Badger lived in his cabin until he died of lung cancer at age 74 on September 26, 1957. He praised the cowboy way of life, and his words captured personal freedom and open spaces as symbols of an earlier time, continuing to inspire poets with a vivid picture of the American West. During his lifetime he wrote about 200 poems, 30 short stories, many editorials for local papers, and pieces of praise for special occasions in nearby towns, and many of these works remained in the cabin. At his death, he left the cabin and its contents to his nephew, Professor Edwin Clark, and the State of South Dakota later purchased the cabin for $3,500 and dedicated the site on June 14, 1958. The cabin remains much as he left it, with his clothes displayed in the back bedroom, an extensive library of more than 800 original titles along the back wall, and even unopened packages of food still on their shelves. In the late 1980s, two hikers resting along the path found a tattered hat hanging on a tree branch, and although no one knows for certain, it may have been Badger Clark's, becoming one of the lingering legends surrounding the Badger Hole.

Photo: Connor Olson

Photo: Connor Olson

Custer, South Dakota · USA