Spokane, South Dakota

Last updated

Spokane, South Dakota
Ghost town
USA South Dakota location map.svg
Red pog.svg
Spokane
Location in the state of South Dakota
Coordinates: 43°50′29″N103°22′48″W / 43.8413775°N 103.3799128°W / 43.8413775; -103.3799128 [1]
Country United States
State South Dakota
County Custer
Founded1890
Elevation
[1]
4,521 ft (1,378 m)
Demonym Spokanite
Time zone UTC-7 (MST)
 • Summer (DST) UTC-6 (MDT)
GNIS feature ID [1] [2] 1262481

Spokane is a ghost town located in Custer County, South Dakota, United States. Founded in 1890, it was a mining camp in the Black Hills until its abandonment in the mid-20th century.

Contents

Naming

Spokane was named after Spokane, Washington, by a local silver mine. [3]

History

Spokane was originally intended to be a gold mining town, [4] but the Spokane Mine also produced silver, lead, [4] beryl, copper, mica, hematite, graphite, and zinc. Both the town and mine were founded in 1890. [5] 1927 was one of the town's best years, when the town's profits totaled $144,742. The town turned this money into a school, and several new miners entered the area. [4]

The mine soon began to fail again, and it closed in 1940. By this decade, the town was already largely abandoned. In the 1950s, a few companies unsuccessfully tried to reopen the mine. The mine's buildings eventually burned down, and others that were deemed unsafe were destroyed by the U.S. Forest Service. A watchman remained in the town until the mid-1980s, and after that, the town was officially abandoned. [4]

Geography

Spokane was located in the Black Hills in Custer County, 16 miles (26 km) east of Custer. [1] The former townsite sits near the three-way junction between Iron Mountain Road, County Road 330, and U.S. Route 16A. Only a few buildings remain, including the barn, watchman's house, school, and remnants of the mine. [5]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Silver City, South Dakota</span> Place in South Dakota, United States

Silver City is an unincorporated community in Pennington County, South Dakota, United States, outside Rapid City. It lies at the head of Pactola Lake on Rapid Creek, and is about 5 miles west of U.S. Route 385 via a paved county road. It is not tracked by the U.S. Census Bureau.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Four Mile, South Dakota</span> Unincorporated community in South Dakota, United States

Four Mile, historically called Moss City, is an unincorporated community in Custer County, South Dakota, United States, located 4 miles (6.4 km) west of Custer at the junction of U.S. Route 16 and Pleasant Valley Road.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Burdock, South Dakota</span> Ghost town in Fall River County, South Dakota

Burdock is an uninhabited ghost town in Argentine Township in Fall River County, South Dakota, United States.

Brownsville, also known as Avalon, Esther's Place, and Anderson's Place, is an unincorporated community in Lawrence County, South Dakota, United States. The town was originally a lumber camp, and it was named for contractor David Brown. It is the nearest community to John Hill Ranch-Keltomaki, which is listed on the U.S. National Register of Historic Places.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dewey, South Dakota</span> Unincorporated community in South Dakota, United States

Dewey is an unincorporated community near the southwest corner of Custer County, South Dakota, United States, less than one mile from the Wyoming border in a prairie region of the Black Hills. There are approximately five or six homes in town. Dewey has a volunteer fire department in the Edgemont city district.

Ragged Top is a ghost town in Lawrence County, South Dakota, United States. While the town was once a prosperous mining town, it declined due to miners' inability to transport their ore to smelters.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Carbonate, South Dakota</span> Ghost town in South Dakota, United States of America

Carbonate, also known as Carbonate Camp, West Virginia, Virginia, and Carbonate City, is a ghost town located in Lawrence County, South Dakota, United States.

Addie Camp, also known as Kennedyville, Addie Spur, or Canadaville, is a ghost town located in Pennington County, South Dakota, United States. It was a mining camp in the Black Hills that was active from the early 1880s until the 1910s.

Bismuth is a ghost town in the Black Hills of Custer County, South Dakota, United States.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tinton, South Dakota</span> Ghost town in South Dakota, United States

Tinton is a ghost town in the Black Hills of Lawrence County, South Dakota, United States. Founded in 1876, it started out as a gold mining camp and later began to produce tin. It had a heavy decline in the early 20th century due to the decline in the mining industry, and the town was fully abandoned by the 1950s.

Tigerville or Tiger City (1878–1885) is a ghost town in the Black Hills of Pennington County, South Dakota, United States. The old mining town exemplifies the boom-and-bust fate of many Western towns.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Trojan, South Dakota</span> Town in South Dakota, United States

Trojan, also known as Portland, is a ghost town in the Black Hills of Lawrence County, South Dakota. It was established by and named after the Trojan Mining Company.

Etta, also known as Etta Camp and Etta Mine, is a ghost town in Pennington County, South Dakota, United States. It was a successful mining town, known for its discovery of the largest spodumene crystal ever found.

Maitland, originally called Garden City and sometimes misspelled Midland, is a ghost town in Lawrence County, South Dakota, United States. It was a mining community that boomed during the Black Hills Gold Rush, but was abandoned by about 1915.

Myers City, today called Myersville, is a ghost town in Pennington County, South Dakota, United States.

Roubaix, formerly known as Perry or Lewisville, is an unincorporated community in Lawrence County, South Dakota, United States. It is not monitored by the U.S. Census Bureau.

Nahant or West Nahant is a ghost town in Lawrence County, South Dakota, United States. It flourished as a logging and, to a lesser extent, mining town in the late 19th and early 20th centuries.

Sheridan, originally called Golden City, was an early mining camp in Pennington County, South Dakota, United States. It was the first county seat of Pennington County, from 1877 to 1878. It is now submerged under Sheridan Lake.

Galena is an unincorporated community in Lawrence County, South Dakota, United States. It is often considered to be a ghost town, even though a few families still live in the area. It is not tracked by the U.S. Census Bureau.

Novak, also known as Cindell Spur, is a ghost town in Lawrence County, South Dakota, United States. It was an early mining camp.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 "Spokane". Geographic Names Information System . United States Geological Survey, United States Department of the Interior. February 13, 1980. Retrieved October 20, 2013.
  2. ↑ "US Board on Geographic Names". United States Geological Survey. October 25, 2007. Retrieved January 31, 2008.
  3. ↑ Federal Writers' Project (1940). South Dakota place-names, v.3. University of South Dakota. p. 61.
  4. 1 2 3 4 O'Sullivan, Joe (June 11, 2013). "R.I.P. Spokane". Inlander. Spokane, Washington: The Pacific NW Inlander. Retrieved October 20, 2013.
  5. 1 2 Raisch, Bruce A. (2006). "South Dakota Black Hills Ghost Towns". Ghost Towns and Other Historical Sites of the Black Hills (4th ed.). Virginia Beach, Virginia: Donning Company Publishers. pp. 72–73. ISBN   978-1-57864-351-6.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.