Grave of Wild Bill and Calamity Jane, Deadwood, S.D., No. 1797

Known primarily for documenting settlement in Nebraska, S. D. Butcher & Son also recorded the pilgrimage site containing the graves of Wild Bill Hickok and Calamity Jane. By the time of this exposure, souvenir hunters had so defaced Hickok’s sandstone bust that the protective wire cage seen here was erected. This direct, evidentiary view thus captures a transient state, preserving the damaged monument inside its enclosure shortly before the original marker was replaced altogether.