Edgemont is the beginning of the Burlington Northern George S. Mickelson Trail, which follows an abandoned Burlington Northern Railroad route for 114 miles through the heart of the Black Hills and ends at Deadwood. The Chicago, Burlington and Quincy Railroad created the town of Edgemont in 1890 and used it as the terminal and yard for their extension into the Black Hills. Located on the southernmost part of the Black Hills near the Cheyenne River, the community is known for ranching and farming operations. In the 1960s and 1970s, Edgemont was the center of an energy boom when uranium ore used for nuclear development was mined in the area. By 1980, mining the ore was no longer profitable.