HISTORY NEBRASKA MANUSCRIPT FINDING AID
RG1036.AM: Gordon Expedition to the Black Hills collection
Miscellaneous: 1874-1927
Black Hills, Dakota Territory: Gold field expedition
Size: One folder
BACKGROUND NOTE
After reports of gold deposits in the Black Hills of South Dakota circulated in the summer and fall of 1874, the first expedition to the Black Hills gold fields headed by John Gordon was outfitted at Sioux City, Iowa, and then left from Covington, Nebraska, on October 6, 1874. The expedition reached the Black Hills in December of 1874. Gordon returned to Sioux City in February of 1875. After outfitting for a second trip, Gordon’s second expedition left for the Black Hills in April of 1875. Due to the Fort Laramie Treaty of 1868, the U.S. Government tried to honor the claims of the Lakota and Yankton tribes to the Black Hills region by excluding any and all whites from the “Great Sioux Reservation.” Gordon’s second expedition was overtaken by the U.S. Army and forced to turn back before reaching Dakota Territory.
SCOPE AND CONTENT NOTE
The collection consists of one folder containing miscellaneous papers relating to the expedition to the Black Hills gold fields led by John Gordon in 1874-1875. The collection includes a newspaper clipping from the Nebraska State Journal, October 9, 1927, about Nebraska State Surveyor E.C. Simmons. Simmons surveyed Cherry County, Nebraska, in the spring of 1875 and crossed paths with John Gordon. Some 1922 correspondence concerns maps for the expedition. One additional item is from a book by Annie Tallent which tells of the route taken by Gordon.
Note: See the Nebraska History index for articles about John Gordon’s expeditions. See the Library for publications by Annie Tallent relating to the Black Hills.
INVENTORY
Misc. items relating to Gordon expeditions
Subject headings:
Black Hills (Dakota Territory)
Cherry County, Nebraska
Gordon, John
Simmons, E.C.
Surveyors — Nebraska
Tallent, Anna Donna “Annie” (Frazier), 1827-1901
TMM 12-20-2016
