Spokane, South Dakota

Spokane, South Dakota
Ghost town
Spokane is located in South Dakota
Spokane
Spokane
Location in the state of South Dakota
Coordinates: 43°50′29″N 103°22′48″W / 43.8413775°N 103.3799128°W / 43.8413775; -103.3799128[1]
CountryUnited States
StateSouth Dakota
CountyCuster
Founded1890
Elevation
[1]
4,521 ft (1,378 m)
DemonymSpokanite
Time zoneUTC-7 (MST)
 • Summer (DST)UTC-6 (MDT)
GNIS feature ID[1][2]1262481

Spokane is a ghost town located in Custer County, South Dakota, United States. Founded in 1890, it was a mining camp in the Black Hills until its abandonment in the mid-20th century.

Naming

Spokane was named after Spokane, Washington, by a local silver mine.[3]

History

Spokane was originally intended to be a gold mining town,[4] but the Spokane Mine also produced silver, lead,[4] beryl, copper, mica, hematite, graphite, and zinc. Both the town and mine were founded in 1890.[5] 1927 was one of the town's best years, when the town's profits totaled $144,742. The town turned this money into a school, and several new miners entered the area.[4]

The mine soon began to fail again, and it closed in 1940. By this decade, the town was already largely abandoned. In the 1950s, a few companies unsuccessfully tried to reopen the mine. The mine's buildings eventually burned down, and others that were deemed unsafe were destroyed by the U.S. Forest Service. A watchman remained in the town until the mid-1980s, and after that, the town was officially abandoned.[4]

Geography

Spokane was located in the Black Hills in Custer County, 16 miles (26 km) east of Custer.[1] The former townsite sits near the three-way junction between Iron Mountain Road, County Road 330, and U.S. Route 16A. Only a few buildings remain, including the barn, watchman's house, school, and remnants of the mine.[5]

References

  1. ^ a b c d "Spokane". Geographic Names Information System. United States Geological Survey, United States Department of the Interior. February 13, 1980. Retrieved October 20, 2013.
  2. ^ "US Board on Geographic Names". United States Geological Survey. October 25, 2007. Retrieved January 31, 2008.
  3. ^ Federal Writers' Project (1940). South Dakota place-names, v.3. University of South Dakota. p. 61.
  4. ^ a b c d O'Sullivan, Joe (June 11, 2013). "R.I.P. Spokane". Inlander. Spokane, Washington: The Pacific NW Inlander. Retrieved October 20, 2013.
  5. ^ a b Raisch, Bruce A. (2006). "South Dakota Black Hills Ghost Towns". Ghost Towns and Other Historical Sites of the Black Hills (4th ed.). Virginia Beach, Virginia: Donning Company Publishers. pp. 72–73. ISBN 978-1-57864-351-6.