A gold rush town from 1876 turned gaming destination in South Dakota's Black Hills. Site of Wild Bill Hickok's murder and home to Mount Moriah Cemetery.
Deadwood, South Dakota, sits in a steep canyon of the Black Hills. Walk brick-paved streets where 19th-century saloons now operate as casinos. Watch actors perform shootouts from the 1870s at 2 PM daily on Main Street. Visit Mount Moriah Cemetery to see the graves of Wild Bill Hickok and Calamity Jane. The town maintains buildings from the Gold Rush era, including the Adams House Museum with its original Victorian furnishings. Modern casinos operate alongside the 109-mile George S. Mickelson Trail, a converted railroad bed popular for cycling. The Days of ’76 Museum displays 34 horse-drawn carriages used during the area's mining boom.
Gold Mining History and 19th-Century Crime
Deadwood formed in 1876 after miners found gold in Whitewood Creek, drawing thousands within months. Gold panning sites still operate along the creek where visitors can try using traditional equipment. Wild Bill Hickok came here seeking fortune but was shot dead during a poker game at Saloon No. 10, now rebuilt as a museum with daily reenactments. Brothel owner Al Swearengen controlled much of the town's illegal activities from the Gem Theater, destroyed by fire in 1899. Three major fires between 1879 and 1894 burned wooden buildings, leading to reconstruction with brick structures still standing today. Gambling was banned in 1905 until state laws changed in 1989, allowing casinos to fund historic preservation. You can tour the Broken Boot Gold Mine to see original mining tunnels dug by hand in the 1870s.
