The story
The camp was established in 1876 on Castle Creek, originally named "Sitting Bull," and renamed Mystic around 1885 when its post office opened. The Chicago, Burlington & Quincy reached it in 1889, and C.D. Crouch's line (the "Crouch Line," formally the Rapid City, Black Hills and Western Railroad) reached Mystic as its western terminus by 1906. In 1900 a $1 million experimental electro-cyanide mill was built to process 150 tons of ore a day — only to fail when the ore solidified inside its tanks. The Crouch Line closed in 1947; the old railbed is now the George S. Mickelson Trail, with Mystic as Trailhead #7. About 14 historic structures survive; it joined the National Register in 1986.
Everything that was here
- 1876–1954
Mystic (ghost town)Ghost Town
First named "Sitting Bull," this Rapid Canyon mining camp got its own private railroad — the "Crouch Line" — and a $1 million gold-processing mill that failed when the ore solidified inside its tanks.
See the map in 1877 →
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Connected places
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Nearby history
Silver City
Rochford (mining town)
The 1880 Train (Black Hills Central Railroad)
Nemo (Homestake timber camp)
Sheridan (drowned townsite)
Rockerville (gold camp & flume)
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