Historic Deadwood
The Old West gold-rush town in the northern Black Hills, born in 1876 and designated a National Historic Landmark in 1961. Its brick Main Street is lined with historic gaming halls and saloons, and it is best known as the place where Wild Bill Hickok was shot dead during a poker game. Deadwood legalized casino gaming in 1989 and now hosts more than 20 casinos.
Deadwood grew up in 1876 when prospectors found gold in a gulch full of dead trees, giving the town its name. It became one of the most notorious camps of the Old West and was designated a National Historic Landmark in 1961 — the entire town, not just a single building, carries the designation.
Deadwood's most famous chapter is the death of Wild Bill Hickok, who was shot from behind by Jack McCall on August 2, 1876, while playing poker in Nuttall & Mann's Saloon. The hand he was holding — a pair of aces and a pair of eights — became known to card players as the "Dead Man's Hand." A memorial statue of Hickok stands near the entrance to Main Street, and reenactments of the shooting and McCall's trial are staged in town.
In 1989 Deadwood became one of the first places in the United States outside Nevada and Atlantic City to legalize casino gaming, and today more than 20 casinos operate along and around Main Street. The historic brick thoroughfare, its saloons, and its shootout reenactments make the town a working Old West attraction rather than a museum piece.
One of the great Black Hills destination towns — a compact, walkable Main Street of saloons, gaming halls, and Old West history that sits within an easy ride of Spearfish Canyon, Sturgis, and Lead, making it a favorite lunch-and-history stop on a northern Black Hills loop.
Shot by the riders who've run it.
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