"Aunt Lou" visits LCHS Fall Meeting in Deadwood

Joyce Jefferson at left portrays "Aunt Lou" Marchbanks, shown in old photo at right.

Despite power outages and other lingering aspects of the devastating blizzard last weekend, the Fall Meeting of the Lawrence County Historical Society proceeded as scheduled Sunday afternoon (10/13/13) at the Homestake Adams Research Center in Deadwood.

Humanities Scholar Joyce Jefferson provided the program -- a wonderful presentation featuring Jefferson slipping in to the role of Lucretia "Aunt Lou" Marchbanks, a most remarkable resident of early day Deadwood.

Sponsored by the South Dakota Humanities Council, the program followed a great buffet luncheon provided by Dave Bruckner and the good folks at the Cheyenne Crossing Stage Stop Cafe.

Jefferson's Chautauqua-style program was entitled "Who is Aunt Lou? We'll Tell You Who She Is," and featured Jefferson in costume as "Aunt Lou" Marchbanks.  Born a slave, "Aunt Lou" was -- according to a story in the March 27, 1890, edition of the Black Hills Daily Times, "…a most remarkable woman for the opportunities in life which were hers."

"A slave nurse during the war of the rebellion, but left the south immediately after the war.  She could neither read nor write, but had a most remarkable memory, and her reading of human nature and human character on first sight was unerring."

"Aunt Lou" shared stories about her youth and then as a housekeeper for officials of the Father De Smet Mining Company in Deadwood after arriving in the Black Hills in 1876.  She was 44 at the time.

Ms. Jefferson gave a fine performance, mingling some delightful musical ditties with some heartwarming stories about this remarkable woman who graced the mining districts in the northern Black Hills for so many years.    Jefferson also distributed copies of her Lucretia Marchbanks Gazetteer, which was published for the 2013 West River History Conference in Rapid City.  Replete with photographs, the publication contains a wonderful collection of news stories and anecdotes from the Black Hills Daily Times dating from 1877 into the early 1900's.

Since arriving at Ellsworth Air Force Base some years ago from Hawaii with her Air Force husband, Earl, and their son, Joyce Jefferson has found pleasure in working as an independent scholar and participating in the South Dakota Humanities Council's speakers bureau.  Her appearance at the HARCC was sponsored by both LCHS and the South Dakota Humanities Council, with support from a National Endowment for the Humanities grant.

Enjoy a few candid photographs from the "Aunt Lou" presentation, along with photos from earlier programs, in our LCHS Gallery.

Runge talks about that "old cannon and shell..."

Mike Runge traces the history of "the cannon."

More than 40 people turned out last weekend (10/21/12) to hear Deadwood City Archivist Mike Runge share not one – but three -- fascinating stories from Deadwood’s colorful past.  It was the fall meeting of the Lawrence County Historical Society at the Homestake Adams Research and Cultural Center.  And it certainly was an “explosive” presentation.  Stay with us here for a few details!

THE CANNON - Billed as a presentation about the historic cannon that greets folks near the entry of what is now the Lead-Deadwood Elementary School, Runge recounted discovering a couple of letters in a box of documents he was examining back in 2004.

“The first letter was from June 21, 1899, written by the Mayor of the City of Deadwood, Sol Star.  The second letter was dated February 3, 1900 from the U.S. Navy Department.” 

The letters stemmed from a May 2, 1899 meeting of businessmen in Deadwood, trying to find a creative way of celebrating the Fourth of July, while also welcoming home the First Regiment of South Dakota Volunteers for the Spanish-American War.  County Judge John H. Burns told about cannons that were being given to various cities by the U.S. government, and it was determined that Deadwood should try to obtain one.  Mayor Sol Star was to head the effort. 

"Guarding" the Lead-Deadwood Elementary School

Their venture succeeded in securing a cannon, but – unfortunately – the armament didn’t arrive until the Sixth of July.  Nonetheless, enthusiastic citizens simply celebrated again!  The local Hook and Ladder Company hauled the cannon up Main Street and Mayor Star  joined a citizen dressed as Uncle Sam in accepting the cannon on behalf of the City of Deadwood.

According to Runge, a Deadwood foundry created a carriage for the 2,000-pound cannon, and since there was no city park in those days, it was decided that the cannon should be displayed in front of the Deadwood School, where it remains today.

Thanks to the royal seal and a serial number engraved on the cannon, Runge was able to track its history back to 1861, when Queen Isabella of Spain ordered its manufacture.   After it was completed in May of 1862 at the Royal Foundry in Seville, the re-cast bronze cannon with serial number 9220 was part of the cargo on a ship that negotiated the Horn of Africa and the Cape of Good Hope en route to Manila in the Philippines.

USS Maine enters the harbor at Havana, Cuba

THE WAR - On a winter evening in February 1898, the Battleship USS Maine sank in the harbor at Havana, Cuba, following an enormous explosion in her bow – an explosion for which many Americans blamed the Spanish.  The sinking of the Maine would be a key event leading to the short-lived Spanish American War, which the United States won handily, helping establish it as a world power.

Soldiers and sailors returning home from the war were greeted with adulation, and it was no different in Deadwood, where Company L of the First South Dakota Volunteers were welcomed as returning heroes.  And while the cannon requested by Deadwood for the event arrived a bit late – it did arrive and has been something of a landmark and curiosity ever since. 

About 10 years after the Spanish American War, the U. S. Army Corps of Engineers received enough money to raise the Maine from Havana harbor, securing the remains of the men onboard and perhaps determine exactly what caused the blast.

“That’s the subject of a whole different presentation,” said Runge.

THE SHELL - By March of 1912, the USS Maine had been taken out of Havana Harbor and sunk farther out at sea.  Many of the furnishings and artifacts from the vessel were sent to Key West, Florida.

During this same period, fire burned several structures in Deadwood, and the city purchased land with the intention of building an auditorium.  Land adjacent to that tract would become the first Deadwood city park – Gordon Park.

Mayor W. E. Adams petitioned the U.S. government to obtain an artifact that might be placed in the new park as part of a beautification project. 

“That’s where it gets a bit sketchy and interesting,” said Runge, who cited a May 5, 1912 newspaper article confirming the arrival of a 10-inch shell in Deadwood.  But rather than being placed in the new city park, the device ended up being placed next to the old Spanish cannon adjacent to the schoolhouse door at the top of Main Street in Deadwood.

“All I can figure is…when they got this shell…they said ‘you’ve got to be kidding…” and ended up putting the shell next to the cannon – a seemingly appropriate placement.  Never mind that the Spanish gun is only a 4-inch cannon, and the shell is a 10-inch armor-piercing U.S. explosive.   Go figure!

For about a century, the cannon and shell have adorned the entry to the school.  Then while Runge was working on an exhibit at the new Deadwood Recreation Center, he started researching the 10” shell.  His research confirmed that the shall had come from the USS Maine, and Deadwood was one of 19 cities that received projectiles of that size.

Fitted with a Navy percussion detonator, the 498-pound shell became a topic of great curiosity.  Runge told many folks about its interesting history.

A 10" armor-piercing shell from the USS Maine
similar to the one received by the City of Deadwood.

“There were several people in this room who inspected the shell.  They said ‘Hey, Mike,  it’s really cool, but you probably should get that thing looked at’”  to confirm that the device wasn’t dangerous, said Runge.

Perhaps the most vociferous advocate for getting the shell examined was Runge’s own father, an ex-Navy man who expressed his concern to his son in no uncertain terms.

“Taking his advice, and the advice of some people in this room, I decided to have the shell looked at.  And guess what?”

On March 20, 2012, ordnance specialists from Ellsworth Air Force Base came to town.

“Yep, it looks like a live one,” Runge quoted one of the Airmen as saying.  The shell was taken to the Lead-Deadwood dump and detonated.  And a video recording was made of the event.

The 30-inch long projectile has a cavity that is capable of holding up to 40 pounds of black powder explosives.  Just how much remained in the shell when it was detonated, we don’t know, but the explosion clearly rendered the shell inert.

“We have received notification from the military that the shell is inert, and that means it can be put on public display," Runge noted.

“And that’s what we plan to do in Gordon Park on November 10^th, 2012 at 11 o’clock in the morning."   For more information about the event, visit this story on the Black Hills Knowledge Network.  We’ll dedicate a USS Maine Memorial as part of the Veteran’s Day ceremony.”

For a few more photos and additional narratives, check our our Historical Marker Gallery!

Cerney tells about Black Hills fire towers

It was 100 years ago that the first fire rustic lookout was built in the Black Hills atop Harney Peak, the highest point between the Rocky Mountains and the European Alps.  The structure was quite modest when compared to the stone lookouts later erected by the Civilian Conservation Corps in the 1930’s.  By mid-Twentieth Century, steel towers had replaced many of the old wooden structures.

Author Jan Cerney (left) with
LCHS president Jeannine Guern

South Dakota author Jan Cerney shared a few photos and lots of facts about fire towers with members of the Lawrence County Historical Society on Sunday (11/13/11)  at the organization’s annual meeting in Deadwood.  The dinner session was held at the Homestake Adams Research and Cultural Center and was catered by the Stage Stop Café at Cheyenne Crossing.

Cerney’s presentation was largely based on a book about Harney Peak and the Historic Fire Lookout Towers of the Black Hills National Forest that she co-authored with Roberta Sago of Black Hills State University.   Cerney lives on a ranch with her husband, Bob, in the South Dakota Bad Lands.  Both Cerney and Sago have authored several books published by Arcadia, a leading publisher of local histories across the United States.

“Before they even began to construct towers, horses were used to patrol the area, and they’d have to ride a distance to report any fires,” said Cerney.

 Early lookout towers were quite humble, including those that were created simply by driving spikes into a tall tree, allowing a lookout to climb to a high vantage point to scan the region.  That was the simple strategy employed by the Homestake Mine lookout that was used near Moskee.  They later added a platform to the top.

This fire tower at Cement Ridge near the Wyoming-South Dakota border is one
of only a few such facilities that remain in operation across the Black Hills.

 “Most of the old towers that were built later have become hiking destinations – some are gone and totally destroyed – but a few are still used,” she noted.  They include structures at Mount Coolidge, Bear Mountain, Cement Ridge, Elk Mountain, and at Warren Peak in Wyoming.

“The Lakota called Harney Peak the center of the world,” Cerney told the group.  “Lakota leader Black Elk, his son Ben, poet John Neihardt and his daughters Enid and Hilda made a pilgrimage to Harney Peak back in 1931.”

Stage Coach Cafe at Cheyenne Crossing provided
a superb lunch for the annual meeting of the LCHS.

The next year, Neihardt and Black Elk collaborated on the book Black Elk Speaks, which told the story of Black Elk, a Lakota medicine man.

Cerney showed a few of the more than 200 photographs included in her book.   Today, perhaps the most recognizable remaining watch tower is the stone structure perched more than 7,200 feet above the Black Hills on Harney Peak.  It typifies the solid structures that were the handiwork of the CCC, which started building the tower in April of 1938.  By that November, they had used some 7,000 stones, 500 bricks, and 15,000 hollow tiles.  It was completed in 1939.

 The November 13th meeting served as the Annual Meeting for the Lawrence County Historical Society.  New officers were introduced, including Jeannine Guern of Deadwood, president; Norma Kraemer of Deadwood, vice-president; Jacke Mitchell of Spearfish, treasurer; and Donna Watson of Deadwood, secretary.  Members were delight to see Jerry Bryant and his wife, Linda, at this meeting.  Bryant had stepped down from the presidency earlier this year due to health reason.

You can review more photographs and additional information about the November meeting in our Historical Marker Gallery.

LCHS gets museum update

The old “Days of ’76” museum building in Deadwood will soon come tumbling down, giving way to a modern two-story structure with climate control and room to expand the museum’s venerable collection of Old West and Native American artifacts.

Museum Board President Jon Mattson told some 40 members of the Lawrence County Historical Society Sunday (10/18) that the museum has raised about $4.5 million in cash and pledges. That’ll allow workers to proceed with demolition of the old museum beginning in November, and bids on a new structure will likely be opened in February 2010.

Mattson, along with Deborah Gangloff from the Days of ’76 Museum, spoke with society members during the LCHS fall meeting at Lewies’ Eatery in Lead. Deb and Jon (at right) paused for this photo after their presentation.

Mattson is hopeful that construction on the new building can begin as early as next March and be complete by March of 2011. The history of the Days of ’76, which dates back to 1923, is one of three major components for the new museum, along with the more than 50 old horse-drawn wagons and the historic Don Clowser collection of Old West artifacts.

The wagons, many of which have been featured in Days of ’76 parades over the years, date back to 1876 and include stage coaches, buckboards, and a variety of other horse-drawn carriages. While the old museum – which started as a storage shed – has provided a roof over the historic wagons, Gangloff says there is very little in the way of interpretive material because of limited space. That will be remedied with the new 32,000 square foot structure.

The Days of ’76 parade and rodeo are the oldest continuing historic attraction in Deadwood. The Deadwood Days of ’76 and the Days of ’76 Museum are incorporated separately, and each has its own board of directors.

After providing a narrative to an excellent Power Point presentation, Deborah Gangloff led a group of LCHS members on a special tour of the old museum. For many, this proved to be the highlight of the day! Take a glimpse in our Old Days of ’76 Museum gallery.

For many of the tour group, it was the first time in the facility – and likely the last – before the structure is demolished.

It was a rare opportunity to take one last peek at the building which has been home to these historic collections – soon to be replaced by a more spacious facility that can better accommodate the preservation and restoration of some of the best Old West artifacts in the country.