The Story
Seth Bullock — Deadwood's first sheriff, a U.S. Marshal, and the Black Hills' first Forest Supervisor, appointed by his friend Theodore Roosevelt — organized the Society of Black Hills Pioneers to fund a stone memorial tower atop Sheep Mountain after Roosevelt's death in January 1919. The mountain was renamed Mount Roosevelt, and Bullock dedicated the tower on July 4, 1919. He died of colon cancer on September 23, 1919 — less than three months later — and is buried in Mount Moriah Cemetery with his grave deliberately facing Mount Roosevelt. The tower joined the National Register in 2005.
Surprising Facts
→ Bullock died less than three months after dedicating the tower to his friend Roosevelt.
→ Bullock's grave in Mount Moriah is deliberately oriented to face Mount Roosevelt.
→ The mountain was renamed from "Sheep Mountain" specifically to honor Roosevelt.