Real History of Deadwood

[@QueenetBowie]

Deadwood is in my top three or four best HBO series of all time, one of the few moments in TV or film that made me cry was the preacher…. Ah so frustrating they cancelled it so soon back in the day

[@cozyburrito686]

100%agree, it's my top three. It was just so well done!

[@Philth_E]

Deadwood, GOT, The Wire in no particular order.

[@viggycat8592]

Swergie! My fav character!

[@JamesFromTexas]

This, Carnivale, GOT

[@losclaveles]

Deadwood, Rome, The Wire

[@frozolidyabish8572]

I’m from Spearfish SD, Deadwood is our county seat. So much crazy history in that area. I feel honored watching this ngl. Much love Weird History!

[@mollysmith1226]

That's so awesome

[@ubergeek1968]

Hey! Very cool. I spent most of my early childhood in Spearfish and still have family there. Do you know Steve Varner?

[@crystalmac76]

I'm from Lead, but born in DEADWOOD. I would have liked this video more if this person did a better job describing the history of the town. He said the Movie Theatre and YMCA fire demolished half the town. That's a little insincere. And basically describing that we stole the land of the S Tribe. No, it's called conquering land and it's what every other country has done at some point. This guy has obvious woke ideology. So now I'm unsubscribed to this channel.

[@dakotataylor4849]

I loved the area so much I opened a branch of my company in the area

[@Sunluvr1]

⁠Please define “ woke “ . I don’t understand your comment .

[@mopar3078]

The actual town of Deadwood is amazing! 3 1/2 hour drive for me but it's a 4-5 time a year trip. So much to do, definitely a must see for anyone!

[@mollysmith1226]

My husband and I visited there a couple years ago, very cool place

[@robincb3777]

I love Deadwood and the Black Hills area! We’ve visited a few times from Canada and always enjoy it.

[@davidponseigo8811]

A ancestor of mine rode with Seth Bullock as a deputy Marshall and was in the same unit in the Spanish American War but changed units shortly after.

[@doomguydemonkiller]

Just finished watching Deadwood for the first time and I gotta say that it is one of the best shows/content I’ve seen so far in my life. The show is great and it is a crime that it only lasted 3 seasons. And what a coincidence that this video came out as I finished it.

[@angermgt1]

i agree it is pretty damn great. you probably already know this but there is a deadwood movie to close out the series..

[@Backroad_Junkie]

I know Deadwood had to follow history to a point (like Swearingen, Bullock, and others couldn't die), but I'd have made an exception and blown away Hearst, lol. Deadwood was a great series. If you can get over the language and violence, it's worth the watch!

[@EverClear0]

Definitely wanted Hearst to die on the show as he really deserved it.

[@ivareskesner2019]

The language and violence are part of its charm and part of history. It would be nowhere near as effective without them.

[@ivareskesner2019]

​@@EverClear0He's the chief antagonist. He can't die...not until the end, at least. Battle with him is a huge part of the narrative.

[@lisaahmari7199]

I heard a historian say that they HAD to use such outrageously bad words. The ones that in our own day and age atill have the power to shock. Because, in those days, using the words "damn" and "hell" and the F word were SO shocking to the average person....but a modern audience would never even notice them, we are so used to them. The writers had to use the various "C-words" to be able to get across to US, in the 21st century, how shocking the bad language used by outlaws, etc. would have seemed to a "civilized Petunia" from the East Coast. All I know is that AL used it as a Shakespearean actor uses Elizabethan english. He was an absolute master with cuss words. 😅😂

[@Backroad_Junkie]

@@ivareskesner2019 Well, yeah. I know. But today's sensibilities are somewhat different, lol. When I got my BR copy, I gave away my DVD set. Husband and his friends watched ever minute. Wife couldn't get through the first episode, lol. It's was like hearing Eddie Murphy's "Raw" the first time. 😁

[@jeffjohndavis1]

Weird History....The best of the BEST on KZbin!

[@cozyburrito686]

This was great, thank you! Great timing as I am re-watching Deadwood right now! When HBO was at its best! This show is my top tier of television. Brad Dourif, as the Doc, thats just stellar acting right there!

[@jeremyetchison948]

"No evidence that people were fed to pigs" ME: Isn't that the point?

[@leejohnson2024]

Ha I was just about to say the same thing lol

[@dawnywarthog6642]

You read my mind 😊

[@belrapture]

I highly recommend anyone visit Deadwood. Especially if you're a history buff. It's like stepping into the past. You can FEEL the history. It's amazing. Very cool place.

[@StuartAnderson-xl4bo]

Lol at US history the country is only 250 or 300 years old. There are houses here from the 1500s and castles from 1000s

[@StAlphonsusHasAPosse]

​@StuartAnderson-xl4bo It's weird when someone says "here," but doesn't say where "here" is

[@StuartAnderson-xl4bo]

@@StAlphonsusHasAPosse I'm here you are there,

[@StAlphonsusHasAPosse]

​@StuartAnderson-xl4bo No, I'm there and you are here. 😉 Have a good one!

[@blairmichaelhogan4502]

This was great! Deadwood is objectively one of the greatest shows of all time.

[@Jason-ev5bk]

I visited Deadwood, South Dakota myself with my family. It is a beautiful place and has a rich history. South Dakota is one such place I would recommend to anyone. 3:33

[@katherinegray5086]

My partner & i visited USA & toured for 2 months .. we saw amazing places & interesting historical sites .. loved every minute of our trip .. Deadwood was my favourite city 🙂 ... 🇦🇺💙🇺🇸⛪

[@btetschner]

@6:12 The "Dead Man's Hand" is a hand of black Aces (ace of spades, Ace of clubs) and black 8s (8 of spades, 8 of clubs) and an unknown hole card. It was allegedly the hand Wild Bill Hickok held when he was murdered. (wikipedia).

[@shatteredsoldier81]

I was just in Deadwood last week. Great town to visit.

[@GoGreen1977]

I first visited Deadwood in 1960, right after my 5th birthday, and again in 1970. It was a western tourist town back then, but sort of ramshackle in need of some spiffing up. My mother was born and raised in western South Dakota and attended school and worked in Rapid City/the Black Hills as a young adult. I heard all of the stories of the "Wild West" from her and my grandfather. He settled in South Dakota, along with my grandmother and other family members in the early 1900s. They homesteaded next to and then eventually moved to a town within the boundaries of the Standing Rock Indian Reservation. My impression, from knowing my grandparents, my mother, and my aunt, I'm pretty sure modern curse words, if used back then, were NOT acceptable in mixed company or in public even in Deadwood.

[@markbidwell654]

as a long time of resident of DwD - this is pretty accurate description of the town

[@flyingelbowdrop]

Deadwood was the first western show or movie I ever enjoyed. Absolute masterpiece. I even road tripped to the actual Deadwood when I lived in Denver. I’ll never forget that trip and seeing Hickok’s grave!

[@ebogar42]

There are many good western movies. Unforgiven is one.

[@wes326]

Great show, McShane's performance is awe inspiring. Never seen such a domineering character. The Black Hills is our favorite place to visit. As pretty as Yellowstone. Weird History is the best, thanks for sharing.

[@btetschner]

0:01 My brother, his girlfriend, his friends, and I went to Deadwood, South Dakota for a snowboarding trip in 2002. We drove there in a van and stayed downtown across from the casinos. It was an amazing fall trip!

[@trevander1able]

Timothy olyphant is my all-time favorite actor!!!

[@QueenetBowie]

I made it all the way through the series before realizing it was the same guy who played Agent 47 in Hitman lol. Terrible script but great acting in Hitman by Oliphant….. he’s a solid performer

[@trevander1able]

@@QueenetBowie he was also awesome in Santa Clarita diet!! And the girl next door!! Also we loved him in the Crazies!! And as the bad guy in the 4th Die Hard movie!!, (can't remember what it's called(

[@donHooligan]

he's a sheriff again.

[@robertpulliam4152]

​@trevander1able don't forget the show "justified". If you haven't watched it you should check it out

[@709mash]

He tends to play very similar characters imo, but he's so damn good and believable with those characters that I don't really find it a bad thing.

[@st.anselmsfire3547]

"There's no evidence anyone was fed to pigs." Yeah... that's the point.

[@ubergeek1968]

I was born in Rapid City and spent part of my early childhood in Spearfish, just 15 miles north of Deadwood. Every summer my father would take me and my sister into Deadwood for the Deadwood Days celebration. I have seen the re-enactment of the assassination of Wild Bill Hickock about 5 times, and have been in the Aces and Eights saloon as an adult. It is a shame what has happened to that nice little town since gambling was legalized, it now too much like Las Vegas.

[@nicolerunciman3493]

This is neat. Fun fact. I am directly related to Al Swearengen! He’s my 8th great uncle on my dads side of the family ❤️

[@dallastexas5653]

The fight between Dan and Joe is my favorite silver screen fight to this day.

[@randstahl4869]

Love Deadwood: Great acting; great script writing, fantastic direction, inspired production. Watched each episode several times. Have the DVD set. Have Deadwood forever.

[@btetschner]

A+ video! Awesome history of the tv series and settlement, I'll have to check out the series!

[@Backroad_Junkie]

If you ever go to Deadwood (and I'd suggest it, including all of the Black Hills, including Mt Rushmore, Custer State Park, Devil's Tower, etc), DO NOT GO DURING THE STURGIS MOTORCYCLE RALLY, unless you're aim is to go to the rally. Motorcycles will outnumber cars 20 to 1 or more. All hotel rooms will be gone. Every town/business will be catering to the bikers. There will even be places and towns that are closed to cars. Yes, I was there during the rally by accident. Just avoid the rally, the week before and after. Otherwise, the Black Hills is a terrific place to visit! 😁

[@ubergeek1968]

Just stay out of the Back Hills during the month of August, would be my advice. I am old enough to remember when the Sturgis Rally was a mere 2000 or so attendees, Spearfish was crowded enough back then. I wouldn't go near my hometown in August nowadays.

[@Backroad_Junkie]

@@ubergeek1968 I was going up to the Pacific Northwest (Oly NP and some Lewis and Clark sites) because a friend of mine was at a conference in Seattle. So the road trip was set around her conference dates. I had no idea that Sturgis and I would cross paths, until I was listening to a radio station on I-94 around North Dakota/Montana. (Which is directly North of the Black Hills.) I didn't think much of it until I saw all the bikers in Yellowstone. Then I said screw it and drove into the Black Hills to continue my vacation. It was interesting, lol. I'd compare it to DragonCon, except you replace all the cosplayers with bikers. 😁

[@nmarkose]

Great show. Thank you for posting this!

[@susangutrugianios2241]

Well Done Love the HBO Show Love your clarification of the history of Dead Wood ❤

[@Cazz8203]

Pretty sure milch specifically said they mostly likely cursed like Yosemite sam back then but he opted to update the language cause the old way would've sounded too silly for a modern hbo drama

[@63bplumb]

Haven't watched the show. I was IN Deadwood. Played 21 at Saloon 10. One of my best days (lost some money BUT worth it!). Beautiful sunny day great breakfast. Walked the streets smoking a cigar. Wouldn't want to be there in winter but BOY that was a delight!

[@fictitiousart6410]

Best show ever. 3 seasons and a full length feature film is all that was needed.

[@DaveRicher705]

“There is no evidence anyone was fed to pigs”. - that was kinda the point…

[@nathanlafortune100]

That's why... No evidence.

[@dannyhatesdallas9322]

All the swearing in Deadwood made Scarface seem like a Disney film. 🤬 Great show.

[@cadillacdeville5828]

Could you imagine him working at your job? With that tone of voice? Awesomeness 😎

[@gamemasteranthony2756]

I actually visited Deadwood a couple of times...both times being during their "Days of '76" celebration. Surprised the bit about Wild Bill didn't mention the nickname given to the poker hand he was holding when he was shot: Both black Aces and both black Eights...known nowadays as the Dead Man's Hand because of Wild Bill's death. FUN FACT: In the TTRPG "Deadlands", the Dead Man's Hand holds great power. In earlier editions, the Dead Man's Hand (which also has the Jack of Diamonds as the fifth card) is considered the best hand possible, even beating out Five of a Kind. (Since Action Decks also had Jokers.) The most recent edition, however, just mentions the hand in regard to the Soul Blast hex, a spell that does damage. Drawing the Dead Man's Hand when calculating damage instantly kills the target instead of doing damage.

[@zach7193]

I enjoyed this. This was a time in the American Wild West where gold was the thing and led to setting up of the town. Oh, Custer and Hickok were friends. Both died in 1876.

[@walterwhiteboy4257]

1876 was an active year in American Western history. Colorado also became a state in 1876.

[@jennklein1917]

Love Bill Hickok, but Custer got his just desserts!

[@billm2078]

Deadwood is one hell of a fun place today.

[@shannoncampbell5421]

Absolutely loved this series. I have watched it 3x now but on a side note this area is so very beautiful country and I’m glad that they are bringing back the bison population.

[@jasonlee3759]

One of my top elite shows of all time! No question 🤘👏👏

[@MrCtsSteve]

That was a great series on HBO . Even drove out there a few years back . Pretty country

[@debbieellett9093]

Never watch TV myself. But I love history and this channel😊

[@lifeisberserk9566]

You'd like Vikings and Band of brothers

[@bfwebster]

My great-grandfather, George Carlow Cosgrove, lived in Deadwood during this period and allegedly was involved with Calamity Jane before he married my great-grandmother, Annetta Spencer, in 1888. He and Annetta had 8 children, the last of which was my grandmother, Florence Cosgrove (1904). Still a lot of Cosgroves/Cosgraves in the Rapid City area.

[@btetschner]

2:15 That also reminds me of the children's book The True Story of the 3 Little Pigs by Jon Scieszka and Lane Smith (1989). In a 2012 poll by School Library Journal, it was voted as one of the "Top 100 Picture Books of All Time." (wikipedia)

[@NASCARFAN93100]

Red Dead Redemption 2 is The Video Game version of Deadwood

[@wolfepakt]

I love deadwood. Not the show, but the town.i spend 1 of every 3 weeks here now. You missed the point that the reason deadwood almost died is the government cracking down on prostitution. Gambling literally saved this town in the 80s.

[@danm3570]

This was great, I watched the series and I didn't know it was anywhere near this close to reality (also, awesome series btw)😁

[@alswearengen6427]

Haven't watched Survivor in 20 years, but you put Al Swearengen on that show and I'm hooked.

[@emmgeevideo]

McHale's Navy is a historical episode worth exploring...

[@syoung2333]

No evidence...? That's the idea of using pigs in the first place I thought...

[@tayninh69]

We have been to Deadwood a few times, but after the city allowed gambling Deadwood lost it's old west appeal. Now it's flashing lights, bells and even the wooden sidewalks are gone.

[@MichaelCornwell-j7r]

All those times you went and never found out who owns it? Well my unfriend it all beings to Kevin Constner that is the way they got gambling in the only city in S.D. when we were there it looked like they were building a new wooden city behind the city and we stayed at the best hotel in 400 miles and at the restaurant I got 2 of the best steaks around and they were cooked the way I like them, blue cold or raw as you would call them

[@mimi2the4]

Milch actually said in an interview that he chose such graphic language because the language of the times was so tame itwoild not elicit the response from the audience needed to sell the scenes

[@StAlphonsusHasAPosse]

Interesting

[@nazfan01]

Weird History, do one of Rosewood (Florida) They did a movie on that too

[@syoung2333]

Yeah that'd be cool. Challenge!!!!

[@kandipiatkowski8589]

I visited Deadwood while on vacation with my family back in the 80s. I'm sure it has gotten even more touristy since....just like Dodge City, KS. I have never watched the TV show (I don't have cable), so I can't say whether it was good or not.

[@bufordteejustice1119]

We went to Deadwood a few years ago. It was a great place to visit.

[@Rick_King]

Greatest Western ever!

[@natalieb.1254]

Best TV series ever made. Prove me wrong!

[@lifeisberserk9566]

To me it's very boring

[@goober5713]

Custer was a Col. his rank as a Major General was a temporary one while the Civil War was going on. After the war, her went back to his original rank before the war.

[@jilliangrieder2049]

I watch movies/shows just to watch Ian McShane after his role in Deadwood! So glad they did one on Deadwood!!

[@jlbay1]

If the question is: did they curse? Then the answer is yes. Did they use the words we use? Probably not exactly, but we don’t even use the same words in all English-speaking areas. This was really interesting! I really liked the focus on the real history while still connecting to the show!

[@btetschner]

@8:37 Timothy Olyphant is a descendant of the Vanderbilt family, his paternal fourth great-grandfather was Cornelius Vanderbilt. (wikipedia)

[@shannon_w.]

Are you serious??? I don't know how but a cousin of mine is a Genealogist and did our families ancestry. Somewhere down the line we are related to the Vanderbilt family and I remember seeing Cornelius Vanderbilt's name specifically. That's pretty cool 😊

[@btetschner]

@@shannon_w. Very cool! Vanderbilt is such a historically important family name! There are some Weird History videos about the Vanderbilts: x The Vanderbilts | How America's Richest Family Went Broke x How One Of America's Richest Families Lost Everything

[@allendean9807]

Deadwood; a town of illegal squatters on Indian territory. A territory agreed via treaty, which, under the constitution is considered the ultimate law of the land. Except there was Gold. So the fed looked the other way, broke their treaty, moved the Rez, and in usual form, took what they wanted anyway….

[@briansullivan5908]

I loved the Deadwood series and Swearingen is my favourite character. Citizen Kane wasn't exactly a polite telling of the Hearst legacy. we all know what Rosebud really was.

[@grprather]

I took a guided tour of Deadwood several years ago and asked the guide how accurate the HBO series was. He said somewhat accurate except that Bullock didn't arrive in Deadwood until after Hickock was already dead, which is unlike the show depicting them as friends. Great show, anyway!

[@Aliassuk]

Love this channel. So many good stories. Please can you bust some myths in relation to Romania especially Transylvanian life pre 1900 Dracula, cuisine, wine etc. thank you.

[@kellybarthel8060]

Good doc, I grew up just outside deadwood. One thing the black hills was not colonized that reference is for the colonial areas on east coast but gets over used. But in 70s earl 80s you could do the Chinese tunnel tours where the opium dens were, and in 1980 in junior high wood shop field trip was actually to go down and see the purple door (last house of illripute) shut down. Good times had the trial of jack mckall and reenactment of shooting of wild Bill ect. Most you could not get away with anymore.

[@btetschner]

@3:27 I went to Deadwood, South Dakota (on a stop for our Pacific Northwest trip) where we just hung out downtown. I went to the casinos and played some black jack there.

[@stephaniet5448]

My great grandmother was a Moonshiner in Deadwood and ran a boarding house for the miner’s. The boarding house is STILL there to this day. (Although it is barely standing).

[@jasonbecker2173]

I would like to see a side by side in this style with the Hell on Wheels series from AMC I loved that show and would love to be educated! Keep up the great work!!!

[@hippiechick2112]

THANK YOU FOR SPELLING THE NAME RIGHT!! This is my maiden name and yes, I am related. All accurate and all wild!

[@EricsSouthDakotaAdventur-lu8kt]

Thanks for the lesson on Deadwood

[@Extirpationofproject2025]

Ian McShane is my fave actor of all time! And shout-out to the staff of Cadillac Jack's;

[@zu_1455]

The Black Hills are illegally settled to this day. Don't make legal contracts if you're going to violate them. That's what's supposed to separate us from the animals isn't it? If you can't handle the heat, get outta the saloon.

[@himynameishelen]

I remember at the time Deadwood was coming out reading a comment from someone to do with the show which said basically that they would have been saying stuff like "gulldarnit" which would seem incredibly genteel to a modern audience, so they used more modern swear words in the dialogue to create the same feel for a modern audience that it would have generated in the people at the time.

[@marymelcher2534]

My grandparents and others in my family settled in Deadwood and Lead (where the Homestake was). My Irish Catholic grandmother was scandalized by the loose morals of the place. They finally moved to a small ranch near Spearfish. They made a living rounding up wild horses and breaking them and selling them to the army at Fort Meade.

[@Alex_Penjamin]

I’m rewatching Justified right now and I’ve been eye balling Deadwood for a bit. Gotta check it out hahah

[@hip_check]

Great show...especially the constant cussing!

[@JoshuaTraffanstedt]

The reason Jack McCall was aquitted was because Deadwood wasnt an incorporated town and it wasnt even part of a State, only inside a territory of the USA. So legally couldnt convict or sentence anyone and certainly couldnt punish anyone. They could make an arrest, but then theyd have to wire for a judge for a trial or for a sheriff (if its an unincorporated town inside of a county or close to a county and also a town part of a state) or US Marshal to take the person to a judge or army fort to be tried for his crimes. That McCall trial in Deadwood was literally all for show. They couldnt exactly let him off without doing anything, but they knew they couldnt convict or punish him. Thats why he wasnt found guilty.

[@jonathanlewis6473]

We got to see them doing an archeological dig near Nuttell and Mann's No. 10. They had a lot of medicine bottles thrown in outhouses and left over from the big fire. A wonderful town to visit during Charlie Utter Days and see Grand Funk Railroad. .... I think Al Swearingen got run over hopping a train in Chicago.

[@hervvo]

Yay! I requested this in a comment and here it is! I'm so hyped.

[@AA-BB]

We all owe you

[@gilesa.4052]

The only series I rewatch in it's entirety every few years...

[@billbest9483]

Bill described Jane's figure like " a loosened bale of hay!"

[@AntonioBolognio-bs5gc]

I enjoyed that. I like your narration as well. It's not boring or monotone

[@mr.nobody9697]

Clicked and subbed after the "little pigs" bricks comment.

[@MarkHous]

“There was no evidence anyone was fed to pigs.” Wasn’t that the point?

[@DukeJimbob]

True but those things will eat anything hell don't die alone or your dog will do the same

[@ChrisSeifert-p1z]

Deadwood was a great show now I want to visit

[@ryankula6305]

Thank You! Well Done!

[@2DaylnHistory]

As an American West buff, this treatment was just great.

[@marycorzette6562]

I actually liked that series. Cool episode 👍❤

[@CharlesParkhill]

Custer was only a colonel not a general. General was his brevet or temporary rank during Civil War

[@NewMessage]

I expected WAY more bleeping in this one.

[@DavidRoe1111]

Pam Lives! Check the purple door. You left out the best part. Deadwood had semi legal brothels until the early 80's. The county doctor visited the girls monthly. Gambling replaced prostitution as the town's economic driver. There are nice old ladies alive in town who can tell you stories of their days working for Pam.

[@btetschner]

2:15 Reminds me of the music video "Three Little Pigs" by Green Jelly, hilarious video!

[@LindaGuy-yg6ju]

Love that show.

[@Skyebooo]

Deadwood was a lawless town when miners first showed up because it was Indian territory and US citizens werent suppose to be there. So it attracted lawbreakers to escape law and try their luck at getting rich.

[@beavis8167]

This show should Have ran ten seasons.

[@Keirfey]

I know more about the topic of the town AND the show than you do. I grew up out here, and I've hiked Moriah numerous times. Zone 5a for gardening purposes... the original "lawless" town. Rough history... especially the house I am currently in.

[@bapplejacks]

I love this show! It made me fall in love with Ian McShane.

[@tedecker3792]

Went to college in Spearfish in the 1960s, and probably spent too much time partying in Deadwood. This was back before gambling was legal. Note I said “was legal”, not “before gambling”.

[@SMDoktorPepper]

Warrior would be an interesting show to look into.

[@galloe8933]

I actually enjoyed Deadwood until the final season when people started losing their minds, and the dragons had, and ruined their final hurrah. I just pretend that Deadwood ended the season before its last. Dinklage is still my favorite cowboy.