The Custer Expedition and the Black Hills Gold Rush

In 1874, Lieutenant Colonel George Custer led a U.S. Army expedition to the Black Hills of South Dakota. His discovery of gold there led to a gold rush lasting from approximately 1875-1880. This video discusses Custer's expedition, the mass migration to the Black Hills following the discovery of gold, mining techniques used during the gold rush, and towns that sprang up during it, like Deadwood. ***Correction: At 2:21 of the video I used the phrase "native Sioux people". I should have instead said "native Lakota people" given that the word "Sioux" is generally not used by Native Americans to describe themselves. 00:00 Overview of the Black Hills 00:30 Incentives for an Expedition 01:32 Preparations for the Expedition 03:37 Navigation During the Expedition 05:43 Exploration of the Black Hills and Discovery of Gold 07:05 Return Trip to Fort Lincoln 07:52 The Gold Rush in 1874 and 1875 09:19 1876, 1877, and the Rapid Growth of Deadwood 10:50 Boom Towns 11:22 Stagecoaches and Railroads 12:19 Mining Techniques 15:23 The Homestake Mining Company 16:37 Homestake's Shady Tactics 18:29 Effects of the Gold Rush Sources: The Bonanza West: The Story of the Western Mining Rushes, 1848-1900; William S. Greever; Norman: University of Oklahoma Press; 1963. Thieves' Road: The Black Hills Betrayal and Custer's Path to Little Bighorn; Terry A. Mort; Amherst, New York: Prometheus Books; 2015. Frontiers of the Northwest: A History of the Upper Missouri Valley; Harold E. Briggs; New York, Peter Smith; 1950. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Black... https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Place... https://blackhillsvisitor.com/learn/h... https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/americanexpe... https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Black... https://blackhillsvisitor.com/learn/g... Image Attributions: *All images used are in the public domain **Few public domain images exist for many events covered in this video, including the Custer Expedition and mining activities during the gold rush. Images from similar events or activities, like other gold rushes of the 1800s, were sometimes used to complement them. Image 113: This is a photograph from the Freshwater and Marine Image Bank at the University of Washington.