiments on neutrinos, dark matter, and other nuclear physics topics, as well as biology and mine engineering studies.^[7]

In 1974, most of Lead was added to the National Register of Historic Places under the name of the "Lead Historic District." Over four hundred buildings and 580 acres (230 ha) were included in the historic district, which has boundaries roughly equivalent to the city limits.^[3]

Geography

Lead is located at 44°21′3″N 103°45′57″W / 44.35083°N 103.76583°W / 44.35083; -103.76583 (44.350967, -103.765784)^[8].

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 2.0 square miles (5.2 km²), all of it land.

Lead has been assigned the ZIP code 57754 and the FIPS place code 36220.

Lead's proximity to Deadwood, South Dakota often leads to the two cities being collectively named "Lead-Deadwood".^{[citation needed]}

The Homestake Mine pit in Lead, South Dakota

Two prominent man-made features of Lead's geography are the giant open cut, which was used for surface gold mining by the Homestake Mine, and the resulting ridge nearby built with the non-producing material from the cut.^{[citation needed]}

Demographics

As of the census^[1] of 2000, there were 3,027 people, 1,279 households, and 832 families residing in the city. The population density was 1,521.5 people per square mile (587.3/km²). There were 1,617 housing units at an average density of 812.8/sq mi (313.7/km²). The racial makeup of the city was 95.74% White, 0.23% African American, 2.25% Native American, 0.20% Asian, 0.59% from other races, and 0.99% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 2.71% of the population. 36.5% were of German, 8.1% English, 7.8% Irish, 7.1% Norwegian and 6.7% American ancestry according to Census 2000.

There were 1,279 households out of which 33.2% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 47.8% were married couples living together, 12.4% had a female householder with no husband present, and 34.9% were non-families. 29.2% of all households were made up of individuals and 11.8% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.35 and the average family size was 2.89.

In the city the population was spread out with 26.1% under the age of 18, 8.5% from 18 to 24, 30.2% from 25 to 44, 22.2% from 45 to 64, and 13.0% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 37 years. For every 100 females there were 100.9 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 96.8 males.

The median income for a household in the city was $29,485, and the median income for a family was $35,855. Males had a median income of $25,958 versus $18,841 for females. The per capita income for the city was $15,726. About 10.7% of families and 12.9% of the population were below the poverty line, including 15.7% of those under age 18 and 12.9% of those age 65 or over.

Recreation

This section does not cite any references or sources. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (September 2009)

In the summer, there are numerous trails for hiking, mountain biking, and horse back riding. The George S. Mickelson Trail, which runs from Edgemont to Deadwood, runs through the city. Several man made lakes, including Sheridan Lake provide fishing and swimming. Spearfish Canyon to the north has many places to rock climb.

During the winter there are two ski areas just a few miles outside of Lead. Terry Peak and Deer Mountain are both full service ski areas.

Local Media

Notable natives

• Mike Steponovich (1908-1974), former American NFL football player with the Boston Redskins

References

External links

• City website
• Lead Tourism

• Lead, South Dakota is at coordinates 44°21′03″N 103°45′57″W / 44.350967°N 103.765784°W / 44.350967; -103.765784 (Lead, South Dakota)Coordinates: 44°21′03″N 103°45′57″W / 44.350967°N 103.765784°W / 44.350967; -103.765784 (Lead, South Dakota)

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