Featured Prospector of the Month: A man named Ray

We’re named First Gold because of our proximity to where people made the first gold discoveries in Deadwood, and we’re collaborating with Deadwood History, Inc. to celebrate that history by featuring a Prospector of the Month. 

This month’s featured photo is from the Deadwood History, Inc., Adams Museum Collection of a prospector identified only as “Ray” panning for gold with his sluice box in a creek. On the back of the image it reads, “Ray panning. 1937”.

Panning was a common way to search for gold that involves filling a shallow pan with gravel or rocks and water. Since gold is heavier than other particulates, like rocks and gravel, the prospector used the water to sift out the lighter substances while the gold sank to the bottom.

Sluices were also common, and usually made of wood. They were long and narrow, with one end higher than the other, the water running down a little like a water slide. Like panning, the effect combined water with gravity to sift gold out of the lighter gravel and silt surrounding it. 

Ray, sitting on his claim making use of both methods, seems like a typical prospector of the time. But we don’t know much more than that. 

Thousands of miners like Ray poured into the Black Hills from all over the world during the gold boom. An estimated 5,100 to 10,000 people were prospecting for gold in the region by the mid-1870s. By 1937, the height of the gold rush had passed, but Deadwood was still booming.

Shortly after the photo was taken, the U.S. had entered World War II. In 1942, the U.S. War Production Board ordered gold mining to cease. That had big implications for places like Deadwood where much of the economy revolved around mining.   

Homestake Mining Company in Lead, the deepest and longest-operating gold mine in the Western Hemisphere, employed thousands of miners alone. It stopped mining after the War Production Board’s order, but it didn’t stand idle. It stayed open and made hand grenades in support of the war effort. After the war, it returned to gold mining until 2002. 

In 2006, Homestake was transformed into the Sanford Underground Research Facility “where scientists probe the depths of space to learn more about our place in the universe.” After the mining petered out, Deadwood remade itself as a gambling and tourism destination, as well as a haven for archeological and scientific research.

Gold mining may not still be the main job in Deadwood, but it does still draw people to town. Former mines offer tours and other experiences – you can even try your hand at panning for gold at some. And our friends at Deadwood History Inc. maintain several historical buildings and exhibits showcasing the history of Deadwood’s legends, brothels, and businessmen. 

We’ve come a long way, but our history will always be rooted in those plucky prospectors like Ray who came to the Black Hills to seek their fortune. In fact, our casino gives you a chance to strike your own First Gold. (No mining equipment required.) 

Want to try your luck? Book a room with us. We can’t want to see you there.