Black Hills Ghost Towns [Paperback]

Watson Parker (Author), Hugh K. Lambert (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: January 1, 1974

The Black Hills have been famous ever since the gold rush days of the 1870s when General George A. Custer’s expedition in the summer of 1874 found and advertised placer gold in the Black Hills valleys and a rush to the Hills began. Indian claimants to the area were placated, defeated or ignored and by 1875 a gold rush that continues to the present was under way. The Homestake Mining Company in the Black Hills is today one of the largest operating gold mines in the world. Thousands of unknown miners, merchants, gamblers and soiled doves have come and gone during the century past. And hundreds of towns have boomed and busted, most of them before the beginning of the twentieth century. This book takes a look at the remains of those ghosts: the camps, the stage stops, the communities, the people who made the Black Hills famous. In extensive gazetteer fashion, the authors detail 600 towns and enrich the text with a lavish layout of historical and contemporary photos. Also included are maps and tips on how to locate the ruins of those ghost towns.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Watson Parker by residence and research is a recognized authority on the Black Hills. Author of Gold in the Black Hills, Deadwood and numerous articles and papers on the subject, he is now retired from the University of Wisconsin in Oshkosh where he served as Professor of American Western and Military History. Returning to live in the hills, he continues to research the historic area. Hugh K. Lambert has been interested in the area since the late 1930s. An artist and a photographer, he makes Albuquerque, New Mexico his home base. He is Senior Vice President of Graphics Services with Promotional Marketing, Inc. in Chicago, IL.

Product Details

• Paperback: 215 pages
• Publisher: Swallow Press (January 1, 1974)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0804006385
• ISBN-13: 978-0804006385
• Product Dimensions: 10.9 x 8.2 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #609,028 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Black Hills Ghost Towns, November 4, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: Black Hills Ghost Towns (Paperback)

Watson Parker's book is a wonderful reference to use to understand the frenetic development of the Black Hills during its Gold Rush days. It also goes on to show the coming and going of little towns throughout the Black Hills. It is well organized and can easily lend itself to spending a day or more driving through the hills trying to find the remnants of the ghost towns. It is a book that I have gone back to year after year to learn about the Black Hills.

5.0 out of 5 stars great regional history, March 19, 2011

By 

Meredith J Bergin - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Black Hills Ghost Towns (Hardcover)

Love this book--even though it's 35 years old! But of course, due to current laws, and time, much of whats pictured is now gone or inaccesible.

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent Book, December 5, 2010

By 

sstampe - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Black Hills Ghost Towns (Paperback)

The authors put a great deal of research into this treasure of old mining and logging history of the Black Hills of South Dakota. The book is an alphabetical listing of 600 towns; some still thriving but mostly ghost towns.

The book provides numerous photographs and locations for most of the towns. However, it was written before global positioning devices and does not have site coordinates.