Description: This is a continuation of my review of Deadwood Historic town and this discusses the trolley bus tour and the cemetery of Mount Moriah.
When we had walked for an hour or so we decided that it might be nice to take a trip on the historic trolley bus which took you all around deadwood and out as far as Lead but we decided we would take the part tour and get off before it headed to Lead as that was quite some miles away and we had passed through it a few times in the last couple of days anyway.
The trolley buses are pretty cheap at $1 a ride for however long you stay on and you get a commentary from the driver as well as a chance to rest your legs for a while. The original Deadwood trolley buses were run by two different companies and they ran from 1888 to 1893 and the second company lasted till 1924. In 1992 using money from gaming profits the Deadwood Historic Preservation Society bought four petrol powered trolley buses and there are now six operating in Deadwood.
This is a strange city which has had a very lively history. Gambling and prostitution as well as drinking have been a part of its history on and off over the years. During prohibition drinking alcohol was banned and during the 20s gambling was banned so it had to take place behind closed doors. Prohibition ended in 1935 and gambling once again flourished in the town until 1947. Prostitution however remained a flourishing business in town until the 1950s when many brothels were closed. The last one to close was one called Pam’s Purple Door and this one lasted until 1980. Thus the main money making businesses were closed now but at this time Deadwood became the only city in the USA to be named a Historic Landmark in 1964.
In 1989 gambling was allowed again and this allowed Deadwood to preserve its historical buildings and of course this also brought in the tourists who came to see both the interesting historic town and also spend some of their hard earned money in the casinos and bars.
Having exhausted the delights of the town we got back in the car to drive up to the Mount Moriah Cemetery which is where some of the town’s famous inhabitants are buried. There is a cost to enter the cemetery which goes to help maintain the site. We specifically wanted to see the graves of Wild bill Hickok and next to him is the grave of Calamity Jane and also Potato creek Johnny has his grave in this area.
It is an interesting fact that Deadwood’s Methodist Church was the first church visited by the infamous gun slinging Calamity Jane and she did this at her own funeral.
Interestingly this cemetery has a special dispensation to fly the American flag over the cemetery 24 hours a day, rather than merely from sunrise to sunset. If you go to the site of the flag you get a fantastic view over the city of Deadwood.
The cemetery is divided into different sections, one area is specifically for Jewish people, and another called ‘Potter’s Field’ is for people buried without a stone or marker, another section is for veteran’s of wars.
The cemetery is huge and on a hill so is quite tiring to walk around so be prepared for quite a walk. If you have had enough of looking at graves then there is a small visitors’ centre where you can watch a film about the cemetery and its more famous residents. There is a small gift shop with some souvenirs, books about the town and surrounding area and novelty food and sweet items.
My husband was a bit disappointed by Deadwood but I found it quite an interesting place. There were few nice places to eat which was disappointing as we didn’t fancy the dark bars and as we were driving we couldn’t have a drink. It would have been nice to have a few more interesting shops on the high street with local crafts and things but there were few shops and those there were not that interesting.
If you are staying in the area then I would certainly say go and have a look at this unusual town. It has had a lively history and many interesting characters famous in the Wild West passed through this town.
Close