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What you will find at our museum!!
The city and county of Custer are located in
the historic Black Hills of South Dakota. The Custer County 1881
Courthouse Museum is housed in the original Dakota Territory courthouse
built in 1880-1881. This building has been placed on the National
Register of Historic Places.
This Dakota Territory Courthouse served not
only as a center for government, but also in early years as a meeting
place for church services, socials and community activities. Justice was
dispensed from this building for 92 years until it was given to the
Custer County Historical Society in 1973. The Historical Society opened
the Museum on Memorial weekend in 1976.
THE 1881 CUSTER COUNTY COURTHOUSE was
constructed of bricks from a local kiln. It is of Italianate design and
was built in 1880 and opened January 1881 in Dakota Territory, eight
years before South Dakota became a state. This building was the hub of
Custer County development from 1881 to 1974. It has been a Museum since
1976; now dedicated to preserving the history of the area. The Museum
has been preserving and displaying Custer County history through the
efforts of the Custer County Historical Society with the help of many
volunteers. This building was placed on the National Register of
Historic Places by the United States Department of Interiors on November
27, 1972.
Description of Exhibits and a self guided
tour of the Museum-
NATURE & AMERICAN INDIAN exhibits are featured in the first room. The
antique taxidermy, most done by a local man between 1900 and 1929, is in
sharp contrast to the modern mount of a mountain lion. Items from the
Sioux culture are also displayed here. The large modern day headdress
was made for use in the annual Gold Discovery Day’s Pageant of Paha
Sapa.
THE CUSTER EXPEDITION ROOM features
photographs taken by Illingworth on the 1874 Expedition into the Black
Hills led by famed Civil War General George A. Custer. Artifacts on
display include a rifle used by Custer to hunt antelope at Fort Hays,
Kansas, his shoulder epaulets, a first edition of his book, My Life on
the Plains, items found at the campsite west of town, a fan given to a
friend by the Custers, and remains of a tree bearing carving by one of
the members of the expedition. Horatio N. Ross, discoverer of gold on
French Creek, was with the expedition.
MINING & INDUSTRY of the late 1870’s and the
1880’s is shown in a mine replica and display of tools used for mining,
including gold sluice and rocker box. Minerals of Custer County and the
surrounding Black Hills are displayed in the center case including gold
ore which brought miners here in 1875 and rose quartz, the official
state gemstone. Mining, lumbering and ranching were major sources of
income in the early years. Tourism has become the county’s second most
important industry since the designation of the Black Hills National
Forest in 1889, Jewel Cave National Monument in 1908, and Custer State
Park and Wind Cave National Park in 1913.
IN THE MAIN HALL Hanging signature quilts,
made as fund-raisers for the Museum, are based on the wagon wheel design
of a quilt made locally in 1897 as a church fundraiser. There are cases
featuring new displays annually.
THE BOOKSTORE ALCOVE offers fine books, and
videos showcasing local authors and local history, unique items of
regional interest, and children’s items. If you are traveling
light, we can arrange to ship your selections for you. Income from the
Bookstore helps support the Museum’s needs. Thank you for your
patronage!
OUTSIDE, Museum's out building and Exhibits
are a hand-hewn log building housing printing equipment from Custer’s
1879 first continuously operated NEWSPAPER; a brick building (originally
the outhouse!) housing early BLACKSMITH forge and tools; the site of
Custer County’s only legal hanging; and a CARRIAGE HOUSE with vehicles
used in the 1870’s to 1920.
UPSTAIRS – Top Floor:
FORESTRY room featuring a replica of a
sawmill, logging tools, and unique examples of tree growth.
COMMUNITIES room features pictures and
artifacts from towns in Custer County, The first Poet Laureate of South
Dakota Badger Clark, The Hanging of John Lehman and the lynching of Lame
Johnny. Information on Civilian Conservation Corps.
JURY Room has new exhibits annually, this
year is a Military display showing artifacts from WWI WWII, Korea and
Revolutionary wars. Also display of the Paha Sapa pageant that was haled
during Gold Discoverer Days. The COURTROOM features the original
courtroom with cherry wood furniture. JUDGE’S CHAMBER filled
with Law Books (marked Dakota Territory), plus office equipment.
ONE-Room SCHOOL with teacher and students
shows how the three Rs were taught in the 1880s. It also features a
tableau of Annie Tallent, teacher, author and the first white woman in
the Black Hills RANCH Room features early-day brands, tools, barbed wire
collection, and antique saddles and tack and veterinary tools.
Ground Floor:
GENERAL STORE, where anything from teakettles
to neckties was sold, and part of the old Fairburn Post Office
furnishings.
The Original JAIL, complete with prisoner. A
law enforcement officer display is nearby. There is a large display of
antique business machines. The large oak case features a KNIFE display
collected locally, while the wall cases display antique GUNS that won
the west. Other cases feature changing exhibits. In the foyer is a
painted mural and also, the newspaper account of the killing of Abe
Barnes by FLY SPECK BILLY.
Main Floor:
Main Floor to the left are the Victorian BEDROOM featuring an 1870s
bedroom suite, the PARLOR, also with Victorian furnishings. and other
items used in the daily living.
WOMEN AT WORK the labor saving devices of the
1800’s and early 1900’s Women’s work is never done. You can enter a
vault from the early days of the Courthouse with courthouse books and a
toy display.
ACROSS MOUNT RUSHMORE ROAD is the OLDEST
Building in the Black Hills known as the Flick Cabin. It was built
in 1875 and used as a military headquarters and as a residence. It is
furnished as a pioneer home. Pioneer historian Henry Way gave the
cabin and land for Way Park so that it could be preserved. There is also
a monument to Horatio Ross in Way Park. |
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