LCHS NEEDS A BOARD SECRETARY

If you are a fellow history lover and have a few hours a month to give, we need volunteers.  If you or someone you know are interested in a rewarding position as a Board Secretary, please contact Donna Watson at 605-580-9770 for more information.

LCHS HISTORICAL MARKER PROJECT

Historical Cheyenne Crossing - Spearfish Canyon

  

We are currently working to secure the data needed to fulfill the state requirements for a Historical Marker at the Historical Cheyenne Crossing site.  A state marker once stood at that site, but was removed when the road was widened.

A big thank you to the owner of the Cheyenne Crossing Restaurant, Dave Brueckner, who has offered a place on his property for the placing of this marker  Updates to come.

LETTERS FROM LCHS BOARD MEMBERS

Re:  McGovern Hill Issue

From Lynn Nammynga - Long serving  LCHS Board Member and former Historic Preservation Officer

Like a slow metastasizing cancer, Deadwood is gradually losing its historic character and community to big money and gambling. On December 13^th the Deadwood Historic Preservation Commission voted 5 to 2 to allow a mountain viewshed to be torn away to build one 8 story and two 7 story “chalets” on the side of McGovern hill overlooking historic Deadwood. This Mountain Grand project consists of selling these virtually inaccessible time share units and renting them out during the balance of the year.

This desecration of another mountain side in Deadwood gives permission to other gambling properties that in the past have asked to tear down mountainsides behind their casinos. H.P. has largely denied these requests. I question why the Commissioners have now decided it’s somehow okay. You can bet that other casinos will jump at the opportunity, and their lawyers will now have no trouble getting it done.

 With large numbers of vacant homes, 40+ illegal airb&b’s, no grocery store, no senior center, the grade school and town losing population, Deadwood has changed greatly since I moved here 25 years ago.  What the town does has to offer residents are its history and the surrounding beauty, now under attack.  Already Deadwood’s historical designation is listed as “threatened,” a fact that does not seem to bother most of our H.P. Commissioners.  Maybe it’s time to just pull the shades and close the door on our historical town and turn it over to the big box casinos.

From Donna Watson - Long serving LCHS Board Member and current Vice President

On December 13^th the members of the Deadwood Historic Preservation Commission (5/2) set aside precedent and their oaths of office to allow Deadwood Mountain Grand to build three sets of time share units (“chalets”) seven and eight stories high on the steep side of McGovern Hill, which happens to look down upon a portion of historic Deadwood. In past years other gaming resorts in town have requested permission to tear down hillsides above their establishments to create greater space, but have generally been denied. As a resident of Deadwood I can only wonder what prompted these stewards of our town’s historic preservation to turn their backs on precedent and practicality to allow this debacle. I fear there’s something rotten in the “state” of Deadwood. 

Announcement about McGovern Hill

On December 12, 2018, the Deadwood Historic Preservation Commission voted that the Mountain Grand Chalets project covering McGovern Hill would “encroach upon, damage, or destroy any historic property included in the national register of historic places or the state register of historic places” in Deadwood.

Then, the Historic Preservation Commission voted 5/2 to approve building 3 to 4 seven-stories high condominiums across the top of McGovern Hill in Deadwood. This will have a significant adverse effect on Deadwood, since McGovern Hill is an historic focal point in the downtown area.  No historic photos show buildings on the hill

If you think this decision jeopardizes our physical history and historical views, please contact the state office:

Jay D. Vogt

State Historic Preservation Officer

900 Governors Dr.
Pierre, SD 57501
Phone: 605-773-3458

And the Deadwood Historic Preservation Office:

Kevin Kuchenbecker

Historic Preservation Officer

108 Sherman Street

Deadwood SD 57732

Phone: 605 -578-2082