9places
9businesses
1876oldest
7still open
2gone
3with photos
Spearfish on When It Was is 9 addresses and the 9 businesses that have occupied them, the oldest from 1876. 7 are still open today; 2 are gone, and 1 of the buildings themselves have been demolished. Every entry below opens a page with the full history of that address, and the map lets you slide the year and watch the city change.
Start here
Black Hills Passion Play
N Meier Ave (Lookout Mountain) · 1939–2008
For 69 seasons, a German family who traced their Passion Play tradition to a 1242 monastery performed it nightly on what was billed as Ameri…
Spearfish Historic Commercial District
600 block N Main St · 1876–present
Founded in 1876 as "Queen City" by prospector-brothers Alfred and William Gay, Spearfish grew into the gold rush's breadbasket — and its 24-…
D.C. Booth Historic National Fish Hatchery
423 Hatchery Circle · 1896–present
Congress funded this fish-culture station in 1896 to stock trout across the West — and for a decade it ran a satellite operation inside Yell…
Bridal Veil Falls
US Highway 14A (Bridal Veil Falls)
A 60-foot sheet of water cascading over limestone right beside the highway — Spearfish Canyon's most easily seen waterfall, visible without …
Burlington Spearfish Line
Old CB&Q grade, Spearfish Canyon · 1893–1933
For 40 years a Burlington branch line hauled lumber, farmers, and $2.50 excursion tourists through Spearfish Canyon — until a 1933 flood was…
Matthews Opera House
612 N Main St · 1906–present
Built by a Wyoming rancher who fell in love with the town, this 300-seat opera house spent decades as a movie theater, then a shooting galle…
Spearfish, decade by decade
- 1870s
- 1880s
- 1890s
- 1900s
- 1910s
- 1930s
- 1980s
Still here, and gone
Still open (7)
- Spearfish Historic Commercial District 1876–present
- The Thoen Stone 1887–present
- D.C. Booth Historic National Fish Hatchery 1896–present
- Matthews Opera House 1906–present
- Homestake Hydroelectric Plant No. 1 1912–present
- Spearfish Canyon Scenic Byway 1989–present
- Bridal Veil Falls
Gone (2)
- Black Hills Passion Play 1939–2008
- Burlington Spearfish Line 1893–1933
By kind of place
Natural Landmark (2)
Spearfish Canyon Scenic Byway · Bridal Veil Falls
Railroad (1)
Hatchery (1)
D.C. Booth Historic National Fish Hatchery
Opera House (1)
Amphitheatre (1)
Power Plant (1)
Homestake Hydroelectric Plant No. 1
Historic District (1)
Spearfish Historic Commercial District
Historic Marker (1)
Collections that cover Spearfish
Every place in Spearfish (9)
- Black Hills Passion Play N Meier Ave (Lookout Mountain) · 1939–2008
- Bridal Veil Falls US Highway 14A (Bridal Veil Falls)
- Burlington Spearfish Line Old CB&Q grade, Spearfish Canyon · 1893–1933
- D.C. Booth Historic National Fish Hatchery 423 Hatchery Circle · 1896–present
- Homestake Hydroelectric Plant No. 1 S Canyon St (mouth of Spearfish Canyon) · 1912–present
- Matthews Opera House 612 N Main St · 1906–present
- Spearfish Canyon Scenic Byway US Highway 14A (Spearfish Canyon) · 1989–present
- Spearfish Historic Commercial District 600 block N Main St · 1876–present
- The Thoen Stone Thoen Stone Dr (Lookout Mountain) · 1887–present
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