The story
In July 1874, Lt. Col. George Armstrong Custer led roughly 1,000-1,200 men into the Black Hills, partly to assess gold. Along French Creek, civilian prospectors Horatio Nelson Ross and William McKay panned the first traces — McKay's diary records the first pan held only "one and a half to two cents" of gold. Custer's report confirming the find, dated August 15, 1874, was telegraphed nationwide and set off the rush almost immediately, in violation of the 1868 treaty reserving the Black Hills for the Lakota — a major cause of the Great Sioux War of 1876-77, in which Custer himself died at Little Bighorn.
Everything that was here
- 1874–present · still open
1874 French Creek Gold Discovery SiteHistoric Site
On French Creek near this spot, prospectors riding with Custer's 1874 expedition panned the first flecks of gold that touched off the Black Hills Gold Rush — and, within two years, helped trigger the Great Sioux War.
See the map in 1875 →
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Connected places
Mollie Johnson's Brothel
Sturgis Commercial Block
The 1880 Train (Black Hills Central Railroad)
Broken Boot Gold Mine
Explore the full web of connections on the map.
Nearby history
Custer City
Flintstones Bedrock City
Gordon Stockade
Crazy Horse Memorial
Sylvan Lake
Needles Highway
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