In partnership with Deadwood Historical Society, throughout 2025 we’ll showcase the Homestake Mining Company, a cornerstone of our local heritage. This month’s featured photo is a portrait of Mrs. Mary Jane Grier c 1914. Mary Jane Grier was the wife of Thomas J. Grier, third superintendent of the Homestake Mining Company (1884-1914).
Grier was a long-serving and influential leader of Homestake, serving for nearly 30 years. South Dakota State Historical Society described him as a “square-stout, tobacco-chewing, Canadian bom” whose management “combined both benevolence and firm control …” (An Iron Hand in a Velvet Glove: Thomas J. Grier’s Management of the Homestake Mine.)
Under Greir, “the company grew from a fledgling enterprise into one of the largest producers of gold in North America. After Grier’s death in 1914, mine workers erected a heroic statue on Main Street in honor of his memory, and to this day the Lead Chamber of Commerce gives a public service award bearing his name. The citizens of Lead remembered Grier’s good will, but it was the superintendent’s strong grip on Homestake’s operations and employees that kept the company profitable. Indeed, inside the velvet glove of Grier’s paternalism, an iron fist controlled all aspects of Homestake’s operation.”
When Mary came to Lead, she worked as a librarian for the Hearst Library. Patty Hearst made a practice of giving gifts to library employees for holidays, which is how Mary and Thomas met. After she divorced her first husband, she married Thomas in 1896 and they had four children.
While not as documented as her husband, records say Mary was born in Scotland before making her way to South Dakota. Interestingly, she is listed as one of the only female stockholders of First National Bank in Lead (her husband was also a stockholder). She was known to visit the homes of sick and bereaved residents in Lead. Thomas died in 1914 as he and Mary were leaving for Los Angeles. Mary died in Los Angeles in 1946.
Homestake Mining Company has come a long way from those early days, but our history will always be rooted in those plucky miners and millers who came to the Black Hills to seek their fortune. In fact, our casino gives you a chance to strike your own First Gold.
Want to try your luck? Book a room with us. We can’t wait to see you there.
Stay tuned for more stories and events as we celebrate the legacy of the Homestake Mining Company this year – a symbol of hard work, determination, and innovation that shaped Deadwood and the Black Hills region.