Mining History in Keystone, SD

Keystone, South Dakota, has a rich gold mining history.

Keystone, South Dakota, a town of about 400, has strong gold-mining roots. While none of the mines operate today, tourists can pan for gold and tour one of the old mines.

Holy Terror

Prospector William Franklin and his daughter discovered the Holy Terror gold mine, one of Keystone's earliest, while picking strawberries in 1894. The daughter sat down to rest when she saw something shiny. The mine produced $570,000 during 1898 and 1899.

Keystone-Holy Terror Company

Around 1900, owners of the Keystone Mine took over the Holy Terror mine. A horizontal tunnel connected the two mine shafts. Operations continued under the Keystone-Holy Terror name until around 1903, when flooding and lawsuits related to an explosion forced the company to stop mining.

Big Thunder Gold Mine

A tourist attraction today, two German immigrants started Keystone's Big Thunder Gold Mine in the 1880s. They drilled holes into solid rock without motorized equipment, and then placed explosive powder into the holes to make a tunnel. The resulting mine was considered so safe that it served as Keystone's bomb shelter during later wars.

Resurgence

After the Keystone mine closed, the surrounding town suffered economically for many years. In the 1920s, mining made a comeback when various companies began extracting minerals such as mica, quartz and Amblygonite from mines in southern Keystone. Today, tourism has risen as the town's main industry.

References

• Plb Designs: The History of Keystone, South Dakota
• Dakota Matrix Minerals: The Holy Terror, the Uncle Sam and the Golden Reward: In the Shadows of the Homestake; Thomas A. Loomis
• Big Thunder Gold Mine: History