Many of us have heard of “Deadwood”, in part due to the successful

Image of street scene from the show “Deadwood”

  Soooo… What is the REAL story?! Obviously the history is rich and fascinating, as the TV show implies, but which parts are real? What made Milch pick Deadwood as his subject matter? Well, lets find out!

Deadwood, South Dakota, 1876

The TRUE Deadwood:

The illegal settlement of Deadwood began in the 1870s on the territory granted to American Indians in the 1868 Treaty of Laramie. The treaty gave permanent ownership of the Black Hills to the Lakota Sioux, in return for the Lakota’s promise of peace with pioneers and railroad workers. The great Oglala Chief Red Cloud (Mahpiya Luta) was a signer of this important agreement.  By 1870, stories abounded about gold and other wealth to be had in the Black Hills. Settlers continued to break the treaty by entering the Lakota reservation, which caused renewed Indian raids on nearby settlements. An expedition to investigate the possibility of establishing a fort in the Black Hills in 1874 resulted in the confirmation of gold being found in the Black Hills being announced by Colonel George Armstrong Custer the military leader of the expedition (it is interesting to note that though the expedition was said to be for the above stated purpose, for unexplained reasons a geologist and miners were included on the trip). As a result of this confirmation, one of the last great gold rushes in the country started shortly thereafter, though the government tried initially to discourage it. 

Gold Mining, Deadwood, South Dakota

In 1876, miners moved into the northern Black Hills, where a miner named John B. Pearson found gold in a narrow canyon. The gulch was full of dead trees and became known as “Deadwood Gulch” and thus, Deadwood was born.

The mining camp soon swarmed with thousands of prospectors looking to get rich. Quickly the tents and shanties that originally popped upall around, began to be replaced by more permanent structures.

Though the majority of the original settlers of Deadwood were gold miners, the lack of law in the area attracted a rather rough crowd – an estimated one murder per day occurred during the first year of Deadwood’s existence! The Utter brothers (Charlie and Steve), led a wagon train to Deadwood to bring things said to be needed to increase the prosperity and business of the area. This wagon train included both prostitutes and gamblers, which were both thought to be important additions to this wild town whose population was mostly made up of men. Saloons, dance Halls, Brothels and Gambling establishments flourished, with prostitution becoming especially profitable, with an astonishing 90% of the women in Deadwood being prostitutes. Businessman Tom Miller opened the Bella Union Saloon in September of that year (why David Milch changed Miller’s name to Cy Tolliver is anyone’s guess).

1878 Stereoview Photograph of the Sign in front of Deadwoods “Bella Union Saloon”

The Bella Union was a saloon and theater in Deadwood, South Dakota, which opened on September 10, 1876. The proprietor was Tom Miller, an aggressive businessman who would buy several neighboring properties as well. The Bella Union Saloon was a relatively upscale establishment, where town meetings came to be held. In November 1878, Tom Miller went bankrupt, and the Bella Union became a grocery store downstairs, and a meeting hall named Mechanics’ Hall upstairs. A fictionalized version of the saloon appeared in the HBO television series “Deadwood”, where the owner was the character Cy Tolliver. In the 1953 musical, Calamity Jane, the character Henry Miller (not Tom), is the proprietor of the town’s saloon and theater.

Bella Union Saloon Advertising Sign with an obviously “dead drunk” patron in front!

There was no lack of characters living in and / or passing through the Town. Some of the early town residents and visitors included Lewis and Clark, Wyatt Earp, Poker Alice, the Sundance Kid, E. B. Farnum, Charlie Utter, Sol Star, Martha Bullock, A. W. Merrick, Samuel Fields, Calamity Jane, Dr. Valentine McGillycuddy, the Reverend Henry Weston Smith, Aaron Dunn and Wild Bill Hickok.

Both Wild Bill Hickok and Calamity Jane call Mount Moriah Cemetary their final resting place. Deadwood was actually the site of Hickock’s murder, and then the ultimate hanging of his murderer Jack McCall, who was prosecuted twice despite the U.S. laws against it.

Eventually Deadwood became more prosperous, and began to lose some of its rough and rowdy character. In March of 1877 Seth Bullock was appointed sheriff to keep law and order. 

On September 26, 1879, a fire started in a bakery and devastated Deadwood, spreading through the business district of Deadwood and destroying more than three hundred buildings. Many of the unlucky left town to start again elsewhere without having fulfilled the early dreams of Deadwood.

ca1880, Bird’s-Eye-View Photograph of the Mining Town of Deadwood

  There is so much more information out there on this fascinating town and the people that traveled through it! I honestly did not even begin to scratch the surface of it!! Suffice it to say, now that my interest has been piqued, I will be looking into more on Deadwood, and its residents and patrons! Be sure to check back soon to see what else I have unearthed!!

For more information, please see our eBay listings.

1904 large format Card Mount Photograph of Buffalo Bill’s Wild West Cowboy Performers including William F. “Buffalo Bill” Cody himself taken while the Show was performing in Scotland.

The photos pictured here were a part of a collection which was the personal property of Buffalo Bill Cody and his family, and which descended directly in the Cody family to his great-granddaughter Patricia Ann “Patsy” Garlow – granddaughter of Cody’s daughter Irma.

ca1894 Cabinet Card Photograph of the daughter of William F. “Buffalo Bill” Cody – Irma Cody taken in the studio Brooklyn photographer Stacy.

Provenance: These fantastic Photographs descended directly in the family of Irma Louise Cody Garlow, Buffalo Bill Cody’s last surviving child. Buffalo Bill and his wife Louisa Frederici Cody (1843-1921) had four children but only their two daughters – Arta (1866-1904) and the baby Irma (1883-1918) lived to adulthood. Irma married Frederick Harrison Garlow Sr. (1880-1918) and had 3 children – Frederick Harrison Garlow Jr. (1911-1985); William Joseph Garlow (changed name to Cody) (1913-1992) and Jane Cody Garlow (1909-1987). When Irma and Fred Garlow Sr. died within three days of each other during the influenza pandemic of 1918, the three young children were cared for by their Grandmother Louisa, wife of Buffalo Bill Cody. Fred Garlow Jr. married Margaret Southerland and they had two children Patricia Ann (b.1948) and Mark Frederick (b. 1952). The Photographs that we acquired were the property of Patricia Ann “Patsy” Garlow, Buffalo Bill’s direct great-granddaughter. It was among the property of the Cody-Garlow family and was originally the property of William F. “Buffalo Bill” Cody and his wife.

1894 large format Card Mount Photograph of William F. “Buffalo Bill” Cody and his wife Louisa Federici Cody taken by Brooklyn photographer Stacy.

Many of these Photographs spent most of the last half of the 20th century on loan to the Buffalo Bill Historical Center of the West and bear BBHC index numbers on the versos. We were also told that any of the items with tack holes were displayed on the walls of one of Cody’s homes including the TE Ranch, the Bobcat Ranch (usually Irma’s home), the Pahaska Tepee and his residence in North Platte – Scout’s Rest Ranch.

ca1910 Real Photo Postcard / Photograph of the Yellowstone Hunting Lodge of William F. “Buffalo Bill” Cody known as the “Pahaska Tepee” in winter.

The photographs included in this collection varied greatly, from some likely one of a kind Photographs taken with a snapshot camera and printed out as Real Photo Postcards, photos which were likely given as a mementos to Cody by the photographers,  a number of personal photographs taken by Stacy in the photographer’s studio and at Buffalo Bill’s Wild West show grounds during the 1894 Season (during which the Show performed at Ambrose Park in Brooklyn, New York for the entire summer), etc.

ca1910 Real Photo Postcard / Photograph of William F. “Buffalo Bill” Cody with his close friend Native American Lakota Chief Iron Tail and a man believed to be Captain Jack Crawford on the show grounds of Buffalo Bill’s Wild West.

One postcard pictures the “fairgrounds” at Bourg, France with a herd of livestock grazing on the small plot. The Postcard is addressed to “Col. Cody Buffalo Bill” at Reims. The message and the Postmark are dated July 10, 1905 and the message appears to have been written by an Advance Man for Buffalo Bill’s Wild West named Dean.  Apparently “Dean” was scouting possible locations where Buffalo Bill’s Wild West might be able to appear during the European tour that was taking place in 1905. It seems that the fairgrounds at Bourg was too small to accommodate the show and “Dean” was reporting this directly to Buffalo Bill.

1905 Postcard written and addressed to William F. “Buffalo Bill” Cody from an advance man of Buffalo Bill’s Wild West in Europe regarding a possible location for the Show to perform in Bourg, France. This Postcard was sent to Cody while the Show was performing at Reims.

We feel truly lucky to have been able to hold some of this history in our hands, and hope that you have enjoyed reading about it – and perhaps buying one of the items for yourself! We will be offering selected items from this collection over the next few week as part of our weekly eBay auctions.

For more information, please see our eBay listings.