History of Keystone South Dakota(from 1876)

An old-fashioned and antiquated town of Keystone South Dakota receives millions of people from around the globe every year to witness one of America’s national-awarded monuments with a rich and remarkable history. The estimated population of the town is 341 as per the census of 2018. It is located two miles from the world-famous Mount Rushmore.

History of Keystone South Dakota(from 1876) 1


The history of Keystone began in the east of Battle Creek, with the detection of placer gold in the year 1876. The initial 2 years, yielded an abundance of place gold. After a while, the deeper deposits were problematic to dig. Fred Cross was the first to settle permanently in the township; during the mining of his property, he collected gold. Later, Crossville replaced the name settlement.

The Company of Harney Peak Hydraulic Gold Mining started the hydraulic mining in the year 1883; they used to dig on a massive scale to reach the deep gravel beds to extract gold.  The water was carried using flumes. After one and a half years, significant gold was extracted. The Holy Terror Mine was the richest gold miner in the country.  Later, Keystone and Holy Terror merged. These mines caused many changes in both economy and the population of Keystone. It was the biggest community in the county of Pennington.

City Advancement

At the end of the 19th century, the railway started its operation in the town that advanced the development of the area. Electric power was produced using the diesel-fuel generator, the electricity was primarily used for carving of Mount Rushmore. From 1908 to 1937, the town of Keystone witnessed numerous fires that ruined the economy with unrecoverable loss. However, the Keystone Volunteer Fire Department was established after the last major fire in 1937.

Role of Miners in Keystone South Dakota

The most important mineral extracted were mica, columbite, tantalite, beryl, and quartz. During World War II, the extraction of these minerals was at the top.  Keystone made its best contribution to the war, and the miners worked 24/7. Since then, there was a sudden decrease in the production of pegmatite.  In 1957 the feldspar and railroad were completely destroyed. However, the same case happened with the railway in the year 1972. It was demolished by the flood of Black Hills.  Nowadays, there is only one railway line in operation, particularly for the 1800 Train.  Moreover, the production of quartz and lumber wood still contributes to the natives. The decline of mining increased the tourist industry in the town of Keystone.


Undoubtedly, the tourist industry became the prime and dominant industry in Keystone. The modern city is highly developed and it offers tourism

Keystone south Dakota

Who is the 5th face😲 on Mount Rushmore?

The 5th face represents Benjamin Black Elk, who was an elder. He is the son👨 of Black Elk, who was a medicine man in the city. Tourists could come from all over🗺️, and that’s why he is seen posing for photographs. All these events happened between the 1950s and 1960s

What is inside Mount 🏔️Rushmore?

The mountain holds inaccessible secrets㊙️ for South Dakota. It was designed to preserve United States🏙️ history.

Why was Mount🚠 Rushmore left unfinished?

Setting up the mountain was conceived by a need to attract more tourists in South Dakota. Doane Robinson, who was a great historian📜, was behind this idea. All this was happening at around 1923 with the help of a sculptor 🗿named Gutzon Borglum, who started the carving work at around 1927. This was done for approximately 14 years.

Known facts about ⛰️Mount Rushmore

The height of all presidents👑’ face are 60 feet; The artist who was involved in the project was tagged on the carvings💎.

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Guy is a dedicated vegan, who prefers natural remedies to treat root causes of physiological problems, instead of turning to medication to merely treat symptoms. When he learned in December 2017 he was suffering from high blood pressure (hypertension), he turned to massage as a potential answer for his problem. Rather than engage massage as a client, Guy chose to become a massage practitioner and enrolled in the Black Hills School of Massage in Hermosa, SD. He is now licensed to provide Swedish, Deep Tissue and Trigger Point massage among other modalities. He, and his wife Irene who is also a massage practitioner, have joined forces with the Fountain of Youth Waterstore in Rapid City where they provide clients with comforting relief from body aches and pains. Be sure to ask Guy what happened with his blood pressure when you see him for your initial treatment session.

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