With the discovery of gold in the Black Hills in 1874, the town of Deadwood was born. With a population of around five thousand, Deadwood began to have a reputation of being lawless, with murders being commonplace and punishment almost nonexistent.

Eventually, the gold rush was replaced with steady mining and Deadwood lost its rough and rowdy character. The town slowly began to decline, and by the early 1980s, Deadwood's historic buildings were in disrepair. To combat this, the citizens decided the best way to rejuvenate the ... (more)