Mount Moriah Cemetery, Deadwood, SD

One of Deadwood's oldest cemeteries, Mount Moriah can tell visitors much about the city's diverse history. Buried in this cemetery are frontiersmen, miners, veterans, and numerous Jewish and Chinese people who came here looking for work. Most Jews lived here in the early twentieth century, leaving when the search for gold and silver ended for places like Rapid City. Deadwood has changed a great deal since, but one can learn a lot about the city's early history from visiting the burial sites of many early residents.

Mt. Moriah is one of the oldest of Deadwood's several cemeteries. Some of those buried here were reinterred from even older graveyards, such as Ingelside, which was located nearby and cleared in the late nineteenth century to make room for homes. However, even those who have never been to Deadwood before will probably recognize the names of some of those buried here. They're folk heroes, politicians, and other famous characters from the Old American West. Some of them include sheriff Seth Bullock, prospector Potato Creek Johnny, sharpshooter Calamity Jane, and gunslinger Wild Bill Hickok, who has a bust in his honor on the Mt. Moriah grounds.

The graves at Mt. Moriah speak to forgotten eras of Deadwood's history. The numerous gravestones with Hebrew inscriptions, found in a corner called Mt. Zion or Hebrew Hill, prove that there used to be hundreds of Jewish people in the region. Two Jews lived here during Deadwood's earliest decades of settlement, and the rest came here later in search of fortune in the gold mines or trying to make a living as merchants. As the gold boom faded, though, most Deadwood Jews migrated to Rapid City, where the Deadwood Torah is currently housed. Notable Jews buried at Hebrew Hill include Harris Franklin, born Harris Finkelstein, a German immigrant to New York, and his son, Nathan. After coming here, Harris made his fortune in cattle, banking, and gold mining and founded the famous Silverado Franklin Hotel, which still stands today. His son was the town's mayor from 1914 to 1918. Also buried here are the Colmans. Nathan Colman, born Kugelman, was Deadwood's Justice of the Peace for much of his long life. His daughter Blanche was one of South Dakota's first woman lawyers and helped document her hometown's Jewish history.

Deadwood was also home to many Chinese people who also came during the Gold Rush. At most, there were about 400 living in town, 33 of whom are buried at Mt. Moriah. In 1908, members of the Chinese community set up a burner and altar in Section Six, where most of the Chinese interred were buried. The reason there are so few buried here today, though, is that many of their families requested their remains be sent back to their old homes in China. Others buried here include eleven men who died in a lumber mill fire, children who died from common diseases, and Civil War and Indian War veterans. The cemetery continues to host burials for longtime residents today.

Stanton, Ann Haber. Jewish Pioneers of the Black Hills Gold Rush. Images of America.

MT. MORIAH CEMETERY, Black Hills & Badlands. Accessed April 23rd, 2023. https://www.blackhillsbadlands.com/places/mt-moriah-cemetery.

Mount Moriah Cemetery, Deadwood, South Dakota. Accessed April 23rd, 2023. https://www.cityofdeadwood.com/parksrec/page/mount-moriah-cemetery.

Brandi. Mt Moriah Cemetery (South Dakota): How to visit & helpful tips, We're in the Rockies. December 12th, 2022. Accessed April 23rd, 2023. https://wereintherockies.com/mt-moriah-deadwood/.

Stanton, Ann Haber. When Deadwood Was Jewish, Forward. May 9th, 2015. Accessed April 23rd, 2023. https://forward.com/culture/307719/when-deadwood-was-jewish/.