Black Hills History is Alive and Well

By Susan Braunstein

The history of the Black Hills is so complex it can be hard to focus on any one aspect of it. From the early days of the dinosaurs to the people who live here now, it has been a place of wonder, despair and discovery over the years.

It is estimated that in the early settlement years there were as many as 600 towns in the Black Hills. The communities either grew or disappeared with the rise and fall of various industries, most of them related to mining. Learning more about the ghost towns, whose remnants and relics still exist throughout the area, is a popular hobby or historical quest. Several South Dakota authors have written about ghost towns, and one of the books in the library is entitled, “Black Hills Ghost Towns,” by Watson Parker and Hugh K. Lambert. This book covers the town histories, navigating their sites, mines and mining.

If you want some help finding the location of the ghost towns or learn their history, Dale Baity has excellent guides: “Ghost Town Maps: a Guide to the Historic Towns of the Black Hills of South Dakota,” and “Ghost Mine Maps: a Guide to the Historic Mines of the Black Hills of South Dakota”, as well as “Keystone Gold Mines & Black Hills Mining History.”  

If you hike around the hills you might run across pieces of the old mines Mildred Fielder has written about in, “A Guide to Black Hills Ghost Mines.” The book was written in 1972, so some of the material may describe mines that were more intact at that time, but it still describes and discusses the mines.  

Another book, “Ghosts of the Black Hills,” by Donald C. Miller covers most of the towns that have either disappeared, evolved into something else, have a few buildings left, or hints of life. This little book is only 70 pages long, but it is packed with interesting photographs and information about 65 different towns.

The library’s video and DVD collection can provide a visual historical learning experience. The company Historical Footprints, based in Lead, has produced several titles such as,  “Railroading in the Black Hills,” “Mt. Moriah Cemetery,” “The Real History of Deadwood,” “The History of Gambling in Deadwood,” and the History of Mining in the Black Hills.”

Some scenic Black Hills historic stops are featured in a DVD called, “Video Postcards,” created by Bob Child. It is described as short, photographic essays of areas within a day’s drive of Rapid City and is accompanied by Child’s playing the music of Native American style flutes.

For the more active appreciator of history, you can learn about some of the historical sites you might see on foot or on a bicycle by viewing the film, “On the Mickelson Trail,” by Charles Neumann. This takes viewers on a journey of the 114 mile trail that runs from Deadwood to Edgemont.   

Several Black Hills museums and other educational sites can reveal some incredible insights into the depth and breadth of this area’s past. In Rapid City, the Journey Museum, www.journeymuseum.org, brings together four major prehistoric and historic collections that will take visitors from the forming of the Black Hills over 2.5 billion years ago to the western frontier. Their exhibits include the perspectives of the Lakota people, the pioneers and the scientists who study it now.

As you head north in the hills, if you stop at the Adams Museum & House, www.adamsmuseumandhouse.org in Deadwood you can make the claim that you have visited the oldest history museum in the Black Hills. This museum was built in 1930 and honors the early pioneers that settled the Black Hills.

Lead, Deadwood’s neighboring city, offers the Black Hills Mining Museum, www.mining-museum.blackhills.com, a non-profit educational corporation dedicated to the preservation of the mining heritage of the Black Hills. 

At the edge of the northern Black Hills in Spearfish is the High Plains Western Heritage Center, www.westernheritagecenter.com. This center includes a five state regional museum founded to honor the old west pioneers of the area.

If you are one of the many fascinated by dinosaurs, you might want to head south and stop in downtown Hill City, the home to the Black Hills Museum of Natural History, www.bhmnh.org. The museum has a collection of dinosaurs along with fossil fishes, mammals, birds and reptiles. You can also see the original “Stan” tyrannosaurus rex skull and skeleton.

In Hot Springs, visitors to the non-profit Mammoth Site, www.mammothsite.com, receive a 30 minute guided tour, walk along the sidewalks of the active dig area, explore the exhibits or view short educational films.

            This is just a small glimpse of all the different routes possible to understand the past. Whether you live here or are a visitor, remember to put the library, www.rapidcitylibrary.org, on your list of research destinations.

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