West Lead Cemetery located in Lead, South Dakota is a beautiful cemetery, we walked through it and saw deer bedding down for the night right among the headstones and a “Tom” turkey trying to get the attention of a couple lady turkey’s. There are a few sculptures or monuments that are really worth seeing, like the monument for William J. Fleming who was born in 1869 and passed away in 1896.

History of West Lead Cemetery – The West Lead Cemetery was founded in 1879 and was originally a combination of several small fraternal cemeteries. The upper portion was designated for members of the Masonic Order and their families, while the lower and northern portions were reserved for members of the Odd Fellows and the Knights of Pythias. Included among the numerous notable early-day residents interred here are several of the Homestake Mining Company’s superintendents (or general managers), who lie buried in the uppermost section of the cemetery.