Circa 1890, Joe
T. Hilton built this
home and resided here until his death in 1957. Joe was chief of the
Deadwood Hook and Ladder Company after the fire of 1889, and was a
very prominent citizen. If this little old house could talk, what a
story it would tell!
Deadwood was founded in 1876 after
gold was discovered here. It was named for the dead trees found in
Deadwood Gulch Canyon where historic Main
Street and Sherman Street are located.
Today, this old mining community has a
population of about 2500. Including the neighboring town of
Lead (pronounced "leed"), there are about 3500 residents.
The entire town, including Main Street, is
on the
National Historic Preservation Register and
is the largest restoration
project in the United States.
Deadwood's
economy is centered on tourism, logging and
gold mining. In 1989, legalized
gambling came to Deadwood. This
generated historic preservation funds for
the town's saloons, hotels, museums and
cemeteries with graves of famous Old West
characters like Calamity Jane and Wild Bill
Hickok.
