Bismuth, South Dakota

The name Bismuth refers to the metal bismuth. It is unclear why this is the town name. Bismuth is mined in the United States; however, South Dakota has no documented bismuth mining claims, past or present.^[3]

The region surrounding Bismuth was a hunting ground and sacred territory of the Western Sioux, as well as the Cheyenne, Kiowa, and Arapaho.^[4]

The 1868 Treaty of Fort Laramie guaranteed Black Hills land rights to the Sioux and Arapaho. However, a military expedition led by George Armstrong Custer found gold in 1874, causing the Black Hills Gold Rush. Native groups resisted the thousands of white settlers that came to the area over the next year; the conflicts culminated in the Great Sioux War of 1876. Despite Native American victory at the Battle of the Little Bighorn, the war resulted in the Sioux relinquishing their rights to the Black Hills to the United States government in 1877.^[4] The 1874 gold rush and subsequent land seizure gave rise to a series of boomtowns, mines, and other settlements in the region, including Bismuth.^[4]

Bismuth existed circa 1901 as a small community of half a dozen homes. It once included a store and a baseball team. As of 1974, an old house remained of the town, but it is unknown if any structures are still standing.^[2] The site is now part of a wildlife preserve and a manmade lake.^[5]