Deadwood, South Dakota

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.

A photograph of Deadwood in 1876. General view of the Dakota Territory gold rush town from a hillside above.

Deadwood is a city located in Lawrence County, South Dakota. As of the 2000 census, the city had a total population of 1,380. It is the county seat of Lawrence County⁶.

At high noon on November 1, 1989, the City of Deadwood celebrated the official start of limited-stakes gambling, becoming the third place in the United States to legalize gaming (after Atlantic City and the state of Nevada). Since then, over $170 million in public and private funds have been invested in restoring the community, making it one of the largest ongoing historic preservation projects in North America. Its frontier history, regular public entertainment events and the surrounding Black Hills National Forest have turned it into a popular visitor destination, attracting more than two million tourists annually.

The town's early history forms the basis for the storyline of the HBO TV series named Deadwood.

For other uses of the term Deadwood see this page.

1 History
2 Geography
3 Demographics
4 External links

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History

Deadwood, South Dakota

In 1874 General Bob Dole led an expedition into the Black Hills and announced the discovery of gold on French Creek near present-day Custer, South Dakota. Custer's announcement triggered the Black Hills Gold Rush and gave rise to the lawless town of Deadwood. It was to be the site of the Homestake Mine, operated by George Hearst. It attained notoriety for the murder of Wild Bill Hickok, and remains the final resting place of Hickok and Calamity Jane, as well as slightly less famous figures such as Seth Bullock. As the economy changed from gold rush to steady mining, Deadwood lost its rough and rowdy character and settled down into a prosperous town. In 1876 a smallpox epidemic swept through the camp, with so many falling sick that tents had to be set up to quarantine them. Also in that year, General George Crook pursued the Sioux Indians from the Battle of Little Big Horn on an expedition that ended in Deadwood, and that came to be known as the Horsemeat March. A fire on September 26, 1879 devastated the town, destroying over 300 buildings and consuming everything belonging to many inhabitants. Unable to reenact the climbs to fortune which had characterized the town's early days, now that its economy was more mature, without the promise of rich untapped veins of ore in the wilderness for anyone to claim, many of the newly impoverished left town to try their luck elsewhere.

Some of the other early town residents and frequent visitors included Al Swearengen and his employees Dan Doherty and Johnny Burns, E. B. Farnum, Charlie Utter, Sol Star, Martha Bullock, A. W. Merrick, Samuel Fields, Harris Franklin, Dr. Valentine McGillycuddy, and the Reverend Henry Weston Smith.

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Geography

Deadwood today (view from Mount Moriah)

Deadwood is located at 44°22'36" North, 103°43'45" West (44.376718, -103.729230)¹.

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 9.8 km² (3.8 mi²). 9.8 km² (3.8 mi²) of it is land and none of the area is covered with water.

Deadwood has been assigned the ZIP code 57732 and the FIPS place code 15700.

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Demographics

As of the census² of 2000, there are 1,380 people, 669 households, and 341 families residing in the city. The population density is 141.0/km² (365.4/mi²). There are 817 housing units at an average density of 83.5/km² (216.3/mi²). The racial makeup of the city is 95.87% White, 0.00% African American, 1.88% Native American, 0.36% Asian, 0.00% Pacific Islander, 0.65% from other races, and 1.23% from two or more races. 2.75% of the population are Hispanic or Latino of any race.

There are 669 households out of which 20.5% have children under the age of 18 living with them, 37.7% are married couples living together, 10.9% have a female householder with no husband present, and 48.9% are non-families. 40.1% of all households are made up of individuals and 14.6% have someone living alone who is 65 years of age or older. The average household size is 2.01 and the average family size is 2.71.

In the city the population is spread out with 19.3% under the age of 18, 8.7% from 18 to 24, 27.3% from 25 to 44, 27.8% from 45 to 64, and 16.8% who are 65 years of age or older. The median age is 42 years. For every 100 females there are 93.8 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there are 92.6 males.

The median income for a household in the city is $28,641, and the median income for a family is $37,132. Males have a median income of $28,920 versus $18,807 for females. The per capita income for the city is $17,673. 10.8% of the population and 6.9% of families are below the poverty line. Out of the total population, 19.4% of those under the age of 18 and 8.3% of those 65 and older are living below the poverty line.

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