Preservation Thursday: Soapsuds Row
DEADWOOD – Deadwood History, Inc. and the Deadwood Historic Preservation Commission will host a presentation by Aaron Mayer at 12:00 p.m. on Thursday, September 5, 2024, at the Homestake Adams Research and Cultural Center (HARCC), 150 Sherman Street, Deadwood. The event is free for members and $5 for non-members.
Archaeological investigations of the laundress quarters at old Fort Meade illustrate how one immigrant couple survived, thrived, and died on the western frontier. Remains of a log cabin and its contents and a nearby privy tell the story of Rose Courtney, adventurous Seventh Cavalry laundress. Some 6,000 artifacts from two week-long volunteer digs provide a snapshot of life on Soapsuds Row in 1907 from clothing to food to liquor consumption.
Aaron J. Mayer is the senior archaeologist/paleoethnobotanist at Augustana University, Augustana Archaeology Laboratory. After earning his graduate degree from the University of South Dakota, he worked on excavations in Wyoming and field investigations in Nebraska and Minnesota. As a staff archaeologist at the South Dakota Archaeological Research Center, he focused on past human plant use, experimental archaeology, and Great Plains history, completing numerous Section 106 projects. Mayer is a member of the Register of Professional Archaeologists and has co-authored paleontological studies for the Bureau of Reclamation. He currently serves as treasurer of the South Dakota Archaeological Society and is published in various archaeological journals. Mayer’s interests lie in the paleoethnobotany of the Peruvian Wari, Great Plains American Indian cultures and Euro-American settlers.
Preservation Thursday is co-sponsored by the Deadwood Historic Preservation Commission, Adams-Mastrovich Family Foundation, Deadwood History, Inc., Deadwood Chamber of Commerce & Visitors Bureau, Black Hills Pioneer, and the Silverado Franklin Historic Hotel & Gaming Complex.
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Deadwood History, Inc. preserves and presents the history of Deadwood and the Black Hills through exceptional places, interactive exhibits, and engaging events.
Adams Museum, Days of ’76 Museum, Historic Adams House, Homestake Adams
Research and Cultural Center, The Brothel Deadwood, and Fassbender Photographic Collection.