While on a car trip through the US, I drove to Deadwood, SD. Originally a lawless gold rush settlement, Deadwood now leans into that history in a big way.
Wandering its streets is like stepping onto the set of a Western—except it’s real. Boardwalks line the main drag, saloon doors swing, and every other building claims some connection to Wild Bill Hickok or Calamity Jane. I even went to Mount Moriah Cemetery where they’re both buried—close together, despite conflicting reports about whether they were actually close in life.
Reenactments of Hickok’s murder, while he was playing poker, take place daily during the summer. Should visitors wish to gamble now, there are loads of slot machines. At one point while walking through the town, I stumbled upon a gunfight in progress. Of course, it’s scheduled entertainment.
Deadwood also leans quirky in subtler ways. There are reportedly several haunted spots. In the historic Bullock Hotel staff and guests claim to have seen the ghost of Seth Bullock patrolling the halls.
Deadwood is part ghost town, part living diorama, part casino, it’s a place where history is reenacted daily, with a wink and a fake pistol.
All this in a town of 1,300.