Historic DeadWood

Specialties

Welcome to Deadwood! Make the Deadwood Chamber of Commerce & CVB, or one of our visitor information centers in town, your first stop when you arrive.

With ongoing restoration, Deadwood, South Dakota is being transformed back into the frontier town that once drew legends and legions in search of their fortune. The entire town is a Registered National Historic Landmark, but don’t let that fool you. Behind all the historic facades is plenty of modern-​day fun. The famous and infamous have left their marks here. Men, like Wild Bill Hickok and Seth Bullock, and women, like Calamity Jane and Poker Alice, made this town legendary. Come and discover the lure of Deadwood.

In 1988, South Dakotans voted to allow limited-​stake gaming in the town of Deadwood. A year later, the first Deadwood slots were pulled and the cards were dealt, touching off a rush of fortune seekers just like in the days of the Black Hills Gold Rush. Since the legalization of gaming, over one billion dollars in tax revenue has gone to support historic preservation, tourism and state and local governments in South Dakota.

In addition to history and gaming Deadwood is a gathering point for outdoor enthusiasts. Located in the midst of the Black Hills National Forest and directly on the Mickelson Trail, Deadwood is the perfect base camp for summer and winter outdoor sports.

History

Established in 1876.

The discovery of gold in the Black Hills in 1874 set off one of the last great gold rushes in the country. In 1876, miners moved into the northern Black Hills. That’s where they came across a gulch full of dead trees and a creek full of gold… and Deadwood was born.

Practically overnight, the tiny gold camp boomed into a town that played by its own rules that attracted outlaws, gamblers and gunslingers along with the gold seekers. Wild Bill Hickok was one of those men who came looking for fortune. But just a few short weeks after arriving, he was gunned down while holding a poker hand of aces and eights — forever after known as the Dead Man’s Hand.

Calamity Jane also made a name for herself in these parts and is buried next to Hickok in Mount Moriah Cemetery. Other legends, like Potato Creek Johnny, Seth Bullock and Al Swearengen, created their legends and legacies in this tiny Black Hills town.