Deadwood - named for the many dead trees that lined the valley leading up to town - got its start in the 1870s, when gold was discovered in the Black Hills. This, of course, was a problem, as the Federal Government had already promised the land to the Lakota Sioux, who were using it as hunting grounds, under the 1868 Treaty of Fort Laramie. The Government tried to keep white prospectors out of the area, but ultimately the lure of lucre made mincemeat out of the treaty, and the place quickly became overrun with settlers. Deadwood became a typical boom town, and mining and lumbering thrived in the area for many years.
The people and events of Deadwood are legendary, and many of them are depicted fairly accurately in the HBO series. Perhaps the most notorious incident that took place here was the murder of James Butler "Wild Bill" Hickok by Jack McCall in the summer of 1876. According to legend, Hickok - who once worked with another Bill, "Buffalo Bill" Cody - cleaned McCall out one night in a poker game, giving him back only enough money for McCall to buy breakfast. The next afternoon, Hickok went to Nuttall and Mann's saloon to play poker. Since someone at the table was already occupying the seat opposite the door, Hickok - contrary to preference and against his better judgment - took a seat instead with his back to it. This gave McCall the opportunity he needed. Coming over from the bar, where McCall had watched Hickok sit down and join the game, he plugged the legendary figure with a .45. In Hickok's hand were two aces and two eights - which would be known forever afterward as the Dead Man's Hand.
The shooting of Wild Bill - reenacted nightly in Old Style Saloon #10 along with McCall's subsequent trial at the nearby Masonic Temple - is just one of many activities that take place here that center around Deadwood's wild and wooly character. You can pan for gold at the Broken Boot Gold Mine, where they guarantee gold will be found, or visit the Days of '76 Museum, which contains a number of Wild West and Indian artifacts. You can also participate in another Nineteenth Century tradition - gambling, which in its Twenty-First Century incarnation includes slot machines, poker, and other table games available in more than eighty establishments.
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