Maitland, South Dakota

Maitland, originally called Garden City and sometimes misspelled Midland, is a

Today many parts of the area are residential and include Maitland Ridge and Paradise Acres.^[citation needed]

Naming

The town was called Garden City from 1877 to 1902, at which point it was renamed for Alexander Maitland, a former Lieutenant Governor of Michigan, who took over the local Penobscot Mine.^[3] The mine was also renamed Maitland Mine. The mine and town are sometimes misspelled "Midland."^[2]

History

Founding and mining operations

Maitland, originally called Garden City, started out as a small gold mining settlement during the 1870s, forming during the

The mined ore was roasted, or converted into an oxide, in a kiln, and then run through a chlorination process before it could be extracted. From 1882 to 1889, Garden City had several chlorination plants and formed the Garden City Chlorination Works, causing a brief period of boom.^[4] Later, the ore was treated using the cyanide process. The ore produced from the mines and mill sold for $30 per ton.^[2] However, the gold ore was not pure; it also contained trace amounts of copper, arsenic, silver, bismuth, and antimony. In 1890, a forest fire threatened Garden City, and the mine's explosives were briefly evacuated.^[4]

The Maitland Period

Garden City was a lively place, holding many dances in its heyday. A railroad line to Garden City was briefly considered but was never built. During the town's boom years, it had about 50 houses and stores, including a post office, livery barn, office building, boarding house, community hall known as the Maitland Club, school, two-story saloon, blacksmith shop, and machine shop. In 1902, Alexander Maitland formed the Penobscot Mining Company, and Garden City was renamed to Maitland. The town's buildings and the mines' equipment were restored and repaired. A telephone line was added in May 1902, and a newspaper was rumored. The Penobscot Mining Company initially employed twelve men, but by the summer of 1902, the number of employees had risen to 125. A 40-ton stamp mill was added in January 1903, two months later than it had been expected to be finished. The company made $400,000 in gold production in 17 months. The company was known as the Penobscot Mining Company from 1904 to 1906, but later changed its name and operated as the North Homestake Mining Company from 1907 to 1911.^[4]

Abandonment and later history

Maitland had several rich strikes and slow years. By 1915, the town was already largely abandoned; only the mill, a

Maitland was located in the Black Hills of central Lawrence County. It was on False Bottom Creek, approximately 2.5 miles (4.0 km) northwest of Central City and southwest of Spearfish.^[2]

Notable person

• Alexander Maitland, former Lieutenant Governor of Michigan

References