World War II Closed Homestake Gold Mine

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The community of Lead was devastated in 1942 when federal officials ordered a halt to gold-mining operations across the country.  Most of the 2,000 employees of the Homestake Mine lost their jobs.

Many joined the armed forces or were forced to move with their families to find other work. Homes were boarded up for the duration of the war. Retail businesses throughout the region suffered from the loss of customers.

The closure also had a huge effect on the State of South Dakota. In 1941, as the most productive gold mine in the country, Homestake's output was valued at $19,529,080 ($288.7 million in 2010 dollars). The company paid $1.125 million in taxes, an amount equal to one sixteenth of the state's total tax revenues. Although the Federal government directed new defense spending into the region to build and operate the Rapid City Air Base and a munitions depot outside of Edgemont, this money was less than half of one year's production at Homestake.

Despite the wartime shut down, Homestake and the community of Lead recovered. Once the war was over, production resumed, miners and their families returned and the community enjoyed an era of prosperity.