Deadwood, South Dakota
| Deadwood | |
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 Deadwood today |
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| Location in South Dakota | |
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| Basic data | |
| Foundation : | 1876 |
| State : | United States |
| State : | South Dakota |
| County : | Lawrence County |
| Coordinates : | 44 ° 23 ′ N , 103 ° 44 ′ W |
| Time zone : | Mountain ( UTC − 7 / −6 ) |
| Residents : | 1,261 (as of 2014) |
| Population density : | 128.7 inhabitants per km 2 |
| Area : | 9.8 km 2 (about 4 mi 2 ) of which 9.8 km 2 (about 4 mi 2 ) is land |
| Height : | 1381 m |
| Postal code : | 57732 |
| Area code : | +1 605 |
| FIPS : | 46-15700 |
| GNIS ID : | 1265180 |
 The main street today |
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Deadwood is a town in Lawrence County , South Dakota near the Black Hills . In 2014 the city had 1261 residents. She lives off tourism because of her role in the history of the Wild West . The site is listed as Deadwood Historic District on the list of National Historic Landmarks .
location
The place is located in a nearly 300 meters wide and several hundred meters deep gorge, which the first settlers called the numerous fallen trees because of the "Deadwood Gulch" ("Deadwood Gorge"). It lies between wooded mountains that were sacred to the Sioux. It is traversed by the Whitewood Creek, which often changed its course in the early days because its bed was repeatedly diverted by gold prospectors . Main Street runs parallel to the river.
history
Deadwood was founded during the Great Depression in 1876. It grew out of a tented camp of gold diggers who moved to the Black Hills during the gold rush . Settlement and exploitation of the gold deposits were illegal, as the area was guaranteed to the Sioux in the Treaty of Fort Laramie 1868 . There were no laws, a legal system or a government. The remote place grew rapidly, growing from 400 people in February to over 5000 in summer within a few months. In addition to gold diggers and other adventurers, the residents were carpenters, traders, butchers, lawyers, priests, trappers and unskilled workers looking for work. There were also numerous horse thieves, cardsharps and criminals, for whom a place without laws and sheriff was perfect. A reporter for "Scribner's Monthly" wrote that he had never "seen so many hardened and brutal looking men gathered". Still, there were few dead; In 1876 four men were murdered. The first victim known by name was the gunslinger Wild Bill Hickok .
One percent of the residents were female and many were prostitutes. There were hardly any children or old people. The majority of the population consisted of young men between the ages of 20 and 30. 40 percent were immigrants, many from Great Britain and Germany. It was they who opened the first brewery in June 1876. The first child was born in Deadwood on July 4, 1876.
In the spring of 1876, a PA Gushurst opened the first grocery store, and many more followed in a short time. The first hotel was the “Grand Central”, which advertised the construction of a luxurious third floor.
The most famous saloon and largest brothel in town was the Gem Variety Theater , which opened on April 7, 1877, at the north end of Main Street. It was run by the notorious pimp Al Swearengen , who is said to have made $ 5,000 a night in sales.
On August 14, 1876 committed citizens set up a committee that could control the place as far as possible. It consisted of five men, including 29-year-old Seth Bullock from Montana, who had just arrived in Deadwood with his business partner Sol Star and opened a hardware store. The group called itself the "Board of Health" because their first concern was to combat the newly introduced smallpox .
Even if the group did a good job, the calls for an official city government increased. In a vote on September 11, 1876, 1,082 citizens were in favor of setting up one; 57 voted against. A mayor, a judge and a police chief were elected as the main responsible, plus four other members. Numerous laws and ordinances were passed and taxes were levied within a month.
But the first reign lasted only a few months. After the Battle of Little Bighorn in 1876, the Sioux reservation was smashed, and the Black Hills were henceforth part of the US Dakota territory. Deadwood became the capital of Lawrence County, which was founded in 1875. This legitimized the settlement and US laws applied. Seth Bullock became the first sheriff . Although he was only in office for a good nine months, during this time he laid the foundation for a new order in Deadwood. This made the place interesting for investors, business people and speculators who settled in Deadwood in large numbers. The classic gold panners moved on, the gold mining was done with heavy machinery. More and more workers settled in the village with their families and settled in new areas on the hills. A stagecoach line and a telegraph connection were set up, banks, churches, a fire brigade, a post office and a school were built.
On September 25, 1879, a fire broke out in a bakery and quickly spread to other buildings. 300 houses burned down and 2,000 people were left homeless. The city was rebuilt, mostly with solid brick and stone houses. In December 1987 the city was badly hit again by fire. In order to finance the reconstruction and to get a new economic base, unusual means were discussed. On November 1, 1989, gambling was officially allowed in Deadwood.
Deadwood was granted National Historic Landmark status in July 1961 . It has been listed as a Historic District on the National Register of Historic Places since October 1966 .
people
The most prominent citizens of the city were the gunslinger Wild Bill Hickok , who was there on August 2, 1876 in Saloon No. 10 , the saloon owner Al Swearengen , the western heroine Calamity Jane and sheriff Seth Bullock . Gunslingers Doc Holliday and Wyatt Earp also stayed in Deadwood for a while.
Sheriff Seth Bullock
Calamity Jane
Wild Bill Hickok
Wyatt Earp
reception
- In 1999 Hermann ( Hermann Huppen ) published the comic book The Death of Wild Bill . The action takes place in and around Deadwood.
- The founding of the city is the plot of the HBO television series Deadwood and the film of the same name produced in 2019.
- In 1986 the novel Deadwood by Pete Dexter appeared , which deals with the foundation of the city and its famous citizens.
Web links
- Website history
- Deadwood
- Deadwood television series
- Deadwood Historic Preservation Commission
- Geo epoch, Deadwood - city without a law
Individual evidence
- ↑ Johannes Strempel, in: GeoEpochePanorama, No. 13, 2018, p. 90-101
- ↑ Listing of National Historic Landmarks by State: South Dakota. National Park Service , accessed February 17, 2020.
- ↑ Deadwood Historic District on the National Register of Historic Places , accessed February 17, 2020.