In 1874, this picturesque valley served as the permanent camp of the Black Hills Expedition under General George A. Custer of the 7th Cavalry. The expedition made its longest stop here, staying five days while Custer used the camp as a base for reconnaissance trips to other points in the Black Hills. The party included about 1000 men, 1900 horses and mules, 300 beef cattle, and 110 wagons, along with nearly 100 Indian scouts, guides, interpreters, engineers, newspaper correspondents, two practical miners, and a photographer. Said to have been the largest and best equipped expedition yet assembled for military exploration duty in the Northwest, it spread tents and wagons across the entire valley. Gold was first discovered in French Creek, which runs through the valley, by Horatio N. Ross, and that find led to the first Miners' Organization in the Black Hills, formed around a campfire on August 5, 1874. Because of the gold discovery, Custer named the place Golden Valley. He sent a scout messenger from the camp to Fort Laramie with news that gold had been found on French Creek, helping trigger a rush to force entrance into these forbidden Black Hills. Late in December 1874, the first settlers, the Collins-Russell party under the guidance of John Gordon, reached this site, and thousands of gold seekers soon followed.

Photo: Beverly Pfingsten

Custer, South Dakota · USA