Prohibition in South Dakota

One long-time Spearfish resident remembered when the Women’s Christian Temperance Union (WCTU) was a big deal in the region, and she – along with lots of other high school students of the 1950s – signed pledges not to consume alcohol.

That was one of many reminiscences shared with the audience last Tuesday (5/7/09) at the May meeting of the Spearfish Area Historical Society – spurred by another delightful program from Linfred Schuttler, this time on the topic of Prohibition in South Dakota and its lingering legacy.

Some 75 attendees convened in the Spearfish Senior Citizens Center for the session, which was the final regularly scheduled meeting for 2009.

Schuttler noted that the first prohibition (or temperance) law in Dakota Territory was passed in October of 1889, but the law lacked any enforcement provisions. When the first South Dakota legislature met in 1890, they passed an enforcement bill that had enough bite to cause the closing of two saloons in Spearfish – but none in Deadwood!

Eventually, "package stores" gained favor, offering booze by the bottle -- if not by the drink. However, the Attorney-General cited them as "nuisances" and ordered them closed. Some continued to operate under a drugstore license, offering spirits for "medicinal purposes." The Queen City Mail observed that many folks had stocked up on the banned spirits and would likely not feel the impact of prohibition "for several weeks." Soon, municipalities were taxing package stores to generate revenue, causing something of a furor in the community, since such stores were presumably operating illegally in the first place.

~

Since Wyoming had no temperance laws, Schuttler said that the border town of Beulah, Wyoming, “came to the aid of suffering South Dakotans...and became a perpetual oasis for thirsty Dakotans.” Its citizens have continued to make similar treks over the ensuing years, seeking everything from Coors beer and colored oleomargarine to gasoline and – most recently – cigarettes.

In the wild 1880s, “Saloons in Deadwood hardly even made a pretense to close saloons after temperance laws were passed,” said Schuttler. It was the kind of unbridled raucous behavior that came to be associated with Deadwood over the years.

Even the legendary Carrie Nation couldn’t quell South Dakota’s appetite for alcohol, despite visits to South Dakota, including two to Spearfish.

You’ll find more information about Schuttler’s talk, along with details about the election of officers for the Spearfish Area Historical Society, by going to our History Photo Gallery.

While the society now takes a few months vacation from regularly-scheduled meetings, there's a special opportunity for members to tour the newly-refurbished railroad roundhouse in Lead later this month. The tours will be conducted at noon, 1:00 p.m., and 2:00 p.m. on Saturday, May 16th especially for members of the Spearfish Area Historical Society.

This opportunity is similar to one offered last October by Wayne Paananen to members of the Lawrence County Historical Society. That was a terrific tour, but we understand that much more work has been done to the old Lead Roundhouse, which served the Black Hills and Fort Pierre Railroad for many years. It promises to be a vibrant new historic attraction in the northern Black Hills, so this will be a rare opportunity for SAHS members to get their own sneak preview!

Ghosts of Rose Hill

Was it a coincidence that Linfred Schuttler’s presentation the “Ghosts of Rose Hill’ was given just a couple of weeks after Halloween? We think not!

Despite mystical occurrences between Halloween and the November 11th meeting of the Spearfish Area Historical Society (SAHS), a fair-sized group of folks turned out for the ghostly meeting at the Spearfish Senior Citizens Center. And perhaps that interim “mysticism” was just the general election!

No stranger to SAHS – or to Spearfish (he’s been here more than 62 years!) – Linfred Schuttler offered a straightforward, slightly tongue-in-cheek, presentation about many unusual circumstances surrounding burials in Rose Hill Cemetery.

Rose Hill sits atop a hill adjacent to the city campground in south Spearfish. It was platted and opened in 1877, even though there may already have been bodies buried there. Linfred shared a litany of stories about deaths and burials in Spearfish during the late 1800s – and noted that there are no markings for many of those graves, and that “perhaps only their ghosts know” where the bodies are buried.

But we do know where the body of one Levi Blizzard lies, because it is identified by both an old wooden marker and a newer metal marker of the International Order of Odd Fellows. And while we know of Blizzard’s demise in November of 1876 – and we know of no ghosts -- no one seems to be able to explain the bouquet of flowers that mysteriously appear on his gravestone every Memorial Day.

Schuttler recounted the decision made in 1884 that no distinction was ever to be made between Union soldiers and Confederate soldiers buried at the cemetery. That was some seven years after a David Abernathy and Deputy Sheriff David Wilson were killed about 10 miles west of Spearfish, while in pursuit of thieves who had stolen Abernathy’s wagon. Settlers en route to Spearfish found their bodies and brought them back to town. They were buried at Rose Hill. As it turns out, Abernathy – who had fought for the Confederacy during the “war between the states” – was the first Civil War veteran buried in the cemetery. We don't know where their plots are, but we do know that from Rose Hill, their ghosts would have a splendid view, as seen in the photo above left.

There was also the touching story about a two-year-old boy whose family lived in a house just beneath the “Normal School” in Spearfish. The lad was bitten by a rattlesnake, but there was no immediate medical attention available, so he was given a shot of whiskey. Schuttler noted that the boy survived this incident, only to die – along with his two brother – of diphtheria two months later.

Weaving stories of crime, passion, and heartache, Schuttler divulged numerous stories that elicited expressions of surprise and delight from the audience.

Among them, the story of Keating and Davis, two men found hanging from a tree about two miles north of town along Spearfish Creek. The two had operated a rather successful butcher shop in Deadwood…..that is, until an area rancher found them dressing out one of his steers!
“No law. No fuss. No story….just two burials,” quipped Schuttler.

For all the light-hearted talk of ghosts as Rose Hill, a casual November afternoon visit to the cemetery divulged only beautiful panoramas and an opportunity commune with deer that populate the grounds this time of year; witness this fellow near a tombstone in the southeast part of Rose Hill.

To see a few candid photographs from the Rose Hill Cemetery presentation, visit our History Gallery. The next Spearfish Area Historical Society meeting will be Tuesday, December 2, when Johanna Meier will open her famous doll house during the day, followed by a presentation that evening at 7:30 at the Senior Citizens Center.