The sleepy town of Pierre, South Dakota, was abuzz with whispers of a lucrative discovery in 1905. H.D. Jennings and his business partner, H.H. Trine, had long claimed that the bluffs across the river, which Jennings owned, held deposits of asbestos. Finally, the evidence had been proven, and the quality of cement that could be manufactured from this resource was of the finest kind. The OapitaJournal, a local publication, ran an extended account of the findings in its daily issue of March 10, 1905. According to the article, the analysis conducted by one of the country’s leading laboratories confirmed the presence of asbestos in the bluffs, paving the way for a lucrative cement factory and asbestos mining operation. The fact that natural gas could be readily obtained by sinking an artesian well on Jennings’ land only added to the allure of this venture. It seemed as though capital should be injected into the project at once to ensure the successful extraction of both cement and asbestos, making it a profitable proposition for all parties involved. The stakes were high, and the fate of Pierre’s economy hung in the balance.
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Key Facts
- State: South Dakota
- Category: Fraud & Financial Crimes
- Era: Historical
- Source: Library of Congress — Chronicling America ↗
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