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Silverado Franklin Historic Hotel and Gaming Complex
The historic Franklin hotel has
been doing business in downtown Deadwood, South Dakota since 1902,
and the luxurious hotel is still going strong as part of the
Silverado Franklin Historic hotel and gaming complex, serving
delicious authentic meals in their dining room, and the elaborate
gaming facilities downstairs. Celebrities have been coming here
since the beginning, with magnificent suites full of
furnishings and the best service in the Black Hills. Teddy Roosevelt
and William Howard Taft, as well as movie stars like Kevin Costner,
John Wayne and the latest celebrity to venture into the hotel is Big
& Rich, country music sensations. There is always something going on
in the hotel, but there are many other attractions to entice you out
of that marvelous room. Before thinking about going there, make sure
to call ahead and make a reservation as the suites and rooms can
fill up quickly. The lobby has just lately been restored with high
gorgeous vaulted ceilings, vintage furnishings and an atmosphere of
pure elegance. The site of the Silverado gaming establishment has
been an important aspect of the city of Deadwood ever since gold was
discovered here in 1875. Back then, the site was the junction of
City Creek and Whitewood Creek, and it was here, just feet away
where the first discovery of gold was made by Frank Bryant in what
was then called Deadwood Gulch. Frank was out hunting when he found
the sparkling gold nugget shining in the bright sunshine and it
didn't take him long to realize what he'd just found. After the city
became laid out and the developing stages going strong, this
structure was built by W. E. Adams for the Hills Chevrolet Company
in 1933 and later renamed the Franklin Garage. Montgomery Ward was
one of the tenants in the large structure, and when the residents of
the state legalized gambling in 1989, the Silverado bought and
renovated the building. A much bigger addition, built to complement
the historical brickwork of the original Franklin garage was then
built in 1995. It would contain a big players center, open gaming
floor, spacious restaurant and the largest poker room in the town.
Some of the business leaders had envisioned a large hotel for
downtown for a long time, but funding had always been the biggest
obstacle. One developer had built a foundation for the structure
before giving up, and a large underground spring eventually turned
the hole into a temporary swimming pool for the local kids. Then, in
1902, Harris Franklin said he would match any dollar donated for
construction of the hotel, with Harris becoming the chief
shareholder and an officer of the Deadwood Hotel Company; with the
completed product named in his honor. The grand opening was in 1903,
and had a banquet for 250 people, who were amazed at the many modern
conveniences of the new hotel. There was a lobby fountain,
newsstand, two private parlors for ladies, steam heat, cigar store,
barber shop, elevator, masseuse, buffet, restaurant, telephone
service in all the rooms, and electric lights. Half of the hotel's
80 rooms had private baths, a new idea in those days, and the
Pioneer-Times stated that the musicians that played that night were
almost completely hidden by the potted palms in the ballroom. During
its heyday, the hotel entertained presidents Teddy Roosevelt,
William Taft, famous folks like John Wayne, Buffalo Bill Cody, Babe
Ruth and heavyweight champion John L. Sullivan. The stock market
crash of 1929 would be the end for the famous hotel; which was then
transformed into residential apartments, and when the town legalized
gambling, it would return to being a hotel, but it wasn't until the
owners of the Silverado Gaming Establishment bought the hotel and
put $7 million into its restoration in 2005. The first floor opened
in 2007, with refurbished tin ceiling, fluted columns, restored
woodwork, elegant chandeliers, gilded fixtures and colored glass.
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Preacher Smith Museum
In 1874, when gold was
discovered by Custer's troops in the Dakota territory's Black Hills,
the mining camps sprang up like flowers, bringing the hopefuls, the
dregs, the speculators, and even a Methodist preacher, Henry Weston
Smith. Henry began his ministry at the age of 23, and in 1861,
enlisted in the 52nd Massachusetts Infantry, fought gallantly and
then after the war, became a doctor. He would move to Louisville,
Kentucky, with his wife, Lydia Ann Joslin and their four kids. In
the early months of 1876, Henry left his family and home, joining
others in a party of gold hunters, on their way to the Black Hills.
He was desiring to bring his ministry to the mines, and was the
first preacher to head there, and came to Deadwood in May that year.
When Henry arrived, there were enough shanties and cabins to house
some three to four thousand people, and he started constructing his
own cabin, cutting timbers, and helping others to build their homes
to help support himself. He also took a job as a fireman in the
local sawmill, and preached on Sundays, on the only street in the
new town, Main Street; as well as traveling to other camps to preach
the word. One Sunday morning, after his service, on August 20, 1876,
he went home and put a note on his door, saying he would be gone to
Crook City and be back by 2PM. He never made it back, because he
would be murdered on the 10 mile walk. His body was discovered, with
his Bible, and the notes he would use for his sermon that day;
bloodstained. Henry could have been murdered by any number of white
men that were in the area, and the possibility of a marauding Sioux
party could have came upon him, alone on the road to Crook City;
since the battle at the Little Big Horn had just happened weeks
before. Henry hadn't been sent to the town of Deadwood by any church
group, but had gone there on his own, and in 1878, the Methodist
Episcopal church sent a representative, James Williams to the town.
James would organize a Methodist Society and on March 4, 1883, the
first church, Deadwood, the Mother Church of the Black Hills, was
dedicated and opened. Within a few months, the new church would be
destroyed by a flood, although some of the furnishings would be
saved. A new site was chosen, higher than before, and on May 12,
1885, it would be dedicated, and although it has been restored
numerous times, it still stands there today. There is some
discrepancy about his death, as nothing was taken, nor was his body
disturbed in any way; just a single bullet through the heart.
Sheriff, at the time, Seth Bullock, stated that he believed some
rowdy Indians had done the dirty deed, but no one was ever arrested
for the crime. Sheriff Bullock conducted the funeral services
himself, using a borrowed book of Common Prayer, where he read the
Burial Office for Henry. The city's residents put up a monument at
or near the exact spot of his demise, to commemorate his worthy and
useful life, and many wanted to hold a memorial service to him each
year.
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