The Black Hills gold camp that drew Wild Bill Hickok has reinvented itself as a preserved historic district. Beneath the postcard scenery runs a human history as deep and layered as the Badlands rock.

The town boomed after gold was struck in Deadwood Gulch in 1876.

What sets it apart

Wild Bill Hickok was shot dead there while playing cards that same year. For those who know the region well, it is a quiet point of pride.

The entire town is now a National Historic Landmark district.

Why it matters

Taken together, these threads say something about South Dakota itself — a place where the old and the new sit close together. It is a heritage still very much alive in the communities and gatherings of today's South Dakota.