Holland: Deadwood a pioneer in telephones

By Deb Holland, Journal staff | Sunday, February 04, 2007

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It was the height of the industrial revolution.

Alexander Graham Bell had conceived of the principle of telephone transmission and applied for a patent. Two years later, in March 1876, he is credited with inventing the telephone.

Meanwhile, halfway across the country, the town of Deadwood continued to attract thousands of prospectors. In the summer of 1876, the town was lawless and dangerous with saloons, gambling houses and bawdy theaters lining the streets.

But soon, the gulch changed from a hodgepodge of shacks and sheds to a civilized community with theaters, churches and Sunday afternoon socials, said Mary Kopco, director of Adams Museum & House.

But none of that could have happened without this Wild West town embracing the technology at hand.

“Deadwood was quite technologically advanced for the era,” Kopco said recently.

So, you probably know where I’m going with this. Yes, Deadwood was one of the first places in the country to have a telephone exchange.

Not surprisingly, President Rutherford B. Hayes’ administration installed the first telephone in the White House in 1878, followed by a telephone exchange at New Haven, Conn. Western Union opened the first larger city exchange in San Francisco, Calif.

The first telephone exchange in a territory (now South Dakota) was activated at Deadwood in March 1878 by Paul Rewman.

“When people were coming out here, they were coming from the coasts so they wanted the amenities they had there,” Kopco said.

The launch of telephone service didn’t pass without appropriate fanfare. The Deadwood Pioneer reported that the town celebrated the new technology with a large bonfire, gathering and a grand ball at the Grand Central Hotel.

When the gold started to pinch out around Deadwood, attention turned to hard-rock mining in Lead, Kopco said. Telephone calls between Deadwood and Lead (10 miles apart) cost 50 cents, 25 cents less expensive and a whole lot faster than a stagecoach ride between the two.

“Deadwood soon became a service community,” Kopco said.

She speculates that the telephone became a great convenience for miners who would buy supplies at Deadwood and have them hauled to Lead.

Even though most of the town burned to the ground in the fire of 1879, more technological advances came to Deadwood.

The first known electric lights in Deadwood were installed at the Deadwood Pioneer office. The 15 lamps each had 200 candle power.

Black Hills Corp. on its Web site said it can trace its roots back to Black Hills Electric Light Company when it began in 1883 to supply needed electricity for the booming gold mining industry in Lead and Deadwood.

“Even though Deadwood was slow to get the railroad, it was on the cutting edge when it came to other technology,” Kopco said.

Heck, buildings in town even had indoor plumbing by 1892.

“I know a lot of places in the country that didn’t get indoor plumbing until the 1930s,” Kopco said.

I know of some farms and ranches in South Dakota that didn’t have indoor plumbing until the 1970s.

So the next time you are making a call from your cell phone at Deadwood, remember that this historic town was a pioneer in bringing technology to the Black Hills.

Contact Deb Holland at 394-8416 or deb.holland@rapidcityjournal.com