East of Spearfish, a timbered prominence rises above the sprawling, rolling hills of the Centennial Valley: Elkhorn Peak, a limestone formation in the heart of one of the largest historic ranches in the Black Hills.
In the Shadow of Elkhorn Peak:
Courtyard Barns
The Frawley Ranch Story
story by LAURA LINDBLOM
East of Spearfish, a timbered prominence rises above the sprawling, rolling hills of the Centennial Valley: Elkhorn Peak, a limestone formation in the heart of one of the largest historic ranches in the Black Hills.
The Centennial Valley gets its name from the Centennial Party, who arrived in the Black Hills in April 1876, and the Peak itself shelters dozens of forgotten and failed homesteads, Native American history, dreams of goldrush riches and memories of the rugged ranching days.
She was known as the“ Jewel of the Valley.” The daughter of Danish immigrants, Christina Anderson had arrived in the Black Hills from Yankton in the spring of 18 77 with her parents, James and Catherine, and siblings, drawn by the promise of land and the lure of goldrush opportunities near Deadwood, and they settled in the Centennial Valley on a 160-acre homestead at the base of Elkhorn Peak.
Homesteading was a grueling way of life. Under the Homestead Act of 1862, and for a small filing fee, claimants were given 160 acres of land by the U. S. government, and required to live on and improve the land for five years, at which point the land would legally become theirs. Many enterprising men and women flocked to the offer of“ free” land, risking life and limb and livelihood as they settled across the west, including the Black Hills of South Dakota, in ventures that ultimately were destined for failure. But there were a few that, incredibly, defied those odds.
The Anderson family on their 160 acres quickly established a successful dairy operation, thanks in part to their own industriousness and hard work, but also thanks to a clear, cold spring that allowed them to chill their dairy products. The spring continues to flow upwards of 20 gallons per minute to this day. The Andersons grew to employ a large workforce in their dairy, their booming business having at one point as many as 100 cows that were milked twice a day, with daily deliveries of products to Deadwood, and by the year 1900 their humble 160-acre piece of ground had grown to a sprawling 2,500-acre ranch.
He was known as the best lawyer in the Dakota Territory. The son of Irish immigrants, Henry Frawley also was drawn to Deadwood by the intrigue and opportunity of the goldrush, arriving in the Black Hills in 1877, establishing a successful law practice where he was best known for representing mining and railroad companies. The glitter of gold caught his eye, and he invested some in mining, but another gleam captivated his attention: The Jewel of the Valley, Christina Anderson. They were married in 1890, and over the next couple of years, Henry Frawley began what became a serious pursuit of agriculture.
While homestead after homestead in the Centennial Valley collapsed and sold, Frawley was buying, beginning with the Draper Roadhouse, a stagecoach hotel on the run to Deadwood. Frawley eventually amassed some 20 homesteads and 5,000 acres of land over the next two decades, including the
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