History

The history of the Black Hills is short and turbulent. In fact, dinosaur bones and some ancient archaeological sites from prehistory are the only hard evidence of happenings prior to 1700. The first trace of modern civilization dates from 1743 when New World explorers claimed the region for France. Sioux Indian tribes achieved dominance of Dakota in the 1780s and there was a brief but legendary Fur Trade Era that flourished between 1817 and 1857.

Homesteading, settlement and railroading were well underway in eastern South Dakota in 1857, but the Black Hills remained an unknown wilderness of Indian Country. The first maps of the Hills were drawn from military reconnaissance in 1856, and Lt. Col. George A. Custer touched off a gold rush to the Black Hills when his expedition discovered gold in 1874. Within 15 years, the Hills were “civilized” with settlements, railroads, institutions, industry and agriculture. In the process, the native peoples of Dakota were relegated to “reservations.”

Here’s a timeline of some noteworthy dates in Dakota history:
1743 French explorers claim the region for France
1794 Sioux achieve dominance over Arikara tribes
1803 United State makes the Louisiana Purchase from France
1804 Lewis & Clark expedition
1858 Eastern South Dakota is opened to white settlement
1861 Dakota Territory (SD, ND, MT, WY) is established
1868 Treaty of Ft. Laramie prescribes Black Hills as Indian Reservation
1874 Gold is discovered in the Black Hills
1876 Gold Rush to Deadwood Gulch lures thousands
1889 South Dakota achieves statehood
1890 Wounded Knee massacre ends the Indian Wars
1906 First railroads from the east reach the Black Hills
1920 Gov. Peter Norbeck establishes Custer State Park
1927 Gutzon Borglum begins work on Mount Rushmore
1941 Mount Rushmore is completed

Here are some online resources related to Black Hills history:
Black Hills History Museums