Lead City, South Dakota, c.1887 Nestled in Gold Run Gulch, Lead City, pronounced Leed, was founded on July 10, 1876, after the discovery of placer gold. Its very name, Lead, is derived from the mining term meaning an outcropping of gold-bearing ore. And thus, whispers of this glittering treasure spread like wildfire, beckoning prospectors from far to converge upon the gulch, swelling the town's population daily. On April 9, 1876, the Manuel brothers, Fred and Moses, staked their claim to the Homestake mine, foreshadowing the riches that awaited. Yet, destiny intervened in June of 1877 when the torch of ownership passed to George Hearst, who acquired the Homestake mine from the Manuel brothers. By the dawn of 1880, a burgeoning community of 1,440 souls called Lead City home. The city outgrew its humble origins, absorbing neighboring towns such as Washington and Golden. And as the clock ticked into the 1890s, a new chapter unfurled in Lead's story with the arrival of a diverse...