History Buried Beneath Your Feet

History Buried Beneath Your Feet. . As part of Deadwood's commitment to preserve its history, the Deadwood Historic Preservation Commission hired archaeologists from the South Dakota State Historical Society to map the stacked rock and poured concrete retaining wall along City Creek and monitor the excavation of the site around you. Prior to construction, preservation staff and State archaeologists researched the history of the site. A Chinese laundry (1885-1889), a wood opera house/ roller skating rink (1885 – 1901), Deadwood's second City Hall (1889 – 1952) and the Deadwood Theater (1905 – 1952) were the businesses that once occupied these lots. , Beginning in January of 2019, archaeologists and heavy equipment operators working together unearthed and exposed architectural objects, steam and water boilers and foundation walls associated with the 1889 city hall and 1905 theater. Two architectural objects - the Frost Manufacturing Company fire box door from the Deadwood Theater and wrought iron security bars from the Deadwood City Hall were cleaned and included in the Outlaw Square architectural design. The photographs below record several interesting objects unearthed during the archaeological monitoring of Outlaw Square. , Captions: , Deadwood's second City Hall, completed in 1889, was located on the corner of Deadwood and Main Streets. , The Deadwood Theater, built in 1905, was adjacent to city hall. On January 28, 1952, both buildings were destroyed in a fire. , Rock retaining wall - Deadwood Theater , Boiler - Deadwood Theater , Water tube boiler - Deadwood Theater , Iron security bars - City Hall