Terraville, South Dakota facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Terraville
Ghost town
Terraville in 1888.
Terraville Location in South Dakota
Country	United States of America
State	South Dakota
County	Lawrence County
Elevation	5,148 ft (1,569 m)
Time zone	UTC-7 (MST)
• Summer (DST)	UTC-6 (MDT)

Terraville was a ghost town in South Dakota, USA. A ghost town is a place where people used to live and work, but now it's empty. Terraville started in 1877 as a place for miners to live. It grew into a small town. Later, a big company called the Homestake Mining Company bought it. In 1982, the town was taken down to build a new mine.

History of Terraville

In the 1870s, four men were looking for gold in the area. Their names were Moses and Fred Manuel, Hank Herney, and Alex Engh. On February 21, 1876, they each claimed a spot in a place called Bobtail Gulch.

Finding Gold and Building a Town

That spring, they found a lot of gold in a rich lode. A lode is a vein of metal ore found in rock. On April 9, 1876, they named their discovery "Homestake." Later, people from California bought this claim. They started the Homestake Mining Company.

Terraville was founded in 1877. It became the first main office for the Homestake Company. The town was a home for miners and their families. These miners worked in local mines like Caledonia, Terra, and Deadwood.

Life in the Mining Town

The Homestake Company built a tunnel to connect Terraville to a nearby town called Lead. This tunnel had two main uses:

• It carried ore (rock with metal in it) from the Homestake Mine to special machines in Terraville. These machines, called stamp mills, crushed the ore to get the gold out.
• It was also a path for people to travel between the two towns.

By 1880, 775 people lived in Terraville. This made it the fifth-largest town in the Black Hills at that time. During its busiest years, 220 stamp mills were working.

The town grew and had many buildings:

• Several stores
• Bars
• Churches (the Terraville Methodist Church was very important)
• A schoolhouse
• A hospital
• Places for miners to stay, called boarding houses
• Many homes

There were also 280 steps that connected different parts of the town and the mines around it. The mining company also made sure the town had water. In 1900, about 700 people used the town's post office.

The End of Terraville

Later, the Homestake Mining Company moved its main office and mining work to Lead. By the 1970s, most people in Terraville went to Lead for shopping and work. Terraville did not have its own mayor or police. The county sheriff was the only law enforcement.

In the summer of 1982, the post office closed. The town was then destroyed. The 723 people living there had to move. The Homestake Mining Company decided to create a large open cut mine in Terraville. They called it the Terraville Test Pit Project.

Every building in Terraville was torn down. Most of them were over 100 years old. The Terraville Methodist Church was 102 years old when it was destroyed. It was the oldest church still operating west of the Mississippi River at that time. There were even plans to make it a historical landmark. Today, only parts of the old roads remain. Former residents of Terraville have an annual reunion in Deadwood every year since at least 2001.

Where Terraville Was Located

Terraville was in the Black Hills area of Lawrence County, South Dakota. It was built on top of a mountain. This mountain was located between the towns of Lead and Central City. It was also just above the Homestake Mine. Other nearby places included Deadwood Gulch and the ghost town of Lincoln.

Notable Person from Terraville

• Ruth Mary Reynolds (1916-1989): She was born in Terraville. She became an American teacher and worked for political and civil rights.