Planes, Trains & Autos

Johnny Spaulding was a hunter, guide, scout, and a Black Hills area pioneer, who came to the area during the 1876 gold rush.  Johnny built this two-story cabin in 1876.

This cabin was the first permanent dwelling in Butte County, on the northern edge of South Dakota’s Black Hills.

It’s open for visitation from Memorial Day to Labor Day, during complex hours; in the off-season it is open only by special request.

The cabin was closed when we arrived but I took a picture of the inside through the window.

Also located here is the Center of the Nation Visitor Center. However, we didn’t go inside.

We also saw a sign for the Belle Fourche River Walk Trailhead.

Along this trail you will be able to see the Center of the Nation Monument, 1876 Johnny Spaulding Cabin, Tri State Museum, 1911 Butte County Courthouse, the historic Roundup Rodeo Grounds and more.

The monument that marks the center of the nation is located behind the historic cabin.

This actual geographic center is marked with a small metal survey marker and a flag.

We wondered how this could be the center of the nation but then read this:

When Hawaii was admitted to the Union in 1959, its landmass – added to the landmass of the continental U.S. – shifted the geographic center of the 50 states to latitude 44 degrees, 58’N, longitude 103 degrees 46’W, which is approximately 20 miles north of Belle Fourche.

Of course, we couldn’t leave here without taking our pictures standing in the center of the nation!

Click here for best restaurants in Belle Fourche

After this stop, we continued our drive to Deadwood.

Deadwood is located 30 mins from Belle Fourche.

Tip: On your way to Deadwood from Belle Fourche, you could also make a stop in Spearfish…we did this area the next day so, I’ll talk more about it in my next blog post.

Arriving to Deadwood.

Deadwood is a cute western themed town that is full of historical buildings.

The discovery of gold in the southern Black Hills in 1874 set off one of the great gold rushes in America.

In 1876, miners moved into the northern Black Hills. That’s where they came across a gulch full of dead trees and a creek full of gold and Deadwood was born.

Practically overnight, the tiny gold camp boomed into a town that played by its own rules that attracted outlaws, gamblers and gunslingers along with the gold seekers.

Since its founding in 1876, Deadwood has been synonymous with the Wild West.

Tip: In 1980, federal and state authorities were finally able to shut down the last four remaining brothels including the famous, Pam’s Purple Door.

The town almost became a ghost town after the gold rush but legalized gambling changed that.

In 1989, Deadwood became the third place in the United States (after Atlantic City and Nevada) to legalize gambling.

You will most likely find a casino in every hotel in Deadwood.

The entire town is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

After we arrived, we headed to find parking since it was too early to check into our hotel.

Walking through town

We passed the historic Franklin Hotel...this is one of the hotels that I had on my list to stay at.

The hotel first opened in 1903 and had 160 rooms… 80 of the rooms had private baths which was a luxury back in those days.

Theodore Roosevelt, William Taft, John Wayne, Buffalo Bill Cody, Babe Ruth and world heavyweight champion John L. Sullivan were among the hotel’s guests in its heyday.

Like many other hotels in Deadwood, the Franklin was renovated into residential apartments. It wasn’t turned back into a hotel until Deadwood legalized gaming in 1989.

We passed this statue of Calamity Jane on our walk.

This was the first statue to be placed in Deadwood’s “Legends of Deadwood” series. These statues pay homage to some of the Wild West’s iconic personalities.

Continuing our walk

We decided to go ahead and eat lunch while we were here so the first place we headed was to the historic Saloon No 10.

I had read about this place during my research so put it on my list of places to eat.

The saloon is best known as the site where the American Old West legend Wild Bill Hickok was assassinated by Jack McCall while playing a game of poker on August 2, 1876.

Saloon No. 10 was originally located on placer claim number 10 from which its name is derived. Fire swept through the mining camp in 1879 destroying the original structure, and a bar was later built at its former location.

Today, Deadwood has reenactments of Wild Bill’s murder and a mock trial of Jack Mcall.

The Trial of Jack McCall can be seen at 8:00 pm following the 7:35 pm capture of Jack McCall on Historic Main Street. The Trial operates Monday through Saturday during Peak Season.

Tickets are $10 for adults, $9 for seniors and $6 for children ages 6-12.

They also have shootouts in the street three times a day and stagecoach rides….Read more about that here.

After finding the restaurant, we headed inside.

I took a few pictures of the inside before asking where the restaurant was.

Unfortunately, the restaurant was closed because it was a Sunday.

Tip: The restaurant is located upstairs and is called Deadwood Social Club. It has great reviews and came highly recommended. You can make reservations for this restaurant as well.

So, our next option was another restaurant I had on my list called Mustang Sally’s.

It was just a short walk from Saloon #10.

Mustang Sally’s occupies what is known as the Black Hills Motors Building. It was built in 1930-1934 for a car dealership and garage. A Texaco gas station was added in the late 1940s.

After arriving to the restaurant, we were seated right away.

After looking over the menu, I decided on the mushroom & swiss burger while the hubby ordered the bacon cheeseburger.

We thought the food was very average ….and they claim to have the best burgers in Deadwood!

Read reviews here

After lunch, we headed back to our car as we had several places on our itinerary that we wanted to see!

On our walk back, we passed the historic Bullock Hotel.

It was built by Seth Bullock, an early sheriff of Deadwood, and his business partner Sol Star, in around 1895 at a cost of $40,000 and is the oldest hotel in Deadwood.

The Hotel was sold to the Aryes family who in 1976 converted the building to a hardware store up until around 1991 when the building underwent subsequent renovation by the new owners, Bullock Properties, to convert it back into a hotel.

The original furnishings had been sold at auction by the Aryes family in 1976, so in 1991-1993 the hotel underwent extensive renovation to re-create the original atmosphere and decor.

It is said that the hotel is haunted by the ghost of Seth Bullock and ghost tours of the hotel are held regularly. 😉

In 2015, the hotel was featured on a special Halloween episode of Ghost Adventures.

We also passed the hotel we would be staying at called the Celebrity Hotel.

The Celebrity Hotel is located on the site of Deadwood’s first hotel in 1876.

It boasts a rich history as a former gambling hall and a renowned bordello.

Once we were back at our car, we headed to our next stop, the Mt Moriah Cemetery.

As weird as it may seem to some to visit a cemetery, this is actually one of the main attractions in Deadwood.

The cemetery is the burial place of Wild Bill Hickok, Calamity Jane, Seth Bullock and other notable figures of the Wild West.

After arriving and getting parked, we headed to the ticket booth.

The admission to tour the cemetery is only $2 and they give you a very detailed map of the so you can find all of the “celebrity” grave sites.

Tip: I highly recommend that you bring water as it gets very hot and there’s a lot of walking up and down hills! You can also book a tour to see the cemetery. No animals are allowed in the cemetery.

The cemetery was established in 1878. About one third of the approximately 3600 graves are marked as “Potters Field” for the sections of indigent or unknown settlers.

The first grave site that we headed to was James Butler Hickock AKA Wild Bill.

As I mentioned earlier, he was murdered in Saloon #10 while playing cards.

When he died, Wild Bill was holding a pair of aces and eights. Later, that series of cards became known to poker players all around the world as the “Dead Man’s Hand.” In 1979, Wild Bill Hickok was inducted as a charter member into the World Series of Poker’s Hall of Fame.

Buried next to Wild Bill, is the grave site of Calamity Jane.

Martha Jane Canary AKA Calamity Jane, was a tobacco-spitting, beer-guzzling, foul-mouthed woman who preferred men’s clothing to dresses.

There were rumors that she and wild Bill were married and had a child together. That child was allegedly given up for adoption in 1873.

She and Bill both lived interesting lives.

Near their graves is the grave site of Potato Creek Johnny.

John Perrett was panning in Potato Creek when he found a leg-shaped gold nugget. The nugget was reportedly the largest piece of gold ever found in the Black Hills. The lucky prospector became an instant Deadwood legend known as “Potato Creek Johnny.”

Today, Potato Creek Johnny’s story and photos, as well as a replica of the original nugget, can be seen at the Adams Museum in Deadwood. The original nugget is stored in a safe deposit box at the bank.

After seeing these three grave sites, we walked around the cemetery.

At one end of the cemetery, there’s an overlook that has views of the nearby town of Deadwood.

Near the overlook is an American Flag.

The flag is never taken down as Deadwood was given permission to fly the flag 24 hrs a day to honor all veterans who have served our country.

We saw a lot of grave sites for young children and then later noticed this sign.

After walking around for several minutes, we decided to make the walk up the steep hill to Seth Bullock’s grave site.

Bullock was the first sheriff in Deadwood.

He was a prominent citizen of  Deadwood where he lived from 1876 until his death.

He owned and operated the town’s first hardware store. But when it burned in 1894, he decided not to rebuild but construct Deadwood’s first hotel instead. The three-story, 64-room Bullock Hotel was the most luxurious of its time with steam heat and indoor bathrooms on each floor.

Bullock met Theodore Roosevelt in 1884 while bringing a horse thief known as Crazy Steve into custody on the range, near what would become the town of Belle Fourche. The two became lifelong friends, Roosevelt later saying of Bullock, “Seth Bullock is a true Westerner, the finest type of frontiersman.”

After this grave site, we headed back down the hill and continued our walk through the cemetery.

We passed the grave site of Preacher Smith.

He was the first preacher in Deadwood.

After working during the week, Smith would be found preaching on Main Street on Sundays and would travel miles on foot to preach at other settlements.

John S. McClintock’s memoirs describe Smith preaching near the corner of Main and Gold Streets, to a mixture of curiosity and respect, with some removing their hats to listen.

Sadly, he was murdered while on his way from Deadwood to Crook City to preach.

Tip: Every year, for the past 5 years, Deadwood hosts the Preacher Smith’s Deadwood’s Redemtion Day in memory of Preacher Smith. The event is free.

Tip: There was a movie that was made for HBO called Deadwood. It was based on this town.

We then headed to our next stop, the Adam’s House.

We passed some beautiful houses on our way there.

After we arrived, we headed to a small building outside of the house to purchase our tickets.

Tickets are $13 for adults and $5 for children ages 6-12 yrs old.

The guided tour takes around 45 mins.

The house was built in 1892 by Deadwood pioneers Harris and Anna Franklin and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

Harris Franklin established a liquor business on Main Street in Deadwood. He eventually amassed a fortune through banking, ranching and mining ventures. He and his family built the Franklin Hotel on upper Main Street. They are buried in Mt Moriah Cemetery.

After building their home, local press described it as “the grandest house west of the Mississippi”.

The Queen Anne-style home is well-known for its oak interiors, hand-painted canvas wall coverings, stained-glass windows, thoroughly modern 19th century plumbing, electricity, telephone service, and original furnishings.

Guests would be treated to fine dining on a table set with monogrammed silverware, 18-karat gold charger plates, and crystal wine glasses.

There was a safe hidden in the wall in the kitchen!

Harris and Anna Franklin’s son Nathan bought the house for $1 in 1905.

Nathan was a pharmacist and owned the Palace Pharmacy, was President of the First National Bank and was elected Deadwood’s mayor in 1914 and again in 1916.

In 1920, Nathan sold the house to W.E. and Alice Adams for $8500.00. Adams was the founder of the Adams Museum.

Two years after Adams’ death in 1934, his wife shut the house up with all of the contents and furnishings and let it sit for almost 60 years!

The home was purchased in 1992 by the Deadwood Historic Preservation Commission and then restored it to become a house museum in 1998.

Tip: You can tour the Adams Museum as well…it opened in 1930 and is the oldest museum in Deadwood. Read reviews here

You will tour several rooms in the house.

The bathroom sinks came from Italy and were so beautiful!

The cookies that you see in this picture have been there since 1936 when the house was shut up and basically abandoned by Alice Adams.

Pictures of the kitchen

Pictures of the outside of the house

Read reviews here

After leaving here, we headed to our next stop, Tatanka – Story of the Bison.

Tatanka is located 10 mins from the Adam’s House Museum.

After getting parked, we headed inside the interpretive center.

Ticket prices are $12 for adults and $6 for ages 6-12.

Tatanka is an educational journey into the lives of the Northern Plains Bison and the Indigenous peoples who depended on them.

It was established by actor Kevin Costner, who was inspired by his time with the Lakota people while filming “Dances With Wolves.”

His original intention was to build a hotel resort that would feature a bison sculpture on its grounds however, the hotel fell through but Costner went ahead with building the interpretive center.

The site features the Interpretive Center, costumes from the film, tipis, a gift shop, a restaurant and more.

There are lots of informational plaques where you can read about the Lakota Indians and how they depended on the bison for so many different things.

There’s a short film you can watch of Kevin Costner speaking about the center.

The gift shop specialized in Lakota made, local made and Native American owned companies.

The main attraction here is actually a large bronze sculpture called “Lakota Bison Jump” created by local artist Peggy Detmers. Lakota Indians also give regular presentations.

The sculpture sits outside behind the interpretive center.

The centerpiece of Ta’Tanka is the 3rd largest bronze sculpture in the world.

It’s composed of a total of 17 pieces: 14 bison being pursued by three Lakota riders on bareback.

These sculptures depict the earliest most effective form of hunting bison called a bison jump.

It was really cool to see!

Also located outside are the tipis

Read reviews here

Tip: You can attend an annual powwow to witness the vibrant Lakota culture first hand.

After leaving here, we headed to our next stop, Mt Roosevelt Memorial Friendship Tower.

The tower is located 10 mins from Ta’tanka.

When we arrived at the parking lot, there was only one other car there.

The tower is only 2.5 miles from downtown Deadwood but it felt like a world apart, as there was nothing around.

At the beginning of the trail, you will find a few informational plaques.

The hike to the tower takes approx. 15-20 mins, but it is moderately uphill.

The “Friendship Tower“ monument was created by Seth Bullock, in memory of the friendship he had with President Theodore Roosevelt.

You will be walking through the woods the entire length of the trail.

It was a well maintained trail but there were lots of rocks in some areas so be sure to wear good shoes.

At one point along the trail, you will come to an open area with beautiful views of the Black Hills.

There was another informational plaque located there telling about the history of mining and logging in the area.

Tip: Click here to see a full size map of the Black Hills area

Approaching the tower

The stone tower is 31-foot tall including the six-foot-high platform. It was the first tribute to Theodore Roosevelt’s memory and was dedicated July 4, 1919.

Bullock & Roosevelt became lifelong friends while Roosevelt was the sheriff in Medora, ND and Bullock was the sheriff in Deadwood. After Roosevelt died, Bullock wanted to erect a monument for his friend….Seth died 3 mons after the dedication of the tower.

There was an informational plaque near the tower that talked about the history of the tower.

After taking pictures of the outside, we decided to climb to the top to take pictures from the top.

At the top, you will have views of the Black Hills.

There’s also a copy of the original drawing for the tower from 1919.

After spending about 10 mins at the top, we headed back down.

I spotted a stamp in one of the concrete stairs on the way day that said, Hanson Bros Contractors, Deadwood.

If you read here, you will see that this company played a big role in the construction of the tower.

Read reviews for the tower here

We then headed back to our car.

Since it was now 4:00 pm, we could go check into our hotel.

Once we arrived back to Deadwood, we parked in the small parking lot beside the hotel and went inside to get checked in.

We would be staying at the Celebrity Hotel for the next two nights.

Click here for things to do in Deadwood & here for 33 free things to do in the Black Hills area

Our room was really nice!

It was also very big….400 sq ft!

I had booked the King Suite with a spa bath and surprisingly, it only cost $200 a night!

Click here for the best hotels in Deadwood

However, the one thing that I was really disappointed in were the views!

I had booked a room with city views but had these views instead!

I called the front desk and asked about it and she said that’s the room we were assigned since we booked through Booking instead of their website.

I usually never have issues when I use Booking but this is the 2nd or 3rd time in the past year or two that I’ve had issues. I’m not sure if it’s Booking or the hotel that’s doing it!

So, if you want to assure that you get the room you want, make sure to book directly through the hotel’s website.

After getting settled into our room, we got ready for dinner.

I had made reservations at Legends Steakhouse prior to leaving for our trip.

I had read a lot of good reviews about this place and when I saw that I could make a reservation online, I went ahead and booked because I do not like having to wait to eat somewhere.

The restaurant is  located inside the historic Franklin Hotel. It was a 5 min walk from the Celebrity Hotel.

Once we arrived, we were seated right away.

After looking over the menu, we both decided to order a steak.

I ordered the steak oscar which was a 7 oz filet topped with jumbo lump crab meat and a rich hollandaise sauce.

The hubby ordered a filet with baked truffled macaroni and cheese.

Our meals also came with a salad and bread.

The food and the service was out of this world!!

This ended up being our best meal during our entire trip!!

After our delicious entrees, we decided to share a dessert.

We ordered the New York cheesecake with peach bourbon sauce.

It was amazing!

After dinner, we headed back to our hotel.

I took a few pictures of the Franklin Hotel before we left.

It was very nice on the inside!

Walking back to our hotel

We passed the site where Jack McCall was captured.

There were informational plaques on some of the buildings.

The town of Deadwood is really neat!

I loved the brick road that runs through the town!

We stopped inside a few stores to find a tshirt.

After arriving back to our hotel, we walked around downstairs.

The hotel has 80 displays of priceless movie memorabilia from Hollywood’s blockbuster movies.

They had one of Elvis Presley’s jumpsuits. It had sold for $300k at on online auction making it the most expensive piece of Elvis memorabilia ever sold at auction!

Checking out the displays

Pictures of some of the displays they had inside the hotel.

After spending a few minutes checking out the displays, we headed back to our room.

We were staying in Suite 212.

After watching TV for a little while, we called it a night!

Thanks for reading!

Stay tuned for Day 6!

Here’s our route for the day

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