For those who have seen the television series “Deadwood” the Wild West was never wilder. The thing is, that TV series was based on a real town, real people (though some characters in the series were fictional – such as Alma), and real events (including the deadly small pox epidemic).
Wild Bill Hickok really was murdered at the No. 10 Saloon by Jack McCall. Calamity Jane lived in Deadwood and was buried next to Wild Bill (whom she adored) when she died.
Seth Bullock and Sol Star owned a hardware store. When it burned down, they built a hotel on the site, which still stands today. Bullock was also the Sheriff of Deadwood (once Deadwood became a legal part of the US) and was friends with Theodore Roosevelt.
Charlie Utter was a real person as was Al Swearengen. Swearengen owned the Gem Theatre, which was the most prominent of Deadwood’s numerous brothels. In the part of the town referred to as “the Badlands” were most of the brothels , which were also called “cat houses”. They got the name due to their owners purchasing cats to keep customers from shooting at the rats and mice.
There was a large Chinatown in Deadwood and there is a sizeable section in Mount Moriah Cemetery where they once were buried. Many of the bodies have since been taken back to China and re-interred there, so not too many of the Chinese residents’ remains remain.
The first thing we did when we arrived in Deadwood was to park in front of the Midnight Star Saloon where we met up with the Original Deadwood Sightseeing Tour. I highly recommend this tour! It was probably the funniest tour I have ever been on. We all laughed so hard throughout and had a wonderful time. The tour did include a brief stop at Mount Moriah Cemetery. It was so brief, however, that I was glad I had been there a couple times before when I had more time to explore.
We had lunch at Diamond Lil’s Restaurant at the Midnight Star Saloon, all of which is owned by Kevin Costner. The restaurant was decorated with a large amount of memorabilia from Costner’s movies. It was fun to take a look at all that while waiting for our food.
We had some free time after lunch, so I wandered down Main Street to the former Badlands and Chinatown areas to see what might still be there. After walking around a bit down there, I sauntered back up Main Street on the other side of the street.
Mom and I had been to Deadwood back in 1987, when the town was rundown, but what was still standing was totally historic. After “Dances with Wolves” much of the town was bought up and turned into gaming houses and bars. So when my entire family returned in 2005, I was not happy to see the historic bits seemingly disappearing in favor of the gambling. But, by 2013, the TV series “Deadwood” was popular and people were interested in the history again.
The real Deadwood was settled illegally on land belonging to the Lakota people, just a couple years after General George Armstrong Custer and his men discovered gold along French Creek near the current town of Custer. Charlie Utter and his brother, Steve, brought a wagon train full of supplies, prostitutes and gamblers to what was then known as Deadwood Gulch in 1876. Pretty soon Wild Bill Hickok, Calamity Jane, Seth Bullock (and his wife, Martha, and their daughter), Sol Star, General George Crook, and others were in the town. Al Swearengen, who controlled the opium trade, opened the Gem Variety Theatre and the illegal, lawless town was off and running.
On my way down Main Street, I stopped to take a photo at the later version of Saloon No. 10 (Wild Bill was murdered at its original location). Back in 1987, there was a recreation of the original bar downstairs where they had it set up to look like the saloon would have looked when Wild Bill Hickok was murdered. Now-a-days they actually do a re-enactment with actors. Although the newer Saloon No. 10 was not where Wild Bill was killed, it is still over 100 years old, having been built in its current location after the original burned down in 1879.
On the corner of that block was the Bullock Hotel. It wasn’t open because it was being renovated on the inside. The hotel that was located “kitty corner” across the street was once featured in a couple of the ghost hunting TV series. The Bullock is supposed to be quite haunted as well, but more benevolently, by Seth Bullock himself. He is still looking after his guests.
A couple buildings down from this hotel was the building constructed over the location of the original Saloon No. 10. On August 1st of 1876 Jack McCall lost all his money while playing in a poker game that included Wild Bill. Wild Bill gave him back some of his money, so he wouldn’t be completely devastated. On the following day, while Wild Bill was playing in another game, but with his back to the door (instead of his usual position with his back to a wall), a drunken McCall entered the bar and shot Hickok.
This is the part of town that was known as the Badlands. Nothing remains, however, of the buildings where Swearengen’s operations were located or of Chinatown. This was also the part of town that was devastated by fires more than once when the buildings were all wooden.
Back up Main Street from the location of where Wild Bill Hickok lost his life, just in front of an establishment called Goldberg’s is the location where Hickok’s murderer, Jack McCall, was captured. He ended up being tried for murder twice. This was because his first trial wasn’t legal since the town of Deadwood wasn’t legal. He was actually acquitted in the first trail and then moved to US territory, where he bragged about killing Hickok. In Yankton, in the Dakota Territory he was tried again, convicted and hanged.
When we left Deadwood, we headed directly for the Devil’s Tower. Anyone who saw the film “Close Encounters of the Third Kind” would be familiar with the Devil’s Tower, which is considered part of the Black Hills although it is in Wyoming.
The Lakota legend behind its unique form was that a group of Lakota girls were playing when they encountered some bears. They ran to a rock and prayed to the Great Spirit to save them. The rock began to rise up to get the girls out of the reach of the bears. As the rock rose, the bears clawed at it, causing the deep groves in the sides. Scientists have several theories of its formation, but no single theory has yet won out. I think I’ll go with the Lakota legend.
There were people scaling the Tower while we were there. I went on a hike around the tower. The path wasn’t especially steep and got closer and closer to the tower itself, until it started moving away again to head back on down. From every angle, the Devil’s Tower looked different and amazing. I was thrilled to be able to see it from as close as I could get to it. The tower and its land are considered sacred by several Native American tribes, so visitors need to stay on the path and not touch any of the tributes left there by the Native Americans.
From there, we drove to Sheridan, Wyoming to spend the night.
Next time –Big Horn Mountains, Shell Falls, Buffalo Bill Cody Museum, Shoshone National Forest, Yellowstone National Park, and Grand Teton National Park.
Deadwood 
Graves of Wild Bill Hickok & Calamity Jane 
Seth Bullock’s Grave 
Midnight Star Saloon 
Costner’s Costume from “Dances with Wolves” 
Newer Saloon No. 10 
Bullock Hotel 
Upper floors of Bullock Hotel 
Across the street from Bullock Hotel 
Original Site of Saloon No. 10 
Remaining portion of Badlands 
Where Jack McCall was captured 
Approaching Devils Tower 
Starting up the path 
Midway up the path 
A climber on the Tower 
Some of the fallen rocks 
Nearing the base