Deadwood Historic District

The National Park Service lists the Deadwood Historic District as a National Historic Landmark with a designation date of July 4, 1961. What sets it apart from many landmark districts is its scope. As the federal documentation explains, the city limits form the boundary, because Deadwood grew to roughly its present size within a few years of its founding and did not spread outward over time. Structures at the edges of town, the nomination argues, are as much a part of its early history as those at the center. An earlier 1976 boundary proposal had focused on the commercial core, leaving out mining-related structures and fine residential architecture.

The landmark’s shape follows the land. The community forms a Y in the gulches, with little room for new growth. Business clusters on Main Street, the side streets of Lee and Deadwood, and Sherman Street along one prong of the Y. Homes climb the hillsides, most distinctively along Williams Street and in the “presidential” neighborhood, with more modest housing on Denver Avenue and around Burnham and Highland avenues. Industrial sites bracket the town at either end, a reminder of what paid for everything else.

Much of the core dates from after the 1879 fire and before the panic of 1893, and the document records a further boom that carried on until just before World War One.

Preservation here is funded in an unusual way. In 1989 Deadwood became the third place in the United States to legalize gambling, after Nevada and Atlantic City, and the city archives explain that, with the approval of South Dakota’s citizens, profits from gaming pay for continued restoration. Growth and change are regulated by the Historic Preservation Commission, Planning Commission and City Commission, with design guidelines for the downtown commercial district and grant and loan programs for property owners.