There, he discovered the carbonate ore, a mixture of silver and lead, that would cause the town to prosper.

Carbonate was founded in July 1881 after an article appeared in the Black Hills Daily Times about the ore and created an influx of settlers.

By August, 200 men had settled in the town in tents and began placer mining for gold; a wagon road to Spearfish was completed that same month.

A fund dedicated to growing the camp began in Deadwood, and several saloons, shops, and restaurants moved into the town.

By September, the outside interest in the town had started to fade, and the rush to settle in Carbonate slowed.

[4][5] During this second boom, the town added a hotel (which opened on May 1, 1886), several stores, boarding houses capable of housing a hundred men, post office, church, bank, mill, and several low entertainment venues, including gambling halls and Fannie Hill's and Lottie Belmont's establishments.

[5] In 1888 and 1889, a diphtheria epidemic struck the area; the fumes from the smelter had killed every cat in the town and probably opened the door to respiratory diseases and illnesses spread by rats.

The climate of Carbonate is the same as the rest of western South Dakota; it is hot in the summer and freezing in the winter.