The Days of ’76 celebration began in 1924 as a way to honor Deadwood’s first pioneers – the prospectors, miners, muleskinners, and madams who poured into the Black Hills in 1876 to settle the gold-filled gulches of Dakota Territory. Since then, the Days of ’76 has grown into a legendary annual event with a historic parade and an award-winning PRCA rodeo.

The Days of ’76 Museum began, informally, as a repository for the horse-drawn wagons, stagecoaches, carriages, clothing, memorabilia, and archives generated by the celebration. The museum is now a state-of-the-art facility filled with dynamic and thematic exhibitions.

More than 50 historic wagons, carriages, buggies, and other animal-powered vehicles are on display in the exhibit, Deadwood: A Story of Movement and Change. The 7,000-square-foot exhibit tells the story of how this early transportation system helped settle the American West.

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