by Michael Fassbender

Created on: July 06, 2010   Last Updated: April 18, 2011

Deadwood: the name itself is as emblematic of the Old West as Tombstone, Arizona.  Nestled at the northern edge of the Black Hills in western South Dakota, this mining town became notorious at the beginning of its existence because of the death of one of the great gunfighters.  When tourism overtook mining in the economics of the Black Hills, this gave Deadwood an edge over all of its neighbors.  Today, there are many landmarks in the Black Hills; the town of Deadwood, however, is itself a National Landmark.

Background

It is the story of Deadwood that brings in the visitors, and that story begins with Custer.  Before Custer’s involvement, the Black Hills were a part of the Indian Reservation.  In 1874, Custer was sent to scout out possible locations for a fort; tensions had remained on both sides after the 1868 peace treaty with Red Cloud.  Custer brought some civilian advisors with him on this mission, and they both confirmed and announced the presence of gold. 

The next two years brought an influx of prospectors, escalating tensions between the U.S. Government and the Lakota Sioux and their allies, and Custer’s death at the Little Bighorn.  The presence of prospectors, and of the towns that sprang up to support them, would become legal in 1877, when the defeated Sioux gave up their rights to the Black Hills.  By then, Deadwood’s place in the history of the West had already been established.

Deadwood took its name from the fallen timber that lay on either side of the gulch where gold was found.  The success of some prospectors brought in others hoping for their own opportunities.  The expansion of a few claims into a larger mining camp also served to bring in others who wanted to make their livings by servicing the miners, from shopkeepers and carpenters to saloon owners and prostitutes.  Two trained scouts arrived in Deadwood, looking for opportunity: James “Wild Bill” Hickok and “Calamity Jane” Cannary.

“Wild Bill” had already made a name for himself as a scout for Custer and as a lawman in Abilene, Kansas. In Deadwood, he did little more than make a name for himself as a card player, and it was in the midst of that pursuit that he was shot in cold blood in August, 1876.  “Calamity Jane” was still at the beginning of a career that would have its highs and lows, but which would eventually be as celebrated in the press as Hickok’s. 

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