When I first moved to Sturgis, the name Scooptown was often tossed around. It has become a part of the city’s heritage. Businesses use the name proudly, as do local sports teams. Often it is said that the reason for this is because Sturgis began its life as Scooptown. History complicates the situation a bit.
So where does Scooptown come from? Well, not from anything good. It was almost a warning, if not an outright insult.
Birth of Scooptown
In 1872, John “Grasshopper Jim” Frederick left Bismarck, Dakota Territory, and traveled down to the Black Hills. At least according to Frederick. As with many early characters of the Black Hills, it may be that Frederick exaggerated a bit when it came to his life. Well more like outright lied.
Ben Ash, who helped blaze the trail from Bismarck to the Black Hills, before it was officially opened, remembered Frederick back in Bismarck, as late as 1874. He was a spittoon cleaner at the time. Regardless, by 1876, Frederick had set up on land near Bear Butte, just along the Bismarck trail. It would also just happen to be near the future home of Camp J.G. Sturgis.
Established on July 1, 1878, Camp Sturgis would be short lived, as it would eventually be replaced by Fort Meade. But it had a long-lasting impact on the area, and would be where Scooptown, and the related businesses, would have their start.
As was often the case, as new forts and camps were set up on the western frontier, certain business enterprises would follow after them, quickly setting up little establishments that served the purpose of “scooping” the soldiers of their valuables.
With Camp Sturgis having been established, and Frederick’s land being so close, it took little time for his homestead to be dotted with log shacks that would serve up vices of every kind to the soldiers stationed so near.
Shortly, gambling halls, saloons, and houses of ill repute or brothels would serve to separate the soldiers from their earnings, and Frederick played no small part. Buying liquor in Deadwood, he would offer it up for resale on his homestead, earning him the fame of being one of the best-known early pioneers of the Black Hills, but also the least admired.
It didn’t take long for soldiers to start referring to the “Hog Ranch” on Fredericks’s homestead as Scoop Town. Simply, they were “scooped out” of their earnings, and thus the name became almost a warning to others as to what would certainly happen to them if they stayed too long.
Quick note. Nearly every frontier military fort would have what was called a Hog Ranch sprout up around it. The name arose because of the unpleasant nature of the property. While at times it was in part because hogs were often raised in the area, it more referred to the lowly individuals who not only inhabited the makeshift towns, but of the sort of businesses they were involved it. In all regards, Scoop Town was one more Hog Ranch that was so connected with frontier military forts.
Transition to Sturgis
Camp Sturgis wouldn’t last though. It soon became clear that a permanent fort was needed, and Fort Meade would be established by September of 1878. With the soldiers moving, so did the establishments that had followed them.
On October 25, 1878, Sturgis City was laid out by Jeremiah C Wilcox, the cousin of Colonel Sturgis’s wife. Col. Sturgis would have no small part in the beginning of the city, having invested in it himself and having been a founding member of the city.
However, Sturgis City wasn’t the only contender to replace Scoop Town. With news that a new military fort would be established, a few townsites would quickly pop up. Besides Scoop Town, Crock City and Deadwood were already near. But their distance gave enough room for others to be founded.
At the mouth of Boulder Canyon, a “New Town in the Foothills” was being boasted. The town would be called Ruhlen City, named after Camp Ruhlen which had been established in order to build Fort Meade. The founders of Ruhlen City claimed they would spare no expense when it came to building “the leading town of the foothills.”
Soon, another rival townsite would be announced, only a mile and a half below Ruhlen City, and thus making it closer to the new fort. This town was named Dudley Town, in honor of Judge E.G. Dudley, who was an early entrepreneur in Deadwood.
But it was all for naught. While these other potential cities were vying for the claim to Fort Meade, as the new “scooptown,” Wilcox had already platted Sturgis City. Unlike Dudley Town and Ruhlen City, Wilcox didn’t seek the attention those other townships had. Instead, he had laid out his city before daybreak, as to not gather any attention.
It would soon be clear that Sturgis City would be “the coming city of the Hills,” and even Dudley would become an investor in the town. The two other potential settlements just vanished. What didn’t vanish though were the inhabitants of Frederick’s Scoop Town. With the writing on the wall clear, they packed up and moved to Sturgis City.
The Connection
Scoop Town would quickly die out as the soldiers moved on. But the spirit, and the intention, remained. It just went elsewhere. As with Frederick’s Scoop Town, Sturgis City also was established in order to provide soldiers with a number of amenities. That included a source for all of the soldier’s vices.
The saloons, gambling halls and brothels, or bawdy houses, were quickly reestablished in Sturgis City. The intention of these establishments remained the same, to scoop these soldiers, and thus Sturgis City received its first nickname, Scooptown.
Sturgis City would be a bit different from Scoop Town though. While the Hog Ranch attribute was still there, Sturgis City would also serve a greater population. The focus wasn’t just on fulfilling vices, but also supplying basic necessities. As the town was being established, the first building was already being erected by John Harmon, who was the former post trader at Fort Abraham Lincoln. He established the city’s first general store.
Soon afterwards, Sturgis City would fill out. And “City” would be dropped. It was just Sturgis. The “riffraff,” as many citizens seen them, who came with the old Scoop Town, were still present. While the city enjoyed the money that came with those businesses, they didn’t care for the notoriety.
Eventually, after some bad blood with the soldiers at Fort Meade, Sturgis would begin to clean up, and their reputation as a Hog Ranch, and the name Scooptown, would be pushed away. Instead, the Key City to the Hills was how Sturgis wanted to be known, and known they were for decades. But history has a way of bringing back the past, as well as transforming it.