The Badlands, Deadwood, SD
Posted by: 
YoSam.
N 44° 22.675 W 103° 43.743
13T E 601248 N 4914634
Referring to the lower end of Main Street in Deadwood.
Waymark Code: WM4J79
Location: South Dakota, United States
Date Posted: 08/30/2008
Views: 66
Marker Erected by: Deadwood Preservation Commission.
County of Marker: Lawrence County.
Location of Marker: Wall St. & Main St., Deadwood.
Marker Text:
The Badlands
The "Badlands," the lower end of Main Street in front of you, earned its reputation through its saloons, brothels, theaters, gambling halls, and opium houses, which provided rowdy entertainment for the largely male population. Out of this district came many of the personalities and folklore that have made deadwood famous.
"The man who ventured the remark that a fool and his money are soon parted must have had in his mind's eye some place such as [Deadwood]....The 'tenderfoot' here brought face to face with...the slick confidence man, the claim jumper, the land shark and the desperado."
The New York Times, August 13, 1877.
[Bella Union Photo]: With cheap whiskey going for 50 cents an ounce, saloon owners could make more money than the miners. The Bella Union, perhaps gold rush Deadwood's grandest pleasure palace, contained a casino, dance hall and saloon. [courtesy: Haynes Foundation Collection, Montana Historical Society.]
[Green Front Photo]: The Green Front Theater included a dance hall and brothel. [Courtesy: Adams Museum, Deadwood.]
[Gem Theater Bar Photo]: The bar in the Gem Theater was not as glamorous as modern media images. [Courtesy: Centennial Archives, Deadwood Public.]
[Gem Theater Photo]: The Gem Theater provided stage shows, dancing and curtained rooms at the side. [Courtesy: Adams Museum, Deadwood.]