 The Gem Theater c. 1878. The man in the buggy at left is thought to be Al Swearengen. | |
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| Location | Deadwood, South Dakota |
|---|---|
| Owner | Al Swearengen |
| Type | Saloon and theater |
| Construction | |
| Opened | April 7, 1877 |
| Renovated | 1879 (after a fire) |
| Demolished | 1899 (by fire) |
The Gem Theater was a saloon in Deadwood, South Dakota, owned by Al Swearengen.
Swearengen opened the Gem Variety Theater on April 7, 1877 at the corners of Wall and Main streets to entertain the population of the mining camp with "prize fights" (as was customary with Swearengen's previous establishment the Cricket Saloon, no prizes were actually involved), stage acts consisting of comedians, singers and dancers, and primarily, prostitutes.
Gambling was a main theme at the Gem, as was the Gem band, which played nightly from the balcony as a form of advertising. [1] [2]
Swearengen recruited his prostitutes by advertising legitimate stage, cleaning, or waitressing jobs in his theater to desperate young women and advancing them the money for their (one way) trip; then, when they arrived, forcing them into what was essentially indentured servitude as prostitutes. [3] Those who balked were first threatened with demands for repayment of the funds advanced to them for the trip; if that failed, they were threatened with beatings, and if that failed they were beaten and physically forced to submit to Swearengen's demands. Many still resisted, but those who escaped this fate could only find themselves in no better situation, as penniless women with no source of income, alone in a rough and rowdy mining camp, and with the constant threat of Swearengen's men hanging over them. Many grew sick and died from lack of proper nutrition and shelter, while many others committed suicide. [4] [5]
The Gem prospered, bringing in an average of $5,000 a night, even reaching as high as $10,000. [1] Swearengen forged alliances with many of Deadwood's most prominent citizens, buying himself immunity from legal or other problems. His immunity even extended to the notoriously upright and incorruptible Marshal Seth Bullock, who did not have the political clout to extend his campaign to clean up the town as far as the lower regions of Main Street, which remained Swearengen's territory. [1]
The front of the Gem consisted of a bar, and the "theater" area; in the back were the rooms for the prostitutes. Day-to-day operations were managed by Al Swearengen himself. Customers frequently brutalized the women, even to the point of killing them.
The violence in the Gem was not confined to the prostitutes, with the saloon being a frequent site of gunfights between drunken patrons; [1] and in one memorable instance, the memoirs of John S. McClintock reported a prostitute named "Trixie" having shot a large hole through the skull of a man who astounded everyone by surviving for another half an hour. [3] [4]
The Gem was damaged by fire in the summer of 1879 and repaired, but then very soon destroyed in a major fire that devastated the town on September 26, 1879. Swearengen built an even larger and more grand establishment, reopening in December 1879 to adulation as the finest theater ever seen in Deadwood. [6]
In 1899, however, the Gem burned down once again, and a broke Swearengen declined to rebuild and left for Colorado. Despite the Gem's history as Deadwood's longest-lived entertainment institution, its support by so many of the town power brokers over the years, and the glowing tributes in the press after the rebuilt Gem was unveiled, after its demise it was reviled in the press as an evil institution and a town shame. [6]
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Swearengen (played by Ian McShane) and the Gem are both portrayed in the HBO television show, Deadwood (2004–2006) and Deadwood: The Movie (2019), but in heavily modified form. The show's fictional Gem Saloon is already well-established when the show begins in August 1876 and in the movie, which takes place in 1889, it is implied that Swearengen dies due to liver failure in his bed upstairs in the saloon (the real Swearengen was murdered in Denver in 1904) and that he leaves the saloon to a former prostitute named Trixie.
Tombstone is a city in Cochise County, Arizona, United States, founded in 1879 by prospector Ed Schieffelin in what was then Pima County, Arizona Territory. It became one of the last boomtowns in the American frontier. The town grew significantly into the mid-1880s as the local mines produced $40 to $85 million in silver bullion, the largest productive silver district in Arizona. Its population grew from 100 to around 14,000 in less than seven years. It is best known as the site of the Gunfight at the O.K. Corral and presently draws most of its revenue from tourism.
Deadwood is a city that serves as county seat of Lawrence County, South Dakota, United States. It was named by early settlers after the dead trees found in its gulch. The city had its heyday from 1876 to 1879, after gold deposits had been discovered there, leading to the Black Hills Gold Rush. At its height, the city had a population of 25,000, attracting Old West figures such as Wyatt Earp, Calamity Jane, and Wild Bill Hickok.
James Butler Hickok, better known as "Wild Bill" Hickok, was a folk hero of the American Old West known for his life on the frontier as a soldier, scout, lawman, cattle rustler, gunslinger, gambler, showman, and actor, and for his involvement in many famous gunfights. He earned a great deal of notoriety in his own time, much of it bolstered by the many outlandish and often fabricated tales he told about himself. Some contemporaneous reports of his exploits are known to be fictitious, but they remain the basis of much of his fame and reputation.
Deadwood is an American Western television series that aired on the premium cable network HBO from March 21, 2004, to August 27, 2006, spanning three seasons and 36 episodes. The series is set in the 1870s in Deadwood, South Dakota, before and after the area's annexation by the Dakota Territory, and charts Deadwood's growth from camp to town. The show was created, produced, and largely written by David Milch. Deadwood features a large ensemble cast headed by Timothy Olyphant and Ian McShane, playing the real-life Deadwood residents Seth Bullock and Al Swearengen, respectively. Many other historical figures appear as characters, including George Crook, Wyatt Earp, E. B. Farnum, George Hearst, Wild Bill Hickok, Calamity Jane, Sol Star, A. W. Merrick, Jack McCall, and Charlie Utter. The plot lines involving these characters include historical truths as well as substantial fictional elements. Milch used actual diaries and newspapers from 1870s Deadwood residents as reference points for characters, events, and the look and feel of the show.
Solomon Star was a Jewish American businessman and politician notable as an early resident of the town of Deadwood, South Dakota.
Seth Bullock was a Canadian-American frontiersman, business proprietor, politician, sheriff, and U.S. Marshal. He was a prominent citizen in Deadwood, South Dakota, where he lived from 1876 until his death, operating a hardware store and later a large hotel, the Bullock Hotel.
Charles H. "Colorado Charlie" Utter was a figure of the American Wild West, best known as a great friend and companion of Wild Bill Hickok. He was also friends with Calamity Jane.
Ellis Alfred Swearengen was an American pimp and entertainment entrepreneur who ran the Gem Theater, a notorious brothel, in Deadwood, South Dakota, for 22 years during the late 19th century.
The Reverend Henry Weston Smith was an American preacher and early resident of Deadwood, South Dakota.
Jefferson Randolph "Soapy" Smith II was an American con artist and gangster in the American frontier.
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The Black Hills gold rush took place in Dakota Territory in the United States. It began in 1874 following the Custer Expedition and reached a peak in 1876–77.
John Sewell Langrishe, popularly known as the "Comedian of the Frontier", was an Irish-American actor and impresario who travelled extensively throughout the American West and later in life became one of the first State Senators of Idaho.
John Bull was a little-known English gunman of the American Old West. He is featured in the book "Deadly Dozen", written by author Robert K. DeArment as one of the twelve most underrated gunmen of the 19th century west.
"Deadwood" is the first episode of the first season of the HBO original series of the same name. The episode was written by David Milch and directed by Walter Hill. It first aired on March 21, 2004.
Myers City, today called Myersville, is a ghost town in Pennington County, South Dakota, United States.
Rochford is an unincorporated community in Pennington County, South Dakota, United States. It is not tracked by the U.S. Census Bureau.
The Old Style Saloon No. 10 is located in Deadwood, South Dakota, United States. The original location is best known as the site where the American Old West legend Wild Bill Hickok was assassinated by Jack McCall while playing a game of poker on August 2, 1876. Saloon No. 10 was originally located on placer claim number 10 from which its name is derived. Fire swept through the mining camp in 1879 destroying the original structure, and a bar was later built at its former location.
Deadwood: The Movie is a 2019 American Western television film directed by Daniel Minahan and written by David Milch for HBO. It is a continuation of the television series of the same name, which was created by Milch and ran for three seasons from 2004 to 2006. The film reunites the majority of the large ensemble cast, including Timothy Olyphant, Ian McShane, Molly Parker, Paula Malcomson, John Hawkes, and Gerald McRaney, and premiered on May 31, 2019.
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