7/9: Wild West Town of Deadwood, South Dakota

After visiting Devils Tower National Monument, Steven and I headed further east to the nearby Black Hills just over the Wyoming border into South Dakota. 

Outside the small town of Spearfish, we found the Spearfish Canyon Scenic Byway which took us on a very roundabout way to the Wild West town of Deadwood but it sure lived up to its name!

Driving through the very small community of Lead led (!!) us to Deadwood.

Deadwood:

Remember, I did say the Wild West town of Deadwood - can't get much more of a Wild West feel than a shootout on the town's main street as we encountered on arrival! Though we didn't see all of the show, what we did see was still pretty thrilling.

Though we'd been to Deadwood years ago with our children, we still enjoyed walking its main drag, envisioning its lively past as a gold rush boomtown when it was a haven for gamblers and gunslingers like Calamity Jane, Wyatt Earp, Doc Holiday, and Wild Bill Hickock!

More local character and characters!

We walked by the spots on Main St. where Wild Bill Hickock was killed during a poker game in August of 1876 and where his killer, Jack McCall, was captured.

In the middle of the gold rush in 1876, thousands of people suddenly arrived in Deadwood Gulch, some to try their luck at mining and others hoping to strike it rich with saloons, shops and restaurants. Prior to 1881, what is now Deadwood was just a collection of about a dozen, individual mining camps. When the city was officially incorporated by the Dakota Territorial Legislature, the camps were combined into one municipal government. Many of the old mining camp names are still used to designate Deadwood's residential neighborhoods. 

It came as a compete surprise to both of us that Jewish American pioneers significantly contributed to both the establishment of responsible government in Deadwood and to its commercial development. The efforts of the Jewish community helped bring prosperity, recognition and jobs to the region. Not only did they help to build the town and rebuild it after its many floods and fires, they convinced the railroads that Deadwood should have a railroad link to the outside world so it could become a major commercial center. 

Though the town had been full of visitors for the shootout, none appeared to be gambling in Deadwood's many casinos. We popped into one to use the facilities and noticed just one person playing the slots. I don't know whether that was because of Covid-19, the economy or what but it was sad for the town.

When a fire broke out a bakery in Deadwood in September of 1879, it spread so quickly that 300 buildings were destroyed, leaving 2,000 people homeless. The town was quickly rebuilt with bricks and stone to provide resistance to fire and create an image of permanence. These photos of Deadwood before and after the fire tell of its devastation. 

Lest I leave you with the impression that Deadwood was all honkytonk and Wild West, there were some elegant touches!

It had been fun to return after so many years to Deadwood but we still needed to reach Keystone, our pitstop for the next two nights so on we drove via the scenic Pactola Reservoir.

Hill City's historic Engine #7 was reason enough to break up our journey again. The engine which turned 100 in 2019 had been forced to 'retire' in 2012. It had appeared in several films including Gunsmoke, a Disney movie, and even a Steven Spielberg TV series.

You've probably figured out by now that if there is a straight line connecting two places, Steven and I will do our best to avoid the direct route and take the back road as often as we can! That was again the case here when we chose the Old City Road to reach Keystone through the roads less traveled.

We'd come to Keystone as it was so close to Mt. Rushmore, Crazy Horse and other sights in the Black Hills we wanted to see again. As you may recall President Trump had come to Rushmore on the 4th of July to celebrate the holiday. That was why there were still a slew of pop up shops hawking memorabilia to his fans.

In a sense, Keystone's main street reminded us of Deadwood's with its multiple tacky souvenir shops but there were at least fewer of them compared to other types of stores. Keystone was also established as a mining town soon after the Holy Terror Gold Mine was discovered in 1894. The mine was named after its owner's wife who had complained he never named a mine after her!

After a longish but enjoyable day, we relaxed over dinner on the upper balcony and watched the world go by!

Next post: The one and only Mt. Rushmore!

Posted on December 28th, 2020, from Yuma, Arizona, where we've come to see the nearby Center of the World, the border wall, and some other sights before traveling on to Tucson in the morning for several days. I hope and pray that 2021 will be a far healthier and happier one for you and your loved ones and that you will also soon be happy saying Bah Humbug to 2020!