Deadwood traces the rise of the illegal mining settlement established in the Black Hills after the discovery of gold in the 1870s. It follows the rapid growth of claims, saloons, businesses and improvised government within territory guaranteed to the Lakota by treaty.
The book examines epidemic, fire, crime and commercial consolidation alongside figures such as Wild Bill Hickok and Calamity Jane. It carries the town beyond its brief frontier notoriety, explaining how rail connections, mining capital and civic institutions turned a boom camp into a permanent community.
