South Dakota Fly Drive Destination
Deadwood

Area navigation				Map of location The map to the right is interactive. Hold your mouse pointer over the highlighted places and they will be identified. Some of the places shown have a web page and can be accessed by clicking on them.

Yes there really is such a place where the 'Deadwood Stage' used to go to. If you are interested at all in the history of the american west, this is an excellent place to go.

The town has been 'rescued' from decline by allowing gambling and hence has seen a flood of money come in which the town has used to re-generate itself with. This is the towns second gold rush. The good side of this recent history is that the town is now prosperous, the bad side is that the place is overflowing with slot machines.

It was the first goldrush to the 'valley with the deadwood in it' that originally established the town with people coming from all over to make their fortune, searching for Black Hills gold in the sacred mountains of the Lakota Sioux. The US Cavalry were initially deployed to stop people entering the Black Hills, but when the trickle became an unstoppable flood, their duties changed to one of protecting the migrants from the understandably agrieved Indians. This eventually led to the famous Battle of the Little Big Horn.

While you are there, I'd recommend taking one of the historic bus tours. This is a very good way of being presented with a potted history of the place, seeing where Wild Bill Hickok was killed and see the actual graves of Calamity Jane and Wild Bill Hickcok in the Mount Moria town graveyard high up on the steep valley side overlooking the town.


(Note in an earlier version of this site, I spelled the name as Hickock. However, I have been contacted by a Mr Hickok who assures me that Hickock is wrong. I bow to his superior knowledge. Its spelled both ways at his grave as the picture here almost shows)


This picture shows Wild Bills grave with Calamity Janes in the background.

'Dances with Wolves' was filmed around this region and as a result, Kevin Costner formed an attraction to the place and he now owns one of the casinos in town. Visit there and see some of his movie memorabilia.