Sidney's golden history, celebrated this weekend

As settlers took their place in the plains gold was discovered in the Black Hills of South Dakota, Sidney would become a jumping off point to the gold fields. The town—and its railroad—was considered the closest transportation link to Deadwood.

“This was a modern gold rush, people could take a steamship to St Joseph, Missouri, traveling by train to Sidney then by foot, horse or wagon to the gold fields of the Black Hills on the Deadwood Trail,” said Sidney resident and historian Gordy Wilkins.

Sidney’s Gold Rush Days celebration is expected to draw 300 or more people this year, with a new exhibit--an Old Time Blacksmith who will demonstrate the profession as it was in the 1800s. A quick draw competition will also be featured, as well as reinactors in costume ready to tell the history of Sidney.

The event will be held at Legion Park Friday and Saturday June 7 and 8.

Why the celebration? As the gold rush progressed and settlers arrived in bunches, Sidney acquired a reputation of being a rough, tough, unforgiving and mean town on the rail line. The history of Sidney’s tattered past can be found in Boot Hill Graveyard, the final resting place of many who were gunned down or otherwise disposed of.

With saloons and gaming houses lining the streets of Sidney it was known to have gunfights or fistfights on a daily bases. Many famous faces walked the blood stained streets. James and John Pinkerton were murdered here and buried in Boot Hill. Doc Middleton, leader of a gang of bandits that numbered in the 100s killed a man downtown.

In a time when gold fever was high so were the revenues that the city was pulling in, 1874 the total tax revenue for the city was $33,000 but in the next year 1875 the city's tax revenue was a staggering $1.6 million. Gold brought in funds for the city, but it also brought those who wanted the gold without all the mining and hard labor. The largest gold robbery in US history, 450 pounds of gold, occurred nearby.

Sidney’s Gold Rush Days celebrates the history of a time past, with events and re-enactments of shoot outs and robberies. But it also celebrates a tranquil town, filled with professionals who work in offices by day and just want to enjoy—through skits and fun—the tales of this town's wild origins.