History takes a hit in Deadwood — and maybe Hot Springs?

by Larry Miller

Balancing "historic preservation" with 21st century "progress" can be a dilemma for some folks.

We don't believe all buildings should be saved just because they're old, but sometimes it's not quite that simple.

Take, for example, historic Deadwood, which has lost a bit of ground as a National Historic Landmark, a designation conferred by the National Park Service.  The NPS last month told the good folks in Deadwood that their status as a landmark community has been downgraded from "satisfactory" to "watch" status.

"Historic" downtown as it looked Deadwood in 1888

It seems they don't like the way Deadwood has allowed some folks to tear down old buildings that have been deemed historic.  Now, there may well be a legitimate debate about what constitutes a truly "historic" building and one that simply is old and reflects little about our heritage.

But apparently this downgrade comes — at least in part — following a commitment that First Gold Hotel and Casino made to preserve and restore an old Sinclair service station that was on property adjoining their facility.  It appears they reneged on their commitment, and the building was torn down.

I suspect the good folks at the South Dakota State Historical Society in Pierre — they're the entity that delivered the bad news to Deadwood — are aware of more details as to why the National Park Service yanked the "satisfactory" status from Deadwood.

And if news reports of the facts contained in the National Park Service report are accurate, we'd have to say shame on First Gold.

But perhaps the bigger blemish should be cast across City Hall in Deadwood.  These are the elected and "hired hands" who should be ensuring that commitments made to the city by private businesses are enforced.

For us, in this instance, there is no dilemma — only a significant lapse of enforcement by city fathers and staff in Deadwood.

Deadwood's historic landmark status get downgraded - KEVN-TV - November 14, 2014

Deadwood landmark status downgraded - Rapid City Journal - Nov 14, 2014

While this is certainly a "blemish" on historic Deadwood, it pales beside the issues facing another National Historic Landmark in the Black Hills region — the Battle Mountain Sanitarium in Hot Springs.

For more than 100 years, Battle Mountain Sanitarium has provided medical care to veterans across the region.  The National Trust for Historic Preservation (NTHP) named this facility a "National Treasure" in 2012.  It is one of the few properties "owned by the Department of Veterans Affairs to be designated a National Historic Landmark."

The Battle Mountain Sanitarium is at the very top of the National Trust's list of "Eleven Most Endangered Historic Places in the United States."

NHPT writes that, "The VA is moving forward with a proposal to abandon the facility and relocate medical services 60 miles away, in Rapid City.  If the VA moves ahead with its plan, it will remove the largest employer in the self-described 'Veterans Town,' as well as leave behind dozens of vacant, historic buildings to an uncertain fate."

If the Hot Springs site is abandoned, it will not only be a loss in preserving our heritage — it will likely be accompanied by the more significant loss of services to veterans in South Dakota, Nebraska, and Wyoming who have relied upon the Hot Springs facility for many decades.

That would be a tragic loss.