Purchase
From military expeditions to gold mining boomtowns, outlandish business ventures to stunning national parks, the Black Hills teem with history as rich as their natural beauty. Inspired by field trips that he organized at Black Hills State University, David A. Wolff has distilled decades of experience exploring, researching, and teaching the history of this majestic region into accessible and informative self-guided tours.
The discovery of gold in the Lakotas’ sacred Paha Sapa in 1874 quickly attracted thousands of people in search of easy fortune, transforming the Black Hills into a series of gold camps. In “The Gold Rush,” you can follow in their footsteps, from Custer to Hill City, Keystone to Galena, Deadwood to Mystic and beyond. Featuring maps by the South Dakota Department of Transportation and dozens of photographs, Wolff’s historical synopsis provides just the right amount of context for each site on the route, along with precise mileage and directions. By tour’s end, you will have completed a mini-course in Black Hills history!
Follow the links below to listen to David A. Wolff discuss The Gold Rush on the Cochise County Travels – Wild West History podcast.
Apple Podcasts
Spotify
Reviews
“The subject of the Black Hills Gold Rush arouses memories and stories of Wild Bill Hickok, Calamity Jane, Seth Bullock, the rise of Deadwood, George Armstrong Custer, and — hold your horses! This is not what you might think. David A. Wolff, professor emeritus of history at Black Hills State University, developed a narrative of the Black Hills as history based on location. Spanning the period 1875 to modern times, the book is a historical travelogue. Arranged by location, Wolff takes the reader down roads and places most tourists never see or fully experience. Illustrated with maps and many photographs, the book is interesting, fun, and readable. Starting with the early Gold Rush years, the text explains how the sites merged, the mining changed, the investments, engineering, ambitions, the many failures . . . and the fun of the Gold Rush. When planning a trip to the Black Hills, get a copy of this book and read it first. This is just the first of six tours planned for the next few years, tours that will explore the storied Homestake Mine, the Wyoming-Deadwood-Lead connections, and much more. — Dennis McCown (Roundup Magazine, Feb. 2025 issue)
“Nicely illustrated throughout with B/W photos, and informatively enhanced for the reader's benefit with the inclusion of a six page Bibliography and a seven page Index, The Gold Rush is the first volume in the new Black Hills History Tours series from the South Dakota Historical Society Press. A seminal and exceptional work of meticulous historical scholarship, and thoroughly ‘reader friendly’ in style, organization and presentation, The Gold Rush is an impressive and unreservedly recommended addition to personal reading lists, as well as community and college/university library American History and South Dakota History and Travel Guide collections.” –Midwest Book Review