Civic Stability

Civic Stability. . Deadwood erected two monuments to order and permanence in the early 1900s. The federal building open in 1907, and activities in the county courthouse started the next year., In its early gold rush days, Deadwood was a wild, raucous mining camp with a widespread reputation for lawlessness. But over time the community matured, and the residents supported law and order. Townspeople viewed the two government buildings as symbols of the respectability, permanence and importance that Deadwood had achieved., Captions: , The building on the left in this 1800s photograph served as Lawrence County Courthouse until workers demolished it to make way for the new courthouse. The structures farther north on Sherman are on the site of the federal building. , The new county courthouse, shown here in 1909, boasted beautiful murals on the walls and ceilings. Renovations covered this art, but it was exposed and restored in 1991. Additions have expanded the size of the original building, but it still serves at the center of county business. , The United States District Court had met in Deadwood since the early gold rush days. Its first meeting in the mining camp was in a saloon on Lee Street. In the new federal building, the courtrooms occupied the second floor while the post office was on the first. The classical revival design proclaimed the federal presence in the community.