The Gordon Stockade

 We spent some time in Custer on this camping trip and because of geocaching we stopped at the Gordon Stockade. On my first visit to the stockade on the east side of Custer, I thought it was a fort, like an army fort. Even today as I walked into the stockade center area, I was thinking fort. It wasn't until I read the info I finally understood - stockade:civilians.

the gold mining feature is a new addition to the stockade display

after all, it IS the reason for the stockade

There are also informational signs along the walk way from the parking area to the stockade, sharing information about the history of the area and the problems that evolved when gold was discovered in the Black Hills.

cabins to the left of the entrance

In the summer of 1874, an expedition led by Lt. Col. George A. Custer discovered gold in the Black Hills. Under the 1868 Treaty of Fort Laramie this region belonged to the Plains Indians and white settlement was prohibited.

Each of the six smaller settler's cabins contained a massive stone fireplace, in tact. The cabin was only twice the size of the area seen in the photo; room for a bed and little else.

Word of the discovery spread quickly and a group of gold seekers from Sioux City, Iowa moved into the Black Hills the following winter. Upon their arrival, the Gordon Party built a log fortress on the bank of the French Creek to protect themselves from possible Lakota attacks.

original tree/log stumps next to the current rebuilt cabin wall

three settler cabins to the right of the entrance

These three cabins were in serious need of repair. This one had lost its roof. The other two had either gapping holes in the roof or the roof beams were beginning to rot.

The party's stay was short lived and not profitable. Within five months the US Cavalry removed the Gordon Party from the Black Hills. 

Go to the SDPS website listed at the end to find out what happened to the Gordon Party of 28.

gun holes in the walls of the stockade

I LOVE where geocaching takes us...sometimes. I enjoy knowing the history and the reasons why. We also found a nearby geocache that shared this info: the discovery of gold in the Black Hills on July 27, 1874 by Horatio Ross and William McKay. They were miners with General George Custer's expedition.

This South Dakota Public Broadcasting site: The Gordon Stockade has great photos of how the original stockade looked and more information of how it came to be what it is today.