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 The
Nation’s Last Frontier:
Known as the “Nation’s
Last Frontier”, the Black Hills saw the convergence between nomadic
and agrarian cultures in 1876, late in the history of America’s
western migration to the Pacific. Like with “49ers” to California,
the “59ers” to Colorado, and the "62ers" to Montana,
the Black Hills gained prominence with the confirmation of gold by the
Colonel George Armstrong Custer Expedition of 1874. By 1876 and the unsuccessful
effort to keep the gold-seekers out, the “rush” was on to
the “76ers” of South Dakota.
Spearfish Canyon was prominent
in this development. First were the trappers to this impassable gorge,
then the timber and the railroad and the hydro-electric system that opened
the canyon, and finally, today’s scenic Highway 14A roadway. As
the antiquated infrastructures that fostered frontier development are
abandoned, decay and vanish, recreation has become the dominant public
interest.
Notables:
The canyon is rich in culture
with the many notable footprints in the landscape. Trapper Hugh Glass,
Lakota religious leader Black Elk, conservationist John Muir, bullwhacker
Calamity Jane, President Teddy Roosevelt, George Belshaw and the Latchstring
Inn, the Burlington Railroad, gold miner Potato Creek Johnny, and renowned
organic architect Frank Lloyd Wright.
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