Spearfish, South Dakota’s downtown Historic Commercial District – with its classic turn of the century character – encompasses a four-block area around the town’s Main Street. Of the twenty-four buildings that make up the District – over half built before 1911 and many incorporating the local sandstone – number 648 Main Street is of special interest due to it once being the business premises of a certain Seth Bullock, the legendary first sheriff of Deadwood, and Sol Star, his business partner and friend.
Downtown Spearfish packs a punch with dining, shopping, and more. The shops and galleries escape the confines of Main Street, extending the downtown area to side streets Hudson, Illinois, and Grant.
Many of the downtown buildings are nearly as old as Spearfish itself; some were built out of local Sandstone. Old Spearfish City Hall is also on the registry; it is now home Leones’ Creamery, West River Studios, and more. The Matthews Opera House and Arts Centre–still in use today–first opened its doors over 100 years ago, in 1906. They now host concerts, plays, art shows, and more.
The Matthews Opera House opened on December 3, 1906, with a political farce-comedy called “The Lion and the Mouse.” Over the next century, the opera house was used for everything from motion picture shows to basketball practices to a shooting gallery. In the 1980s, a major renovation project restored the theatre to like-new conditions.
Today the Matthews Opera House is the centrepiece of the Spearfish Arts Centre, and plays host to many theatrical and musical events. This historic building is located off of North Main Street and visitors can stop by the opera house to see a local theatre production, or browse the modern art gallery. Hours vary throughout the year but is typically open on weekdays.
Overlooking the town are Crow Peak, Lookout Mountain, and Spearfish Mountain. They dominate the skyline, interrupt the sunset, and fit snugly around Spearfish. When the Spearfish area was first settled in 1876, the pioneers noted this rim of stone and pine; they called it a crown and dubbed Spearfish “Queen City.” Spearfish Mountain has no trail and is wildly untouched by man, but the other two are open for exploration.
Lookout Mountain is a relatively short hike, and the mountain overlooks Spearfish and Wyoming. It also happens to be the location of the discovery of the Thoen Stone, a sandstone slab that is three inches thick, measures 10 x 8 inches in height, and dated 1834. It was discovered by Louis Thoen in 1887. The discovery calls into question when the first discovery of gold really occurred in the Black Hills. If authentic, it means gold was discovered in the Black Hills 40 years before the Custer Expedition which occurred in 1874. According to the stone Ezra Kind and his party travelled to the Black Hills where everyone but Ezra was killed by Native Americans. Ezra inscribed the stone and it was discovered buried several feet below the surface when the Thoen brothers were collecting sandstone. The original stone is on display at the Adams Museum and House in Deadwood. The replica is on the hilltop above Spearfish just east of town.
The inscription on the front reads:
Came to these hills in 1833 seven of us
DeLacompt, Ezra Kind, G.W. Wood, T. Brown, R. Kent, Wm. King, Indian Crow
All dead but me, Ezra Kind. Killed by ind[ians] beyond the high hill. Got our gold June 1834.
The inscription on the back and reads:
Got all the gold we could carry. Our ponies all got by the Indians. I have lost my gun and nothing to eat and Indians hunting me.
Some people have doubted the stone to be real, but no one has been able to prove it to be a fake.
Crow Peak is one of the most popular hikes in the hills, though much more rigorous. The trail is about 7 miles, and it winds steeply up the rock. From the 1560 foot summit, you can see Wyoming and Spearfish from the eagle’s view.
Avid outdoorsmen also ride through on horseback, bike the trail in the summer or winter, as well as snowshoe or snowboard the mountain while it is less crowded.
Lookout, Crow Peak, and Spearfish Mountain have been attractions and icons of Spearfish since the pioneers arrived. The crown jewels will forever be a symbol of the Northern Hills.