At the turn of the twentieth century, the beginning of America's automotive industry was underway as
designers and entrepreneurs were busily manufacturing and marketing their horseless carriages to consumers.
A vestige of one of these early automobiles is currently at the MAC Laboratory undergoing conservation so
that it can be displayed in an upcoming exhibit by the city of Deadwood in South Dakota. The artifact is
an iron wheel axle, with a white metal alloy cap, from a Haynes automobile (Figure 1). The white metal
alloy cap is clearly marked with the name HAYNES and their slogan "AMERICA'S FIRST CAR" (Figure 2). Elwood
Haynes was one of the early automobile inventors, building his first car in 1893 (Clymer 1950). He went
on to form his own company, joined into partnership with Edgar Apperson in 1895, but then the company was split
and reorganized in 1901 to become the Haynes Automobile Company (Byrne 2004). The company stopped manufacturing
cars and went out of business in 1924 (Byrne 2004).
Figure 1: Haynes automobile axle, from Deadwood, SD, before treatment.
Figure 2: White metal alloy cap on the axle, with the Haynes Automobile Company logo, during
treatment.
The axle was excavated from a site along Main Street in the historic district of Deadwood. During the early
twentieth century, that area of the archaeological site was host to a variety of auto-oriented shops (Byrne
2004). In addition to the axle, engines and other automotive parts were recovered during the excavation. This
deposit demonstrates there was a thriving trade in the maintenance of cars at the time and reflects the growth
of automobile use. The rise of the automobile also led to the Good Roads Movement, a nation-wide effort to
build and improve the condition of roads throughout the United States. One of these projects was the
establishment of the "Black and Yellow Trail" in 1912, a highway that connected Chicago, the Black Hills,
and Yellowstone Park (Deadwood Historic Preservation Committee). The "Black and Yellow Trail" was designated
an automobile tourist route and passed through the City of Deadwood (Figure 3).
Figure 3: Automobile tourist map of the Black Hills from 1920. Courtesy of the City of
Deadwood Archives.
Recognizing the potential for tourism, Lawrence County (which includes the northern Black Hills and cities of
Deadwood, Lead, and Spearfish) Commissioners developed a road system with Deadwood at its center (Barta
Julin 2009). By 1919, they had spent over $600,000 on roads and bridges throughout the county (Barta Julin
2009) (Figure 4). The scenery and history of the county proved a tremendous draw; by the 1930s, tourists
numbered in the tens of thousands. A combination of good roads, special events held by the cities, the
creation of national parks, and an increase in tourist accommodations led to more motorists driving to
the region over the following years (Bara Julin 2009). The city of Deadwood and the Black Hills continue
to be significant tourist destinations to this day and the car is still a popular mode of transportation
to explore the area.
Figure 4: A road in Lawrence County, SD, 1915. Courtesy of the City of Deadwood Archives.
References
Bart Julin, Suzanne
2009 A Marvelous Hundred Square Miles: Black Hills Tourism, 1880-1941.
South Dakota State Historical Society Press, Pierre.
Byrne, Daniel
2004 A Report of an Archaeological Investigation Conducted at 39LA3000-NG,
621 and 623 Main Street, Lawrence County, Deadwood, South Dakota, National Historic District Landmark. South
Dakota Historical Society, Archaeological Research Center, Rapid City.
Clymer, Floyd
1950 Treasury of Early American Automobiles 1877-1925.
McGraw-Hill Book Company, New York.
Deadwood Historic Preservation Commission
n.d. Good Roads Movement & Lawrence County. History Link: A
Trail to Deadwood's Past (roadside interpretive panel).