Photograph as originally submitted to this page in the Historical Marker Database www.HMdb.org. Click on photo to resize in browser. Scroll down to see metadata.

Photographer: William J. Toman
Taken: August 10, 2010
Caption: Closeup of Sidebar on Lead Display
Additional Description: Text:

• The wooden buildings of the early days were prone to fire, and the first sign that a town was achieving permanence was the building of brick buildings. The first Hearst Mercantile Building, a Homestake company store, was built in 1879 and was one of the first brick buildings in Lead.

• Most mining towns had one or more great fires but Lead City had fewer than many. The chief effect of such fires was the construction of stone or brick buildings, moving the community further along the road to permanence.

• A town had arrived when permanent hotels, schools, and other buildings were constructed. The hospital in Lead was constructed and operated by Homestake.
Submitted: August 23, 2010, by William J. Toman of Green Lake, Wisconsin.
Database Locator Identification Number: p124079
File Size: 0.902 Megabytes

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