Deadwood - South Dakota
Saloons - Hickock and Calamity Jane
BY: Cathy Burford
Honestly, it makes you wonder what 'chuckle head' named this beautiful, narrow little canyon, but there were, in fact, dead trees here when it was settled. Deadwood was incorporated in 1876 during the gold rush throughout this Black Hills area, and from April to June of that year the town was laid out, and dance halls, gambling houses, brothels & saloons were constructed on Main Street. The first newspaper was printed in June to serve its fortune seekers and those who would like to divest them of those new-found fortunes. The population estimate that year ranged from 3,700 to 10,000. Now that's a boom town! The notoriety was enough to attract "Wild Bill' Hickock to its gambling houses in that year. Just a month after arriving, Hickock was shot in the back of the head as he was playing poker in the famous Saloon #10. The cards that fell from his hands have since been known as 'dead man's hand'; 2 pair of black aces & eights. Hickock is buried at Mt. Moriah Cemetery, up the steep hill overlooking the downtown. Calamity Jane is buried beside him and I've read two different reasons for that; A-It was her dying request, and B-The city fathers thought the combination would be a good draw for the curious I just report-you decide!
Deadwood's Victorian buildings have earned the entire downtown the designation as a National Historic Landmark. In 1989 limited-wage gambling was approved in the town of Deadwood by a state-wide vote in an effort to boost tourism and save the town. It worked, but they've paid a price for that decision, as the city is now comprised almost entirely of casinos. One standout is the Midnight Star, where we had a 5-star meal in its 4th floor, elegant dining room, complete with pianist. The city has its fair share of resident ghosts, and one reportedly hangs out on this floor. He failed to stop by our table though. I highly recommend the Cajun Seafood Tortellini, it is orgasmic (gastronomically speaking).
Deadwood has experienced many boom and bust periods, but has survived them all. Because so much has happened here, I'm resorting to a brief timeline to get you up to speed:
1879 Fire destroys 300 wooden buildings in town. Within 6 months it was rebuilt with brick and stone structures.
City begins taxing their opium dens in an effort to control them.
1883 Flood washes away many businesses
1894 Massive fire again destroys Main Street
1895 Calamity Jane is a Deadwood Saloon fixture
1898 Gambling and prostitution is outlawed by S D
1900 Population is 3,498
1934 Deadwood prospers due to 'Gold Reserve Act' setting a price of $35 an ounce, while the rest of the country suffers in the Depression
1938 Nearby Sturgis Motorcycle Rally begins
1980 Deadwoods last four brothels are raided and shut down for good
1990's 'Dances With Wolves' winter scenes were filmed in nearby Spearfish
2002 Fire threatens to destroy Deadwood AGAIN, but is contained.
Signing off from yet another town that is 'Too Tough to Die',
Cathy & William
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