Built in the early 1900s the Franklin Hotel has entertained the company of famous people such as John Wayne, Babe Ruth, Will Rogers, Casey Tibbs, Buffalo Bill, and Teddy Roosevelt to name just a few. The hotel is located on Main Street in Deadwood across from the Silverado Casino and Outlaw Square. I enjoyed walking every floor looking at the famous doors and people who resided there at one time. The history at this hotel is just amazing. These are the 18 doors I found.
The Doors of the Famous at the Franklin Hotel in Deadwood
Seth Bullock was a prominent citizen of Deadwood. He was a frontiersman, sheriff, U.S. Marshal, and operated the Bullock Hotel in Deadwood. After Wild Bill Hickok was murdered, he became the sheriff of Deadwood. He was appointed a marshal by President Theodore Roosevelt and then later President William Taft. He is buried at Mount Moriah Cemetery in Deadwood.
Potato Creek Johnny found the largest piece of gold in the Black Hills of South Dakota and became a local celebrity. His gold nugget is on display at the Adams Museum in Deadwood. Potato Creek Johnny is buried at Mount Moriah Cemetery in Deadwood next to Wild Bill Hickok and Calamity Jane.
Billy Mills was born in 1938 in Pine Ridge, South Dakota. He won a gold medal in the 1964 Olympics in Tokyo, Japan in the 10,000 meter run (6.2 miles) with a winning time of 28.24.4 minutes. It was noted as one of the greatest upsets in Olympic history since Billy Mills was not known at the time. He was also the first non - European to win the Olympic event, and remains the only winner from the Americas.
Casey Tibbs was born in 1929 In Fort Pierre, South Dakota and died in 1990 in Ramona, California. He was a rodeo cowboy, stuntman, technical director, and actor. In 1979 Casey was inducted in the Pro Rodeo Hall of Fame. He held the World All Around Cowboy Champion title in both 1951, and 1958. In 1949, 1951-1954, and 1959 he won the World Saddle Bronco Riding Championship. In 1951 he won the World Bareback Bronco Riding Championship, and was on the cover of Life Magazine. He is interred in Fort Pierre at the Scotty Philip Cemetery.
Theodore Roosevelt was born in 1858 and died in 1919. He was an American politician, conservationist, writer, and naturalist. He was the 26th president of the United States from 1901 to 1909. He was also the 25th vice president under President McKinley and became president when President McKinley was assassinated. Teddy was known for his cowboy persona and robust masculinity. He bought and operated a ranch in the Dakotas. Teddy formed the Rough Riders and fought the Spanish Army in Cuba. His mother and wife died on the same night leaving him heartbroken. Teddy became president at the age of 42. He established national parks and forests. He began the construction of the Panama Canal. He won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1906. He is known to be one of the greatest presidents in American history.
Harris Franklin was born in 1849 and began a liquor business on Main Street in Deadwood. He got rich through banking, ranching, and mining. He built the Franklin Hotel in the early 1900’s. The hotel was named in his honor.
Big and Rich is an American country duo who is composed of Big Kenny and John Rich. They are both songwriters, vocalists, ad guitarists. One of their biggest songs is Save a Horse, Ride a Cowboy. They starred in the television show The Bachelor season 19 episode 6 which was filmed in Deadwood, South Dakota.
Lame Deer was born in Rosebud, South Dakota around 1900. He was a rodeo clown, painter, holy man, healer, social activist, and Native American spiritual leader. He was part of the AIM movement. He died in 1976.
The Josephine door I believe belonged to Josephine (Josie) Arsaga who lived from 1901 to 2001. She was a a dancer for the Old Style Saloon #10 and a local legend. Her fame grew from her spirited dancing. She is buried in the Oak Ridge Cemetery just outside of the town of Deadwood.
The Governor’s Suite I am assuming belongs to whatever governor is in office at the time. It would be interesting to know how many and which governors actually stayed here at one time.
Known at “The Duke”, John Wayne was an American actor who starred in many western and war movies. He became popular during the Hollywood’s Golden Age. He starred in a total of 179 film and television productions. John Wayne died in 1979 in Los Angeles, California.
Babe Ruth was born in 1895 and died in 1948 of a brain tumor. He played in 2503 games, had 714 home runs, 2,873 hits, and a batting average of .342. He was considered to be the greatest baseball player of all time. He played for the Boston Red Sox, New York Yankees, and Boston Braves.
William Frederick Cody known as Buffalo Bill was born in 1846 and died in 1917 in Denver, Colorado. He was a showman, bison hunter, and American soldier. He founded the Buffalo Bill Wild West Show in 1883 and toured throughout the United States and Europe. He was in the American Civil War and a civilian scout for the U.S. army during the Indian Wars. Some interesting facts - He killed 4,282 buffalo on a 18 month hunting spree between 1867-1868. He had a 8 hour buffalo shooting match to win the exclusive right of the name Buffalo Bill against Bill Comstock. Buffalo Bill won by killing 68 animals and Bill Comstock only killed 48 animals.
Will Rogers was born in 1879. He was an American performer, actor, and social commentator. He traveled all over the world 3 times in his lifetime. He made 71 films, 50 which were silent films. He wrote over 4000 nationally syndicated newspapers columns. He died in a small plane crash in Alaska in 1935.
Korczak Ziolkowski was born in 1908 and died in 1982 in the Black Hills of South Dakota. He had 10 children with his wife Ruth. His notable work is the sculpturing of the Crazy Horse Monument. Korczak won his first prize at the 1939 New York World’s Fair. He was familiar with the Black Hills and that prompted several Lakota Chiefs to write to him about building a monument to honor Crazy Horse. After going to war and being wounded at Omaha Beach in Normandy in 1945, Korczak came back and started looking for a mountain. In 1948 the first blast occurred on a mountain just north of the town of Custer, South Dakota. When completed, the Crazy Horse Monument will be the largest sculpture in the world. The monument has a long way to go and will take many years to complete due to the fact the family will not take any government grants. After both Korczak and Ruth died, the family members have taken over to continue his legacy.
Mary Hart was born in 1950 in Madison, South Dakota. She is an American television personality and was the host of the television show Entertainment Tonight 1982-2011. She was Miss South Dakota in 1970 and in the semi- finals for Miss America in 1971. She was known for her shapely legs and given an endorsement contract with Hanes pantyhose in 1987. Both her legs were insured at the time for 1 million dollars each.
Lawrence Welk was born in 1903 and died in 1992 in Santa Monica, California. He was an American bandleader and hosted The Lawrence Welk Show from 1951 to 1982. He grew up in a homestead in North Dakota which is now a tourist attraction. He was the station band in Yankton, South Dakota for WNAX. He was married for 61 years to his wife Fern until his death.
Jack Hoxie was a rodeo performer and motion picture actor in the silent film era from the 1910 to the 1930s. He was born in 1885 in Indiana Territory and died in 1965. We stayed in his room which was 418. It was interesting to look him up and see who he was and that at one time he was in the same room as us.