Homestake Buildings and Community Facilities

Collection

Identifier: 5016

Staff Only

Scope and Contents

This collection includes records and blueprints of buildings and facilities built by, cared for, or acquired by Homestake Mining Company Collection.

Series 1 Homestake Employee Housing includes records documenting the building of Homestake employee housing. Specifications and costs for basic 4,5,6,8, and 9 room houses and information on any additions are found in this series; supply lists and receipts for the construction are also included. The bulk of this series dates between 1933 and 1935.

Series 2 Surface Buildings & Community Facilites includes records documenting the construction or restoration of several buildings and facilities in the Northern Black Hills of South Dakota, including Golden Hills Resort, hospitals, parks, and Spearfish Canyon. The documents in this series date between 1924 and 1996.

Series 3 Other Operations includes records documenting the construction of facilities, including housing outside of South Dakota. The documents date between 1924 and 1942.

Dates

Majority of material found within Bulk, 1933-1935
1924-1996

Creator

Homestake Mining Company (Organization)

Conditions Governing Access

This collection is housed at the Homestake Adams Research and Cultural Center with no restrictions to access. The collection may be utilized during normal operating hours or by appointment.

Biographical / Historical

The Homestake Mining Company was founded in 1877 in Lead, South Dakota. By 1905 Lead was the second largest town in South Dakota with several schools, hospitals, and community facilities built, funded, or supported by Homestake. The company would continue to assist with funding commercial and residential areas in Lead and the surrounding towns until the late 20th century.

In the 1930s, Homestake faced a housing shortage due to the hiring of hundreds of new employees. Superintendent B.C. Yates spearheaded a program to build houses and sell them at-cost to employees. Eligible employees had their monthly payments deducted from their wages. Between 1933 and 1934, almost sixty houses were built and sold to employees. The company also repurposed several commercial buildings for apartments.

The first company hospital was built in 1879, with Homestake constructing several more hospitals over the next half-century. In 1983 Homestake funded the construction of the Black Hills Medical Center in Deadwood.

Homestake also built several facilities for their employees to use when off duty, including the Homestake Opera House and Recreation Building, Lead Country Club, and Mountain Top Field.

Extent

4.95 Linear feet (5 boxes)

Language of Materials

English

Additional Description

Abstract

The Buildings and Community Facilities Collection is an artificial collection that includes records and maps related to Homestake Mining Company's construction of employee housing and community facilities such as parks, schools, and hotels in the Black Hills. The collection also contains records of construction work for operations outside of South Dakota. The bulk of records are from the 1930s.

Arrangement

The collection has been arranged into three series. Oversize items have been housed separately from the collection and are described by separation notes.

Series 1 Homestake Employee Housing Records are arranged by type. Whenever possible, documents referring to a specific house have been filed together.

Series 2 Surface Buildings & Community Facilities Please see box list.

Series 3 Other Operations Documents are arranged by geographical area and thereunder chronologically.

Accruals

Frequent accruals to Series II and III are expected.

Separated Materials

Oversize blue prints and maps are identified by a separation note.

Processing Information

This collection was processed January 2019 by Hannah Marshall Bawden with accreations made throughout 2019 and 2020. A finding aid was completed in December 2020.