Galena, South Dakota, stands as a testament to the fervent spirit of the Black Hills mining boom, a ghost town nestled in Lawrence County, roughly eleven miles southeast of the famed Deadwood. This historic locale, once a bustling mining camp, holds a captivating story of discovery, prosperity, legal battles, and eventual decline, yet its legacy endures through preserved structures and tales of old.
The genesis of Galena, SD, began not with gold, but with silver. In 1874, the Black Hills saw an influx of prospectors following the discovery of gold, trespassing on lands guaranteed to the Lakota people by the 1851 Treaty of Fort Laramie. By 1875, miners searching near Bear Butte Creek found rich veins of galena, a natural mineral containing both lead and silver. This significant discovery shifted their focus from gold to silver, leading to a flurry of claims by March 1876 and the subsequent establishment of the Galena mining camp.
The Boomtown’s Vibrant Beginnings
One of Galena’s earliest and most notable residents was Sarah “Aunt Sally” Campbell, a former slave who arrived with George Custer’s 1874 Expedition as a cook. Likely the first non-Native woman in the Black Hills, she filed one of the initial claims and later purchased a ranch in Galena, living there until her death in 1888, and was laid to rest in Vinegar Hill Cemetery.
The town’s initial infrastructure consisted of modest dirt or wood cabins. James Conzette built a notable cabin in October 1876, intended as a fort against Native American raids, though it never served that purpose. Soon, an assay shop, various businesses, a boarding house, and seventy-five residents formed the core of the burgeoning camp.
Key Mines and Rapid Growth
Among the first and most productive mines were the Cora, Branch Mint, Gilt Edge Main, Golden Crest, Oro Hondo, and several mines named Emma. These Emma mines were said to be named after an inspiring young woman who worked at a local boarding house. To support the timber demands of the mines, a sawmill was erected. Additional mines such as the Sitting Bull, Florence, Merritt, Washington, and El Refugio soon joined the network of shafts and tunnels. A local newspaper lauded the Sitting Bull Mine in December 1876, recognizing its promising prospects as a “true mine.”
Through the 1870s, Galena experienced rapid expansion. By June 1877, it boasted a population of about 200, supported by four stores, three butchers, and a livery yard. The following month saw growth to approximately 275 people, with twenty-five women among them. A post office was established, and the McDonald Smelter, the first in the Black Hills, commenced operations. By year-end, the population swelled to 400, with seventy-five homes and a mail line connecting it to Deadwood.
The Saga of Thomas Francis Walsh and Colonel J.S. Davey
During this period, Irish immigrant Thomas Francis Walsh arrived in Galena, initially selling tools before finding work as a carpenter in Deadwood. He partnered with Jerry Dailey, staking the Anchor claim northwest of Galena. Though Walsh later moved on to Leadville and Ouray, Colorado, where he became a multimillionaire from his stake in the Camp Bird Mine—his daughter, Evalyn Walsh McLean, famously owned the Hope Diamond—his original shack home still stands in Galena today.
In 1878, wealthy Chicago businessman Colonel J.S. Davey invested heavily in Galena, leasing and purchasing several mines, including the Florence, Sitting Bull, and Yellow Jacket Mines. He constructed a new mill, and by 1879, the Sitting Bull Mine alone shipped $14,000 in silver and lead. The early 1880s marked another period of growth, with new businesses, improved infrastructure, and telephone lines being installed.
However, Davey’s time in Galena was not without conflict. His son, Frank Davey, became embroiled in a fatal dispute with partner Patrick Gorman, resulting in Gorman’s death and a costly legal defense for the guard, Billy Thatcher, who was acquitted but left town permanently.
Legal Battles and Lingering Decline
By 1883, Colonel Davey’s enlarged mill and smelter employed 125 miners, yielding approximately $500 per day, predominantly from silver. The Sitting Bull property alone had produced over $750,000 in silver. Yet, his success was challenged by a legal dispute with the Richmond Mine owners, who accused his crew of tunneling into their claim. The subsequent trial halted all Davey’s operations, causing a significant downturn in Galena’s population and his personal fortune. Despite escalating the case to the U.S. Supreme Court, Davey ultimately abandoned his Black Hills properties for Idaho’s goldfields, exhausted by the legal expenses.
Many mines in Galena faced similar legal entanglements due to their close proximity, with lawsuits often diverting significant profits to attorneys rather than miners or investors. After Davey’s departure, the Sitting Bull Company was liquidated, its properties acquired by Richmond. A brief resurgence in 1886 saw eight mining companies active, but a fall in silver prices brought operations to a halt. Although prices rebounded in 1895, this renewed activity was short-lived, lasting only until 1897.
Fading Hopes and the Railroad’s Role
The Union Mining Company acquired most of the surrounding mines but failed within a year, abandoning plans for a large stamp mill. Other mining operations ceased by 1891 due to ore depletion and low silver prices. At its zenith, Galena was home to as many as 2,000 people, a stark contrast to its later years.
In the early 1900s, new milling technologies brought a temporary revival, with mines like Union Hill, Gilt Edge, and Branch Mint reopening. The Burlington and Missouri River Railroad arrived in 1902, ushering in a brief resurgence. The Deadwood Pioneer Times reported growing ore shipments, but this period of hope was also short-lived. The Branch Mint Mining Company, with over 200 claims and its own narrow-gauge railroad, became a significant operator, yet it went into receivership by 1912. The Burlington and Missouri River Railroad discontinued operations the same year, and by the 1920s, a Black Hills newspaper sorrowfully noted that “Galena is nothing more than a post office.”
By 1929, the railroad tracks were removed, and with the onset of the Great Depression, nearly all area mines closed, save for The Double Rainbow. A final mining effort at the Gilt Edge Mine in 1940 briefly revitalized the town, but it was insufficient to prevent its eventual decline. The Galena school closed in 1943, and many wooden buildings were repurposed or deteriorated. The Catholic Church was torn down in the 1940s. Some structures, like the Borsch Boarding House, found new life as resorts, offering quiet mountain retreats and famous chicken dinners.
A final flicker of mining activity occurred in the early 1970s when the Homestake Mining Company reopened some silver mines, prompted by the Hunt brothers’ efforts to corner the silver market, driving prices up to $50 an ounce.
Galena Today: Preserving a Mining Legacy
Today, Galena, South Dakota, is home to only about twenty-five residents and features several vacation homes. The Galena Historical Society actively works to preserve the town’s remaining historic buildings, most notably the old Galena schoolhouse. Listed on the National Register of Historic Places, the schoolhouse sits on a hillside above Galena, remarkably unchanged since its construction in 1882. Its desks, books, blackboards, piano, organ, and pictures of historical figures remain as they were left in 1942, offering a poignant glimpse into the past.
Conclusion
From a bustling silver and lead mining camp to a quiet ghost town, Galena’s journey encapsulates the boom-and-bust cycle of the American West. Despite the challenges of legal disputes, fluctuating commodity prices, and economic depressions, the spirit of Galena endures. Thanks to dedicated preservation efforts, the echoes of its industrious past and the stories of its tenacious inhabitants continue to resonate, inviting visitors to reflect on an important chapter of Black Hills history.
