We’re proud of our history, so we chose the name First Gold because of our proximity to where the first gold was discovered in the northern Black Hills.

Our friends at the Deadwood Chamber have created a timeline, which tracks the progression of prospecting from the Southern Hills to the Northern Hills. It started in 1874 when an expedition, led by Lieutenant Colonel George Armstrong Custer, discovered gold near what is now the town of Custer.

That discovery drew more prospectors to the region, and before long they discovered gold in the northern Black Hills. In 1875, there was a rush to the north, and prospectors came to “a gulch full of dead trees and a creek full of gold.” Aptly named Deadwood Gulch, it became the gold camp-turned-town of Deadwood.

We are nestled in that gulch, surrounded by the beautiful Black Hills, and with the name First Gold we are paying homage to that fateful gold discovery that shaped this area.

NOTE: The 1870s stereograph photo above features an early view of Deadwood Gulch, taken from White Rocks. (Photo courtesy of Deadwood History Inc., Adams Museum Collection)