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Philanthropy as Cultural Outreach: Phoebe Hearst and Music in Lead, South Dakota

The life and legacy of Phoebe Hearst is explored in “Philanthropy as Cultural Outreach: Phoebe Hearst and Music in Lead, South Dakota” by Leta E. Miller. Hearst, the mother of newspaper mogul William Randolph Hearst, inherited the family fortune after the death of her husband George in 1891. This wealth included stock in the Homestake Mine in Lead, S.D., where she became a major community benefactor. Hearst enriched the lives of area citizens through the development of cultural and musical activities, including world-class concerts at the Hearst Free Library and Homestake Opera House and Recreation Center.

Miller is a Professor of Music Emerita at the University of California and author of numerous works on twentieth-century American music.

Articles in South Dakota History, the quarterly journal of the South Dakota Historical Society Press, are free to researchers and readers online once they are over ten years old, prior to that the issue can be purchased for $10.00, plus shipping and handling. Contact (605) 773-6009 for additional information.