FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Wednesday, May 16, 2012

CONTACT: Wanda Goodman, (605) 773-3301, wanda.goodman@travelsd.com

South Dakota’s Great Places: Mount Moriah Cemetery

PIERRE, S.D. – This Great Place in South Dakota is not only home to legends of the past, but also provides a scenic overlook to one of the state’s historic communities. It is Mount Moriah Cemetery in Deadwood.  

This historic cemetery includes notable Wild West characters like Wild Bill Hickok, Calamity Jane, Potato Creek Johnny, Preacher Smith, Seth Bullock and Madam Dora DuFran, and her parrot.

The cemetery was established in 1877-1878 because of the increasing demands on the first cemetery in the area, Ingleside. Ingleside was later transformed into a housing development; consequently, many of the graves were relocated to the site now known as Mount Moriah.

There are many sections to the cemetery, including those of Chinese and Jewish heritage. And several sections called Potters’ Field where there are graves of the unknown. Many of the Chinese burial sites have been exhumed for religious reasons and the remains returned to China for re-burial.

Mount Moriah is located high in the hills of the city of Deadwood, and provides visitors an opportunity to see the bustling community from a bird’s-eye view.

The cemetery is open to the public year-round from 8 a.m.-8 p.m., and visitors can take a self-guided tour. The cemetery is also a tour bus stop for the local tour buses and can be boarded on historic Main Street.

For more information on visiting Deadwood, Mount Moriah, or taking a tour of the historic community, visit www.Deadwood.org.

South Dakota’s Great Places weekly press release series is a project of the South Dakota Department of Tourism, designed to highlight places in South Dakota that are unique to travelers and residents alike. Click on the “South Dakota’s Great Places” link at www.MediaSD.com to access the complete list of articles.

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