The city of Spearfish may not have wanted to buy the Spearfish Electric Light and Power Company when the owners announced they were putting it on the market, but Homestake Mining Company was interested.
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| D.K. Dickinson had a long association with the Homestake Mining Company. (Photo courtesy of Deadwood History, Inc. The Adams Museum Collection) |
No purchase price was listed, nor was there any background
regarding Dr. Dickinson. In fact, no revelations
were likely necessary, since Dickinson
had long been closely associated with Homestake Mine from 1879 to 1904. He was Chief Surgeon and spearheaded the establishing of a clinic
and hospital for the company. But his
association ran well beyond just medicine; he served as a Director of the Black
Hills & Fort Pierre Railroad alongside Homestake Mine owner George Hearst and Homestake Mine superintendent Thomas J. Grier. Dickinson and Grier were also directors of the
First National Bank of Deadwood.
While the intricacies of the arrangement remain obscured,
there is little doubt Dr. Dickinson was acting on behalf of the Homestake
Mining Company, which had been acquiring land and water rights for decades. In 1882, Homestake had acquired Spearfish
Creek water rights from the Wyoming
and Dakota Water Company, which had aggregated the rights from several
individuals in the 1870’s.
The Mail wrote
that it “has always voiced the sentiment
of this community in opposing the diversion of any part of the water in the
Spearfish in the manner proposed by the Homestake, and it has not yet seen any
reason to change its views.”
Nonetheless, the prospect of Homestake taking more control
of Spearfish Creek and property contiguous to the stream offered the
possibility of great benefits – an “electric road” between Spearfish and other
communities in the northern hills and the purchase of area ranches might well
lead to an ore treatment plant somewhere in the vicinity.
The Mail remained
focused on stirring the community to ensure that “the volume of water in the stream…not be materially damaged, and that
the water will not in any way be polluted.”
But it recognized that if Homestake were willing to “expend a million dollars to take this water,”
that it would likely be ready to equal that amount for litigating court
challenges. The paper was particularly
irritated by what it called a “mammoth
pumping station which is to transfer an unknown quantity of Spearfish creek
water to the company’s mills at Lead
City
“Might doesn’t make
right, but it looks very much as though the millions of the Homestake would
prevail in this instance.”
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Thomas Grier, Homestake's long-time superintendent was born in Canada
and began his career as a telegrapher. He moved to the U.S. and went to
work for Western Union in Salt Lake City, becoming its"Chief Telegrapher."
He moved to Lead, Dakota Territory in 1878, becoming a bookkeeper
for the Homestake Gold Mine, rising to superintendent in 1884.
(Courtesy of Deadwood History, Inc., Homestake Collection)
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Electric illumination in Spearfish continued to expand with
the plant under Homestake control. They
retained electrician W. S. Knight, who had been working at the plant since
1895, as manager. By the summer of 1900,
the company was supplying 10 arc lights and 900 incandescent lights throughout
the community.
By early 1902, any expressed concerns about diversion of
water from the creek had apparently diminished. But Spearfish residents had begun focusing
their attention on the growing electrical requirements of the town, and how Spearfish
Electric Light and Power plant might help meet those needs.
The newly-formed Spearfish
Business Men’s Club, in one of its first endeavors, sent a contingent of
members to meet with Homestake superintendent Grier and discuss their desire to
not only increase the capacity of the electric plant – but also to move it
closer to Spearfish.
The Mail touted the meeting as the “second
accomplishment” of the Business Men’s Club, and recognized John Wolzmuth,
Charles Pierson, George Pemberton, and L.W. Valentine.
If Spearfish leaders were pleased with the news – their
satisfaction didn’t last long.
As the “60-day” period cited by the newspaper approached,
the Mail noted that there had been no
activity yet and that the light company had “but a short time” to make good on Grier’s promise.
Weeks dragged into months, and 1903 arrived with no action
taken by Homestake.
By late September 1903, the Mail could no longer contain
itself. In a front page story headlined
“Nothing Doing,” the paper lambasted
Homestake Mine and its superintendent.
“Supt. T. J. Grier has
decided that Spearfish is not worth a good electric light plant. Last January he promised a committee of
citizens to move the plant and increase the power, the work to begin in sixty
days. He deems that he is privileged to
change his mind, like a woman.”
In a curt letter to the Business Men’s Club, Grier had
written, “Our canvass of the situation at
Spearfish City
The Mail
reiterated that Grier had “promised” the changes, but when it didn’t happen in
a timely fashion, the Business Men’s Club had written five letters and
attempted to set up personal interviews twice – none of which was acknowledged
by Grier, according to the newspaper.
Gloomily, the Mail
concluded, “The matter is now in status
quo, and there it is likely to remain unless the citizens rise indignant
against the position of the all powerful Homestake official.”
Apparently, the “rise” of indignation by the citizens suggested
by the Mail never materialized, and
nothing was done. But another “rising”
of sorts the following summer would change everything.