Building a Lake: History of Bear Butte Lake, vol. 1

In early 2021, the city of Sturgis was buzzing with the announcement that a new lake would be built. It would be called the Sturgis Lakeside Adventure Park, and plans initially included a beach, water slides, an obstacle course, pickleball and volleyball courts, as well as a splash pad and mini golf. The price tag was hefty, at $3.5 million, but it didn’t take long for many in the community to jump on board.

Three years later, the dream of a lake has all been but dashed through the actions of the City. Learning from history could have possibly led to another outcome, as a hundred years earlier, the citizens of Sturgis had also set out to build a lake, and that time, they succeeded.

The Lake in the Shadow

Sitting in the shadow of Bear Butte, a small lake has welcomed millions as they make their way to Sturgis. Yet, for nearly half a century, all that would welcome those making the trek was a drained lake bed.

The original lake resting near the base of Bear Butte was considerably smaller than what it is today. It wouldn’t be known for anything special. It was hardly the deepest, or largest lake in the area. Yet, for those looking for a spot to fish, or even hunt, it provided a decent enough place to stop by.

However, for W.H. Woods, known lovingly as “Our Jake” by locals, it was a lake that was in the way. In the spring of 1881, Woods would take up a farm at Bear Butte Lake, and quickly had ditches constructed to drain it. He would harvest the fish that once called the lake home, and they would be sold in Deadwood exclusively.

Woods intended to use the 160-acre property to plant oats, to which many had doubts about. Yet the local papers attempted to assure their readers that it would not be an agricultural travesty. Woods, after all, was seen as one of the prospective millionaires in the hills.

The venture would be a failure. Woods would abandon the farm, and not long after, he would move to the southern hills, making his home on the Cheyenne River near Hot Springs. For the next half-century, the lake would largely remain dry, filling only a little from time to time.

For John Hoel, that little was still too much. A decade after Woods’ failed venture, Hoel took up the land. Unlike Woods though, who took to draining the lake on his own accord, Hoel attempted to navigate through the correct legal channels to accomplish his goal.

Hoel would petition the secretary of the interior to survey and allow for the land to be homesteaded on. He’d be denied. While the lake was not really a lake anymore, with only 50 acres being covered by less than a foot during the wet season, and no water during the dry season, it was still known in the land office as a “lake.”

While Hoel would claim that the remaining water could easily be drained, his request would be denied, at least for the time being. Hoel wasn’t dismayed by the rejection. In November of 1908, seven years after his first petition, Hoel would finally be granted three lots of land, bordering what was once Bear Butte Lake.

It wouldn’t take long for the remaining water of the lake to be drained. Like Woods, Hoel would attempt to farm the land. And like Woods, Hoel would produce no fruits. At least not the sort of fruits he expected. Instead, in time, it would produce whispers, that turned into a proposition; a proposition to reestablish the lake and make it into something the locals could truly enjoy.

The Proposal

With the land having been found to be poor in quality, Hoel gave up the idea of farming it. Bear Butte Lake was now completely drained, and there it would sit for another decade and a half. But in the background, discussions began to occur. Whispers here and there would be heard, raising the hopes of the citizens of Sturgis that maybe the lake would be brought back.

Yet, nothing official came forth until December of 1926. And then, it was just the news that a committee had been created by the Sturgis Izaak Walton League that would look at the possibility of reestablishing Bear Butte Lake.

It didn’t take long for the wheels to begin moving though. In April of 1927, the Izaak Walton League officially sponsored the movement to bring back Bear Butte Lake. The idea was to really build up the area, and make it one of the most beautiful summer resorts in the state.

The means to fill the lake had been worked out. A 1000-foot artesian well on the Hugh Mullin ranch would supply the water. Keeping the momentum up, the state engineer was set to be in town very shortly so that he could survey the area of the lake.

The push to reestablish Bear Butte Lake was part of a larger movement in the Black Hills to add recreational places. At Orman Lake, a grove of trees would be planted to make it a popular recreation area. Lake projects would be sprouting up around Custer, Hot Springs, Lead, Deadwood, and Hill City.

It wasn’t just within the Black Hills that these projects were being undertaken. By 1933, the Game and Fish Department had information on 16 projects throughout the state, as well as another dozen that had been proposed, but further information was being compiled. Nearly two dozen more projects had recently been completed.

For Bear Butte Lake though, there was a slight hold-up. Building a lake is no small task. Especially when the world is thrown into turmoil. As plans were being drawn up for the lake, the Great Depression would come soaring through in 1929.

Meade Country and Sturgis were not immune to the effects of the Great Depression, yet, it didn’t stop them from continuing to pursue the hopes of their citizens. While reestablishing Bear Butte Lake would be knocked off the radar for six long years, it hadn’t truly disappeared. And in 1933, when talks once again began, there was a huge boost. Hoel, who still owned the land, agreed to deed the land over for free.

A massive hurdle had just been overcome, and work could once again progress. A new group would also take the lead on the project, the Sturgis Commercial Club.

This would mark a new phase in the life of Bear Butte Lake. There would still be a long way to go, with the most difficult aspect being the securing of funds for the project, but those involved were bound and determined to make their dream a reality.

In the next installment of this story, we will look at the construction of Bear Butte Lake, which took over half a decade, largely as the Great Depression ravaged the world.