A Day in the Life of Hat Creek
Written by Adah Pflughoeft and sourced from the Stagecoach Museum.
Hat Creek Stage Station
Gambling on the West
In the early 1870s, former Confederate spy Belle Siddons’ luck was running out in St. Louis, Missouri. Recently widowed, Belle was left without a source of income, and, like many other washed-up Southerners, she decided to head West. Belle’s husband had been a gambler, and Belle herself had picked up the tricks of the trade from him. Settling in Denver, Colorado, Belle opened up a casino in a tent. She ran a highly profitable business but grew worried as she noticed miners leaving the Denver area for the promise of gold farther north in the Black Hills. Once again, Belle packed up. Changing her name to Lurline Monte Verde, Belle set out for Deadwood, South Dakota, traveling in a yellow wagon outfitted with modern conveniences such as an alcohol stove and a bookshelf. Belle stopped at the original Hat Creek Stage Station in August of 1876, before continuing along northern Niobrara County’s notoriously dangerous section of the Cheyenne-Deadwood route. Want to learn more about Belle’s adventures and the Hat Creek Stage Station? Visit Hat Creek Stage Station….
A Cheap Ticket
Ten dollars. That’s all it cost to ride the stagecoach from Cheyenne, Wyoming to Custer, South Dakota in 1876. The Cheyenne Black Hills Stage and Express Route covered 246 miles across the open prairies, running directly through Niobrara County. There was always some danger involved in riding the stage. The journey was guaranteed to be rough and dusty. The threat of attack by gangs of stagecoach robbers or bands of Native Americans was ever-present. In winter, stagecoaches could easily become lost in white-out snow during heavy blizzards. Despite these dangers, stagecoach travel was popular, and the Cheyenne Black Hills Stage and Express Route sent coaches full of passengers out every few days. These stagecoaches stopped at various stage stations constructed along the route to provide travelers with shelter and protection marauding gangs and Native American tribes. One such station, originally named Fort Hat Creek and later known as the Hat Creek Stage Station, was built about 15 miles north of Lusk in 1876. The station witnessed its fair share of excitement, including stagecoach robberies and a visit from Calamity Jane and Wild Bill Hickock. Interested in learning more about Fort Hat Creek? The stage station will be open to visitors…
The Western Theater
On June 18th, 1876, a large wagon pulled up at Hat Creek Stage Station north of Lusk. Its occupants were the famed Irish-American actor, John Langrishe, his wife, and a dozen members of their acting troupe. Formerly based in Denver, Langrishe decided to relocate to Deadwood to take advantage of the mining boom in the Black Hills. Langrishe and his company opened a theater in Deadwood and staged all sorts of productions, from opera to comedy. Their shows were immensely popular, and the warm-hearted, generous Langrishe won a loyal following. Upon his retirement from theater in 1885, Langrishe moved to Cour’d’Alene, Idaho, where he was later elected as a state senator. Want to see the stage station where John Langrishe and his company stopped on their journey? Hat Creek Stage Station will be open to the public…
Saved by Fort Hat Creek
A decision to stop over at Fort Hat Creek just north of Lusk may very well have saved the lives of Wild Bill Hickok, Calamity Jane, and Buffalo Bill Cody. Buffalo Bill, camped near Hat Creek with the 5th cavalry, was on his way to join General George Armstrong Custer’s 7th cavalry farther north in Montana. Calamity Jane had only just returned from this area with the 7th cavalry’s ambulance wagons. Only a few weeks before, Wild Bill had turned down an offer to act as a guide for Custer’s men. While these three legendary characters of the Wild West were resting at Fort Hat Creek, swapping stories, a courier from Fort Laramie galloped in, announcing the death of General Custer’s at the Battle of Little Big Horn. For Wild Bill, Calamity Jane, and Buffalo Bill, safe at the Hat Creek Stage Station the news was a shock, and they realized only too well how narrowly they, too, had escaped the same fate. Want to walk in the footsteps of these famous westerners? Visit Hat Creek Stage Station…