Downtown in Rapid City in Pennington County, South Dakota — The American Midwest (Upper Plains)
Hooky Jack Leary
The Downtown Rapid City Historic District
Photographed by William Fischer, Jr., September 20, 2026
1. Hooky Jack Leary Marker
"The constable who never had to make an arrest." "John Leary, before he became one of the most remarkable policemen in western Dakota, had been a hard-rock man in the Clara Belle Mine between Oreville and Sylvan Lake. He was given a high rating in his profession and might have gone on blasting ore till the end of his life. But one night he thawed out a stick of frozen dynamite over a hot stove. It thawed too soon.
When Leary got out of bed in Rapid City they fitted to the stumps of his arms the hooks that gave him his permanent nickname. One of his eyes was badly damaged. The other was a little crossed. But he got along alright. He went out and got himself elected 'night policeman' by a vote that was almost unanimous. It turned out to be a lifetime job.
During all the years that he was the lone voice of law and order in what was still a frontier town he worked a nightly miracle. He never carried a firearm because he couldn't have done anything with it. He never was able to call on official help because the town budget didn't provide for such an extravagance on the night force. His only assistant was a nondescript terrier
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When he walked into Clower's or Pete Sweeney's or the Wheel to settle a row, he got order in a matter of seconds. The lads still wore guns for pleasure as well as business in that period, and a homicide a week might not have been too much for Rapid City's share under the law of averages. The town had its shootings...but they didn't happen on Hooky Jack's beat... But for years violence in Main Street was attended by one inviolable rule of conduct. You just don't annoy Hooky Jack because he can't annoy you. All the regular visitors to Rapid City's skid row understood and appreciated the etiquette. Strangers learned or were quietly escorted out of town.
Once a collection of high-school boys celebrating a football victory picked up Constable Leary and suspended him by his hooks from a tree limb. But even that did nothing to lessen his prestige. A delegation from Ed Stenger's Ranch came into town unexpectedly the next night, seized the ringleaders and spanked their bare bottoms publicly in front of the Harney. After that the peace of Rapid went on and on and on to the point
Photographed by William Fischer, Jr., September 20, 2026
2. Hooky Jack Leary Marker
Looking across at 600 Block of Main Street (even numbers)
from "The Black Hills and Their Incredible Characters" by Robert J. Casey
[Center photo caption reads]
Riders. Early women's riding club assembled for a parade in front of Jack Clower's Cowboy Headquarters - 1907.
[Right photo caption reads]
The Rapid City Fire Department. Location: 610 Main Street. The 1931 American LaFrance Pumper pictured on the left was utilized by the City of Rapid City from 1931 through 1970 and then sold to collector Robert Baird in 1971. The Independent Insurance Agents of Rapid City financed the purchase of the Pumper from the Baird Estate in April 1995 and deeded the unit to the City of Rapid City. While restoration of the firetruck continues, it is used by the Rapid City Fire Department for parades and special events.
[Top building streetscape illustration, left to right, reads]
AMERICAN STATE BANK: 632 MAIN STREET
This building and its parking lots replaced several wooden and masonry buildings dating from the late 19th and early 20th centuries. The corner building was, for many years, the site of the popular Virginia Café.
616-620 MAIN STREET
One third of this building was
Photographed by William Fischer, Jr., September 20, 2026
3. Former Clower Building, 602-606 Main Street
THE 1915 FIREHOUSE: 610 MAIN [STREET]
Rapid City's fire department (originally volunteers, later professional) was located in this building from 1915 to 1975, with the trucks and other equipment housed in the main floor behind the large garage doors, and with offices and quarters for the firemen upstairs. It was then renovated, and has housed several restaurants. Except for the tin ceiling, most of the interior, including the firepoles, is not original.
THE CLOWER BUILDING: 602-606 MAIN STREET
This building was originally constructed in 1886 for the L. Morris Dry Goods Company; it also housed Franklin & Baer's wholesale liquor store. For many years the corner was occupied by Jack Clower's saloon, and the remainder of the building housed J.A. Behrens Furniture and Undertaker. The funeral business moved west to 618 Main in 1919, but the furniture store was
Photographed by William Fischer, Jr., September 20, 2026
4. Former Firehouse, 610 Main Street
Erected by Rapid City Historic Preservation Commission, the National Park Service and Prairie Edge Trading Company & Gallery.
Topics. This historical marker is listed in these topic lists: Architecture • Industry & Commerce • Law Enforcement • Settlements & Settlers. A significant historical month for this entry is April 1995.
Location. 44° 4.861′ N, 103° 13.638′ W. Marker is in Rapid City, South Dakota, in Pennington County. It is in Downtown. It is at the intersection of Main Street (Business Interstate 90) and 6th Street, on the left when traveling west on Main Street. Touch for map. Marker is at or near this postal address: 603 Main Street, Rapid City SD 57701, United States of America. Touch for directions.
Regionally, this marker is in West River and in the Badlands. It is also in the American Black Hills, in the Lewis & Clark Corridor, on the prairies, and on the Northern Plains. Globally, it is in North America, the Western Hemisphere, the Western World, and the Anglosphere. Historically, it finds itself in what was once Rupert’s Land and also the Louisiana Purchase.
Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within walking distance of this marker: The Gossages and Rapid City (a few steps from this marker); George Herbert Walker Bush (within shouting distance of this marker); Mitakuye Oyasin (within shouting distance of this marker); 601st Bomb Squadron Army B-17 25226 Crash (about 300 feet away, measured in a direct line); James Monroe (about 400 feet away); John Quincy Adams (about 400 feet away); The Growth of Rapid City (about 400 feet away); Rapid City's Downtown Historic District (about 500 feet away). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Rapid City.
Credits. This page was last revised on October 13, 2026. It was originally submitted on October 13, 2026, by William Fischer, Jr. of Reynoldsburg, Ohio. This page has been viewed 4 times since then. Photos: 1, 2, 3, 4. submitted on October 13, 2026, by William Fischer, Jr. of Reynoldsburg, Ohio.
