Spokane, South Dakota

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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]

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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.
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