What’s in a name? For Sturgis, it’s been a lot. While Sturgis was named after Col. Samuel Sturgis, who was the commandant at Fort Meade from 1879 to 1881, many would call it Scooptown in its early years.
The name Scooptown was taken from an earlier settlement near Bear Butte that was known to the soldiers at the then Camp Sturgis, as it was a place where they would have their pockets scooped out as they engaged in all the vices they could want.
After Camp Sturgis closed, and the soldiers eventually being moved to Fort Meade, the “businesses” from Scooptown simply followed. It would be on the edge of town that those from Scooptown would set up shop, and because of that, Sturgis would then be associated with that name. An association many in Sturgis were opposed to. Instead, they wanted to be seen as the Key City of the Black Hills.
The Riffraff
Like many towns in the Black Hills, Sturgis would experience an early boom as those from the east sought to strike it rich through mining, or by supplying those miners. With Fort Meade being established, it gave individuals another source of income; either supplying vices for soldiers, or supplying the military reservation with goods.
As with many western towns though, the influx of people from the east also would eventually lead to a push to become more civilized like the big cities they had came from. The early boom days would help Sturgis to become established, but much of the so called riffraff that had a help in the founding of the city were quickly finding themselves less than welcome.
Shortly after the city of Sturgis was established, it was beginning to experience a blossoming as it became an important commercial center. Sturgis would be a major supply hub for Fort Meade, and it would largely become the entrance to the Black Hills. For those looking to move to one of the mining towns in the Northern Hills, Sturgis would often be the first destination.
Yet, for many in Sturgis, the “riff-raff” still represented an uncivilized past that continued to remain a roadblock for the town’s progress. And it was a roadblock that did not want to be moved, as many of those considered “riff-raff” were also among the earliest settlers in the burgeoning city who had financial interests not only in supplying the soldiers of Fort Meade with their vices, but also in the town itself.
The Switch
The imagined civilization that some proposed would eventually win out. The Scooptown name, and those who built it would soon find themselves not only unwelcomed in Sturgis, but forcefully pushed out. Just as the soldiers for Fort Meade had help create “Scooptown,” those same soldiers would be it’s downfall.
Multiple clashes between those from the Scooptown area of Sturgis, and the soldiers of Fort Meade would spell the end of the name of Scooptown, and Key City eventually reigning.
To prevent future incidents, a great effort from those on the fort was made to keep soldiers out of Sturgis, and on the city side, liquor licenses would be revoked, and later ordinances would be passed to help prevent future turmoil, or at least contain it.
The nickname, Scooptown, would shortly become history. Over the years, other claimants to the title Key City would drop the title, such as Chamberlain and even Rapid City. And eventually, only Sturgis stood as the bearer of the title, “The Key City.”