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After reading the following info...I was wondering if they are going to re-enact the shooting of "Wild Bill" Hickok. Wild Bill was in Deadwood only a few weeks before he was killed. (The series is longer than that... )

Deadwood Information and History

The city of Deadwood, seat of Lawrence County, in the Black Hills of Western South Dakota was incorporated 1876. The city was named for the dead trees that were found in the narrow canyon (Deadwood Gulch) where you'll find the historic Main and Sherman streets, with many streets built up its steep sides.

Deadwood had the first telephone exchange in the state of South Dakota. Established by Paul Rewman in March of 1878, calls between Deadwood and Lead were 50 cents at the time, 25 cents cheaper than a stage ride between the cities, and much faster. The completion of the line was promptly celebrated as reported by the Pioneer with a large bonfire, gathering, and a grand ball at the Grand Central Hotel.

Industries include gold mining and lumbering; tourism is also important to the economy. Of interest are an old gold mine where you can try "panning for gold", several historical museums, a cemetery containing the graves of Wild Bill Hickok (who was killed here) and Calamity Jane, and many historic hotels and saloons. The city was founded following the discovery of gold here in 1876. Reached by railroad in 1891, the city developed as a trading center for the northern Black Hills region. In 1989, limited -wage gambling was legalized in Deadwood to rejuvenate tourism. Population (1980) 2035; (1990) 1830.

The REAL "Wild Bill" Hickok

Read his Bio HERE

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The REAL Calamity Jane


Read her bio HERE

Sorry to post so often but I wanted to give you a few more facts. Both Seth Bullock & Sol Star are real. Here's some info:



I guess they do get (eventually) a piece of property to build on..

Seth Bullock and the Historic Bullock Hotel in Deadwood, South Dakota
The Historic Bullock Hotel was built in 1895 by Seth Bullock. Seth is well known for becoming the first sheriff of Deadwood, as well as several other honors bestowed upon him by his friend, Theodore Roosevelt.

The Bullock Hotel was originally a hardware store, and after the fire in 1894, was remodeled and turned into the now historic, Bullock Hotel. The hotel originally had 64 rooms, and boasted a bathroom on each floor. At the time, the Bullock Hotel was the most sought after luxury hotel. Today, the Historic Bullock Hotel has undergone several renovations to upgrade the hotel with modern amenities. The facility has maintained it's historic appearance and grandeur, and will enchant your senses with the Victorian decor. The Historic Bullock Hotel is the most photographed hotel in Deadwood, and STILL provides the most luxurious hotel accommodations in the area. Step back in time and let history come to life for you at the Historic Bullock Hotel!

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Not as handsome as Timothy Olyphant...

Seth Bullock
Seth Bullock was born in 1849 in the village of Sandwich, Ontario to retired British Major George Bullock and his Scottish wife. Little is known of his boyhood, except that he was frequently at odds with his father's strict attitudes concerning discipline.

***A e-mail was recieved recently from Lynn Bunn who has been studying the local history of Essex County, in which Amherstburg, Sandwich, and Windsor are located. In Lynn's studies, the following information was discovered: "According to baptismal records in Christ's Church, Amherstburg, Ontario, Seth was born July 23, 1847 in Amherstburg and baptized on February 3, 1850 at this church. Amherstburg is located about 15 miles from Windsor (which is across the Detroit River from Detroit, Michigan; Sandwich is now a part of Windsor.) In the 1851 Census, Seth is listed as being 5 years old, which confirms that he was born around 1846-47. At this time the family was living in Sandwich so they probable moved there during 1850-51. (1851 Census, Canada West (now Ontario), Sandwich Township, Reel C11720, page 1). The family moved to Sandwich when Seth's father became involved in local politics. Sandwich was then the main political town in this part of Ontario. His father, George Bullock (born in England), besides being a military man, was a prominent leader in municipal politics, being Reeve of Malden Township and councilor of the Western District (1843-49), warden of the Western District (1847-49), and Treasurer of the Western District and its various counties (1850-58). George's wife (and Seth's mother) was Agnes Findley (born in Scotland).***

Accepting Greeley's advice to "go West, young man" at face value, Seth arrived in Helena, Montana in 1867 to become a permanent part of the Western scene. He ran for the Territorial Legislature at the early age of twenty, but was defeated. However, he was successful in being elected as a Republican member of the Territorial Senate of Montana, serving in the 1871 and 72 sessions, and during which he introduced a resolution memorializing the Congress of the United States to set aside Yellowstone for all time to come as a great national park. The resolution was adopted by the Legislature and shortly thereafter a bill was introduced in both houses of Congress. Yellowstone Park was established by Federal Statute on March 1, 1872.

In 1873 Bullock was elected Sheriff of Montana territory in Lewis and Clark County. In addition to his other activities, he soon made a mark for himself as an auctioneer and commission merchant in early-day Helena. He entered into a partnership with Sol Star in the hardware business as well as serving as Chief Engineer of the Helena Fire Department.

In 1876, Star and Bullock followed the gold rush to Deadwood, South Dakota to open a soon-successful hardware business in the hell-roaring camp, after first sending his bride Martha with their first-born infant daughter back to the security of her Michigan home. Bullock was elected treasurer of the Board of Health and Street Commissioners, organized to combat a threatened smallpox epidemic and which quickly became the first unofficial governmental unit in Deadwood.

The death of Wild Bill Hickok in August of 1876 triggered a growing demand for law and order in Deadwood, resulting in Bullock's appointment as the first Sheriff of Deadwood as few months thereafter. He quickly appointed several able, fearless deputies and before long order had settled upon Deadwood with little fanfare or gun smoke.

With the elimination of the "roughs" from Deadwood, Seth devoted his time to ranching and raising thoroughbred horses on the ranch he and his partner established at the confluence of the Belle Fourche River and Redwater Creek, as well as dabbling in mining, politics and promotion while continuing to serve as Deputy United States Marshal.

In the spring of 1881, Bullock planted alfalfa on his ranch, which is generally credited as being the introduction of this important crop in the state of South Dakota. Continuing his youthful dedication to conservation, Bullock successfully secured a Federal fish hatchery for the Black Hills area, located near modern-day Spearfish.

Bullock became the founder of the town of Belle Fourche (later to become the largest livestock shipping point in the United States and the county seat of Butte County) by persuading the railroad to build through the old site of the DeMore Stage Stop on the Bullock Star Ranch and offering free lots for any building moved from the town of Minnesela to his "new" town.

During the Spanish-American War, Bullock volunteered for active service in the Cavalry and was named a Captain of Troop A in Grigsby's Cowboy Regiment. The outfit never saw combat, but did sustain quite a few casualties from typhoid which was rampant in the Louisianan training camp where they impatiently sat out the short war.

During the '90s, Bullock continued to maintain a close contact with Teddy Roosevelt. This close personal friendship between the Bullock and Roosevelt families had begun years prior when the two men shared coffee and beans over the tailgate of a chuck wagon on the rangelands near Belle Fourche. Roosevelt, the newly elected Vice President under President McKinley, appointed Bullock as the first Forest Supervisor of the Black Hills Reserve.

In 1905 President Teddy Roosevelt appointed Seth Bullock as United States Marshal fro South Dakota. Seth was reappointed in 1909 by President Taft and continued in office for one year under President Woodrow Wilson.

Roosevelt's death in January, 1919 was a fearful blow to Captain Bullock who was in a weak, emaciated condition himself. By mid-February, however Bullock was busily engaged in his last act of devotion to his beloved friend. Enlisting the aid of Society of Black Hills Pioneers to erect a monument to Roosevelt on Sheep Mountain. The peak was renamed Mt. Roosevelt and on its crest Bullock and his fellow pioneers erected a tower constructed of native Black Hills stone. This , the first memorial to Theodore Roosevelt in the United States, was dedicated July 4, 1919.

Trail's end came for Captain Seth Bullock two months later in September, 1919 at the age of seventy.

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Sol StarThough most well known stories of the early years of Deadwood are of gunfighters, saloon keepers, sporting girls, gamblers and rogues their’s are not the only stories. Wherever there was a confluence of people and money on the Western frontier, there was opportunity, and Deadwood, that beacon of opportunity, attracted tradesmen and shopkeepers, retailers and service providers of every kind. These men and their families arrived at the same time as the more colorful characters, but their influence was much more lasting. Those who stayed planted roots, and grew a community complete with businesses and banks, schools and churches, civic and social organizations and clubs. The endurance of modern Deadwood is their legacy.


The founders of Deadwood were people of distinction and drive and a large percentage of them were Jewish. 41% of members of the Society of Black Hills Pioneers (those who could trace their Black Hills roots to 1876) were foreign born". Among the most influential and successful of these early pioneers was Sol Star.


Sol Star was born in Bavaria, Germany on December 20, 1840 and emigrated to the United States about ten years later, settling in Ohio. At an early age he traveled to Montana, engaging in business in Helena. There he began a hardware business with Seth Bullock, and together they followed the gold rush to Deadwood in August of 1876. They established the Office of Star and Bullock, Auctioneers and Commission Merchants at the corner of Main and Wall Streets, selling pans, Dutch ovens, picks, axes, dynamite, much welcomed chamber pots, and anything else the miners or local population desired. Watson Parker says of them in Deadwood the Golden Years, they were "…effective and adroit businessmen, politicians and guiders of the economic destiny of the Black Hills". In 1878 they sold the first farm machinery in the area. Plows, reapers and rakes were sold as fast as they could be unloaded from the wagons, an indication that interests in the area were diversifying from the pursuit of gold.


In partnership with his friend Seth Bullock, Star expanded his business interests to the outlying towns of Spearfish, Sturgis and Custer, as well as a livestock business in Belle Fourche. He and Bullock partnered with Harris Franklin in the Deadwood Flouring Mill Company, in 1880, and he served as its general manager.


Star had distinguished himself in public service in Montana, serving as territorial auditor and personal secretary to the Governor. He continued that service in Deadwood, serving fourteen years as mayor, and hosting William Jennings Bryan when he made a presidential campaign stop here in 1889. He was one of the first town councilmen elected in 1876 when the vote was taken to incorporate as a town, and served as postmaster in 1879. He served twenty years as Clerk of Courts when Lawrence County was established, holding that office until his death on October 10, 1917.