Delving Into Deadwood

Hi Blog! Today is Friday, August 28, 2015. We decided to drive over to Deadwood, South Dakota and discover all the history and excitement this old western town has to offer. Deadwood was established in 1876 during the Black Hills gold rush. In 1875, a miner named John B. Pearson found gold in a narrow canyon in the Northern Black Hills. This canyon became known as "Deadwood Gulch," because of the many dead trees that lined the canyon walls at the time. Thus, a boom town was born.

We started our adventure by parking at the bottom of Main Street and taking a trolley up the gulch to the Visitor's Center. Hear we learned that Deadwood became famous for its wild and almost lawless reputation, during a time when murder was common, and punishment for murders not always fair and impartial. The town attained notoriety for the murder of gunman Wild Bill Hickok. Mount Moriah Cemetery remains the final resting place of Hickok and Calamity Jane, as well as slightly less notable figures such as Seth Bullock. We decided we should visit the cemetery before it got too hot since it is at the top of the hill looking over Deadwood. He is Dave as we start our trek up the hill to Mount Moriah Cemetery to pay our respects to Wild bill Hickok and Calamity Jane.

In 1986, local business owners agreed to lobby for legalized gaming to create economic development for the community. As gaming moved through the state legislature, the Deadwood City Commission established the Historic Preservation Commission in 1987 to oversee the restoration of historic sites in the community. In 1988, the gaming issue initiative was put on the state ballot. It passed with 64% of the vote and was authorized to begin on November 1, 1989. The introduction of gaming has enabled Deadwood to preserve its historic buildings and dramatically increase tourism. Over three million dollars went to restore Mount Moriah Cemetery. Here Kathy stands behind the new gates.

Here is the view looking down on Deadwood. Many of the buildings in town originally serviced the mining industry. Today, they are being repurposed as offices, shops, hotels, restaurants and casinos. Using funds generated through limited gaming, the five year restoration project restored broken monuments, repaired retaining walls, paved the streets and improved drainage.

Our first stop was at the gravesites of Wild Bill Hickok and Calamity Jane.  In fact, Hickok was originally buried in the town's first cemetery, but was moved to Mt. Moriah Cemetery when the old cemetery was replaced with a housing development.

Old Wild Bill's gravesite has changed in appearance over the years.  Here is an old photo of Wild Bill's original headstone in the old cemetery:

Here we are at the grave side of Wild Hill Hickok with its new monument. Right next to Wild Bill is Martha "Calamity Jane" Canary.  While they were rumored to have married, they were only acquaintances, having originally ridden the same wagon train to Deadwood from Colorado.

Rather than walk up the several flights of steps, many tourists take the Boot Hill Trolley. Because each bus unloaded hordes of tourists who flocked to the Wild Bill's and Jane's graves, we had to time our visit to the grave site in between the bus stops. Here one bus is loading to leave while the second one is about to discharge more tourists. After seeing all the bored looking faces imprisoned on the tour bus for a full hour, we were so glad we decided to do the self-guided walking tour.

After walking down into town, we stopped at the Adams Museum. Deadwood's Adams Museum is considered the Black Hills' oldest history museum. Artifacts on display from Deadwood's past reflect the legends of Wild Bill, Calamity Jane, and Deadwood Dick. Here Kathy checks out a hand carved wooden replica of a prairie schooner.

After the Adams Museum, it was time to get a bite to eat. The woman at the Visitor's Center had suggested we visit Saloon No. 10 and witness the shooting of Wild Bill Hickok. Here's the view down Main Street as we approach the saloon.

The Old Style Style Saloon #10 is a living museum - maybe the only one in the world with a full bar - where you can view historical western and mining camp artifacts spanning over 100 years that they've collected during its 50-plus years in business. We arrived about 20 minutes before show time, so we had time to order lunch and look around at all the cool stuff everywhere.

Before too long, it was time for the show to start. Wild Bill came out and introduced himself. He asked for audience volunteers to play the various poker players and bartender. We would have volunteered, but we were trying to finish our lunch before the show started. We watched in horror as that no good, dirty rotten scoundrel, Jack McCall, stumbled into the bar and shot Wild Bill in the back! History repeats itself each day at 1:00, 3:00, 5:00 and 7:00.

After the show, Kathy posed for a photo with Jack McCall (L) and the miraculously resurrected Wild Bill Hickok (R):

We finished lunch and decided to continue our stroll down Main Street, with a stop in one of the gambling halls - when in Deadwood do as the Deadwooders do. After getting comfortable at a video poker machine, we saw a crowd building outside and decided to go out and investigate. (Good thing, because Kathy already lost $3.00.) We were about to witness the shooting of David Lunt. Back in 1877, Mr. Lunt was shot in the head and lived normally for 67 days until an infection did him in. Calamity Jane is the one face down on the table. Mr. Lunt is on the left.

Having explored Main Street, we headed downstream to the Days of 76 Museum. The Days of ’76 is a celebration that began as a way to honor Deadwood’s first pioneers - the prospectors, miners, muleskinners and madams who poured into the Black Hills in 1876 to settle the gold-filled gulches of Dakota Territory. Since the first celebration in 1924, the Days of ‘76 has grown into a legendary annual event with a historic parade and an award-winning rodeo.

Dave took a turn with a bucking bull and ended up on the wrong end.

The Days of ’76 museum began informally, as a repository for the horse-drawn wagons and stage coaches, carriages, clothing,  memorabilia and archives generated by the Celebration. It has grown into much more than just a warehouse for old stuff. We were impressed by the Post Office Wagon. It had a little stove inside to keep the mail carrier nice and toasty on those cold Dakota days.

Before leaving Deadwood, we stopped by to see Wild Bill one last time. This life-sized bronze of Hickok reposing comfortably in a chair in front of the Four Aces Casino. Having just visited Mount Rushmore and Crazy Horse, we were fascinated to learn that this sculpture was jointly created by Monique Ziolkowski-Howe, daughter of Korczak Ziolkowski, who created the Crazy Horse Memorial, and James Borglum, grandson of Mount Rushmore National Memorial sculptor Gutzon Borglum.  This provoked a warm wave of affection in Kathy's heart for ole Wild Bill, and she impetuously threw her arm around him:

He really was more appreciative of her affection than it might appear in this photo.  However, we couldn't tarry to talk further with him and learn more about his exploits, because we were looking forward to getting back to the rig. We are "dead" tired after all that delving into Deadwood.