After a good night’s rest and no need to reach under my pillowcase to stop an outlaw from entering, we went to the ’76 museum. The western museum has a huge collection of items from Deadwood’s history. They have a celebration every year that attracts over 20,000 people. In the 1920s the days of ’76, was modeled after Buffalo Bills traveling show.
We then headed to the Adams Museum. It had a huge assortment of artifacts. I learned that in 1922, Babe Ruth played in an exhibition game in Deadwood, that was against MLB rules and he was suspended for six weeks for the upcoming season.
Potato creek Johnny, discovered an 8.05-ounce gold nugget which is considered the most important artifact from the Black Hills history.
He became a Federal Marshall in 1905
We then went to the Adams historical Victorian home. Mrs. Mary Adams was the second wife to Mr. Adams and was 44 years younger. Mr. Adams tragically lost his entire family to tragic death while in California and then 2 years later remarried. Mr. Adams was one of the wealthiest men in America with a net worth of about $5 million.
After he passed, Mary locked the doors on the house and left town. She would come back to town once a year, staying at the Franklin Hotel and not at her house. The house remained intact with all furnishings for the next 50 years. Yes 50 years, unbelievable! The city of Deadwood purchased the house with all of its contents and today the home is currently historically correct.
In the late 1800s, this home had beautiful wallpaper, hardwood floors, porcelain sinks, a dumb waiter,electricity, water, radiator heat. It was the first for the State of South Dakota. Today the home is beautiful!
Below are some pictures of what we have seen in Deadwood.
We found ourselves looking at the spot where Wild Bill Hickok was killed while gambling. An interesting fact I learned was when his body was exhumed to be moved to the current cemetery, was that the casket had leaked water onto his body in the ground. The water here is very harsh with lots of minerals and iron. The water had petrified his body and left it intact. His skin was real white and very hard. They said when they moved him it felt like he weighed 400-500 pounds.
We finished our evening in Deadwood by attending a play about the trial of Jack McCall. Jack was acquitted of murdering Wild Bill Hickock. Jack then left town and started telling people that he killed Wild Bill Hickok. He was arrested again and tried again. This time he was found guilty and 2 days later was hung. Although McCall had already been tried, the proceeding in Deadwood was not legal because the town and its inhabitants were inside an Indian reservation established by the federal government and, thus, had no right to be tried there.
Deadwood is a neat old western town with a lot of history. We both enjoyed our time exploring around Deadwood. Deadwood was truly a tough, and rowdy town in 1876.
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